Magic and the Inquistion
by Battleship Vytalia
Summary: Finding himself in a fucked up fantasy word, a wizard has to find a way to get back to his own universe. All that stands in his way, are demons, a mage-templar war, a great big fucking hole in the sky, a civil war in knockoff France, a female elf mage who finds him fascinating, and an ancient human mage who is in severe need of a makeover
1. Chapter 1 A new Discovery

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 1 A new discovery**

4 January 2027

Egypt

Blowing harshly all around him, his eyes took in the scene in front of him. Yellow desolate sand in all directions, there was a sandstorm in the distance that was approaching, but with magic, there wouldn't be any problem. Rather he was more focused on the ancient set sandstone blocks that formed together in the typical Ancient Egyptian way with all their markings and statues. Standing in front of him, was the entrance of what to be some sort of tomb, havening been utterly smothered in the sand at about one hundred metres deep, the excavation site around it was incredibly deep and looked almost like a quarry.

"So what do you think of our discovery" He didn't turn his head as he heard the goblin speak to him, he despised the things. Then again, the feeling was mutual. Wizards and Goblins didn't have the best history, and even with the peace treaty that put the wizarding gold in Goblin territory, there was always the threat of war with such barbaric creatures. However, he was even more cautious of the creatures. Goblins loved to have control of the Wizarding gold, so when a family like his who had never once trusted the goblins in the first place, constantly refused to open a bank with the goblins and instead keep it in other locations, then they tended to despise those who would not deposit that money.

"I wasn't aware that sand amounted to a discovery"Besides him, the goblin stared and gave him a dirty look but otherwise shut up. Taking this opportunity, he turned around and took out his wand, with a quick flash of light the vehicle that they had arrived in, a magically enchanted range rover shrunk in size before flying into his outstretched gloved covered hand.

Despite the vehicle being enchanted, he did not trust the sneaky little creatures not to take down any enchantments he had placed on it and then steal the vehicle. Goblins were vicious conniving shits like that. If it hadn't have been for receiving a two-week trip to visit magical Egypt from the last under seventeen world-class duelling tournament, then he wouldn't have been in the country let alone standing next to a goblin.

However, he had won the tournament, as he did to all those that he entered. With no friends to give it to, his father working constantly and his sister not being viable as she was a muggle, he decided to go. Besides he had wanted to visit eventually, he had always been interested in different types of magic, and the Egyptians were the oldest civilisation whose magic still stood after so many years. Their legacy was mostly in the form of their old ruins and Pyramids, as well as the tombs that were found, opened and typically looted. Magically speaking, it was very similar only it was the Goblins who financed the multiple trips and searches for old unknown tombs and other sites. Once they arrived they would then hire wizards and witches to either stand as guards, curse breakers, historians, code breakers, Egyptologists and other works. The only things Goblins had a tendency of doing on these trips was order people about and take anything worth of value. Yet they still paid their employees well, or that's what had been said by those who worked for the Goblins.

With restrictions on what types of Magic a goblin could use, it prevented them from becoming strong enough to try and take over and enslave every other race as they had done on multiple occasions. If they mistreated their employees, then it would end badly for the race since they needed wizards more than wizards needed them.

"Then why don't you come inside Mr Tempest, and let me show you what we found. It's quite unique I assure you, it'll be a long time before other tourists can see what we discovered." Naturally, he was suspicious, Goblins never allowed tourists to visit ongoing excavations, they may invite people rather knowledgeable in ancient magical history from time to time for a second opinion. But they would never allow someone like him to just visit, he may have graduated Hogwarts early by three years and was considered a world class duelling champion, but he knew very little of Egypt. Plus with goblins despising his family due to constantly voting against goblins in parliament and its utter refusal to create a bank account with the species, it meant that the goblin to his side should be giving him evil looks.

Giving the goblin a nod in return, he followed the goblin into the entrance of what seemed to be an old tomb, albeit he had his wand ready to pop out of its holster at any time. He didn't trust the goblin in the slightest. Had the scenario been different, then he would have simply looked into the creature's eyes and used mind magic to read the creature's memories and thoughts, after learning what he needed, it would be a simple case or erasing the goblins memories.

Unfortunately for him, Goblins who were likely to come into contact with wizards were all taught how to defend their minds from such magic. For something as potentially valuable as Ancient Egyptian Artefacts, this goblin was likely trained to the highest possible standard, as was the creature's body language. He wasn't able to read anything of the creature other than a smug and proud feeling in his work.

More alarm bells seemed to ring in his head as he descended down more and more sandstone steps, balls of white magical light hovering in place likely cast from the witches and wizards who worked here. This goblin was too friendly, but he couldn't just turn back and he couldn't have refused the holiday. Despite it being a prize, there were very clear motivations behind the invitation since it was signed by some the goblin king. With current tensions strained more than normal, if he had refused without a good reason, then it could have been taken as an insult and lead to a war between the wizards and goblins. That wasn't something he was too fond of. He enjoyed his job, but the idea of starting a war wasn't a good one, he wasn't too fond of the whole goblins fascination with brutal torture and putting people's heads on spikes thing.

As he walked through thin hallways with more Egyptian statues of their old gods and paintings, he constantly felt the presence of their very old magic. To those who like him were trained in feeling magic, it was like having a sixth sense or a sonar. Currently, he was feeling everything on a passive sonar like magical state, but even then he could tell the differences in magic. Like a person could tell the difference between an old person and a young one with how they looked, he could feel the age of the magic in this place.

It was utterly ancient, of a time lost long, long ago before the Greeks came and conquered this land and was then in turn conquered by the Romans. It was still comfortable though, the feeling of Egyptian magic was different to that of the Greek magic he had felt in Athens or the old Roman magic in Rome, or even the old Norse tombs in Norway, and it was incredibly different to the Japanese and Mandarin magic he had felt when he had visited those respective countries.

Despite this though, he could sense that there something else in this tomb, some type of Ancient and fading type of magic barely alive, barely having the power to move so far from its origin. He focused on it, this was what the Goblin wanted to show him, this strange and utterly foreign magic was what had made this ruin or tomb so different to anything else.

"Do you feel it Mr Tempest, the strange magic. Our new king decided that inviting a random wizard to view such an object might hope to calm the tensions between us, neither side wants war after all. Internally, he gave the goblin a sarcastic look, on the outside though his face remained the same and his eyes not giving away any sort of reaction behind his black military combat sunglasses. It was nothing but a lie what that goblin had told, the goblins had been pining for another war with wizards for at least a century, the new king may have won the battle against the old king in their inheritance fight tradition, but there was growing support among goblins for another war.

More than likely, the whole peace that the new king was trying to put in place was nothing more than a ruse to fool the new weak and naive Weasley nee Granger government. With their minster of magic giving loud and ridiculous support to removing the ban of many non-wizard laws, in the name of her blind morality, she had seriously weakened the British Magical world to the point of getting even their neighbouring magical nations to start to build up their auror forces. Of course, he and the rest of the traditionalists in Parliament could be simply overreacting, but the past had shown that these exact same steps had happened right before the Goblins planned to attack.

It made him cautious of the creature escorting him through the halls of ruins several thousand years old. The Underground was the Goblins home, not the wizards. He was agreeing to attend this little visit, to ensure that he didn't start a by not attending, and to prevent what would likely be a large amount of political backlash from the progressive side. With how the progressive-led government was behaving, they were looking for any possible excuse to tear down his house and give the position to some progressive person in order to claim more votes. Not that they needed them. Back to the ancient ruin that he was in, he soon much to his internal surprise and confusion went through a doorway into another part of this set of ruins into an entirely alien looking environment compared to the rest of the ruins.

It was a large circular room, only it was very different to the rest of the Egyptian temple. The stones had been made of normal grey stone, not like that of the Egyptians, but what one would expect of European medieval castles. The stone was smooth, not shiny like one would see of a marble floor where it was all polished, but the stone was far more smooth then it ought to be. But it was not the stone that caught his attention, but rather what was on them, Strange beautiful paintings that he could not recognise, not that he had expected to in the first place. He held no care for art, but even he could tell that what he was seeing did not belong here. The stark difference between this area of this set of ruins was like that of a mansion in a dessert, odd strange and stood out so uniquely, that anyone who could see knew it did not belong there.

"Any idea on who this belonged too?" He stayed back, the magic in this place, was ancient, far older than anything and far more foreign than anything he had sensed before. In fact, the magic of this place was incredibly unique due to the difference. The feeling given off was utterly alien and so different that it made every other type of magic he had sensed before in the world in the countries he had visited, feel rather similar. It was like Goblin or House-elf magic in that way, distinct but even then this felt utterly at odds with them if anything the magic felt otherworldly.

"No, we tested the Egyptian Ruins, but this magic outdates the ruins by several thousand years. We're not able to work out any of the words, but the pictures give us a brief idea of what this place was". The goblin pointed briefly towards where he assumed the start of this painting or paintings started, turning his head, he proceeded to have a look.

The first painting, was of some type of pointy-eared creature on some type of green field, after that the next picture was of more pointy eared people in what seemed to be the establishment of some kind of civilisation. From there, pictures of buildings and flying rocks followed. Also located in the pictures, was a strange sky, green where another picture seemed to indicate that this green sky gave the pointy eared people the ability to do magic. More images came; he wasn't able to really read deeply into them, it just wasn't his sort of thing. But from what little he was able to work out from the art style, eventually, some group of magic users fought against another one and became rulers of some sort?. After that, these rulers began to place some sort of weird lines on the pointy-eared people's faces. There was a picture of some type of giant creature that reminded him almost of a Titan in Greek Mythology, it was tall, powerful and for some reason was being attacked by the pointy-eared people for blue stuff. The pictures went on and these rulers which were sometimes followed by large animals such as a large six-eyed over large wolf likely the size of Fenrir from Norse Mythology that followed a bold pointy eared one. The paintings showed strange locations, one with what seemed to be some type of portal location, and another that was some type of library going by the number of books although that should have been impossible to his knowledge. If this strange place was thousands of years older than the temple, then there wasn't any chance that books could have existed as everything was written down on scrolls. Eventually, the paintings seemed to end on the large wolf, which did something as afterwards, chaos and death seemed to be the image. The final few images showed what he could only assume to be some sort of straggler group creating a portal and then ending up in a dry desert place. There was a bit of life after the portal for a small amount of time, but the pointy eared people soon starved to death or died for something else. Strangely, there was no connection to Ancient Egypt, just that they died down here where they likely assumed it was safe.

"so what do you think" Turning his head towards the person who had spoken with the Italian accent, he briefly took in the appearance of a young looking woman wearing clothing that the other wizards and witches in the room were wearing. It was a dry sandy brown, most likely worn to get then in the mood or to try and camouflage themselves for whatever reason. Either way, it was far different to his all black clothing that suited the city environment more.

"It's a grave of some kind of long-dead race. Going by the pictures, this place was the retreat of some of them after they were betrayed by the giant puppy. They arrive likely hoping for lush green fields, and instead get a dry barren desert." The archaeologist or that was at least what he thought the woman was since she was asking his opinion on art and giving his own opinion on something they had likely already worked out by now.

"And what does that tell you?"

"That they should have had a better real estate agent, that giant puppies are evil. He spoke in a deadpan voice, but it seemed that the woman didn't understand as she gave him a disappointed look almost as if she was saying that she expected better of him. Not that he gave a shit about what the woman thought, he was a duellist and the person who had discovered how to get magic to work with electricity. He was not going to waste his time by taking up such a pointless set of skills as drawing and painting and learning what they all meant. He had actual interesting subjects for his attention.

"I would have thought that someone of your supposed ability would have known better, but you are just as your appearance says, a child, not even fifteen years old. The king shouldn't have wasted such a valuable invitation on one such as uncultured as yourself. At least if that French girl had won, she would have understood the importance of such refined art". He didn't even bat an eye at the woman's words, he was used to insults being thrown at him for many reasons, some angry words from an Italian archaeologist would do fuck all.

"Sofia please do refrain from insulting the king's guests" The woman gave him another look of disapproval before a glare from the goblin shut her up. That was something he found even stranger, Goblins would never interrupt an argument between wizards that had gone to insults, they found it enjoyable. Of course, it could all be a ploy, but in the case of it not being a ploy and that the goblin king had given instructions to his subordinates to actually treat wizards and witches well, it meant that there could finally be a decent resolution to millennia of wars between wizards and goblins. He didn't believe that for a moment though, any goblin king who would actually want to keep peace and improve relations and not try to conquer humanity, would be eaten alive by the other goblins.

"Well for the uneducated British Duelling Champion, this discovery could change the whole history of not only the magical but muggle world too. If there is a connection to another world, we might be able to learn new types of magic. It is also amazing to think that there might have been aliens on the planet before the Ancient Egyptians". He rolled his eyes at the insult, he was more than aware of what this discovery meant, when this information got out, it would force the magical world to think more about their forgotten history. There might be more excavations, for more of these strange ruins. Yet he was more concerned with the goblins.

"I assume that the anti-apparation wards are to prevent this knowledge from escaping". It was a standard affair from what he had managed to learn about Goblin practices, to prevent thievery or the loss of valuable artefacts and other things, anti-apparation wards were put up around entire excavations. If someone had managed to infiltrate an excavation and tried to escape, then they would not be able to do so straight from the area that they had committed the crime. Combined with extensive searches by goblin guards, only a very skilled person would be capable of sneaking anything in or out.

"Indeed Mr Tempest, the contents of this location are far too precious to be leaked out to the public at this moment. The magic here is foreign, and we don't want tourists to start visiting before we made sure the area is clear. And we most certainly don't want anyone interfering with that orb we found" Turning his head back to the paintings, he focused on one of the ending paintings that had some blue and black circle that had somehow activated the gate or portal that had brought the pointy-eared beings to this planet.

"Let me guess, it's the key to this portal thing" The goblin nodded in confirmation. This was followed by a stern nod of the creatures head towards a group of other goblins who were guarding something fiercely in a box of some kind. With the creatures dressed in goblin silver weapons and axes and entirely coated in plate armour, it would be a very difficult challenge to deal with them. Well at least in a forward assault, he had already figured out five ways of killing the creatures the moment they had entered the corner of his eyes. It was a trait of all professional duellists, the ability to recognise a threat and how to deal with it. He could crush the creatures with rocks, suck the air out of the local area and force them to suffocate, drown them in water, and burn them alive in those tin cans they were wearing, or electrify them. None of those deaths would pleasant if it came down to it, but he didn't care in the slightest whether a goblin died or not.

Upon seeing the instruction, the two guards moved to the side as the head goblin moved him towards the box before opening it gently. Once the box was opened, he was met with the sight of some kind of orb made out a rippling looking stone like the waves at sea, alien magic almost seemed to scream from the object. "You can pick it up if you want" His eyes flicked to the wall of paintings yet again, in the middle there was an outcome in the same shape of the portal, in front of that was some kind of pedestal. The pedestal was matched with the stone floor that had strange alien patterns as a part of its design, it was obvious that this place once held a portal to some strange location.

He wasn't tempted to touch the strange dark orb, magic was old, powerful and mysterious. If he were to pick up the orb, there was no telling what could happen, for all he knew he could activate some kind of defence system or kill himself due to a surge of power. It could also be some sort of way to try and kill him, the goblins had never liked his family and using this strange orb could simply be a ploy to on purposely kill him and get him out the way. He knew that there were certainly a few groups of people who would like to see him get killed out of vengeance. Apparently, people didn't like it when their respective champion lost to a person younger than them. Despite not being tempted to touch the strange orb that belonged to some kind of alien race, he couldn't help but have a theory as to maybe who this group of people were.

"Is it Atlantean?" The researcher shook her head, quickly she brushed past him and grabbed the orb with her hands to inspect it closer. On reaction to such a thing, he took a step back and while not pulling out his wand, he did do into a duelling stance ready to act if anything occurred. Upon seeing this, the goblin gave a small smile almost as if he was happy to see what some would call a paranoid reaction.

"No, from what little we know of Atlantis, this predates it and is of the wrong magical feeling. Although I'm surprised that you even know about the Atlanteans, they're not exactly a school subject" The smug tone coming of the researcher, started to annoy the goblin, the way the creatures little lips twitched ever so slightly and the slanting of its eyes, this was as well as its short but gnarly finger that was moved to its side where a short sword for a human but a long sword for a goblin was kept.

"I was given the magical history exam before it was changed halfway through, I know the very basics." The woman rolled her eyes again but kept silent, as for him though he kept his eyes flickering between the orb and the out cove of the wall underneath his aviator glasses. "Even so, Something of this importance would be best left to people who work in this field, not to some duellist. That is unless you invited me to this place to offer me a job. I hardly doubt the King of the goblin race invited me here to have some kind of party and dance on top of the pointy ears grave." A small smirk and chuckle came from the goblin as he imagined the scene of humans dancing in this several millennia old place with blazing lights and booming music. "If that is the case, then it would most certainly be a party to die for " More chuckles followed at the dark humour.

"Yes, it certainly would be. As for a job interview, why would you think we would want some fourteen years old when there are trained professionals and you have no experience". It was a test, the goblin was seeing how he reacted to certain situations, to see if he could work in this type of environment.

"You're not looking for a professional on ancient history, you're looking for someone with advanced magical combat skills. There are only legal jobs in the magical world that would give a person that sort of experience, an auror or a duellist. A duellist is the better choice since they focus purely on combat and have more advanced support skills to fighting skills than an Auror such as a general high proficiency with charms, transfiguration, healing and especially battle magic alongside being far more talented with magic in general. Those skills are needed for any decent duellist so they can be unpredictable in combat and have a wide arsenal at their disposal. An auror, on the other hand, will have more detective and observational skills mixed with a far greater knowledge of potions. However Aurors spend very little time in training or combat, most of it is spent with paperwork whereas a duellist regularly fights very experienced and powerful opponents, but also regularly and is often a far better strategist and tactician. Also, duellists are in far better shape compared to Aurors, they have better reflexes, combat ability and other important skills such as martial arts, not to mention they are typically more intelligent than Aurors. Finally, if you hired an auror, you're more likely to get a person who is used to doing things in a certain fashion which could be detrimental and may be more willing to tell the Ministry of Magic if they had any suspicions of you".

There was a small satisfied looking smile from the Goblin as he turned to the Italian woman and gave an "I told you so look". However, since he was rather enjoying the scowl on the woman's face, the goblin told him to carry on. "Ah, but how can you be sure we want you for combat rather than your mind. After all, you did figure out how to get magic and electricity to work together".

"This isn't a curse breaker job, while I do possess the qualifications to be employed by Gringotts to be one. With a job this valuable and new, there isn't any chance that you would risk everything on some rookie who has never done a curse-breaking job before. As for research and history, you have those positions covered. But one of the biggest concerns you have is trust, something like this is more than likely completely off the books which means you cant use well-known people due to the risk. It was why the holiday was only told in secret, if anything goes wrong, you want plausible deniability and your king wants to contain the damage. Finally, since I have no plans since I've graduated Hogwarts, it would be a very simple case to give off the excuse that I'm travelling around the world to learn more magic."

"You have to love you Ravenclaw types, so much more intelligent than those Gryffindor's that we get" Turning its head towards the portal where the researcher was now moving with the strange orb, the goblin didn't move but rather looked bored as the orb was gently placed down on the pedestal. Nothing happened, there was no glowing portal or the resurrection of long-dead pointy eared people that tried to kill each other. Instead, the orb just sat there doing absolutely zilch. "As for your points, yes, we want you to work for us as security, make sure that no undesirable people get in and tamper with things. Besides that, we'll offer advanced training in ancient runes as well as a few harder to come by spell books, alongside the equivalent of a wage of two hundred thousand British Pounds per year as a salary".

He looked the goblin in the eye behind his black sunglasses; this type of offer was unprecedented. He could understand being paid more due to the secrecy of their work, but the amount being offered was more than he had expected, especially when one counted in the advanced training in runes and spell books. "Last time I checked, Goblins weren't too keen on charity, let alone giving up valuable magical knowledge. So either you're trying o fool me to some false contract, or the world is ending" He wasn't concerned about speaking so bluntly with goblins, it was how they did business. Strength and straightforwardness were how one dealt with these creatures, no fancy words or going by titles, all they cared about was getting their profit and how to exploit every single thing. In fact goblins to his knowledge, utterly despised it when wizards tried to make small talk or try to suck up to them. He had heard rumours that some smartass muggle raised child had thought they were being clever trying to speak to goblins in their own language, this was then made even worse when the child said certain goblin phrases only meant for them. It had been a rather serious diplomatic incident made worse by their current Ministers lack of logic and going purely on moral grounds. According to the rumours, the only reason the boy was allowed back, was due to one of the traditional side's members speaking in private to the old Goblin King.

"Ah yes, you're concern about working with the enemy. I can assure you, Mr Tempest, that our king is very much true to his intentions. He wants a permanent peace, he I and others have recognised that it is impossible for us to take over the magical world let alone the muggle. If by some chance we did manage to beat you, then with the current state of muggle technology, that war would soon reveal the existence of magic to the world before it was ready, there is no doubt that in the low chance that we should defeat you, that we would then have to contend with muggle governments. Our king has recognised that we are far better at trading, it is far more valuable and less dangerous than declaring war on wizards. Not to mention what has it gotten us, you traditionalists are always suspicious of us, you watch every piece of news with trepidation, hoping that some new war hungry king won't emerge. But you aren't the main concern Mr Tempest, the Wizards have won every war and would likely win another but we fear your muggle counterparts. Do you know why"

"Because if needed, we could use biological, chemical, nuclear and overwhelming amounts of conventional forces, tanks, artillery, machine guns" The goblin nodded darkly as it turned its head back to the paintings of where the pointy-eared creatures past. Buildings and cities that seemed to run of magic, a prosperous people that had once been powerful brought low due to the strange green sky vanishing and held back by what seemed to be some kind of barrier by the oversize puppy dog.

"Mr Tempest we both know that the statute of secrecy is going to be taken down soon. The rise in muggle surveillance equipment has already caused your auror and obliviators extreme problems, and the same goes for us. That incident with Mr Potter and that Dragon was barely contained and kept a lid on, that was thirty years ago. Now there's not a chance we can do something like that, somewhere around the world that statute of secrecy and the biggest secret in history will be revealed. He nodded slightly, he and many others had already managed to tell, that the statute of secrecy was coming to an end, it was becoming far to difficult to manage and hold. Sure the U.K government was helping to keep things calm, but there were only three nations in the world that knew about the existence of magic. Those three nations, were Greece, Japan and the U.K; for a while, they had been subtly using their influence to try and keep a wrap on the situation, but as the goblin said, that time was going to end soon.

"Your king wants to make sure that the goblin nation looks presentable so that it's not attacked. Please excuse me, but this whole peace process has been tried again, and there's no way that certain houses would allow the king to actually do such a thing." A fire seemed to burn in the goblins eyes as if he had just been challenged to a bloody battle to the death. Excitement and adrenaline burned through the goblin's body as it thought of the inevitable civil war, it would be a glorious one, they would get to revel in combat for a long time take what they wanted. Best of all, they would not have wizard interference.

"Indeed Mr Tempest, it will be a rather thrilling event. However we will win, despite our past history, the goblins, werewolves, vampires and other races will need the support of wizards and witches when the talks between magical and muggle begin, I would prefer if the magical government did not advocate on limiting trade or putting in restrictions".

Despite not being seen, the goblin could feel those eyes staring through those black lenses examining every piece of flesh on his body to determine wherever or not he was lying. There were more reasons that the king of the goblin nation wanted this particular wizard to help them out, however, the kid had likely already figured it out.

"I assume you are giving me to the end of the holiday to make my decision, should I refuse then you erase my memory of this whole thing" A nasty grin etched on the crinkled pasty skin of the goblin. It was almost like a novel, despite the kind words being said, you knew when a bad guy showed their true colours, in this case, it was obvious what the goblin thought about the matter. The creature had no real wish to see goblin society change to be like humans, the creature still likely wished it to remain a slave state. During a war, enemies of the nation would have their gold stolen and id a person could not pay their debts, then attractive female members of their family would be sent to work as... pleasure women. There were many other things he despised about goblin culture, but the creature was right, that in the event of a magic non-magic, that the magical races needed to work together.

"That is standard practice yes" He nodded his eyes tracking as a researcher approached him with a small empty vial in his hands. Flicking his eyes to where the man looking at his shoulder. Internally his eyes narrowed, the man wanted his blood. For muggles it was nothing, but for wizards, blood was a very valuable thing as it could be used against oneself, it was why they were always so careful to destroy any blood traces they may leave behind. The last thing they needed was someone trying to kill or control them through their blood or track them down using phylacteries.

Blood magic wasn't evil, it was just another form of magic. Like any other form of magic, it depended on what the intention was with the person using it. However going by the non-sinister look on the face of the researcher and the fact that he was in a room where dead pointy-eared creatures that possessed magic had once been, he could discern their purpose. They wanted to test his blood with magic to see if he had any trace amounts of the pointy-eared creature inside of him. Due to how their blood worked, a muggle device wouldn't be able to detect the magic in his blood and might not even be able to detect what could only likely be the smallest possible trace of the pointy-eared creature's in his blood if he had any in the first place.

"I'd rather not to the blood test thank you ." He spoke politely, his tone not giving anything away. Yet the goblin could tell that it did due to him not trust their race and what they might try to do with a sample of his blood. While the goblins argument did make sense that making peace with wizards was a good idea considering the danger both groups faced when magic was revealed; there was too much bad blood for him to just go along with it. Talking was one thing, but to allow goblins access to his blood was an incredibly foolish thing to do. Even if he did share any blood or DNA with these pointy-eared beings, it would be so minuscule and tiny that it was negligible.

Wizards weren't human anyway, sure they looked and acted exactly like them, but they weren't human. The magic in his blood gave him immunity to muggle diseases, gave him a longer lifespan, made him healthier, gave him better endurance, sight, hearing, strength, agility and other things with the most obvious one being the ability to warp the very fabric of reality to his will, otherwise known as magic. That didn't make him or other magical's superhuman like in movies such as Superman. Despite his enhancements, he still had to train himself, fewer things like his higher stamina and other natural gifts are wasted, as a result, only those who were physically active benefited from their magical blood.

"That is a shame, however, if you would care to observe our current work, then you can decide whether you would wish to join our team here in investigating this new discovery. We are going to activate the orb". He didn't say anything, simply keeping his face in a cam clear manner like he always did to try and prevent people from reading him. As for his lack of comment about the goblin activating a several-thousand-year-old magic orb, there was nothing to say. Despite the lack of trust between wizards and goblins, wizards knew that goblins were very professional and matriculate creatures.

The likelihood of the goblins not looking and studying this orb carefully and recording everything they did with this orb before activating it, was the same likelihood of the United States not getting involved in the Middle East. By now the small vicious little fucks probably knew all there was to know about the thing without activating it and had already set up incredibly powerful magical defences just in case. He knew that the latter case had already been done as he had sensed the vast amount of wards which surrounded this area when he approached. It was like entering a small fortress, which was rather apt considering how important and vital this information could be. It only made his presence in this place only clearer. Despite not being employed yet, the goblins wanted him there in case anything came out of the magic portal when it was activated. Goblins were sneaky fucks.

Yet he wouldn't deny that he wasn't interested in the job. He loved magic, he loved to learn as much as he could and was why he had learned many languages when he was young. With the ability to speak read and write the languages that he could, it opened up a whole new world of magic to explore after he had finished with the magic he was being taught when he had still attended Hogwarts on the fast track system. Having now graduated Hogwarts at the end of the Winter term, he was thinking about where to go next in the world to learn more magic to help improve his repertoire. He had many reasons for his desire to learn more types of magic, there was the combat advantage of it, the fun of learning a new type of magic, to become more knowledgeable on magic as well as to increase his own standing in the international community. Having already made a name for himself thanks to his duelling career, having more magic at his disposal could lead him to a more interesting career if an employer wanted a person who knew a lot more magic than the standard witch or wizard. Because of this, he was giving the goblins offer some thought.

Another reason why he didn't question the goblin, was because besides their professionalism, what could he know that these people didn't. He had only just been introduced to this who strange new type of magic and possible connection to another world. On the other hand, these researchers had likely known about this place for months if not years. He wasn't a researcher, and while he had managed to get magic to work with electricity, and had high exam rates, these people were specially trained in their job at this type of thing. He trying to tell them how to do their job was like having an officer worker telling a soldier how to do their job.

Still, he was cautious, as was shown by the fact that he had already brought his wand out and was held in his right hand. These people were likely going to try to open a portal to a new world or test out strange alien magic if anything happened, he had to be able to deal with the situation at a moment's notice.

Things were actually client as the researchers go to work, it was like watching a perfectly silent military march. Everything was done precisely and everybody knew what they were doing and when to do it. The researchers scuttled around the entrance to the portal and where the orb was, and the goblin guards had already pointed their spears towards the entrance of the place while the director of this whole operation watched curiously. As for him, behind his black military combat glasses, he watched every little movement made like a hawk waiting to strike, if anything happened, he would react. After a while though, the woman Sofia spoke.

"Okay were putting in the first flow of magic" At that, the woman pointed her wand, a sort chubby thing at the orb and began to unleash a direct stream of magic into the strange device. As the magic flowed, in, the orb began to glow a voluminous blue, the briefest look of adulation spread among Sofia's face but then it turned to panic as she alongside all those who could sense magic realised what was going to happen.

Boom

Exploding like a nuclear bomb of bright blue light, the inhabitants of the room were launched of their feet, hurtling through the open dusty air, crashing brutally into the now demolished walls behind them. He, on the other hand, had managed to throw a shield around himself just in time preventing the same fate, but he wasn't even given the remotest chance to celebrate as instantly the earth cracked and slammed downwards. It was thanks to his training that he still stayed on his feet, but looking behind him, he saw the crushed gory bloody remains of some of the other people having been turned into a red paste after slamming into the walls.

Roar

Earth shattered around him, rocks fell like hail devastating the doorway into nothing but rubble and collapsing the rest of the passage behind it. Shakes and quakes followed, knocking everything and shearing sides of the rest of the wall before the whole earth began to tremble and pound like it was trying to tear itself apart. Heading straight towards him, a large piece of painted wall launched itself off him like a meteor, driving his wand up to meet the threat; he fired a blasting curse decimating the rock into ash.

Crushing the goblin inside his head for putting up the barriers, he blasted yet another piece of debris and then another as the whole room came crashing in around him threading to trap and kill him. His gaze focused on two things the first was ff the blocked passageway that he had come in through, it was covered in rubble and would require a great many-deal of blasting curses for him to get through. On the other side was the portal which had opened in the shape of some type of mirror that was rippling gently almost enticingly.

Forlornly, he gave a sigh and closed his eyes for the last moment that he knew he would have on this planet. "I'm sorry sis, Good Luck with Ant; hopefully I'll see you and home again". With the mental image of his sister and the green lands and city of London that he called his home as the last thing he thought of, he rushed towards the portal and jumped through.

Green brushed past his vision, all around him he saw a dark green place with strange creatures as he fell hurtling towards the ground. Around him were more of that strange alien magic far more prominent now and the feeling of other creatures. But before he could even blink, he felt his feet on solid ground and a more familiar site of snow-topped mountains, trees and grass entered his vision.

Now secure, and not injured, he looked up to where he saw a large gaping green whole swirling in the sky like some kind of evil black hole. What followed next was the sound of a screech, zipping around his gaze came across some ugly demonic looking creatures out of a nightmare, only for a loud crack of thunder out of the giant fucking whole to sound. Green lighting smashed the ground beside him, and he was met with more screeching ugly creatures. All of whom wanted to kill him.

Aiming his wand, he prepared for battle and said his first words in the most sarcastic drawl he could conjure after arriving this new world that he had found himself in.

"Well, that was a fun holiday".


	2. Chapter 2 First Steps

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 2 First Steps**

9:41 Dragon

Haven

Dull purple amethyst eyes took in the sight before them. Hidden behind the black protective material of his sunglasses, he was greeted with a strange sight that he had never come across before. He knew that was to be expected, however, if the strange paintings on the wall were correct, then he had travelled into an unknown world. Frankly, a multitude of different things was running through his head. The first was that he was breathing normally. It would have been a slight problem if he had landed on a planet which did not have the proper amount of oxygen in the air. He didn't exactly like the idea of maintaining a bubble of air around him at all times, it would have been slightly annoying.

However, his thoughts soon focused on more important matters, such as the really strange and creepy fucking things heading in his direction. They were strange, dark coloured with skin that seemed to have melted or left holes in an unsmooth appearance. Their heads were covered in some kind of cloth and their necks were bent forward like some kind of deformed hunchback. The front part of what he assumed was this creature's face was partiality covered, but he could make out a large milky glowing eye that was focused on him. It came closer, almost like it was pushing its body forward like some kind of slug in harsh movements as it possessed no legs. Despite all his visual senses, he tried to feel what this creature was magically speaking.

It wasn't easy, his ability to sense magic was currently in overdrive as it took in the feeling of so many new things that he wasn't able to ascertain anything. It was exactly like how when he had first learned to sense magic, there were so many things to sense that you couldn't focus on one particular thing at first, rather some time was needed for the massive new sense to die down. The best way that he could describe it, was as if a blind person was able to see for the very first time in their lives, all the colours, shapes, textures, differences in the tiniest little things that a person could determine with their mere site alone would be overwhelming at first.

He was used to sensing everything around him, but that was on Earth and when he felt a new type of magic, it was distinctive like learning a new word or seeing a new thing. Many things felt different, compared to what he was used to, the creatures around him, the sheer raw ambient magic that was in the air and its entirely different and alien feeling compared to what he was used to. Back on Earth, it took a lot of magic to leave so much magic behind, if it didn't and stayed behind as easily as magic did here, then the entire Muggle world would never be able to work as their electronic systems would go down. As such, there were very few places that a person could feel the raw ambient magic in the air, and that was typically places that witches, wizards or other magical creatures were regularly at such as Hogwarts or Diagon Alley. Here though, it had seemingly stuck around but despite all that, there was a magical presence so powerful and so overbearing compared to everything else in the area, that it was like a nuclear bomb.

Or in this case, it was a giant fucking glowing, green laser into space, hole in the sky. It was unheard off, well in real life at least certainly not in the movies. Its appearance made him imagine that some kind of barrier between where magic was kept had been torn into the real world rather had been brutally torn open. On Earth, there were rumours of ley lines, essentially massive blood veins running all along the planet which transported magic. It was only a rumour because nobody had been able to prove it yet, but the theory was, that if a person could tap into these ley lines and didn't kill themselves, then they could essentially become gods. But it was still only a rumour, if the unspeakable's knew if it was true or not, then they most certainly kept it a secret. The amount of damage a person could do with that much power would be unfathomable.

As the creature continued to approach, he noticed that the overwhelming feeling that had his magical senses was returning far quicker than he initially thought they would have. It was a bit suspicious when he had first learned to sens magic it had taken days to get used to all the new senses. Perhaps in this case then, it was simply due to experience and adjusting rapidly. Not that he was going to complain considering that he had an unknown creature that was looking at him maliciously. Being capable of feeling out what this creature was, could save his life. He knew he could have just fired a spell at it, but that would have been unwise. He was likely in an unknown world and attacking the first living creature that he came across was not the smartest idea. For all he knew, this strange ugly creature could be the resident of this world and he was intruding on their land. With no way as of yet back to Earth, being considered hostile was not a good thing. Lastly, while his magic senses had been temporarily blinded, he had no idea how powerful such a creature could be, or what it could do. If he were to make a brash attack like some idiotic Gryffindor, he could end up dead. That led to the possible courses of action that he could undertake. Diplomacy was what he desired, a fight had the chance of going terribly for him. Negotiation, on the other hand, was the better solution to problems, at least until he could learn more about this world. Only once he learned more should he make large scale plans.

"Hello" The creature didn't stop, in fact, it got closer surrounded by more of its kind, all of whom were looking at him maliciously like they wanted to tear him to shreds. With his magical senses back in track though, he began to get his first reading of these monsters and what he was feeling was not exactly... pleasant. It held a type of feeling that he had never come across, again he had expected that, but all things gave off a magical flavour so to speak, and these creatures did not feel friendly. For an analogy, it was like looking at a lion, you just instinctively knew that it was dangerous. You didn't need to be told that the large cat would likely want to bite off your head and eat you; you just knew that it was dangerous and that you should get the hell out of dodge. These things were like that, only they felt a lot more sinister and they had no desire for negation. They wanted only one thing from him, and that was to kill him.

He refused to oblige them, instead choosing to raise his raised his wand at the creature. For a brief moment he held it here, it was a warning to the creature, ordering it back off or be destroyed. Ignoring him, the creature now in arms reach raised its clawed hand backwards ready to strike. Flashing through the air, he unleashed his exploding curse, blowing the creatures head into a pulp with a loud explosion killing the monster instantly. Undeterred, the other creatures only sped up, seeing that he was under threat, he turned his wand at them and unleashed more of the same spell, destroying more of the creatures as the power of his blasting spell ripped apart the creatures in a raw fury of magic leaving them as nothing but corpses on the floor.

Crack

Thunder echoed above in the distance, emanating from the green hole in the sky. It reminded him of that strange green place he had every so temporarily seen when he had first gone through the portal to escape the cave in. In fact, that strange place, made him think of that picture in the cave of the green sky. He had no idea what it was, it was green, had an enormous amount of alien magic pouring out of it, and looked like it had broken some type of shield or barrier holding it in another realm sperate from this world. Or perhaps it was normal, but he very much doubted that the rest of the sky was well sky, and then there was a giant hole that came out of nowhere. It was nearly as bad as British weather.

Before he could think on the matter, two sudden surges of strange magical alien presence shot out of the hole in the sky and began crashing down towards the floor like two meteors falling from space. Only they were less giant balls of flaming rock and more green zappy pieces of rock that after crashing revealed more strange looking creatures, only this time it revealed what he would describe as lava monsters. This was then followed by more green meteors that escaped the portal and crashed into the local mountainous area around him.

Quickly, he came up with a list of mental objectives. First, he needed to find some type of sentient life. Preferably, the pointy-eared creatures that somehow, had managed to create a portal that reached across universes or some other form of ridiculous long distance that the mind couldn't really compute, to reach Earth. Even if only a small subset group of the pointy-eared creatures had managed to accomplish such a feat, it still meant that there was bound to be a society that might know how such magic worked.

Yet despite, he knew he wouldn't just to run into them. This was a strange world to him and considering the fact that he hadn't just walked through the portal and appeared here, instead briefly entering the strange green place. Then there was a high chance that he was not in the place that the pointy-eared ones had left this planet. In fact, there was the very real threat that the pointy-eared ones didn't even exist anymore, according to the paintings he had seen, they had gone through some kind of cataclysm. Libraries destroyed, the people slaughtered, cities burnt all as a giant six-eyed wolf observed menacingly on.

Such an event could have been similar to the destruction of the Roman Empire. Europe regressed, socially, technologically, culturally, militarily; it wouldn't be until the enlightenment and for a firmer time period, the colonial era when Europe finally managed to recover. It took over millennia for that to occur, but that was on Earth. For all, he knew if the pointy-eared one survived what seemed to be the equivalent of Ragnarok, then it could take much longer to recover from such an event if they even recovered at all. Actually, he wasn't in any position to begin speculating, he had no idea if there was anyone alive on this planet besides the creature that had attacked him. With no people to contact, he would be unable to form any sort of timeline.

Constructing a timeline was a very important thing he had to establish. If he could, then he might be able to work out when at least on this planet that the pointy-eared ones had left. Even still, he needed more facts to do that. Days in this world could be either longer or shorter, there could be double the amount of time in a year. If that was the case, then when he tried to work out the difference in time between Earth and here, he could make a drastic mistake in his calculations. A mistake, which if he ever did manage to discover the knowledge to return home, could potentially fling him either forward or backwards in time.

Thankfully, not everything was working against him. For one thing, he still had his magic as showcased by the fact he had just killed several of the strange creatures and that his clothing still had its enchantments on it. If that was the case, then it was likely all the other belongings that he had on him, were still in perfectly good condition. Something he was utterly grateful for. As he had been on holiday, he had packed a number of possessions when he went away; his car, small flat within a chest which that contained a modern toilet and bathroom facilities shower. As well as modern cooking devices like an oven and microwave. Food was also in there since he preferred to save money and cook for himself. He wasn't exactly the type to trust people and try new foods, so he always carried his own supplies with him when he went abroad. What was even better was that because he had been on holiday, he had recently stocked up on all sorts of food from home which with the many charms that were placed on them such as fresh forever charms, would mean he had infinite food forever. Albeit limited.

Not that it mattered at the moment; hunger was the main concern on his mind. That concern was trying to discover anything sentient nearby, well sentient and not going to attack him at first sight. Turning living creatures into a red bloody pulpy mess was not really the best way to say hello. Unless of course, the culture he met did greet each other by killing one another, in that case, however, he best look elsewhere. He wanted to find a way back home, not kill the person who might have such information.

Taking action, silently he cast a spell. It was a simple point me spell, but to try and make it work, he would have to be vaguer than he normally would. Instead of thinking about a race or a person, he instead focused on the very idea of medieval civilisation. His mental image for that idea was in the image of old-style wooden buildings. He had no idea of it would work, by now whatever possible civilisation might be on a different level on the tech tree than he was expecting. Yet it was the best shot he had. Having no information on the pointy-eared ones, all he had for a mental image, was that of the Western Civilisation he knew.

Images of log buildings, stone castles, metal plate armour of various designs, long swords, bows and arrows, a medieval city and market, muddy dirt roads, open-air markets that would have merchants selling goods. There was no way of knowing if this would work, he was going off a medieval era and that was only because of the images he had seen in paintings that were even older than Ancient Egypt. Perhaps the pointy-eared occupants of this world had all died, perhaps they were in a different level of technology, they might be in space or might be in a new stone age. With no information to go off besides ancient destroyed paintings, there was no way of knowing if he was on a post-nuclear Armageddon world.

Spinning around rapidly, an arrow of light created by his wand turned in multiple directions stopping briefly before then turning to face another direction. Externally, he showed no reaction, there was no way of knowing if he had been seen by anything, but internally he gave a simple sigh of relief. It was good to know that there was indeed civilisation, he very much liked being alone, but being the sole person on a planet would drive a person mad. Mental training and defences or not. Concentrating on the holographic arrow, he gave it the mental instruction to point in the direction of where whatever item the spell had detected was closest. Obeying his command, it turned slightly to the right aiming not quite at the green hole in the sky, but in that general direction.

Looking in that direction he couldn't see anything, mainly because there was a small issue of a mountain in his way. If he had been a muggle, then this would have proven problematic, a muggle would be forced to scale down a rather steep looking mountain. However, as a wizard, the solution to the problem was a simple one. He apparated. Leaving his position in a mere moment, he appeared on top of the ledge that had just seconds ago blocked his view of the area. Now he could see things far more clearly.

Had it not been for the giant hole in the sky, the ugly looking creatures that blotted the landscape and the hurtling green asteroids of death, then it would have made a rather pretty view. He standing on the edge of a nice looking valley with a frozen lake nestled between snowy mountains utterly infested with the monsters.

Ultimately, he felt it before his eyes managed to catch it. On the end of his magical senses, he could feel this alien magic being used, and he locked his attention into it instantly. Flashes of light danced in the air crashing into more of the creatures, launched from what this distance appeared to be small twigs, but were actually staffs since a person would not be able to see a wand from so far away. It was magic, and it was being used against the creatures. In total, there were two of the magic users, they were staying behind another person dressed in black who was snagging the creatures in melee combat while a third shorter being stayed with the magic users firing what he assumed to be a crossbow at this range.

Electing to learn more about this group but from a safe range, he conjured a set of binoculars. Peering through the device, he could now more easily make out the sight in the distance and analyse what he was seeing. Thanks to the magical nature of these binoculars that he had summoned, they had the advantage of being as powerful as he wanted them to be, well at least to a certain range. There was certainly no chance of him being able to see the entire planet, but they were more useful than just your plain old regular muggle binoculars.

Through his now extended vision courtesy, he was able to take in in the forms of those who were fighting the odd creatures that had attacked him. In total the party consisted of four members. All were humanoid in their appearance and three carried a pale complexion bearing a similarity to more of the more Northern European countries, not Nordic level pale, but similar to that of France, Germany, Poland, Britain. The final one seemed to appear from a more southern region of Europe such as Spain or Greece. What was more peculiar, however, was what the creatures were. He counted a total of three species two of which seemed to be out of a fantasy book and the final he was more than used to.

Starting with the smallest member first, the dwarf which while it may not be the accurate term for this world, was the best word he could give going by the information he was aware off, appeared middle-aged. He was blonde, possessed a more muscled body, and wore a red shirt and coat. Strangely, the dwarf carried what appeared to be some kind of fancy crossbow. He also possessed brown eyes while different parts of his ears were pierced with rings going through them.

The human, was female appeared younger than the dwarf and was the one with the darker shade of skin. Dressed in darker tones with the image of a wide eye painted in white over a black metal cuirass, it appeared that she was the most armoured member of the group. Not that she had gotten off scot-free, going by the large scar running down her face. Her short hair was a bit frazzled due to the constant movement she was performing.

After looking at the third and fourth members of the party, two thoughts came to mind. The first thought was that he had found the pointy-eared ones, the second was that they looked like stereotypical fantasy elves. As such, until he learned the names of these people, he had elected to call, the dwarf Gimli, the two elves as Legolas and Tauriel while he named the human Frodo. And no, he didn't care that the human was a girl. If he had somehow managed to end up in what appeared to be a fiction book, then he would call them by proper fantasy names.

After looking at the male elf, he was slightly tempted to name him Egg. With that bald head of his, the man looked ever so slightly fragile which wasn't made any better by his thin frame. While the man did have a leaner body structure, it was not so lean as to look like that a single gust of wind would carry him into the air and blow him around the world like an inflatable balloon. Yet his body frame was certainly pronounced enough to give off the fact that he would be using magic in any fight rather than a sword or bow. As evidenced by the glowing flashing lights that shot out of his staff as he spun it all over the place.

Speaking of which, he wondered how much magical combat was different here if those who used magic needed to wield such large staffs. Back on Earth, there were no advantages what so ever to owning a staff over a wand beside being able to lean on it and thump some idiot over the head. Wands were lighter, more precise, more accurate, faster, easier to use, could be concealed and had a certain sense of elegance to them like a sword. There was a reason why staffs had never even come close to taking over wands as the popular magic casting tool. Wandless magic was still a very useful skill to possess, but it was far harder to cast magic without a focus as well as typically less precise, and far more draining. Unless of course, you were one of the wizarding greats like Dumbledore, Grindelwald or Voldermort who could do so much more with wandless magic than an average witch or wizard could with a wand. On the other hand, they were the exception, not the norm.

Despite focusing briefly on why the magic users of this world were using such bulky tools, he focused on the final member of the group. By far the youngest of the group, the woman appeared to be in their very early twenties likely only twenty-two at the very oldest. Like Legolas, Tauriel had a staff in her hands where she unleashed magic at the oncoming creatures. Despite being a magic user, she appeared to be the most suited clothing wise for this weather. Dark green woollen clothes more suited for this colder mountain climate adorned her body. A small belt with a few leather pouches was wrapped around her waist holding what was the equivalent of her trousers up. As for her feet, they were covered in brown leather boots with a flat wooden sole as typical for the medieval era. She was nearly as protected as the sword fighter, having two pauldrons on her shoulders.

When it came to facial features, the woman had certainly inherited top quality genetics. Possessing a small symmetrical face, bright startling sapphire blue eyes of such amazing design and quality that would rival even the famous Potter family eyes. Most certainly, Tuariel had been gifted had very attractive features. Compounded with a small nose, rosy red lips, long silvery blonde hair tied in a French braid and the woman very much reminded him of Veela. Actually, the woman was far more pleasing to the eye then those Veela had seen during the occasional tournament. Occasionally, an opposing duellist tried to use an attractive set of cheerleader's to take their opponent's attention away. It never worked, well at least not on him. Despite the remarkable appearance of the woman that would make others jealous and likely attribute her looks to some kind of princess or very good parents.

There was one very distinctive part of the woman's appearance that if she were back home on Earth, would instantly gather attention. It was so unique, that even if the woman was to be brought back to Earth and wear modern clothing negating strange looks that would be sent her way on that front, that she would still be instantly recognisable in a crowd. All of which was due to her strange facial tattoo.

Like the leafless winter tree it represented, thin blue branches the colour of ice spread all over the woman's face. From her forehead where the top of this tree sprouted in many different directions, when during summer the leaves would be fully grown and create a nice shade to take shelter from the suns harsh rays; down to the bottom of her chin where the roots of this tree allowing it to suck in the moisture of the ground enabling it to grow big and strong marking even the girls lips. This tattoo was the prevailing feature of the woman's face.

Arctic-like in their colour, the light ice blue of the tree tattoo made him think of the cold barren place at the bottom of Earth. While the South Pole was not a place for permanent habitation, if one were to gaze on the many images of the location from those who had visited, they would be able to see the mysterious beauty it held.

As a result, he gave credit to whoever had given the woman her facial tattoos, they seemed to have a knack for it, far better than those he had seen on Earth, especially those that his sister's boyfriend tried to pass off as impressive. Although in the face of this, it seemed to almost reinforce the fantasy trope that elves were incredibly graceful angelic beings, even if it was to be confirmed that the woman was indeed an elf. In the end, only once he had more details would he be able to discover what he was truly dealing with in this strange foreign world full of dangerous creatures, magic and massive green demon spewing holes in the sky.

He continued to observe them for a while, seeing how they moved and interacted as a group. It was rather easy to deduce by the constant adjustments being made instance and posture that they were relatively new together, yet they were all competent. None of them seemed to make some kind of rookie mistake and there were never any signs of near misses, indicating that all of them were used to combat in some form or the other.

Quickly, they were able to deal with the incoming monsters as they carried on up through the valley encountering more monsters as they did so. For him, he had two options, he could either join them and their goal of heading towards the supernatural hole in the sky. Or, he could ignore them and hope to find someone else. Normally he would prefer to use magic and look into the mind of a person to gain all the information he would need. Unfortunately for him, this wasn't exactly practical with his current scenario.

Magic was different here, if he attempted to use his own magic to forcefully look inside a person's mind to try and glean vital knowledge, then there was no certainty in how that person may react. Possibly it might work, and he could root thoroughly in a person's mind and gain the basics of this land, all without anybody noticing a thing. In contrary, if their minds were protected or they may detect him using such magic and with such a personal breach, they would not take it kindly. He knew he sure wouldn't if a person attempted to try and read his mind and memories, then he would put them in a coma... permanently. No the idea of doing such a thing without a basic understanding of magic here was a suicidal idea that in the best case might work and in the worst case would see him killed or another person to take advantage and push into his mind.

Briefly, he entertained the idea of leaving this group to their own devices as they moved towards the breach in the sky spewing down meteors to give birth to what he would call demons. Demons, that was a term he knew off but wasn't too familiar with, he knew they existed back on Earth, but not in the shape that religion believed. There was no Lucifer or angels, let alone some all-powerful evil cunt who paraded as a kind generous man that lived in the sky. Demons were simply magical species who had no connection to each other and were only described as such due to their dark and generally morbid history.

Kampe were water demons. They had been given their moniker thanks to their tendency of altering their appearance into different species with the most popular being either horses or giant sea lizards. Nessie the old creature was one of these and had devoured many people including children during her existence, but she was not as scary or as terrifying as other creatures known as demons. Single handily, the most terrifying and feared of all were Dementors. Wicked evil creatures that loved to prey on happy memories on who they came across sucking everything good out of a person's mind until they devoured their soul, leaving nought but a broken empty husk that had once been a person behind. It was a fate worse than death.

Nevertheless, this group of four were rushing towards where the meteors and demons fell through into the corporeal world. Conversely, against all possible odds, the group proceeded onward to the demon's lair. He withheld his opinion on the subject. Without any data to work on, what he might consider dangerous for his world, could be perfectly normal here. Leading him back towards what his course of action should be to handle the situation.

It was rather effortless to realise that the strange flowing hole with it all-encompassing magic power and presence was identical to that of the one he had only touched for an abrupt moment. Identical, he knew that if he were to ever return home to his small island nation, a particular education would be required to start him on such a route. Concisely to achieve this objective, his best step forward would be to join the party of four in hopes of gaining trust and educating himself properly about this world. To that end, he apparated, leaving the somewhat safe location of on top of a mountain so as to join the companions below.

Fost Back Mountains

"Seeker watch your left flank you're about to get overrun" Smashing her shield into an oncoming sloth demons attack, Cassandra Pentaghast blocked the enemy's attacks before thrusting her long sword into the demons guts tearing through its dark flesh killing it instantly. Instantaneously, she brought her shield up once more to defend against another strike made by another demon, and then again as another two went to attack her. Recoiling after having the kinetic energy from its attack rebounded, the sloth was slightly out of position, not by much, but enough for Cassandra to slip her blade past her shield and give a sharp clean slice to its neck killing the creature.

Fwoosh

It was only due to her extensive combat training when she felt the wind rush past so close to her face as a bolt from the dwarf's crossbow struck an attacking demon killing it. With the number of opponents now reduced to one, she brutally bashed the one ahead of her in the face knocking it down harshly to the floor. Advancing upon its downed form, she wasted no time in sinking the cold steel of her blade into the demon's skull, impacting into the ground behind it due to the strength put in her attack.

"You can thank me later" Yelling from behind her, Cassandra could feel the smugness in the dwarf's tone all the while he continued to fire that unique crossbow of his. Turning her heads upwards onto more oncoming demons, she braced herself for more fighting. "Ah shit, it's one of those fuckers. Everyone aim for the green one that shoots magic". True to Varrics words, Cassandra scowled when she saw the green almost ghostlike demons as they flung what appeared to be spells of green energy in her direction.

"I always hate those ones". Although being her prisoner, Cassandra couldn't help but agree with the Dalish prisoner. Ranged foes were always more irritating, especially those who utilised magic against her. Archers were an easy opponent, she simply had to raise her shield in the direction of her quarry and any arrows shot at her, would strike the shield and leave her unharmed. She had the same strategy for magic, on the other hand, the problem she kept encountered against mages, was that their magic would throw her off her feet at times or require her to suddenly throw herself to the floor. She couldn't recall the number of times that she had either been burnt froze or electrocuted by mages who would use their powers against her.

"I would suggest raising a barrier around our allies if you can, I will cover you as you do so" Advising calmly, Solas began to concentrate his fire on those demons who had placed their attention on to them. Such a thing was to expected, as powerful mages they were classified as deadly weapons. With demons pouring forth from the fade, Demons would sense their magic and choose them as targets.

"Right" Allowing the strange elf to protect her as she worked, the prisoner channelled forth the power of the fade, shaping it in the form of magic and laying it upon the seeker who had captured her, and the dwarf storyteller. Surrounded in a very pale light blue glow that was barely noticeable, the two other members of their group were given temporary magical barriers, allowing them to absorb a few of the green magic balls that were cast on them.

It didn't last long, however, only a few seconds. Ultimately, that was all they needed as their combined efforts soon dispatched the group, only for more of those fade meteors to hurl several metres in front of them releasing a new set of demons.

"Andrastes tits, do these guys ever stop coming" Irritated, Varric raised his crossbow, at the enemy, but by this point, the demons had already started attacking. Zooming towards him, a green ball of magic launched by the enemy went to strike him. Stepping to the side in hopes that the ball would go right past him, Varric was not happy when he saw the ball alter course so that it would still strike him. Getting closer, Varric waited for the inevitable hit and pain that it would bring.

Flashing translucent blue burst before him intercepting the green light allowing it to be crash into this strange new shield, then once the green bolt had crashed into the shield, the shield dissipated. Instantly, a bolt of red magic light flew by Varrics head. Racing in the air as it moved to strike its opponent, it soon collided with the demon that shot the green light. A blasting burning explosion rocked the area obliterating the creature in a destructive show of tremendous force kicking up dirt and rocks into the heavens, throwing them high like miniature projectiles faster than any arrow loosed from any bow.

Varric ignored the powerful explosion, deciding that it must have been from either one of the elves who had unleashed a powerful spell. Having seen, Hawke bring down small thunder, fire and ice storms, he knew that magic could be pretty powerful. What did draw his sudden attention from the demons, was when large silver spears appeared of nowhere impaling the remains of the demons. "Hey nice work" Wishing to thank the one who had saved him from some pain, Varric alongside Cassandra turned around. Stopping in his tracks, Varric alongside Cassandra widened their eyes when they saw a strange fifth person standing behind them.

"Morning" Slightly at a loss for words, Varric gave a slight nod not entirely understanding why a kid had appeared out of nowhere.

"Who are you, put down your... twig?" With her feet spread apart and her sword pointed at the newest arrival, Cassandra alongside every other member of their small group looked at the very strange young looking kid. Cassandra for her part locked her eyes on what had likely just unleashed the powerful fire magic, only to be utterly stumped when she saw not a staff as every other mage wielded, but a small well-polished twig that fit firmly in the casters hand.

"Good morning to you too, and who might you be?" Returning the slightly odd for the current scenario greeting, Solas was the one to instigate the conversation hoping for like the others in their small band for answers to Cassandra's questions.

"Nathanael Tempest although I'm usually referred to as Nat, and you are?" Curious looks carried on for a few more moments, their eyes were taking in the very strange clothing that this person wore. It was all black, he wore strange designs and materials they had not seen before. Some sort of black shirt was covered by a black jacket with metal hooks lined down the centre, on both shoulders of this unique jacket, laid a very odd symbol. A red horizontal and vertical cross that was surrounded by a very small amount of white on its sides laid on top an x shaped red cross that also held white at its side which in turn was on top of a blue background. On the jacket, there were four more sets of strange metal pieces that linked together with another piece of metal attached to them. Covering his hands, were a set of odd-looking black gloves with bumps where the knuckles would be they were also thinner than an average glove.

For the lower half of the body, more black clothing was worn, only it looked very strange and not in any shape that any of them had seen before. The strange set of britches were longer than any of their clothes, going all the way down to the ankle, but on these strange clothes were what appeared to be strange pouches sewed into the material, all of which was held up by a black belt that itself seemed to held by straps on the strange britches. For footwear, the stranger wore black once again, but the shoes were once again, like nothing they had seen before. They appeared to be made of a strange type of material, and had a bit of a heel to them, what was more odd about them, though was that besides the heel, the boots weren't flat like theirs. The front of the boot curved upwards of the ground, revealing strange little shapes that were part of the strange shoe's design.

If Varric had thought that the normal clothing had been odd, the thing that utterly stood out was the black things that covered the eyes and lay on top of the kid's nose and ears. Reflective in their design, when Varric tried to gaze into the eyes of this kid, all that gazed back was his own reflection and all that around him giving him a rather nice panoramic view. Still, the stranger was a kid.

Likely in his very young teens, the boy sported a fair pale skin tone giving off the appearance that the kid hadn't seen sunlight in quite a bit of time. As for the rest of him, the kid wasn't anything special, plain in appearance, not ugly, but not the type of kid that would make all the barmaids swoon. He possessed small ears, lips, nose with straight waist-length bright blonde hair that was more typical of those people found in Fereldan. In fact, despite the kids entirely foreign aesthetic, Varric would assume that the kid could pass as a Fereldan if he were to put on the appropriate clothing.

"It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Mr Tempest. I am Solas, the dwarf here is Varric, our Seeker friend is Cassandra and this woman beside me is called" Begging the interactions Solas began to point out to the wizard the name of each member of their group before pausing as he remembered that he did not yet know the name of the prisoner. She had not had time to divulge her name before the demons had attacked forcing them to defend themselves.

"Valeyna Lavellan, thank you for your assistance with the demons. What are you here for?"

"A group I was with got attacked, initially we were coming here to pick up some supplies". Narrowing her eyes at the story, Cassandra tightened the grip on her blade looking at the young magic user.

"A likely story, a young mage just so happens to avoid being killed when the rest of the conclave is destroyed, that's rather suspicious; especially since we had scouts to keep track of all magical activity." The woman didn't threaten him. While she and all the others felt different compared to what he had sensed before, the woman was a muggle and armed only with a sword. If she ever did try an assault, all that would be required was one blasting curse and the woman would be nothing but a smear of blood and brains on the floor. Varric he was unsure off, he had never encountered a dwarf before so there was no way of knowing if he would be able to resist a spell, if not then he could always impale him with arrows or smash his ribcage in with a cannonball, or even conjure an elephant above him and have the man crushed to death. Magic presented so many imaginative manners to kill people.

On the other hand, he was far more concerned with the two mages in the group. While no expert, he had already sensed that they did not utilise magic like he did. They unlike him, drew it from some kind of place, this was because as he had gathered, mages did not possess their own magic core unlike him. For this reason, he theorised that the strength of a magic user in this world was relegated by how much magic a person could bring at once. Honestly, he was tempted to use legimency to look them in the eyes giving him access to their minds enabling him to root through their minds and gather all the relevant information that he required on this new world. Doing so would severely shorten the amount of time he needed to act or hide questions from this group or others.

Nevertheless, while advantageous in theory, attempting such a task whilst lacking a proper education on how the magic of this world worked as well as the skills of those who wielded it, attempting such a task was reckless. During the time he could look into the mind of either of these two people, they would also if trained in an equivalent mind art, may attack him back and learn his own secrets. Until he knew more and could act with more caution as befitting a former Ravenclaw, he chose the wiser option rather than rushing ahead like some foolish Gryffindor. With an unknown amount of protection, exercising such actions as violating a person's mind and privacy could if caught, put him on rather bad terms with the group possibly resulting in unnecessary violence and bloodshed.

An outcome he would rather much avoid, especially if Solas was involved. The presence that man gave off, was one of incredible age. An age that he didn't even think possible. At the bare minimum, the elf was several thousand years old, emanating a similar feeling to that off the strange paintings back on Earth, well at least until that woman had activated the bloody orb sending the entire place crashing around him.

If there was one thing that known by all wizards and witches, it was that as one got older then had a tendency to be far more experienced and knowledgeable then you were. Typically it related to wizards and witches of about a hundred years old but was made even more prominent in those of even greater age like Nicholas Flamel. Old wizards and witches even with their decayed body due to the passage of time were a threat, however an ancient feeling elf war far worse. Who knew what the man knew and the experiences he had felt during his existence.

Externally, he kept to his training of not making any expression at all hiding any think he may be hiding and forcing others to guess his intentions with less accuracy and more difficulty. Internally, he was tightening his mental shields, listing off the most powerful spells he knew, and formulating a strategy on how far he could apparate with his minimal knowledge of this world. Not wanting to waste time and bring up the suspicion of these other people by reaming quiet for so long, he answered the question that this "Seeker" had asked him.

"It is true, my group were caught unawares last night by bandits, I barely managed to get away with my life" Cassandra kept eying Nat carefully, she expected him to try and make a dash or attack her. Either way with the mage-templar war going on, the idea of a young mage suddenly showing up at the conclave in the middle of a fight was not a settling one.

"Do we really have time for this; we need to seal the breach. Nat, can you come along with us and help out?" Eyes turned to the Valeyna as she walked in front of the group taking charge of the situation. Looking at him and his wand curiously, Valeyna caught the disapproving look from Cassandra as she invited the unknown mage apostate into the ranks of their little group of heroes trying to save the world.

"I don't mind the kid joining, better than leaving him to freeze his ass off in this place" Joking, Varric remembered the exploding demon being vanquished by the powerful fire spell he had used. Not to mention he couldn't in good conscience leave a kid out all on his own to be attacked by demons.

"I concur, another mage even if young would be useful with the current set of events" Solas for his part believed that another mage would give Cassandra some more backup and an extra healer could be useful considering what they had fought so far.

"Very well, shall we go?" Nodding in response o the kid's question, Valeyna turned towards where the giant glowing hole in the sky was located and once again led the group of four now turned five members to where the conclave had been destroyed.

"Nice to have you with us kid, all four of us can be the Seekers prisoners together. We can sing songs and tell funny jokes to keep her occupied"

"Ugh" Chuckling at the seeker's response, Varric brought out his crossbow from behind his back and followed Valeyna as she moved quickly along the path. Whilst this all happened, Nat began to quickly think about what little he knew of this world and tried to piece it together to form a useful understanding.

Fabricating a story about where he came from was something he needed to do briskly. Building a fabricated story would make it possible for him to interact with the people of this world without them branding him a lunatic. His true origins would be considered so bizarre that none would believe him. Certainly, he knew that should circumstances be reversed and some stranger were to tell him that they came from an entirely different world where things were nothing like they were here, that he would call them mad to the point of maybe even personally throwing them in a mental asylum.

Not to mention dangerous, many people would likely wish to get their hands on him and try to replicate what he knew or even use him as a tool or a weapon for them to use. Back in the equivalent era in Earth history, magic was exceptionally powerful making those who were born with the gift incredibly powerful and useful. As magic worked differently here, possibly being more constrained than what he was as capable of performing, then others may wish to learn from him or capture him to see how he ticked which was a major concern.

Mages here as they were apparently called, drew power from elsewhere not actually possessing any of their own to use. As of yet, he was yet to educate himself on what was more powerful or useful his own magic or drawing it from another dimension. He was biased towards a magical core, as it was always with that person and due to this was the reason why he was still able to perform magic so far from home. Then again, pulling magic from another dimension could possibly allow for fare more powerful and farther reaching effects than what he could do.

Except, he knew without a doubt, some would undeniably wish to duplicate his own magical core for their own desires. A theory and activity he would rather not take part in, as it would likely involve torture, death and all those other lovely things when learning about the biology of a new species. Didn't that just sound lovely?

Fundamentally, if he wished to be able to blend in with this world, and make it appear like he was part of it albeit form a very foreign location, then it was of the utmost urgency that he familiarises himself with the goings-on of this world. Nations, religion, organisations, history, all of these things needed were essential for him to carve off as much suspicion as possible; especially those of the several millennia year old egg. Conclusively, however, such a thing would have to wait until later so as to deal the glowing green hole in the sky, and it would hopefully earn him the trust of the two elves.

Solas was the key, having lived for so long and feeling like those Ancient ruins back on Earth, he knew that Solas was the man he needed to glean information off. Subtlety was the key Until he could learn more about the way magic operated on this planet, tearing through a man's head without permission to gain advanced magical knowledge alongside other information was a plan only an arrogant person would take. Should things go poorly and he fail and be detected, then things would end very poorly for him. As shown by the fact that the man had shown an aptitude for combat magic. Helpfully demonstrated by his ability to freeze the demons until popsicles, he would prefer not to anger the man and be forced into a confrontation before he had a proper idea of what he would be dealing with.

Carrying up the hill, the group of five didn't encounter any more demons much to the relief of all involved. They stayed silent, the four who were native to Thedas thinking about their goal ahead of destroying the rift, but Cassandra worried about her friend having not seen her since she had sent the woman way to take the prisoner with her.

"I hope Lelliana made it through all this" Concern etched in her voice as Cassandra tightened the grip on her sword, she knew that the woman had been through a lot especially if one included the fact that she had fought beside the Hero of Fereldan during the Fifth Blight, yet she still worried for her friend.

"She's resourceful seeker" Eavesdropping, Nat created a mental image of this person that Cassandra was making. He had not seen the woman or held any knowledge of the woman whatsoever, however by analysing what he had seen so far, he could fathom a guess. Women in this land, were treated far better than they had been on Earth during the same time period, they were allowed to fight, hold power as well as wear the clothing that they did. With this much freedom and the familiarity in Cassandras tone, he was of the belief that the two of them had been close. Such a closeness could be formed anywhere, however, if he took in the fact that Cassandra was a warrior, then it led to the belief that the most likely meeting of this Lelliana and Cassandra was through combat possibly making the woman a great warrior. Adding in Varrics comment cemented the idea that Lelliana was not some weak woman but rather skilled at whatever she did.

Unfortunately, he was interrupted from his analysis by the feeling of more magic flowing through a gap in the sky ahead. It wasn't anywhere near as powerful as the one in the sky, that one was overwhelming in its power, a whole dimension of it locked away and desperately trying to burst free and rejoin the world of the mortals. This one, on the other hand, was more of a small crack. In spite of that, the crack was still dangerous and he could already feel more and more demons pour through the gate.

Sparking green electricity emanated from Valeyna's hand suddenly, His attention caught, Nat redirected his focus from the upcoming hole of that strange green dimension were demons lurked to Valeyna. Magic sparked from her hand, inevitably it was connected to the woman through unknown means, yet he sensed it was irrevocably linked to the strange place that he fell through.

If things were different, he may have stopped the woman to see her hand and study the effects. Such magic may prove vital in returning home to Earth. Be that as it may, there was no time for him to perform such a task as enemies were approaching. Later if he had the time, he would study the mark which had been impressed onto her hand, for now, though he and the others had demons to fight.

"Another rift"

Raising his wand at the oncoming demon, he let loose a cutting spell. Shifting the air through its way, the glowing bolt of magical light hastened towards the sloth demon. As neatly as a well-trained butcher, upon striking the target, a brief look of pain glinted in the monsters eye. All before skin, bone alongside other tissue were torn in two detaching its head, yet all with enough force allowing the creature who had once thought to terrorise the worlds head to launch itself off the rest of its body. Soon followed by Valeyna and Solas, multiple beams of light speeded towards the enemy yet only his dispatched their opponent on the first strike much to the others interest.

Valeyna, watched as Nat brought his stick close to his hand before walking quickly up to the rift. Having done so multiple times already, instinctively she brought her hand close to the phenomenon and called forth the power of the mark. Tentacles of glowing green light erupted forth, wrapping around the rift getting a good grip on it, then once Valeyna felt her grip tighten, she yanked it back and destroyed the magic closing it forever, allowing her to seal shut the open door that demons had once owned to enter the world of Thedas. Afterwards seeing that she was in safe company, as revealed when the soldiers did not immediately run to attack her. She placed staff back on her back using the small hooks attached to her clothing to do so. Hearting the guards distracted by Cassandra as she spoke to them and got an alert on the current situation, the elf woman kneeled down to the corpse of one of the now dead demons.

Solas, soon joined her also looking intensely at the kill that had been done before. It was unlike what she was used to, combat magic always revolved around bending the elements to ones will, fire, water, lighting. However this was different, the spell that the child had used seemed to act as some kind of blade, cleaving the head of the demon in a cut so fine, so utterly precise that it would have required fine tools to pull off. Solas it seemed had also reached the same conclusion, the elf apostates eyes glanced back and forth to the clean cut that no sword could make and towards the one who had utilised such magic effortlessly.

"It seems our young acquaintance knows more about magic than we believed"

"Have you seen such magic before Solas" Solas shook his head giving a definitive no the question. For a few more moments the two of them looked once back at the strange magic that had felled a demon before they rejoined Cassandra and the others as they walked through the doors and onto a bridge.

"Whatever that thing on your hand is, its damn useful" Valeyna tried to smile at the joke, yet couldn't. She knew that Varrick meant well, but with all that was currently happening, a hole in the sky being ordered by her clan to spy on her Conclave and now demons pouring out of the breach like a set of rabbits rutting, she was just trying to focus on one thing to stay sane.

"I just hope we can understand what happened here".

"We all do, Prisoner. A lot of good people died at the conclave as well as the only chance for peace between Templar's and Mages. It was supposed to be one of Divine Justinia's best accomplishments, instead, it turned into her grave" Upon hearing the name of the previous divines name invoked, a few of the injured soldiers on the bridge glared at Valeyna. Then came the whispers.

"Murderer"

"Knife-eared Bitch"

"Halla riding whore"

"Elf scum"

"All you elves are useful for is keeping our beds warm. I bet you're really fucking happy you did this; I bet that you and the rest of you cannibal eating monsters are happy to see Divine Justinia. Fucking mage slut"

Anger swelled in Valeyna as the insults and lecherous looks kept coming her way, they didn't know who she was, she had done anything to them and now they were insulting her and calling her names. Opening her mouth and directing her stare towards the one who had given the last insult, she went to reply to the soldiers comment when she was beaten too it.

"Yes insult the woman who supposedly just levelled a mountaintop, brilliant plan. What's next, you're going to go up and ask the demons to play tea party with you" Drawling slowly as he kept his face calm as ever, Nat gave a single glance at the man and then turned away in such a manner that it appeared that the soldier wasn't even worth the effort. Aghast at having a child more than half his age rebuttal him, the soldier tried to raise himself to his feet only for the pain to shoot through his wound forcing him to sink back to the floor grunting in pain as he did so. Valeyna laughed slightly at the sight.

"Thank you"

"Don't bother wasting your breath, you're just going to waste oxygen" Valeyna blinked at the word.

"Oxygen?"

"Air" Nat elaborated as he carried on his eyes flicking behind his glasses to the multiple wounds that the injured soldiers had received. A few had been hit by those green bolts that some of the demons attacked with, while others had been injured in a manner equivalent to that of claw marks. Blood pooled around ones face, while another desperately applied pressure to their leg in hopes to stop the bleeding. Seeing the problem, Valeyna watched from behind as Nat walked over to the soldier, one who was glaring at her in the pain most likely as a coping measure.

"Move your hand, I'm a mage I might be able to help" Appearing on the man's face when he heard the word mage was a look of terror, but the blank emotionless look the boy gave off didn't seem malicious and with the pain the soldier was experiencing, reluctantly he moved his arm.

"What are you going to do?" Nat wasted no time as he moved his wand to the wand, casting a diagnostic spell, a holographic image of the soldier's body appeared before him and showed what the injuries were. Upon seeing the injury, Valeyna tried to get a closer look yet couldn't as the image soon disappeared reverting her attention to the wizard as his wand glowed for a brief moment.

It was a deep cut, one that if allowed to continue would kill the soldier out of blood loss. Sealing the injury would be an easy enough task for Nat. Healing magic was one of the essentials of being a duelist. When you were in the middle of a tournament, you were not allowed to stop the match to heal yourself just because you had been injured. Instead, if you required healing, then the duellist would either heal themselves in mid-battle or surrender the match. Luckily he hadn't ever been near the point where he had needed serious healing, a few injuries and cuts yes, but never anywhere near enough to threaten his life.

Only as he looked at the man, he realised that the certainty of the man recovering was not guaranteed, raising the chances of the soldier was a simple task, all that was required for him to do would be to turn the dried blood back into normal blood, and then promptly force it back into the body,. On the other hand, he was dealing with a medieval timeframe which meant a mediaeval time frame. A great many deal of people were suspicious of magic that involved blood, if he utilised blood magic here, though, then he could soon find people pointing swords at him.

In response to this, his wand glowed at the targeted cut, closing the wound by forcing the skin to knit together. It wasn't that much of a gory sight, a little strange sure as flesh that had once been connected moulded together again, but with the soldier's body back in a single piece, the blood stopped pouring out into the open cold air of the mountains. Soon after, the soldier closed his eyes due to blood loss, thankfully for him, Nats arrival managed to save the man's life.

"You know healing magic" Speaking softly, Valeyna looked over Nats work. Not a single scar or sign of injury remained, well besides the copious amounts of blood that the man had leaked out as he was left to die; Besides that though, the healing magic had been done to a high standard.

"Only Injuries, if you get sick I can't help you" Looking over at the other injured men and women, Nat walked over towards them and started to deal with their injuries. Gripping her hand as sit sparked once again, Valeyna glared at the giant hole in the sky, perhaps she noted that she should try to see if the boy could help her later once everything had been dealt with. For now, other people needed his attention more than her.

"Your magical technique is very peculiar, may I ask how you were educated" Nat sensed Solas before he spoke, with how old the man was, it was a very casual job of tracking the man. Solas was very distinctive in his magical presence.

"I was part of a small group of mages who moved from place to place. The magic I was taught is different to others and was part of our history, apparently, it's all that was left from an old nation far away before it was destroyed". Lying to the old man might not have been the wisest decision in consideration of the potential threat that Solas represented, Nat would very much prefer not to be slain. On the other hand, telling informing the elf that he was actually a dimension-hopping wizard from an entirely different planet where everything was different and he knew nothing at all of Thedas, seemed to be the worse idea. Merlin knows if he met someone who said that to him, then he would simply make the person a cup of tea before waiting for the nice men from the local mental asylum to arrive and take the person away to a nice building where they could spend their lives recovering.

Avoiding a similar fate, necessitated a decisive and believable story for him to justify his odd magic. Already he had observed how Solas and Valeyna had examined the corpse of the demons he had killed with cutting curses. Added to this, the risk of entering the mind of a random person in hopes of obtaining information, was far too dangerous. Caution for the meantime was what would keep his head on his shoulders, caution and lying. It was at times like this, he was very grateful for being the heir to a noble wizarding house, as it made him a politician. Lying was in his blood.

"I see where is this group now?" Solas looked at the boy inquisitively, having travelled the fade for so many years, he had come across many mages in the fade and witnessed many memories of mages and their magic usage, yet not this strange group of mages who used sticks. The boy was entirely unique, his clothing, his magic and most especially the stick he carried.

"Dead" Solas frowned at the short answer, he wished to push for knowledge to learn more about the strange individual. There was something about him, most likely due to his clothing. With the boys choice of apparel, he acted like a lighthouse in the night drawing all attention towards him. Looks of confusion raised eyebrows and some curious sets of eyes lingered after him. "I am sorry for asking such a question, I apologise if brought up bad memories."

"It's not something I want to talk about" With his conversation now over, Solas renewed his focus on Valeyna and the mark that sat upon her hand. Already his plans had gone awry, now he was forced to salvage what he could, alongside keeping attention on the anomaly that was the boy.

"Bless the maker, thank, you thank you" Nat ignored the joyous appreciation the soldier tried to lay upon him. The woman's injuries hadn't been too bad, a broken arm which had been tied into a makeshift wooden splint had been fixed with a simple spell, a sash across the cheek of another soldier healed, the sprained ankle of another unlucky soldier dealt with. He had no concern whether these people lived or died, he didn't know of them and he had no intention of knowing strangers. His purpose for helping the injured was to gain approval from the other members of the group.

People on average tended to be more favourable to others who assisted injured people, in this case, he needed to ensure that he wasn't sent away by some others. Healing and helping injured soldiers, gave him more than grateful looks and empty platitudes, it got him trust and a small smile from the redhead up ahead.

He was yet to meet the woman; nevertheless, he could tell she was important. Armoured in chainmail with a hood over her head, the woman offered him a few different emotions at once when she saw him looking after soldiers. First was one of utter bewilderment, something that was to be expected by now, and then came a look of worry when she worked out his age. Finally, a small smile adorned her face once she came to the conclusion that his actions were restoring men and women back to a fighting capability.

"Prisoner, here now; You as well Tempest" Saved by Cassandra's yelling, Valeyna said nothing as she was pulled out from her current task. She had been taking notes of the path ahead of them and the potential dangers that they would inevitably be forced to face as headed upwards over the cliff. Making her way over to the table, her blue eyes widened then anger as she recognised the woman who had been in the prison cell beforehand when she had first awoken at the start of all this mess.

"Ah here they come" Nat tolled his eyes internally at the condescending tone of the priest, although as he looked at the garb that the man called clothes, he had to wonder if religious clothing looking stupid was a universal trait. Priests back home looked terrible in their long flowing robes, and so did all the others with their stupid hats and other robes. Apparently, that seemed to be the thing with all religions, brilliant architecture, and terrible style.

"Chancellor Roderick this is" Speaking hurriedly, Lelliana refused for a single moment to not follow Nat as he stood still. Dressed in his modern-day clothing with his eyes obscured, he didn't exactly blend in with the local surroundings. Amusingly, however, his eyes noticed as Lelliana moved her lips as she spoke silently to herself, currently, she was wondering who on earth his tailor was. Promptly followed she started to analyse his clothing to meticulous detail.

"Hm black, the stitches have been done rather well, perfect placement, and what are those metal things, are they some kind of symbol. Those britches? so many pockets oh and those shoes, what is that strange material. What a strange mask, is it some new fashion in Orals I will have to check with my agents" Lilliana's mind fluttered all over the place, the boy was no doubt foreign and from some land. Perhaps he was from the lands located in the north according to legend, it was the only logical place he could be from. Unfortunately for her, there was not much extra time she could afford to waste thinking about foreign fashion.

"I know who she is. As grand chancellor of the Chantry, I hereby order you to take this criminal to Val Royeaux to face execution"

"You order me, you are a glorified clerk. A bureaucrat" Shaking her hands in utter disbelief that such a petty man would order her to do something, Cassandra advanced forward in both a mocking as well as a threatening manner for the man who held no weapon of his own.

"And you are a thug" It was slightly entertaining to observe the fight between Cassandra and the pomped up religious priest who thought that because he had a funny hat that he was able to boss around a grown woman with a sword in his hand. Nat had only seen people turn that red when they had been pranked via magic.

Regardless of the current pissing match, he looked back up to the sky only to gaze upon more falling green meteors as they shot through the air and crashed into the mountain's terrain spawning more demons that belched like angry creatures from the floor. Valeyna he noticed also seemed to have a problem, she obviously couldn't believe what she was seeing as Cassandra and Roderick argued over what the best course of what to do was. Personally, however, the likely reason she was rooting for Cassandra if only because Roderick had wanted to send her off to Orlais so that her head would be chopped and placed on top a spike somewhere.

"Isn't closing the breach the more pressing issue" Valeyna spoke, quickly in order to get a word out. With more and more meteors coming inbound to their current location the likelihood of a fight starting up again was a high one. There wasn't any time to waste as far as Valeyna was concerned something that Solas was of the same opinion off going by his facial expressions. Varrick, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and the kid, well the kid kept the same non-emotionless expression.

"You brought this on us in the first place" More angry yelling followed Roderick's loud declaration, to those who heard it on the bridge, more dark looks were sent Valeyna's way as once again the rumours began spreading around.

"I'm not sure if you've noticed chancellor, but there's a hole in the sky raining demons. I think we have ever so slightly more pressing issues than playing the blame game". Roderick glistened with rage, gritting his teeth and throwing his finger forward in the direction of the child, he prepared to reprimand the foreign child who had dared so much as to what to do only to be forced out the conversation.

"Abandon this place now seeker before more lives are lost" A thundering echoed burst from the Breach, followed by a tower of light crashing into the ground with an almost blinding light. Valeyna grunted in pain as she was forced to grip her hand tightly while green lightning sparked from her mark. Then it was gone, her hand returned to normal and the once stabbing pain in her hand vanishing as quickly as it had come. Cassandra turned towards Valeyna.

"How do you think we should proceed, through the mountains or join with the soldiers and charge the breach head on."

"Now you're asking me what I think" Utter disbelief came from the woman, after being considered a prisoner by this woman ever since she had woken up, now the woman was asking her opinion of what she should do.

"You have the mark" Solas Interjected.

"And you are the one we must keep alive. Since we cannot agree on our own" Cassandra sent a glare at Roderick, except it didn't work. In response, the man gave a disapproving look to all of them.

"The mountain path is the safer solution. They'll be fewer enemies and we cannot afford to get outflanked. " Nat knew he could have offered to apparate the group there. With only four people and only a short distance, the likelihood of getting anyone injured was virtually non-existent. Analysing the situation and how the other mages were acting led him to a different choice. If powerful experienced mages were not able to apparate, then there was a chance that apparating them to a destination could prove detrimental.

Inevitably he knew that if he was to stay with this group so it would give him access to Solas. Also, he knew at a later date that he would have to reveal his true background eventually, but that would be when the others trusted him, and he could trust them not to kill him. First and foremost, he had to gain trust from the group. A major incident was going on with that hole in the sky, blurting out where he was from would make him out to be a madman, or to be the one behind the attack. It was vital therefore that despite knowing next to nothing about this world and the danger of just ripping it from their minds due to Solas to high, that he had to improvise.

To Improvise he had to track every little detail that a person made in order to fit in. One of the most essential ones was to not use magic that others hadn't seen before. Already he knew he hadn't achieved the latter, the odd glances that Solas and Valeyna had given when they inspected the corpse told him everything he needed to know. Having grown up as the heir to a noble wizarding house, he had naturally be taught how to lie and how to act when the time came for it.

Slytherins were far better than he was; he had mostly concentrated on how not to give away his emotions. A Slytherin, on the other hand, was a masterful actor in deceit and trickery, they would be capable of wielding such a magnificent story together and tell it in such a way that it sounded not only believable but that you almost entirely forgot the Slytherin true background.

On the other hand, he could make up a story and try to act and tell an elaborate story, but the results would be far less certain. Lelliana the woman who had checked him every way possible so quickly and efficiently was incredibly experienced in the art of subterfuge. Should he try to tell some kind of grandiose lie like a Slytherin, she would recognise it instantly. Instead, his choice of lying would have to be as close as he could to the reality as possible.

Remembering the history of his people, he knew he needed to change certain events historical events and names, to make it seem realistic. Saying that he was native to this land worked only so long as he mentioned that he was not a part of the nation but rather part of a group of travellers. Soon he came up for a history for his group of people, the travellers he was with had been descended from an old kingdom a long way to the North before magic was outlawed and anybody with it was executed.

In the case of a person asking him, how he came to this land, then he would have to say that his group had left a thousand years ago before getting lost in a storm and arriving in this world. Upon seeing the hatred of magic, they decided to wander and keep themselves hidden as soon as possible. All of this was true in a sense, magic had long been considered a crime on earth with many religious people happily executing those born with the gift.

After seeing people hostile to Magic his group of people decided to become incredibly isolationist to the point that they feared to make contact with the outside world lest they were discovered and hunted once again. While a bit farfetched, if he made a mistake in answering a question, then blaming it on him growing up in a very isolated community sounded like a fair enough excuse.

Now came the question of why he was in this particular area. Already he had given a fake story of how his clan was destroyed by bandits, but he needed more detail than that, especially since his ability in magic almost made him a god for the current technological time. Undoubtedly the more his showed of his magical talent before he revealed who he truly was, the more holes people might see in his story.

To tackle that difficulty, his excuse would be that his group was in a civil what over what to do. Opposing his faction, was a man called Thomas who wished to attack a group of people who had settled nearby and kill them all. Thomas had enough of hiding and wanted to reveal themselves and take over this world as the rightful rulers but he was opposed. Before the bandit attack, Thomas had attacked the camp that his faction was in with all his followers resulting in a bloody battle. They were victorious but exhausted.

With all supplies used r destroyed and the rest of their possessions obliterated, they went to move to this place and restock before then rebuilding. Only to be set upon by bandits who took advantage of their weakened state, he only managed to escape by being at the back of the group. After being yelled by their leader to leave them and save himself to keep their culture and tradition's alive, he soon came to this place and hoped to recover. Then the sky opened up and everything went to shit.

Now there was no way of knowing if his imaginary story would work in the first place, Lelliana or one of the others would instantly recognise the inconstancies and try to kill him for lying to them. Nevertheless, it was still better than going up to them and saying something along the lines of.

"Hey, I'm from an entirely different planet where everything is strange to you. I got here because of some old Elf ruin depicting a really big wolf and a strange magic mirror that I had to escape through after we activated an Orb. So do you mind if I stick with you guys so I can learn about this world and all I need to know about it to ensure that I don't fuck up drastically"?

When he did do his big reveal to the group, he needed to showcase to them that he could be trusted was sane and most importantly intelligent. Once he had done that, the group wouldn't just dismiss him straight away and cart him off the madhouse. Somehow, he had managed to get off incredibly luckily when he had jumped into this world. He had been on holiday at the time which meant a lot of luxuries on him like his car, tv, other gadgets, food, and best of all documentaries. After the reveal leaving the others to look at him incredulously or that if he was pulling some kind of joke, he could sit them in front of a tv and show them documentaries.

If they tried to leave he could always use magic to force them. If they didn't accept him and still tried to kill him, then he could always apparate away from the danger and deal with them one by one of they still tried to kill him.

"Take the mountain path. Work together; you all know what's at stake". Upon hearing Valeyna 's orders, everybody started moving. Soldiers who had been lying on the floor got up from their position marshalling weapons; Lelliana gave soft but stern orders. Cassandra and Solas started to lead the way to the other side of the bridge Roderick, Roderick leaned back and fattened up like a red tomato after being ignored once again.

Mountain pass

High above in the mountains not too far from the initial breach, Nat alongside the others had made the trek from the ground up to the old mountain pass. He had been very grateful for his gloves, upon climbing the rickety ladder, he had noticed several locations where a person could receive splinters. While not at risk himself since all his clothing was enchanted, it would still be best if the part didn't have a person with pieces of timber impaled into their skin.

"So our scouts are through this place huh" Looking into the cold damp miserable looking black hole, Varrick grimaced feeling sorry for the poor lot who had already gone through here and more importantly for those who had likely been killed by demons. Being murdered by dark creatures was not exactly his idea of fun.

"We need to move on, the breach isn't going to close itself anytime soon". Mostly recovered from that stomach-churning experience, Valeyna turned the group into the dark looking mine entrance. A foul air swept by them filling their noses with the stench of demons and death. Grimacing as she put her hand to her nose in hopes of blocking out the stench, she carried on.

"Can you see anything, humans don't have the same vision that dwarves and elves do" Squinting, as she poked her head in, Cassandra attempted to look for opponents, but it was far too dark to see for a humane. Varrick being dwarven, and having visited the deep roads on that expedition with Hawke had previous experience with dark dangerous places filled to the brim with monsters that wanted to kill you and tear your flesh apart. Valeyna did not have the same experience, but her superior elven eyesight enabled her to see clearly through the darkness to such a point that her eyes glowed like that of a cat. The same thing occurred to Solas.

Casting a lighting charm silently, Nat found himself able to see thanks to a powerful white floating ball of light hovering over his head lighting the nearby area. The other four members of the party however rushed to cover their eyes from the sudden change in the light difference. After only a few seconds, their eyes adjusted to the bright light that illuminated everything within sight.

"My thanks" With the entire group able to see, all of them were witnessed to the sight of a dark long abandoned mine. Old stone walls boarded with wooden beams and planks supported the roof of the structure, small candles littered in small areas provided small amounts of light but nowhere near the amount needed to light this place up. Hanging from some of the wooden beams were large icicles easily big enough to execute a person should they fall down impaling the poor person with frozen water.

"Useful spell kid, Hawke could have used that when we went into the deep roads. " Intrigued, Varrick knew that he shouldn't expect Hawke to be the definitive guide of what magic was capable of. Hawke hadn't been raised in a Circle tower, and while she was an incredibly adept mage, that did not mean that she was the most knowledgeable in the magical arts.

"I told you before. I grew up in a small group of mages who wandered from place to place. A long time ago, our people had a kingdom of our own called Albion, we were betrayed and the kingdom was destroyed with nearly all those of magical talent being executed. A few managed to escape and travelled as far as we possibly could to escape. Eventually, they got on a ship sailing west with the power of magic. Once arriving here, we went into hiding to keep ourselves safe refusing to interact with the outside world as much as possible to avoid detection. That was over a thousand years ago and we've since been in hiding since. The magic I know is what is known from that time. So little remains of what he had, our magic is one of them and our most important trait". Remaining silent, Solas pondered on the answer before coming to the conclusion that this Albion the boy was descended from must have been a very long way from Thedas. It was the only reasonable explanation as to why the memories of such a place might be hidden from the fade.

"Why were your people executed" Valeyna was fascinated if she was honest with herself. Ever since she had been a girl she had loved hearing the stories from the keeper about their past. The stories about the gods of their people about Arlathan, how powerful magic was back in those days and their apparent immortality as they did not age. She had matured in that time, but her love of stories remained, and to hear some of a land so far away was something to keep her mind occupied while she made her way to the Breach.

"They had magic" Valeyna blinked in confusion.

"Don't you mean that they used something like blood magic or tried to take over" Nat shook his head.

"No, they were simply murdered because they had magic. It didn't matter if they were a child or not, In fact, it didn't even matter if a person actually had magic in the first place. If a person was accused of magic then they were executed without trial or evidence" Valeyna gave a horrified look at that yet her curiosity got the better of her and despite knowing that her questions might cause pain to him since he had just escaped bandits, she continued to ask.

"How... how were they killed?".

"Multiple ways, they were hanged, beheaded, stoned, hung drawn and quartered, drowned, by far the most popular choice was to burn them at the stake" Horror skewed across Valeyna's face, her body stood still as she imagined such a place where people were butchered in such a way. She wanted to ask more questions, she was deeply curious, but it was like a person asking her about Dalish history. She had no desire to hurt the boy's feelings anymore.

They were executed just for having magic? Which tyrant made such a decision?" Speaking firmly, Solas looked at the boy waiting to see an angry expression as he had seen and heard so many mages about the oppression by templars and the work that they performed. Yet there was nothing, no twinge of regret, nor tightened grip around his small wooden stick and no raised voice. Nothing at all indicated any sort of emotional reaction.

"Delusional idiots who believe in make-believe men that reside in the clouds. Otherwise known as God. He's an entirely fictional vicious cunt that people still hold up as some great guy. According to those twats, he created the planet and all that. Fucking nutcases the lot of them, the world would be better off if we them in mental asylums"

"You would speak ill of the maker and his followers" Cassandra yelled her face flush with anger and her eyes burning with rage, her mind turned to the previous Divine and the friend that she had been before her death. For some strange boy to insult the Maker's children like that to call them delusional, mentally unstable, was a severe insult. "What of Divine Justinia, the conclave was to bring peace to the Templars and Mages, I suppose you don't care about that either that an innocent woman died in that explosion." All eyes turned on to Nat, the only problem with that though, was that he was the one with the floating ball of light and since he wasn't bothering to stop to continue talking it compelled the unwilling Cassandra to follow in order to see.

"The head of a cruel religion whose only purpose is to control the masses, not a chance. If it were under different circumstances, I'd throw a party. Good riddance to that Bitch" While he was trying to show off his good side and not seen as a threat, acting in a certain manner to blend in with this universe was essential. Describing a fictional nation for this world and a fictional history for it to go with was essential, but he also had to act like he knew things that he didn't. With his description of his people being executed, his fake story about barely surviving a bandit attack after being betrayed, it made sense for the current moment to act out angrily. If he didn't, if all he ever showed was an entirely emotionless attitude, then the others would get even more suspicious then they already were.

"You monster I bet you had something to do with the attack, didn't you. This was all a ploy by the mages to murder Divine Justinia in revenge. Know that once we seal the breach you'll be arrested and tried for your crimes". Every instinct in Cassandra demanded that she kill the young mage while she could, with his ability to teleport and his magical combat ability, he could prove a very difficult and dangerous enemy for the Inquisition. Even now those heading to the Breach could be some part of an elaborate plan by him and the prisoner. Perhaps they wished to kill her at the site where the breach had opened.

"Calm down seeker, the kids just had his entire clan slaughtered by bandits; I think being a bit angry is acceptable. Let him calm down first before you plan on chopping his head off and sticking it on a spike." Solas, on the other hand, was still curious but also suspicious. Mages could be taken by surprise enabling them to be massacred if caught unawares, however, once they had organised and fought back, bandits would have stood no chance.

"How did these bandits get the jump on you?. Valeyna noticed the brief look of approval that Solas gave her.

"We were exhausted and on the run, we didn't have the magic for a proper fight". Valeyna could understand that on many occasions, she had felt exhausted after using magic to the point she couldn't cast and had to wait for it to recover naturally or consume a lyrium potion. Mages being caught unawares without magic to help them, certainly spelt disaster for the group of people who were not trained in weaponry or martial arts. Despite this, something had to of happened if an entire group of mages were out of magic.

"And just why were your fellow mages so tired" Her voice raised, Cassandra was looking for an opening, anything that she could use as a confession to imprison the person who she now believed was responsible for killing Divine Justinia. After all, how could a mage be happy about the death of the leader of the Chantry, an innocent woman? In her mind, only treason was such an excuse. Anders had managed to run away after Kirkwall. He had used unknown powerful and destructive magic to decimate the Chantry in that city, with news of an unknown and hidden group of mages. It was very possible that these mages could have been responsible for the events that had taken place.

"We had just finished an exhausting battle and brought an end to a civil war. Most of us were killed in the final battle, all supplies and everything else was decimated. We packed what we could and escaped while we still had the opportunity in case anyone found us. "

"A civil war" Whatever Cassandra had been expecting, she had not expected to hear that. Before she could ask, Valeyna took the opportunity.

"What was the war about?"

"Nothing big, only whether or not we should have ended our isolation and conquer the world, enslaving all those who did not possess magic." Shock and disbelief was the best way to describe the look of all members of the native inhabitants of this land. They were currently trying to digest what he had said, that then changed when Valeyna frowned followed by Cassandra. Varrick, on the other hand, decided to simply remain quiet and let the kid explain his story, it sounded like a rather interesting one.

"That sounds like something a Tevinter Magister would do" There was that word again Nat noticed. Going by how it was used, he worked out that Tevinter was a place and the other word that went it when it had been brought up earlier, Imperium; made it sound like the nation was an empire. Or it tried to style itself as one. Combined with that comment by Cassandra, it appeared that in Tevinter magic gave one a high station, something that was different compared to this nation he was located in.

"The leader of this group was really big on incest. Had he won then he would have attempted to enslave the world and put races into tiers. Humans were first and foremost, only so long as you had magic. Afterwards, it was elves, then non-magic humans and elves. Dwarves were at the very bottom."

"Tsk, asshole sounds like a right old shit bag. So what's this about incest?"

"They wanted to keep the magical bloodlines "pure". There were three categories, Purebloods who were mages who had entirely magical human ancestry going back several centuries. Half-Bloods who had one mage human parent and one non-mage parent, although if your mage parent was a pureblood, then you were considered a higher breed half-blood. Finally, there were muggleborns or as our enemy preferred to call them, Mudbloods".

"Mages with no mage history in the slightest I assume" Solas shook his head after getting the confirmation of the strange mage. He had witnessed many groups who had enslaved other believing that they were better, as well as the general belief that mages were better than non-mages. Yet for a group of mages to be so caught up in themselves to classify them simply by how much magical ancestry they had was disturbing in the slightest.

"What about?" Growling ahead of them alerted the group to the demons ahead, with their conversation cut short; Valeyna was stripped away of her chance to ask questions that she wished answers. At the same time, she felt sorry for the poor child, to be in the midst of this fighting after barely escaping bandits after likely having friends and family killed in a civil war was not the best childhood a person could have. Hopefully, she wished that she would be able to ask questions.

Later

The Breach

Charred corpses that were once men and women littered the land, with expressions of terror, it wasn't a pretty sight for the five as they took in the sight ahead of them. Ahead of them in the midst of the temple was yet another set of dark green crystals that moved in and out, another portal for demons to escape the world of dreams crossing the veil taking form in the mortal world. Like a black hole in space swirling, twisting along with pulling giant boulders into its beam, the breach continued to pulse its magic.

"The breach is a long way up." Whistling from the sheer height of where the breakdown in the veil, Varrick walked over to the edge of the balcony keeping his eyes up. Nat for his part turned to face none other than Lelliana who had managed to make it through the battle bringing a small number of soldiers alongside her.

"You're here. Thank the maker" A relieved and grateful look appeared on the woman's face, one which was made more apparent when the woman saw that Valeyna was still alive. Since the woman was apparently their only way to deal with the current problem of a giant glowing hole in the sky spewing demons out, the better option was if she didn't bite the dust just yet.

Turning around, Cassandra went into her normal battle commander mode, honed from years if training and combat as a seeker. She gave out her commands to Lelliana who trusted the woman's judgement on the matter of marshalling the troops, directing them to where they had to go. The group of five shortly followed.

"Now is the hour of our victory" Deep words resounded from the rift in the centre. Freaked out at the sudden occurrence, Valeyna stopped her head rapidly moving in every direction attempting to locate the initial source of the person now speaking only to lock onto the rift. Concentrating on it for a few moments she followed on unaware of what the youngest member was concentrating.

Taking the vanguard, Nat honed in viciously towards a red glowing crystal. Halting before it, he prevented himself from glaring at the item maliciously. His magic acted in such a way that he had never experienced before in his life. Yelling, screaming at him to run away to retreat from the red rock that was ahead of him in a seemingly benign form. He was no expert on black magic or other types, let alone the magic that resided in this world, yet this crystal disturbed him.

"Malicious, corrupting, hideous, malevolent, wicked, heinous, hateful, destructive, so many words came to mind as he felt the strange substance. Yet only one was appropriate. EVIL. Utter Evil. Blacker than any dark hole, absorbing and feeding on fear and decay, nightmare fuel, corrupting all living things, violating every single natural law he knew from his planet. He had heard stories of Dementors, how they absorbed all happy memories and left nought but a dried up husk remaining, how everything around them froze like all life and happiness had been drained in the world. This was worse.

Black Magic had infected this material, feeling on it corrupting it like an unchecked virus, a plague worse than any seen before. When people spoke of evil and the monsters in fantasy stories like orcs, this was the type of thing he had imagined, yet it was far worse. It reached out, trying to worm its vile little claws into him, to corrupt and taint him into what it was. Subtly at first only ever so subtly as to make sure a person did not realise what it was trying to do, but it was still trying.

He was not so misguided as other believing that most supposed dark magic was actually dark, but this was something he would not deny. This taint this thing this Blight upon the crystal was the blackest magic he could ever envision, it revolted and shocked him to his core. While part of his magic was screaming at him to run away and escape, another part was also fighting and had won. This thing in the crystal could not be allowed to survive, like how Horcruxes infected people over time, this would do the same only to far worse ends. He drew his wand.

"Kid get away from that stuff. Its red lyrium turns you mad. Pure evil, don't touch it in the slightest if you do well" Varrick faced twitched fearfully, Meredith, his brother, all victims of the material and what it did. If red Lyrium was here, then shit was bad very, very bad. He worried especially when he saw the kid stop in front of it and stare into it, no emotion was given away, but h would not see a kid damaged by such evil especially after losing so much.

"It has to die. Such a thing violates so much. it must be destroyed, burnt never to return. It is evil incarnate, the blackest magic there is. For it to affect something like this, it needed help. We need to find that person and wipe them and this thing of the face of the planet. Permanently" Unconsciously all besides Solas stepped back. No looks of fear were given, yet for the briefest moment, they had all felt threatened, that a dangerous beast was staring it down waiting to pounce and eat them alive, and they had flinched.

Solas, in contrast, narrowed his eyes at the boy. No magic had been performed, yet the boy had somehow subconsciously scared those around him with his cool tone. He had heard such a tone before, calm, emotionless but spoke in such a way that sent shiver down one's spine and forced lesser men to look for an escape. A tone that spoke of finality and a touch of hidden anger. With the boys stick aimed towards the red Lyrium, he wondered how the boy would deal with the material.

It was cruel, evil black magic. A substance or thing that had to be destroyed now; less it consume the whole planet and corrupt it into its malevolent form and shape. It angered him to the extreme, not because of it, his own mental defences plus his strong magic were easily fighting off such a pitiful attempt, but because of what it was. Some said that wizards and witches were more in tune with nature than normal muggles, he didn't know if that was true or not, but in this case, he despised this thing. He had to destroy it, to obliterate it forever and leave no remains, to amputate now before everything else was decimated. However, he lowered his wand.

So badly did he wish to destroy it. To stop it from trying to infect him, however, he did not wipe it out. Possessing no information on the item, destroying this crystalline form it had taken on could make things worse than he knew. A blasting curse may destroy the crystal, but that did not mean it would kill the thing infecting it. In it destruction the evil could escape and infect something new, escaping its punishment.

Fiendfyre was the answer. Cursed fire was exceptionally difficult to learn, to cast, even more, to control it required immense mental strength and willpower, should it go wrong then it was disastrous. It could destroy anything, even continents if not challenged, no muggle method could fight it, only magic. Still, as he thought about hat spell and this thing in the crystal, he realised more and more that casting such a spell as feindfrye could very likely end all life on this planet. Cursed fire already challenged the mental control of the witch or wizard, all it desired to do was to burn and consume everything, to turn the world into nothing but a desolate pile of ash.

Should he cast the spell and he lose control, then he dreaded what might happen should feindfrye join and merge together with the blight in that crystal. A creature or entity of such darkness and untold destruction would be born. He so wished that he could annihilate this blight, but ultimately without knowledge, doing so would possibly spell disaster.

"Kid are you okay. Red Lyrium's really bad and I completely agree with you, but I've seen the way people act around this and you might need serious help" Peering closer, Varrick examined Nat praying silently that the boy hadn't been affected yet. There weren't any sparks or red glowing effects. "Come on, we need to carry on. Seeker once this is over I think you might want to check the kid over, remember what I told you in my story" Nodding, a serious look of concern came across the Seekers face.

"He is in perfect health Master Varrick. It appears that he is rather sensitive to magic and exposure to something like this has him concerned. He is handling himself well, just cautious. " Disturbed first by the deep booming voice echoing along the olf destroyed ruins and now a child who might be affected from some evil glowing lyrium, Valeyna walked up to Nat gently placing her hand on his shoulder. Giving him a thorough look down, she was happy to see that he looked perfectly fine.

"Solas is correct. My culture always taught us to be extremely sensitive to magic, it allows us to tell each spell apart purely by how it feels. In this case, the lyrium feels infected by something incredibly malicious. It's... not exactly a pleasant experience". Varrick scoffed sarcastically as he heard that, more and more memories of Hawke and the deep roads kept coming back to him. If only Bartand hadn't brought back that dam idol, so many needless deaths could have been avoided.

"I will have someone look over you once we return to base, perhaps your age might make you more vulnerable to the effects" Nat didn't even bother to argue with the dark-haired swordswoman, rather he just followed the rest of the group listening to the dark words said by some strange figure.

"Someone help me. What's going on here" Magic here was at its strongest besides the breach. Pushing ever so hard from the rift, Nat experienced the sensation of that green place again, desperately trying to push fourth but it was strange, Not just demons were pushing through that paper thin gateway, something else, something that felt almost but not mind magic. He was no expert on the subject, but he knew some and going by the current events, past memories seemed to be relaying due to the fracture of magic in this place.

"That was your voice. Most Holy cried out to you" A green wave moved apart dissipating before flashing brightly for a brief moment, the magic stirred bringing forth the image and memory of what happened. So lost in the new memory being played, nobody noticed the wizard as he took out his phone and activated the video function. It wasn't perfect, but if this figure with the glowing red eyes seemingly made of blazing was the one responsible, then having an image to fall back on would be useful. Soon enough the image was over with a flash of light and after a quick discussion, it was decided to open the gate to shut it.

Spewing forth from the green dimension came forth a demon, only this one was larger, taller, uglier, and far stronger looking than the ones they had fought before. One thought came to mind for the wizard. "They have a cave troll" And with the slightly odd looks granted to him by a confused Valenya, he began to battle.

Seeing its form, Nat didn't immediately go for explosive or more dangerous spells, there were too many people around that could get hurt. That didn't mean that he didn't engage the ugly fucker, however. Valeyna's eyes widened as a quick whistling ran past her ear, before her the demons large arm poised in a fist was then trapped. Large thick metal chains had bounded the demon's arms, yanking it away powerfully before sinking into the ground held firm by pure stone and rock. Soon followed by the other arm, the strange demon roared angrily as it focused on the wizard. With its arms now pinned to the floor, all others were free to attack leaving Valeyna the time needed to strike at the rifts and bring them down.

Snarling as he saw the human approach. The creature known as a pride demon growled as once again it attempted to move its arms only to no avail. Hoping to survive this encounter with the human mage, it prepared to bargain opening its mouth and at that moment a terrible mistake was made.

Boom

No mercy was given. Not wishing to give the creature any time, Nat aimed his wand and fired a cannonball straight into the creatures head pulverising it into a red gooey paste caking everyone bar him in blood. Blood rained from the hole, to ensure that the creature stayed dead, it was then promptly impaled by a great many deal of metal spears leaving it more skewered than the Turks who thought attacking Vlad the Impaler was a good idea.

A few disturbed and fearful glances were sent to him by some of the men. He could understand though, a powerful creature just brought low simply by a few spells, he would also fear one who had those powers. Solas, on the other hand, nodded slightly though with a dark and calculated look in his eye.

Finishing off the rest of the demons was simple to work and with the rift closed, Valeyna stretched her hand forwards closing the breech. With one final burst of bright light, Nat ran to the elf woman catching her in his arms as she fell backwards cold unconscious and pale.


	3. Chapter 3 A New Day

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 3 A new day**

9:41 Dragon

Haven

"They still can't decide what to do" Shaking his head tiredly; Varrick turned his attention away from the door where the three leading members of the Inquisition were debating. Cassandra, Lelliana and Cullen were currently the ones in charge of the Inquisition, and none of them could agree on what their next course of actions they should take. It had been three days since the incident at the Breach had Valeyna knocked unconscious after sealing the rift. At this present moment in time, she was still resting in a small bed located within one of the only original village structures.

"It appears that the Inquisition requires a leader, not something I assume we are going to get until the Herald of Andraste awakens". With Solas by his side, the two discussed the current scenario and how they fit into the whole plan of things. Things had mostly been quiet since closing the first, there had been no demons to face, and no battles fought, only a lot of talking and indecisiveness from the current leadership.

"How do you think she'll take it. I mean she is Dalish and all, I can't see her too happy with the thought of being the Herald of Andraste" Solas agreed with Varrick, he had contacted some Dalish since his awakening; they were not very welcoming of the human culture, although that was not entirely accurate.

"Perhaps, the Dalish have wondered for so long that their clans differ in many regards. The Heralds clan is more pro-human than others so she might be more amicable. Though I also doubt that's she will accept that title." Continuing to walk with Varrick, the two men slowly made their ways out of the main structure of their current base camp, and into the cold windy valley of Haven village.

Before them, was the new base of the fledgeling Inquisition. It wasn't much to look at, wooden palisades made up the main defence of the new base camp. Running all along the side of the small village once home to psychopathic dragon worshipers ten years ago, the spiky wooden logs that made up the walls would give very little assistance in an actual battle. If a conflict were to befall them, then the makeshift defences would easily be set alight trapping the occupants of Haven into a small closed area likely filled with smoke and flame leaving easy work for the attackers.

While the base camp had been constructed on a bit of an incline, the advantages that it gave the inquisition were very minimal mostly due to how shallow the incline was. Had the village been constructed higher into the mountains rather than at the base risking it to possible avalanches, then it may have provided a more defensible location than the one they currently possessed.

Those working for this ragtag group were hardly given appropriate quarters. All of the original buildings had been commandeered to be used as storage locations in hops od keeping materials dry. Only woollen tents held positioned in rows was all anyone bar the Herald got as a refuge. With so little entertainment to be found in the local area with all nearby going straight to the inquisition, the tavern was the most frequented building by those in the local area. Haven wasn't like Denerim or Redcliffe, it was a hamlet more than a village. Originally the before the occupants had gone insane, occupants of Haven fed themselves via the large lake nearby that housed a surprising amount of fish for its size. Additionally every now and again they had been to supplement their meals with the odd hunted animal.

Despite the prevalence of the tavern and its key job in keeping the morale up of the few men and women who were camped here. Neither of the two had seen their youngest member anywhere near the establishment let alone inside. Varrick had tried once to bring the kid in to meet some people and tell stories; however, the kid refused and instead chose the small library located inside the town hall to spend his time on his own reading books. Varric believing that despite the boys' calm attitude, that he was still hurting rather badly left him alone in peace to try and heal.

"Well, I hope she wakes up soon. The way those three argue, nothing's ever going to get done". Hours of constant talking and debating, planning and strategising as well as spy reports from Lelliana resorted to nothing as the three could not decide what their best course of action was. Varrick had tried to put in his own ideas to at least break the deadlock, hoping to stop a headache that the three caused, only for him to be utterly ignored.

"Indeed, it appears that the Herald is going to have to decide for them. Have you heard of Tempest recently?" Varrick shook his head. revealing a small amount of concern was on his face as his mind focused on the young teenager. It was actually sort of funny, the day the rift had been closed, two sets of rumours had started to circle around. Firstly there was Valeyna's with the supposed rumour that she was the Herald of Andraste who was destined to close the Breach and save the world. Then there was the kid. whose rumours while nor as grandiose and prophetic as Valeyna's, were still sort of amusing by how much they had been dramatised. According to those rumours, Tempest had killed an entire army of demons single handily with little effort.

"No, he stays pretty quiet. According to the servants, he never speaks to anyone or eats just sits there reading all day. Rumour is, the kid disappears entirely at some points." Solas blinked, as he heard that. Servants had a tendency of noticing small things that their employers didn't as well as the tendency to know a person's schedule off by heart. For a teenage mage to simply disappear for extended moments of time without a clue as to where he is, was rather strange.

"What do the Templars think about this" Looking over to the small amount of men and women who had once sworn their lives to the Chantry and the Maker, those men and women who were known as mage hunters and killers, those who had once acted as wardens of magic when they kept all mages locked up in towers and were trained to best magic, he noticed that a few gave Solas suspicious looks.

"The Templars, haha. Their shitting themselves, no matter what they try they just can't seem to find him." Solas frowned, that shouldn't have been possible.

"The Library is only a small room with a few bookshelves, how are the Templars not able to find him" Varrick shrugged but chuckled as a few memories were brought up. Cullen had once asked for his assistance in working out where the kid was in response to multiple Templars complaining about not being able to keep careful track of the strange mage with unknown magic. When he had arrived, Varrick had found the entire room filled to the brim with Templars poking everything that they possibly could that in some idea it may reveal a hidden passageway as to where the kid was hidden. Every rock had been unturned every book opened, they had even opened the large chest in the corner only to be met with an empty box. Nothing the Templars did, ever worked. Eventually, theTemplars resulted in giving up on the small believing that the kid must have been hiding somewhere else.

"Fuck if I know, but I do know a few people who would desperately want such an ability." Having shared previous conversations with Varrick before, Solas knew that the dwarf was mentioning his contacts with the Coterie and he himself was also curious about how the boy managed to so easily avoid detection from trained professionals. As for the Coterie, it was pretty obvious why they would want to learn how the boy was avoiding and frustrating the local Templar population. If the criminals could learn to so easily avoid Templars to the same proficiency as Tempest, then the Coterie would potentially be able to smuggle far more illegal merchandise then they were already.

"I assume that the Templars didn't take their embarrassment to well" Varrick chuckled again, more and more memories of annoyed and raving Templars were always a good way to lift his spirits up. With the cold harsh mountain winds and constant snowfall, a good joke was one of the best ways to keep his mind off the current weather. It was also good at keeping his mind off the fact that there was a giant green hole in the sky so close that could open up at any time giving more demons the opportunity to escape and prowl the land.

"You should have heard them at the Tavern last night. Some of them think he's some sort of ghost that haunts the local area with how elusive he is. One of the fresh ones thinks that the kids some type of test that has to be beaten before he can gain a higher rank or something. Either way, it's funny watching them piss about themselves as they keep looking for a kid who's managed to outsmart them; Hawke would find it hilarious."

"Varrick, Solas" Jumping out of his skin, Varrick whirled around quickly to face none other than the person that he and Solas had just been talking about.

"Makers balls kid, don't sneak up on a person like that." Shaking his head at his own response, Varrick made way for the younger person to walk past them. "The Templars want to speak to you" In all honesty, Varrick didn't know alerting the kid that the mage hunters were looking for him was a good idea especially when he had seen what Templars did to people who helped escaped mages. On the other hand, the kid seemingly had a natural ability to hide from those who wanted to keep an eye on him and ask him questions.

"I know. I'm going to check on Valeyna, make sure that mark of hers isn't acting up" Over the past three days, multiple people had checked over Valeyna as she slept. Her first observer had been Solas who with his extreme knowledge of the Fade had been the logical choice. After Solas was Cassandra and Cullen, while not mages themselves, they knew a decent amount of magic being a seeker and a former Templar respectively. Finally, Nat was given leave to analyse and make observations. What was not known to the others, was that it was he who was the one that checked up on her the most albeit when nobody was looking.

In keeping with his fake story, Nat had stayed away from the rest of the group instead preferring to keep to the small library. It wasn't large with only a few bookshelves, the room had probably been utilized for storage or as an office until someone had the bright idea to fill it full of books. While certainly limited, the library had enough books on multiple subjects giving him a gateways knowledge of this world, but it was enough. Thinking in retrospect of the current era, he likely knew far more about the history of this world than most ordinary people simply due to his ability to read. Thank Merlin the books had been ever so conveniently written in English.

Inevitably, there had been a lot to learn. Names of nations, continents, people, battles, events, dates, politics, all of these things he had to learn. He had thoroughly enjoyed it however, history had always been his favourite subject and being able to look at this world with his different viewpoint was like looking at a fictional world, noticing flaws and innovative ideas. Sometimes while he was reading, he felt like a person who was watching a tv show based on original books, every now and again a small thing would come up and it was like he knew what was going to happen next. Be that as it may, he had other goals for discovering Thedas through literature other than to satisfy his own curiosity. Joining the inquisition even if the organisation had not yet been fully formed yet, required him to know of things that while his fake story could provide excuses for were not without flaw.

Having observed Solas, he recognised that the man like himself gave approval to those of a curious nature and learned all there could be about a subject before making a decision. He was new to this world and he held his own bias towards the world. Reading between the lines of the words of the Chantry as their authors spoke about demons and other creatures were easy, like all they tried to persuade the readers to join their side on certain issues. Demons and spirits were always reviled, in the eyes of the Chantry they were evil, destructive, and other words that one would use to describe demons. Not that he believed it, of course, the Chantry was heavily biased as was all religious dogma, and with no time to test all that was stated by the Chantry he would rather learn about demons from the man who was apparently an expert on the Fade. Well, he would later, learning the essentials of this world was his first priority. Only afterwards, could he take the time to discuss the finer points in long conversations with Solas and other experts. For now, he had to use this new information to make sure his fake story held firm and strong to the poking and prodding it would receive.

Already, Lelliana had dispatched spies to try and collaborate his story. He had been pressed once already by one as to where his people had sheltered themselves away from the rest of society. In keeping to his story and act, he refused to give any details, giving off the illusion that he didn't want people especially templars ransacking the corpses of his people. That had been on the first day soon after he and the others had arrived at this makeshift base camp, by now spies had likely swept the local area for any and all hints in an attempt to still discover his people's location with or without his help.

Had his and Lellianas positions been reversed, He would do the exact same in the spymaster's case. He was not only an unknown like Solas and Valeyna, but he was the most unique of the unknowns. Solas was an elf and possessing strange magic and knowledge of the Fade, Valeyna was a mage of one of the Dalish clans. He, on the other hand, was apparently part of a hidden society of mages that was incredibly isolationist, a group which nobody had heard of.

In truth, he wished he had chosen a better story, a lie based on that he was the child of an apostate was far more realistic than the one he had originally give. For all that though, he had known nothing of this world added with his concerns of entering the mind of another person with Solas around, he was forced to make something up that he could lie reasonably well with. Hence he had chosen to use his actual backstory as much as he could to achieve these ends.

Even then, while an apostate story was believable, some would still inquire about his choice of clothing. Had he used the story of being an apostate, questions would still be asked as to where he had gotten such a strange set of apparel. Modern clothing was not something one saw in Thedas, especially not sunglasses which a few servants imagined was a new although off design hailing from Orlais. Still, even then, many things gave him off as being unique.

After his odd clothing which was blatantly the most obvious, the magic that he had used to dispatch the pride demon came second. Creation magic was known here, but it required such finesse skill and talent, that anyone capable of using creation magic for more than a basic healing skill were in very high demand. In contrast, Creation magic was far more common on earth. While not everybody could do it to the same high standards, most wizards and witches could make a large varied amount of items. As he had now learned, because of his flagrant use of creation magic when fighting the demons, the Templars were getting rather twitchy around him. It was only made worse when they were informed that he had dispatched a pride demon who were considered some of the most powerful demons with two spells.

Naturally, the Templars wanted to get him under control very quickly. They were used to the normal spells that a mage might throw at them, on the other hand, a young mage who can quite easily shoot cannonballs or big chunks of iron that just rips through armour was something entirely different. Without the use of gunpowder, very few if any non-magical opponents would hope to stand a chance against him.

Making his way to his target, out of the corner of his eye, he paid attention to the few Templars located around camp. Nonstop they had been searching for him, hoping to bring him in for questioning to tell them where he had grown up. Avoiding them was unbelievably easy, all that he needed was a not notice me spell on himself that was designed around Templars. Servants, soldiers and others would still see him when he walked past or were in sight, however, the Templars eyes would just slide off him. It wasn't a perfect method when a servant trying to be helpful told a Templar where he was, they had a tendency of spotting him. When that incident occurred, he then had to quickly make his way to a group of people blending in with them throwing off the Templars. His other two options available to him were illusion charms giving him an entirely different appearance or to cast a powerful camouflage spell making him nearly invisible. At first thought, both of those sounded like a better idea, however, when a person thought about it in a little more depth, it was more apparent that it would be less successful. Templars would more than likely be more used to illusion spells than to a not notice me spell, with how often they deal with magic, they would likely notice disparities.

Valeyna had it much worse than he did though. The Dalsih mage was still asleep in her bed and had been for the last three days, nevertheless, there had already been nonstop requests from some of the Templars to be given access to Valeyna so they could"have a look at her". Of course, when they said look at, they likely meant kill. Magic in this world was drawn from the fade where demons resided, from that place, demons were occasionally able to possess mages and take over their bodies turning them into abominations. With Valeynas strange glowing mark unwillingly connecting her to the fade in such a way that it left her the only one capable of shutting the strange rifts, she was considered more at risk than others.

Solas and he were also at risk of the Templars, they had only been allowed to wander free as it was, because they were working or appeared to be working for the Inquisition. Others, however, had ignored the directives from the higher ups and tad taken to trying to hound him. He wasn't very fond of it, even if all their attempts failed miserably. Unfortunately, he could see that with current events a scenario would break out that would ultimately lead to violence and a whole lot of dead Templars. He wouldn't feel sorry for the Templars if that occurred, just slightly irritated that he would be gazed upon with more suspicion then he was already treated with.

As he headed down the old stone steps, walking quickly through the camp, his eyes constantly moved side to side analysing anything and everything in his vision whether it be the smallest rock or the most heavily armed Templar. In the case of a fight, knowing one's surroundings could be the difference between life or death. In his observations, he noted what he could summon quickly if needed to and also who the most dangerous people to him were located which were Templars.

Avoiding the Templars was an easy enough task, with a modified not notice me spell on himself, it prevented the Templars from being able to recognise him. It wasn't an invisibility spell, but rather the Templars eyes would always overlook him, they'd see him and get out of the way but as far as they were concerned, he was just a random servant.

His mind turned to Valeyna however. Besides Solas, he had a feeling that the woman was very important in his plans to get home. Not because Valeyna may hold knowledge that Solas didn't, the woman was young while Solas was a several millennia old elf misdirecting those who asked about his age. Rather Valeynas mark was what he cared about. Potentially the glowing green thing on her hand was the thing he needed to get back into the Fade physically. The past three days, he had spent learning the lore of this world hadn't been for nothing. When he had first arrived in this world, he had ever so briefly been in the fade which was where he would most likely permanently stayed had it not been for the Breach.

Undoubtedly, It was a very lucky thing for him that he had arrived during a time when the breach was threatening to destroy the veil, it allowed him to pass through the land of dreams and ideas into the physical world. Had he not, he would be trapped wondering the fade physically looking for any way to get back and certainly without finding the one person he needed to learn from to achieve his goals. Thanks to the knowledge he had gained these last few days, he had come to the understanding that if he ever wished to return home, then first he had to physically enter the fade. Only this was far harder to do than say, there was only one way to do this according to the history books.

Blood magic of undeniable power, knowledge and sacrifice would be required. The only recorded time of a person entering the fade physically and coming back were the Magisters of the Tevinter Imperium. Thousands of years ago they had sacrificed, unimaginable amounts of slaves and lyrium to what he could only assume was to create a tear in the fade so deeply that it would rip a large enough hole enabling the Magisters le them to physically walk into the home of demons and spirits.

Nat on the other hand head none of these things. He did have some knowledge of blood magic, but not what the Chantry usually referred to as blood magic, it was more for blood wards or blood contracts. Blood magic in the sacrifice sense was highly illegal and a one way trip to Azkaban back home. Not to mention, he had no desire to learn magic that could do what those magisters did. He vehemently wanted to get home and was willing to sacrifice something's to get it but to do magic like what the Magisters had done, to wastefully sacrifice hundreds if not thousands of lives revolted him.

He wasn't a very empathetic person. Nevertheless, that did not mean he wished to kill people. If using the method that the Magisters utilized was the only way to return home, then he would not take such a step. He would rather stay in this world then go down that path, magical history on Earth had shown what had happened when time and again wizards started to walk down those types of paths. The results were never good. It was for this reason why he needed to keep a careful eye on the young woman.

That green sparking mark on her hand had allowed her to close the rifts. With time and by some hopeful chance, if he was capable of learning how her mark worked, then he may one day replicate it for his own use. It was a far greater idea then copying the methods of media old psychopathic gecko loving cultists He point blank utterly refused to butcher so many people just so he could enter the fade. Realistically, he knew that he should not expect much, creating interdimensional portals was well beyond his knowledge. Perhaps if he had been employed as an unspeakable for several years he would know of better courses to take, but he wasn't an unspeakable, he was a duelist. As much as he did not desire to think about it, most likely he would be trapped here in Thedas, far from his beloved island home.

For even a chance of going home, he needed to learn Ancient elven magic. However, he only ran into more and more problems. Solas may know the magic he would require but there was no guarantee, that he did or that besides possessing strong magic, that Solas had worked or knew anything of the magic he necessitated to learn. If Solas did, then was he even able to cast it, he had not yet experimented in trying to summon up magic from the fade. He knew not if it was possible, perhaps a person needed a connection to it which was likely only given to those were birthed in this world. Perhaps, a connection tot he fade could be inherited, yet even on the very slim chance that he carried the smallest trace of Elven blood, that was all it was, a trace, nothing useful. Finally, was he even powerful enough to cast such a spell without destroying his body, according to the books written by a Dalish elf who had decided to live in the city, spells could sometimes take years to cast if legends were true. His mind constantly questioned and theorised, but for now, he had to focus on more important issues.

After a small amount of weaving through pitched cloth tents, avoiding rushing servants as they performed their duties and the more boisterous soldiers of the Inquisition as they left the small tavern, he arrived outside Valeyna's small hut. Old but sturdy, the hut was one of the few surviving original haven buildings. Currently, it was used to store a number of objects if only because there wasn't that much room to give entire structures to people, but it was better than what other people got. Pushing the door open gently, he walked inside.

Internally the hut wasn't much to look at and especially not one would assume that the supposed Herald of Andraste would reside in. A few candles that were lit away from the wooden walls, illuminating the room assisting the small glass window in allowing light in. Next to the window, lay four wolf pelts that had been hunted by some of the soldiers a few days earlier and pinned to the wall as a tribute to the Maker. Next to the window, was a small bookshelf that while nothing compared to the admittedly tiny library, could give Valeyna something to read in her spare time, personally though Nat preferred to use his Kindle for reading. For its small and limited use, Valeyna's new residence was cosy, however, he would never wish to live here. He'd already seen the excuse for toilets that the medieval world went by, a giant ditch in the ground, nothing compared to the utter magnificence of flushing loos. Thank Merlin for magical portable apartments.

Located in the left-hand corner at the other end of the hut, was where Valeyna was sleeping gently. Resting on a rather comfortable looking bed made with expensive materials like satin or he thought it was satin, bed materials wasn't the type of things he cared to know about. In any case, the bed contrasted the rest of the room with its fine elegant appearance, dark blue in colour with golden embroidered images, the bed looked like it was fit for a person of very high social standing.

As for Valeyna herself, she was perfectly fine if still asleep and resting from her ordeal. She'd been washed and cleaned as well as stripped of her clothing and put in more casual wear. Now dressed in a cream beige jacket that covered her entire body with multiple gold things that had been stuck in her jacket, the woman's clothing did suit the colder temperature here.

Standing beside her bed, he paid close attention to the woman's delicate closed eyes. If the woman were to wake up, he'd rather have a few extra seconds to create a good excuse as to why he was in there with her all on his own.

Placing her arm gently in his hand, gracefully he pried open the woman's fingers leaving her palm bare. Taking out his wand silently, he cast a diagnostic spell. With the two of them being alone and not under any pressure from prying eyes, he was able to take the time he needed to examine the hologram that appeared. He focused his attention on the right hand of the hologram.

From a muggle perspective, everything appeared fine. There were no injuries to report of since they had been healed once he had gotten Valeyna woman back to the base camp. On the other hand, the same couldn't be said for her magical anatomy. Over the last three days and constant checkups on Valeyna, he'd manage to learn enough about this worlds magical biology to create at least a basic report. She was fine mostly, she still had an invisible connection to the fade enabling her to pull forth magic from it and shape it to her will, however, another bond had been created tying her mark to the Fade.

Unfortunately for Valeyna, this new tether didn't bring any advantages for the elf at all besides being able to close rifts. In fact, it was rather the complete opposite. Valeyna's body seemed to be struggling with the mark, for now, it was doing fine and subconsciously she was flooding magic from the fade into her mark to keep it under control exactly like how white blood cells worked, but he doubted it would last.

Parasitical was the term that really came to mind, feeding off her magic and body, the mark required either sustenance or because of it being foreign it was fighting Valeynas body. He'd heard stories about people who had organ transplants and once they had them that they need to take all sorts of drugs to make sure that a person's body didn't reject the new organ and try to kill them; he believed it could be much the same case here that Valeyna was going through alongside the mark leeching life off her. He'd help if he knew how, however, he didn't know how and while he had learned more about how mages operated their magic, he wasn't entirely sure that his theories were correct. Also even if he was correct, he wouldn't know what to do let alone how to do it properly, he would more likely ending up killing the new Herald of Andraste than saving her.

Either way, he knew that her mark would kill her if it could not be removed or handled with the magical equivalent of drugs. If Solas who was by far the most knowledgeable on this worlds magic that he knew, stated that he was unable to provide assistance for Valeyna, then the chance of a cure was minuscule. His own healing skills were of no assistance being geared towards injuries or magic that he knew, not for undeniably rare magic from an alien world. Truthfully, he felt sorry for the beautiful elf, If it was to happen to him in his world, then he would go to either a healer or an unspeakable. Ultimately Valeyna did not have the same options available to her and unless some form of cure could be found, the woman would die painfully as the mark killed her slowly.

Noticing a momentary flicker on the woman's eyes, he dropped his healing spell and let go of Valeyna's soft hand before standing up by her bed. More flickering of the eyes occurred, finally, eyelids opened showcasing those beautiful bright blue orbs that the woman had as eyes to the world. Eyes which promptly locked on him as the first thing they saw.

"Good morning sleeping beauty did you sleep well" Eyes widening as Valeyna recognised the strange mask wearing face of the young teenager, Valeyna went to sit up suddenly but felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Not so fast, you may have healed from the last battle, but I would suggest taking things slow to allow yourself to recover a bit and take things in". Removing his arm, Nat watched behind his sunglasses as Valeyna took his advice moving slower as she sat up in bed before turning her attention fully on him.

"Thank you" Nodding as a response, Nat took a seat on the bed next to the woman as she moved her feet down making room for him.

"Don't mention it. A lot of things have happened since you've been asleep; now that you're awake I'll fill you in. I don't particularly think you want to just burst out those doors all confused now. Ask away." A gentle but thankful smile appeared on Valeyna's face at least until she looked down and saw that she was not wearing her own clothing, but rather something different entirely. She came to the conclusion soon enough, however, that somebody must have washed and looked after her while she slept.

"The breach did we seal it?"

"I'm afraid not. You managed to stop it from spreading, however, the breach still exists. On the other hand, it's stopped spewing demons forth. Frowning, Valeyna brought her hand to her eyes rubbing the tiredness out of them.

"You said a lot has happened since the Breach, how long has it been exactly.?"

"Three days, the servants bathed and clothed you as well as keeping that hair of yours in reasonable condition" Touching the back of her head, Valeyna ran her fingers through her ponytail frowning as she felt more and more things wrong with it. With a sour face, she realised that she was going to have to put it right.

"What exactly happened while I was asleep?"

"Well after you collapsed from your sealing the rift, I caught you and carried you down to Haven which is where we're currently located. When we arrived, rumours had already spread and taken hold of you being the Herald of Andraste. As such, you are now considered a sacred holy person who will take the fight to the Fade and close it forever." Shocked didn't cover how Valeyna was taking the news, the idea that some people would call her the Herald of some human god when she was Dalish.

"But why they do know that I'm Dalish, I don't worship their god" Valeyna could only think about her clan, she had been sent away to spy on the conclave to make sure that nothing happened would affect the Dalish too badly. It had gone terribly with her being the only survivor of the conclave explosion and being taken, prisoner. But to be considered some sort of Human holy figure was even worse.

"As far as their concentred, only the chosen one could survive the conclave attack, and that's without mentioning the fact that you're the only one capable of closing the rifts. There's nothing that you'll be able to say to these people that will make them think otherwise. They've even forgotten your name entirely and everyone is just calling you Herald now. Not that you can escape it, there are a few templars here, and they've been keeping a very close eye on you, Solas and I. If you attempted to leave now, you'd either be arrested or considered a traitor and once that news gets around, its highly likely that should you leave, that your clan would be hunted down and executed". Horror and despair went through Valeyna, she was trapped in this old human village and was now a holy figure who was a prisoner in all but name only.

"What do the others think, Varrick, Solas, Cassandra" Nat shook his head forcing Valeyna to sigh.

"Everyone is calling you Herald bar me, I doubt Solas believes that you really are the Herald. Solas is of the opinion that powerful magic had been used to cause the calamity, but with the current story going around, he's calling you that to make sure he doesn't stand out too much. The Chantry isn't a fan of apostates let alone strange ones like him. Varrick's not sure entirely, but since you have a fancy title as he puts it, he's going to refer to you as Herald. Cassandra, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. As far as she's concerned, only the Maker could have saved you from the events that happened on top of that mountain. She thinks it's your destiny to save the world on word of the Maker".

Sighing again, Valeyna tried to stare into the teenager's eyes hoping to try and read him only she was entirely unable to as that strange mask on his face prevented from seeing the way his eyes' moved. Still, she was grateful that he was taking the time to explain things to her before it got out of hand, she could only have imagined the confusion she would have felt if she had just woken up all on her own.

"What do you think Nat?"

"Magic was involved there's no doubt of that. We're likely dealing with an extremely powerful and knowledgeable mage who is likely from Tevinter. As for my personal feelings about you becoming the so-called Herald, Not for a moment. There is no evidence in the slightest that beings such as the Maker or your gods exist in the form that people believe" Valeyna narrowed her eyes at the casual dismissal of her gods, she was used to such things from the few humans she had encountered, with people believing that the Maker was the one true God and that she should be killed as a filthy heretic for believing in the Creators. Perhaps she had been naive when she had asked him hoping that he might have his own gods to believe in with his separate culture, but apparently, she was wrong.

"You don't believe in gods at all" Nat shook his head.

"No. The old Tevinter gods were just powerful dragons, when the Blights came they got corrupted and led the darkspawn hordes. They might have been old, but they were still overgrown Geckos." Blinking rapidly, Valeyna had to do a double take as she heard that comment. Nat had just called the Archdemons, creatures who led the legions of dark evil monsters spawned from the depths of the Deep Roads, who had savaged Thedas on multiple occasions slaughtering and massacring thousands on different occasions nearly ending the world on multiple occasions due to their corruption, Geckos. Replaying the comment through her head, she could only imagine what would have happened to the person who had called the Archdemon a Gecko; surely that person would have been tortured painfully.

"Then what about our creators, what do you think the old Elvhen gods were" She spoke slowly, not entirely sure if she wanted an answer, however, she was curious about this boy. Besides, she liked to talk about her culture, with her now apparently part of an inquisition where she was the only Dalish, it was nice to talk to someone about usual things even if it only were an argument.

"Extremely old and powerful mages. According to your legends, your race was once immortal and practised magic far more regularly then you do now. It's not so hard to imagine that your gods were just extremely powerful mages who grew gained the title of god due to their exploits". While he spoke Nat's mind turned to the multiple sets of gods that were on Earth. There were far too many for him to count preferring to stay to the ones that were more known in Western culture which was the Greek/Roman, Norse and Egyptian.

At some points in history, they had all been worshipped as gods and considered to be incredibly powerful beings that ruled over large dominions such as the seas or skies. In truth, however, if the gods ever did exist, then they would have simply been exceptionally powerful wizard and witches born with more magical gifts' than the common witch or wizard. Without any sort of physical proof that the Elven gods existed in the forms they did, the only logical excuse he could think off was that they would have just been powerful mages.

"That's... an interesting point of view. Did your people ever believe in gods once?" Catching her mouth, Valeyna's eyes went wide as she realised that she had just asked the boy about his dead people so soon after losing them all. "I'm sorry didn't mean to cause you any offence." Nat waved her off casually.

"Don't worry about it, I've accepted what has happened. It's time for me to move on, besides informing others about our way of life may help to preserve it just like you Dalish do." Valeyna wanted to say that she didn't feel guilty, however as the younger man showed no emotion preferring to always keep his face blank preventing her picking up any clues, she didn't know if the boy had been offended and was keeping quiet out of politeness, or if he was secretly hurting deep inside. Hoping to show that she was sorry for her words she went to place her hand on his shoulder, only for him to get up of the bed as she went to touch him causing her to frown.

"Sorry, are you okay. I can't imagine how it must feel to be in your position"

"As I said before, don't worry about it. I moved away because I don't like people touching me. As for your question, it depended on the individual. Older and more traditional families didn't believe in gods, the general belief among them was that they were powerful mages who found a way to extend their lifetime. Others, on the other hand, some did believe in gods although their pantheons changed depending on the family". Flickering her eyes, Valeyna found herself more curious about the boys past, she thought to ask more before then remembered that she had originally been speaking to the teenager about the past events since the rift had been sealed.

"What makes you think that the person responsible was from Tevinter" Leaning against the door, Nat remembered all the things he had learned in those books that had been stationed in that small makeshift library. Information was lacking and it certainly wasn't enough to give him the full view of things, however, there was enough on the basic world to allow him to understand what was going on and by extension, to make an analysis of the situation he and the elf mage found themselves in.

"Several factors, first there was the fact that to cause an explosion of such power as to level a mountaintop, a person would need vast supplies of Lyrium and Magic. With the tight-knit security that was around the conclave before the fireworks started, that meant that a solid group effort was needed requiring spies, agents and large amounts of money to bribe people to move the lyrium. Also to get the amount of lyrium needed, large sums would be needed which is far more than the Mages can afford with the current civil war. That type of cash is only found by incredibly wealthy individuals, only Tevinter has that sort of cash and connections as to be able to make such a purchase. Added to that, is the fact that incredibly powerful blood magic was used. The Templars search ruthlessly for blood mages in southern Thedas, While possible I doubt that a mage in southern Thedas would have been able to find the time a tutor capable enough to teach such spells, you need a lot of safety to try magic on that scale. Then there is the fact, that this was staged, no group could have just committed such an act on a whim without suddenly getting caught, whoever did this had been planning it for a while".

"You think Tevinter is possible" The more she went through the analysis, the more Valeyna began to see what the boy was seeing. It had taken a great deal of work for her to infiltrate the conclave and that was just as a lone elf not carrying anything suspicious, if she would to try and carry out an attack of such magnitude like what had happened at the Conclave, then she would require far more power as well as other things.

"Not directly, more along the lines of whoever carried out the attack had to have been raised in Tevinter as a mage. Only Tevinter fits the criteria of being able to raise such a powerful mage to carry out an attack. If we are dealing with a Tevinter mage, then I have a theory as to what they were trying to attempt" That was news to Valeyna, while she had only woken up, she hadn't had the slightest clue as to who could have carried out the attack what their connections were or why a person would even want to carry out such a destructive attack in the first place. On the other hand, this strange young mage was creating some credible siding theories.

"What do you think happened?"

"Going on the assumption of a Tevinter mage, I would say that whoever was responsible wanted to tear a hole in the veil so badly that they would be able to physically enter the Fade". Looking at him curiously, Valeyna couldn't help but think that the idea was a bit farfetched, sure blood magic was dangerous and had a tendency of creating small gaps in the veil enabling spirits and demons to slip through, but to want to physically enter the fade. However she desired any type of idea or theory even as outlandish as the one the boy suggested, it was better than sitting and stewing as she tried to think about it.

"Why would they want to enter the Beyond?"

"Three reasons come to mind, some delusional idiot wanted to try and recreate what the old Magisters did and reach the black city, or their plan was to perhaps harness the power of the fade itself since that is where magic resides. Finally, there is always the possibility that they wanted to try and find someone or something in the Fade and bring it back with them. Whatever they hoped to archive, they sacrificed all those at the temple under the illusion that so many dead mages, templar's and the divine would create a large enough rift to accomplish their goals. Only they failed when you entered the fray receiving that mark on your arm when your attacker should have gained it themselves. Which in that case, congratulations you saved the world. I'd give you a trophy but I don't have one".

"So the danger hasn't passed" If it weren't for the fact that he kept a blank face up at all times, Nat would have given the elf an incredulous look. He had no idea what had happened at the conclave, he was just putting together a theory that sounded possible by analysing the facts and trying to deduce things into a more logical explanation. For all he knew, he could be wrong on every account and his wrong assumptions could cost the Inquisition later down the line. On the other hand, it was a lead that could be worked off and one that could be acted around until more light came to bear on the current predicament.

"Not really no. If anything, things have just begun. However back to topic. There are three/four main people currently in charge of the Inquisition right now. Lelliana the redhead who we met a few days ago is the spymaster. Cullen who as I've gathered by the appreciative glances that some of the women give him, is the leader of the Inquisitions army. Josephine is the one in the weird bright frilly dresses, She serves as the main ambassador of the inquisition. Finally, Cassandra who is the leader of the Seekers of truth is attempting to lead the Inquisition, but she's not getting anywhere and will likely back down. As for they should do, they can't agree on it and are subconsciously at least, hoping that you will take charge."

"Me, they expect me to take charge after making me their prisoner?" Looking at the door, Valeyna pondered the idea of trying to run away while she could and return to her clan. Perhaps she might even take the teenager with her; he had proven useful in a fight easily dealing with that pride demon even if it was in an unusual way, having his assistance could help. Then again she knew he was right, the Chantry didn't like the Dalish and when it was inevitably revealed that she had run, her entire clan would be hunted and she herself would likely be taken prisoner again only this time with far more force.

"I'm afraid so. I will say however that Cassandra wanted to speak to you as soon as you woke up." Sighing, Valeyna went to get up when she saw the boy bring out his wand. She didn't act if Nat had wanted to kill or harm her, he had ample opportunity by now, more than likely he might be trying to cast a healing spell on her. She was proved wrong out of that assumption when Nats actions revealed a different intent. With a flick of the boy's wrist, a glass cup appeared out of nowhere before she could ask how he had accomplished such a spell, she then saw him point his strange stick into the glass where water burst forth filling it entirely. Then he handed it over to her.

Gently taking the glass, she raised it carefully to her eye. Inspecting the strange item that had appeared from nowhere and was still in her hand, she wondered how the teenager had so easily managed to make such a thing with but a very simple flick of that stick of his. Creation magic was incredibly difficult to perform, and primal magic came in either Fire, Ice, Lightning and Earth, she had never once seen a person create water. Soon her eyes locked onto the water leaving her slightly stunned. Flawless in its colour, the water was singlehandedly the purest she had ever seen during her life, crystal clean with not a single piece or a flake of dirt, only pure water. Tenderly she pressed the glass to her lips before she began drinking. It was good, very good. Water was not the best-tasting thing in the world, actually, the drink had no taste, but after being unconscious for three days her lips and throat had been rather parched. As the water poured down her throat hastily, she looked down to see that Nat had also presented her another item that was brown in colour.

"Not the best thing to eat after being unconscious for three days, but it should hold you over for a short meeting with Cassandra to allow you to get something proper to eat." In Nats outstretched hand was a strange of that she had heard about before, however, had never been able to try. Known as Chocolate, Valeyna had heard about such things from a servant she had met once whilst visiting a human city to gather supplies. She remembered how the elf had stated that the food was incredibly expensive and was therefore restricted only to the nobility of Thedas, and now here she was being offered some of the food herself. She wondered quietly to herself if Nat had been a noble where he had come from. Gratefully she accepted it.

It was strange as she looked at it, wrapped in some type of very thin metal or what looked like metal, she would ask Nat later. Divided into four sections, carefully she broke one off where she then brought it to her nose to sniff the food. Internally, Nat was amused as he watched Valeyna investigate the chocolate carefully, he knew he shouldn't be surprised, he was in the equivalent of the medieval era and whilst chocolate had been invented, it was not at the point of mass production. Watching her move it towards her teeth, he rolled his eyes internally before intervening.

"Its a kit-kat, it's not going to bite." Taking the plunge so to speak, Valeyna popped the chocolate into her mouth and bit down biting through the chocolate covered wafer and began tasting the strange food. Suddenly a smile lit up on her face and a small moan escaped her mouth as she savoured the rather rare and delectable taste. "I'm going to head outside, let you change in peace. Once you're finished with the wrapper and glass just hand them back to me" With that said, Nat headed out of the small shack leaving the Herald of Andrate to eat chocolate, drink fresh clean water and to get changed. After about twenty minutes of playing angry birds on his iPhone, the door opened revealing Valeyna now dressed back in her own green woollen clothes that she had arrived at Haven in.

"Thank you for that, we should go speak to Cassandra, she'll likely want to hear your ideas on whose responsible" Nat doubted that, Cassandra being the experienced woman she was, didn't really want to talk to him about what he thought. He'd offered the woman to talk once about his theory, however, Cassandra had simply said that she was too busy and that she doubted that there was anything that he could think off that they hadn't. On the other hand with Valeyna here, he'd likely get a word in if only due to Valeyna mentioning his theories to the group.

"Just a warning, there's a small group of Templars here; they've been trying to follow any mage around like they own the place and specifically they've been curious about you and I. There's a chance that they may try to harass us on the way here once they realise that you're awake". At the mention of Templars, Valeyna narrowed her eyes. With how the group worked and especially with the mages now in open rebellion against the Chantry, the Templar's had taken it as an excuse to kill any mage whatsoever. She had already received reports that some Dalish clans had been attacked by nearby Templar's. Being so close to them didn't sit well with her and neither did it with Nathanael it seemed. Before they moved on to where Nat was going to lead Valeyna, he flicked his wand which had found its way back into his hand causing the empty glass and strange wrapper to vanish instantaneously, where Valeyna didn't know but ti did raise more questions she had about the strange magic that Nat wielded.

They tried to stay out of sight, avoiding the main paths, not speaking, refusing to look people in the eyes, but none of it worked. Mostly because at this point, Nats appearance was rather distinctive, pure black against backgrounds of white brown and beige forcing the two of them to stand out amongst the crowd. Once spotted, the true annoyance began. Soldiers, servants, priests and others began to what Nat assumed was the equivalent of bowing or whatever the proper mark of respect was. The people crossed their arms over their chest and then bowed slightly to Valeyna which was then promptly followed by ever more whispering.

"That's her, the Herald of Andraste, she closed the breach"

"I heard she was supposed to close the entire thing"

"The Chantry doesn't want anything to do with us"

Ignoring the group, both magic users kept their eyes squared on the large stone building that had once been the town hall of the dragon worshipping villagers ten years previous. As the largest building, it was optimum to act as a keep for the group, ultimately though, Nat didn't think Haven was a good location to be in the slightest.

It wasn't defensible, not as it was now. Palisades could easily be burnt down especially when magic was involved. Nobody had the bright idea yet as to dig a trench around the outside or to attach scaffolding to the Palisades to create platforms for archers. Added to this, was that there no escape route, which when combined with the fact that they were at the bottom of a mountain, meant that all an enemy would have to do would be to cause an avalanche and all bar him would die from being crushed under hundreds of tons of snow and ice.

Haven made okay for a forward assault base that was close enough to deal with the breach, nevertheless, if he was in charge he would start looking for a more fortified location. He seriously doubted that whoever had orchestrated the attack on the conclave had died. Rather, it was far likely that the opposite had occurred. If it was him in the attacker's position, he would retreat to gather his forces and strike small targets first to weaken the Inquisition and distract it. With the Inquisition distracted, he'd gather information on their group to see how strong they were and where they were based, as well as the strength of these defences. Then when nobody was expecting it, he'd attack the inquisition before it had the time to grow strong enough to rival him.

That was him, however, if an enemy was able to pull off the strike at the conclave, then they would likely be working on a different set of tactics to prevent the enemy from preparing against him. As he was not a general and his knowledge of war and tactics was from reading a few books notably the Art of War, he could only guess and analyse situations in hopes of thinking of a possible enemy strategy, and by extension, how to counter it effectively.

Finally, after wading through the countless throngs of religious people who were showing their respect to the person they considered their holy one. The two of them managed to make their way inside the old building and march straight through the cobbled stone floor to the back end where already they could hear the growing voices and shouting of those within the war room only. next. Only this time it seemed that Roderick had joined them. What joy. Pushing open the door, Nat and Valeyna entered.

Standing guard vigilantly on the inside of the meeting were two Templars. Dressed in their heavy late mail, winged helmets and with swords strapped to their belts, they helmets tilted in the direction of the one person they had been trying to hunt down nonstop since learning about his presence. Dagging their hand down in what they considered to be a subtle movement towards their swords, they were stopped by the commanding yet the warning voice of Leliana.

"Let them pass".

With not so hidden reluctance, the warriors of the Chantry did what they were told and went back to their standing positions albeit with their eyes keeping careful track of the boy and Herald. Despite his severe dislike for the Templar order and what it represented, Nat perfectly understood the actions of the Templars. In their shoes, he would do the same, didn't mean he would save one of them even if they were on the verge of death or being tortured.

"Cassandra can you please tell the Templars to leave me alone. It's becoming a nuisance of having to deal with such people, at the current rate someones going to get killed." Quite frankly, the Templars reminded Nat far too much of Witch Burnings of centuries past only far more successful on the Anti-Magic side. Despite wanting to stay out of the current mage Templar civil war, if he was dragged into it, then he'd butcher every last Templar there was and leave no survivors.

"How dare you threaten members of the Templar Order mage, I order you Templars to take these two to Val Royeux to await execution".

"Disregard that and leave us" Roderick glared as the Templar's obeyed Cassandra's orders, then he glared at the boy who had so openly threatened their lives. Nat, on the other hand, was of the opinion that the templar's got off lucky. If they had dared to attack him, they'd be dead, very, very dead. And Roderick, he'd be screaming for death by the time he'd be finished with him. Very few people pissed to piss him off just on principle without doing anything to him first, one was journalists. Those fuckers never left him alone trying to follow up on his every action constantly asking for interviews and constantly trying it interfere with his private life. Then there were Templar's, those fuckers kept attempting to stalk him if it weren't for the not notice me spells, a few of them would already have their heads on a spike decorating the walls of this once quaint village. Quite frankly as it was if he was told that a Templar was killed he'd celebrate and if he was forced to fight one to the death, he knew less-direct spells that would kill a person slowly and painfully. He had no mercy for the filth that was Templars.

"You walk a dangerous line seeker" Hatred boiled in the room between Cassandra and Roderick something that was made evident when the seeker walked up to the man staring him directly in the face.

"The breach is stable, but still a threat. I will not ignore it"

"I did everything I could to close the Breach. It almost killed me" Interrupting the current glare fest going on between the Seeker of Truth and Chancellor Roderick, Valeyna hoped to try and calm the tension before people got hut.

"Yet you live. A convenient excuse, insofar as you're concerned". At this point, Nat was tempted to bang his head against the wall due to the sheer stupidity that this man possessed. Was it so hard for the man to realise that to close the multiple rifts that had been reported all around southern Thedas, that they would need Valeyna. If she was executed, there would be no way to close the rifts leaving the entire continent open for demons to just walk through whenever they so desired. If that were to occur, it would be too late to do anything. Roderick was an idiot.

"Have a care, chancellor. The Breach is not the only threat we face" Nat would have interrupted the conversation and stated something along the lines to the chancellor about why he was even there if all he was going to do was complain when Lelliana decided that she wanted into the conversation.

"Someone was behind the explosion of the Conclave. Someone Most Holy did not expect. Perhaps they died with the others, or they have allies that yet live" Astounded by the accusation put forth to him, Roderick gazed at the room with the four other occupants who had all turned their gaze on him. Three were giving him a suspicious look trying to break him into confession or something similar, the other just rolled his eyes behind his glasses.

"Roderick didn't do it, he's too blind, foolish and utterly idiotic to play any useful plan in killing your divine" Despite his help, Nat wanted to make it perfectly clear to the people here that he would not accept their god as something to worship. He was used to the ones back home that all wanted to have him executed to tortured because he was born with magic. If he despised them, then he despised this one, the only differences were just how cruelly magic users were treated.

"Exactly, wait?" Egregious over such an insult, Roderick didn't notice the momentary smirk on Leliana's face upon hearing the insult and confirming it. Roderick had no doubts that the three strange mages all of whom had managed to turn up at the same place all around the same time. Were directly responsible for what happened to the Divine, had he more power than they would have been dealt with. But there was a more important issue "I am a suspect?" He said disbelievingly.

"You and many others" Recalling her past conversation with the mage who she had woken up to, Valeyna spoke.

"Tevinter, Nat said that the person who is responsible is probably from Tevinter" Valeyna's words instantly caught the attention of those present in the room. Now finding himself with all the attention, Nat took advantage of the situation he was placed in. Thanks to his young age compared to the others, Cassandra and Lelliana didn't really think that he would know much because of his background of being isolated. Because of this, they had ignored him when he had tried to suggest ideas when he had spoke to them previously with the excuse of that they were busy.

"Talk" Nodding at Cassandra's idea, Nat quickly explained his theory.

"Whoever is responsible needs access to large amounts of Lyrium, safety from scrutiny, political connections, a large well-funded organisation, is a powerful mage and easy access to old powerful magic. Only Tevinter can give a mage that kind of opportunities, otherwise the Templars would track anyone in southern Thedas who planned such an attack." Staying silent for a few minutes, Lelliana mentally went through the boy's words checking if the things made sense. While security on mages had mostly vanished due to the current civil war, Nat was right that no circle mage would be capable of doing such a thing as Templars preferred to keep careful eyes on the more powerful mages. Also, the kind of blood magic performed was not basic run of the mill blood magic, but far more powerful, again something that couldn't be learned out on the run and would need a safe location to practice from. On Lyrium the boy was entirely right, no mage in Southern Thedas would have either the coin connections or transportation to bring so much Lyirum undisturbed. Finally and more disturbingly, Nat was right when he came to the idea that an organisation would be needed to infiltrate the conclave and to pay bribes to allow people to set up the lyrium and sacrifice with nobody noticing.

"You are correct, only a certain type of individual could have performed such a deed; An individual who at the very least has some connection to the Tevinter Imperium". A small smile was sent his way from the beautiful red-haired woman, however considering the fact that he had been rejected before when he had offered to assist, it felt more like she was patronising him. Of course, he knew she wasn't, rather she was trying to be kind and likely thought that giving a smile was the best way to say thank you.

"That does not mean however that you are not under suspicion, Chancellor". Shaking his shoulders angrily, Roderick pointed towards Valeyna as he yelled about the unfairness of the situation.

"I am a suspect but not the prisoner."

"I heard the voices in the temple. The divine called to her for help" A smaller gentler look appeared on Cassandras face as she spoke, one that Nat noted as being apologetic to the woman who she had locked up on suspicion of... terrorism he would guess?.

"So her survival, that thing on her hand; All a coincidence?".

"Providence. The maker sent us to her in our darkest hour" Normally, as he did so now, Nat dismissed the idea of the woman being there because she was sent by some fictional person. However, something was plaguing his mind and was also rather concerning. Valeyna's memories had been tampered with, it made sense if she might have problems in the short term when she had first awoken after the conclave explosion; now, on the other hand, she should remember more.

"We have more pressing issues. Whoever caused the explosion had erased some of Valeyna's memories, the reason she doesn't know why she was called to by the divine, is due to someone forcing her to forget the attacker as a just in case scenario." Curious looks were pinpointed at Valeyna. Valeyna was about to rebuke the comment as she went to recall a memory of the conclave only for her face to fall as she realised that she couldn't recall anything. She had no memories of what the conclave looked like, what the divine looked like, who had been at the conclave, there was nothing in the slightest that she could remember.

"I, I don't remember anything" Concerned, Cassandra actually realising to the fact that Nat might be onto something ask for him to continue speaking on what they should do or what they could be facing.

"Everything I've said is a theory, however, we need to start preparing ourselves for a full-scale conflict. Valeyna likely interrupted the attacker's plans forcing them to retreat to re-gather their strength after their failure. In the case that the mark was what the attacker actually wanted, they will assault us again in hopes of regaining it, if not then they will simply want revenge. Any action this inquisition takes will draw attention and give our position away. We must prepare this place or find a more suitable location to withstand a fight".

"We will have to think about this. However, I must ask how did you come upon this?"

"I thought about it, Seeker. I didn't spend my time in the library swinging a sword around. All of the theories I have can be made by simply analysing what has happened and thinking about things individually and on the whole. As I mentioned before, everything I said could be wrong. For now, I'm just theorising on what evidence we have."

"That's a rather in-depth theory for a child, how do we know that you're not the spy. You say that you hail from some unknown mage clan yet you utterly refuse to answer the Templars when they speak to you about it"Roderick's words didn't affect him in the slightest, had their positions been reversed then he would copy Roderick's thoughts, what he wouldn't do would be to blurt things out as it would make him a target of assassination.

"I don't answer Templar's, because I will not let anyone defile my people; especially not cruel small minded insignificant, pitiful, void dammed, vicious evil cunts like you. I don't recognise your imaginary friend Chancellor, nor do I recognise the authority of those children you call Templars playing with swords. I will not take one lone command from you people". As ever his tone was calm revealing no emotion in the way he spoke. In all honesty, the man's comment meant nothing to him, the only reason he had said such words, was to continue his act around the inquisition. Something that with the current date being so close to the supposed death of his entire clan of magic users, would make him very angry and ready to lash out at people had his story been true.

"How dare you"

Slam

All eyes turned to the thick heavy book that had been slammed onto the table in front of them with the mark of the inquisitions mark on it.

"Chancellor do you know what this is"

"A book" Deadpan stares were shot Nats way as he commented before Roderick could react. Cassandra carried on.

"A writ from the divine, granting us the authority to act. As of this moment, I declare the inquisition reborn. We will close the Breach we will find those responsible and we will restore order. With or without your approval" Having had enough of this farce, Roderick stated nothing instead just storming out of the room slamming the door behind him loudly as he marched to join his Templars. Now left alone, Lelliana calmed down speaking softly again as she explained what exactly the Inquisition was to Valeyna answering all her questions.

Summarised, the Inquisition has originally formed years ago after the first Blight to protect people from "The tyranny of magic" Its goal was to hunt down and destroy old religions and mages to lock them up. Afterwards, it was disbanded and turned into the Templar orders and the seekers of truth, the latter of which acted as police for the Templars. This new Inquisition role would have a different task of trying to close the Breach, but already Nat could hear bells ringing and the drums banging of a new holy war.

"I will help you restore your order" Smiling gratefully, the three women then turned towards Nat who was now leaning against the wall. He'd joined this thing the moment he had helped them get to the Breach in the first place, not to mention the two people he needed to spend close attention would be located here guarded by all kinds of soldiers. If he wished to get home, he would need their help and knowledge. On the other hand, if he was never able to return to his home, then being on good grounds with the holy order could save him some trouble in the long run.

"Well, I got nothing better to do, keep the Templar's off me and we should be fine" Another grateful was sent to him although he couldn't be bothered to walk towards them and shake their hands.

With that action, the Inquisition was founded.

* * *

I have placed a poll on my profile, this poll will be if you would want a Dragonage Keep posted on my profile so you know the past events of Dragonage 1 and 2 for refereeance and to know the events


	4. Chapter 4 Early Foundations

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 4 Early Foundations**

9:41 Dragon

Haven

Crunching lightly beneath his feet, Nat paid no attention to the soft powdered snow instead preferring to navigate the maze of tents and buildings owned by the small inquisition. Since escorting Valeyna to the first meeting with Cassandra and Leliana, he had been "politely asked to leave" i.e kicked out while they introduced Valeyna to Josephine and Cullen. He didn't particularly mind though, Cullen was polite and soft-spoken, but the man being a Templar set him on edge.

Cullen attacking him or even being capable of hurting him was negligible. Even so, it was better to be safe than sorry. The man was still suspicious of him though, he witnessed how the man's eyes tracked his movements carefully silently thinking of counters and possible spells he may throw up all of which had been drilled into the man when he had been but a lowly recruit in training. By now, Cullen had already heard of his unnatural ability to avoid remaining in the sight of Templar's and was, therefore, keeping a closer eye on him than others because of that. Then again, Cullen seemed far kinder then the other Templar's giving him pitying looks, whether they were because he was a mage giving the man the perception that he was cursed to have such destructive power, or because his supposed entire family was dead, he didn't know. Ultimately, however, Cullen saw him as a child and seemed rather uncomfortable with him being part of the Inquisition due to his young age.

Cullen wasn't who he was on his mind, however. Rather Solas was the individual he was currently hoping to gain an audience with. Any plan of his in returning home required an in-depth understanding of the laws and mechanics of this worlds version of magic. Constructing a magical cross-dimensional gateway was not a simple undertaking, to do so was like saying that building a manned rocket ship to mars was a simple task. Before one could even commence planning on how to store so much oxygen and food for the human crew simply to survive such a journey, a person needed to know the advanced physics and mathematics alongside chemicals combined with vast resources. And all of that was for Earth in an entirely different universe, for him he had to work out such things twice maybe even thrice, one for this world, one for the Fade and one for Earth. It was only made worse by the fact that the Ancient elves coming to his universe was simply a fluke. The timing of the elves was far too early for the elves if they had desired to meet other civilisations and as for the place where they arrived, Egypt wasn't exactly lush green land from end to end. Even so, he had to at least attempt to return home.

As for how to succeed in this endeavour, Solas was possibly likely the first key in a very complex puzzle, but still ultimately a key. Not that he could simply go up towards the ancient elf inform him of his situation and ask for his assistance in recreating some experiment gone wrong. That was a stupid plan and give him the appearance of a lunatic or a madman, not to mention what could he offer to Solas for his help. If he ever desired to get help from Solas, then first he needed to become friendly with him, he had to try and get Solas to sympathise with him and perhaps even become false friends. If that were to occur, then if Solas didn't have any desire to give him some help, then perhaps by playing the friendship card, he may garner the support he may not have gained otherwise. Such a plan to build the friendship with the man would take time, but with his young age alongside the fact he as not going anywhere, time was most assuredly something he had in spades. So he began to place his plan into motion.

First, he had to strike up at least a friendly conversation with the old elven mage, discover a topic that they both found interesting and could bond over. Whatever topic he chose was one which couldn't be just pandering to the man, or listening to a person drone on about something that interested Solas yet not him, lest it appears that he held no care or gave any credit to the man's words. A conclusion on the best topics to discuss. If he was going to share conversations with Solas, he would prefer it to be about history, magic, culture, philosophy. All of these were subjects he had discussed with others before albeit mainly Ravenclaws, even so, that worked to his advantage ensuring that when he spoke with Solas that he was not some novice in the art of words or conversation not aware of what he meant.

Aside from those topics, he had noted that Solas had taken a slight interest but also slight disdain towards Valeyna's people, the Dalish. Having heard Solas when the elf had been curious enough to visit the library wondering what its contents were, he had witnessed the man speak in the Elvish tongue. With how old the man was, and how much attention he gave to Valeyna and her opinions on the old Elves briefly when they had marched up that mountain days previous, it likely meant that the man was protective of the past. In hopes of increasing his chances of gaining friendship with the man, perhaps if he showed a certain amount of attention, he may be able to convince Solas as to teach him the language. Well, that and the idea if being able to speak proper elvish sounded rather cool.

In front, the man his thoughts had focused on, stood still dressed in but a loose cotton shirt blowing occasionally in the wind. Solas looked bored standing in his small corner, or perhaps the man was not and like him enjoyed taking his time contemplating things in the privacy ones mind, far from the dangers of sounding foolish or having negative looks thrown your way for random thoughts. The cold wind rustled everything in sight giving those soldiers stationed at the bottom of this mountain a small shiver up their backs. This occurrence of seeing men and women so cold alerted him to more about the magic of this world and what it was utilised for. Under muggle standards, his own clothing would not be suitable for such weather, while dark and therefore able to soak up more heat, it was certainly not appropriate clothing for the environment. Despite this, however, he stayed perfectly fine not affected by the slightest.

His clothing like most of those who were magically raised had been enchanted against weather effects alongside being capable of regulating his temperature. Should it become too warm than his attire would soak up such heat and the contrary to be done if it became too cool? As a result, he never experienced hot or cold. Although there more than just general use to such charms, in a fight a rise in temperatures could possibly debilitate him. Added to the temperature regulation that would keep him safe whether, in a barren sandy desert or the South Pole, his clothing was also enchanted against fire, water, wind, stains, electricity, tear, slash as well as other general resistances had been placed upon it. Finally, there were the expanded pockets. Speaking of which, he still seemed to have his old stationery from Hogwarts on him that he had been meaning to take out.

On the opposite hand, while impressive and useful for common settings or hiking, such charms were not designed to guard him against magic. Should he find himself in a proper magical fight, then he would be best wearing his duelling robes. Only he had sent them away to be repaired before he had left on holiday; they had been severely abused in the duel that had sequentially brought him to this world. Not that it mattered, his customary clothing was more than a match for any muggle means they could throw at him. Something that would assist him in ensuring he did not get complacent relying on magical clothing to protect him allowing for his own well-honed skills to take the brunt of the work and effort. The mages of this world could stand still and twirl their staffs as much as they wished, as a duelist, he was far more physically fit than they were. Acrobatics alongside extensive movement were all routine when it came to fighting for him.

As he approached Solas, the Elf fastened his grey eyes onto his black glasses causing him to frown slightly. It was something he had gotten a lot of people. Eye movement was one of the best ways to read body language, and by hiding his, he hid a lot from other people.

"Good afternoon Solas I trust you're doing well"

"As well as can be expected given our current situation. Why? Is there anything you want to talk about in particular about?" Solas studied the young boy curiously, over the last few days, Nathanael had not conversed to anyone, alternatively preferring the company of books to people as he read all that he had missed out on while with his people. He did feel sorry for the boy though, to learn about the world was one thing, but to study it through books that were sanctioned by the Chantry, would lead to a rather narrow view of viewing the world.

"Thank you for being so considerate Solas, most people don't care to listen to people my age, they believe we are either fools or that we are not capable enough to understand the finer principles of things. But that aside, do you want a cup of tea?" Focusing his attention on the strange offered metal cup, Solas instantly recorded a few thoughts about the strange way cup. The cup was made from two parts, an exterior thin metal frame and a thicker black material he did not recognise. His attention focused on the drink.

"The tea is brown?"

"I put milk in it, no sugar unless you want some though" A very confused and odd face was given by Solas as he heard that comment, who in their right mind would put milk in their tea and worse to add it with sugar. He disliked the concoction in general, but the people this boy came from, to mix a herbal drink that should be used for curing headaches and stomach-aches seemed to not know or not care about the healing effects of the drink to add other things with it.

"I will decline but I appreciate the offer. Anyway, what did you wish to ask me?" Setting down the unaccepted drink down on the side, Nat brought his own to his lips gently and began to drink. Once he was finished, he spoke.

"Well for one, I was hoping you could give me a more accurate depiction of history. I remember you saying that you spent a long time in the Fade, walking through, it studying it, befriending the spirits, learning old secrets and witnessing old battles. Reading history is one thing, but books are often held back by bias and while you may have the same, seeing the same information in different lights gives a person new perspectives. And with new perspectives, come new solutions, new challenges, new opportunities and new ways to view the world ".

Solas gave a slight smile of approval in return, although his eyes told that he had not been expecting such an answer. "Indeed, although I did not expect such a response from one such as yourself, normally such wisdom comes from one who had experienced a great deal". And there it was, the thing that Nat alongside most Ravenclaw's despised. Always they were treated as young an ignorant as if only through age and experience could a person become wise as if the passing of long periods of time could teach a person. For most, that was indeed valid, but others actually heeded the words and experiences from past generations, they learned and reflected on what had transpired to stop the same mistakes from being repeated. He knew Solas meant no offence and in his position, he would be the same, so very rarely did the young actually have proper wisdom.

"I agree and thank you for the compliment. Onto what I discussed earlier, I was hoping if it would be to you're convenience, that you would be willing teach me elven alongside educating me on the past" Solas quirked his eyebrow at that, it wasn't a common request, in fact, it was rather the opposite. He had offered to share knowledge with the Dalish before, only to have been ignored and derided. For a human to ask for knowledge from an elf was odd but also if not what he exactly desired a welcome change if only because somebody cared to hear the truth on things.

"May I inquire as to why you wish to learn the Elvish language and why to ask for my assistance instead of the Herald of Andraste, she has lived her entire life among the Dalish. In my experience, most humans do not care to learn from elves?"

"Knowledge is knowledge no matter where it comes from. You can despise a person or group as much as you wish, but not to learn such knowledge is foolish especially when it can be used against you. But more importantly, the more you know the more you can use. If a mage knows how a Templar blacks their abilities, then they can more appropriately defeat their oppressor. You, for example, are an expert on the Fade, ignoring the lessons you have learned could be costly in the long run. With the world at stake, mistakes are something this inquisition can ill afford. Well, that and the fact that in all honesty I'm just curious and like to learn things that take my interest, your language and the history of Thedas is one of them.

Solas smiled, a human wasn't exactly the type of person he had wished to teach the truth to. But it was nice to see a young mind willing to learn and explore new fronts, so often did they rush ahead believing that they knew best, so often did their recklessness get them into troubles and mistakes. Even if this child was the only one he could speak to, informing one person was better than informing none. And what could one young lone human mage do, he was not part of Tevinter and neither was he part of a circle instead coming from a different branch of people who learned their own style of magic? A group who were now all dead.

"Wise words to live by, an open mind will always receive more than one that has been barred. Where do you wish to start?"

"The language I believe would be best, I've heard that one can better understand a culture after hearing about it in their language." Solas nodded, languages often showed part of a groups culture, it made him wonder more about the boys people. For a small group of people to maintain their culture and remain unknown to the world, they must have developed advanced magic when it came to hiding objects or people.

The Dalish knew nothing about the culture they so deeply wished to persevere, it had been told and retold over thousands of years changing and shaping until virtually everything they thought was true was false. According to the boy, some group had kicked his people out of their homeland a very long time ago, yet going by this boy anyway, they retained far more wisdom then he would have expected and far more of their knowledge.

"Very well then, we shall begin with a basic greeting. Aneth ara." Solas doubted that the boy would be able to learn the language easily, nor would the boy stay interested in it for long. However, the Dalish knew very little of the language that in their small minds believed that they were the sole protectors and keepers off. Lavellan, he doubted would care to learn her language her culture from an outsider, already she had shown the same characteristics of the other Dalish. She was defensive when it came to her people and way of life so much so to threaten him on their quest to the mountain by implying the battles she had thought with humans who had tried to attack them. How Ironic would it be that a human would know more than the Dalish about old elven custom after his teaching?

"Aneth ara Solas". Briefly, Nat thought about responding in Latin, showcasing to the old elf that he was more than proficient in learning a new language. He already spoke a few if only for magical reasons, acquiring another would not be a challenge, especially when with little to do here, he could devote a large amount of time to his studies. Presently though, it was not a wise decision. Should he behave like a smartass, and show that he knew multiple languages, it might make Solas more reluctant to teach him. If Solas was unwilling to teach him, then it could hamper his ability to get home. More than likely if something were to happen and Solas did not know how to make an inter-dimensional portal or some other event than Nat understood he had to be able to understand Elvish in hopes of returning home.

He could have asked Valeyna in learning the language of her people, but he did not believe she would. She may wish to discuss her culture, but the language was nevertheless something far more precious. That did not mean that she hated humans, Valeyna was defensive in her actions, but had she hated humans as much as people believed the Dalish to do, then she would be glaring daggers at practically everyone. As was her history, clan Lavellan according to the reports he had subtly managed to eavesdrop on, reported that clan Lavellan were more Pro human than others trading with humans on a semi-regular basis. However, there had still been incidents where they had been forced to defend their clan from attackers.

"Very good, let's continue with a few more phases before we discuss history" Nodding in return, Nat spent the next several hours speaking to Solas about the elvish history and the elvish language. Most of which was to clear up some misconceptions and to make sure that he could, in fact, remember the few elvish phrases that he had been taught rather than forgetting them instantly. Not that he intended too, learning all that Solas had to offer him was very important in not only building up a trust between the man and himself but also for future ventures should events turn out poorly.

Hours Later

"There you are" Rushing up behind him, Nat came face to face with an exhausted-looking Valeyna. Bending down slightly, with her hands on her knees to help stabilise herself, it was obvious that the woman had been physically exhausting herself with practical work. Deciding to be kind to her, he summoned a cup of warm tea passing it over to the woman who promptly accepted it gratefully giving it a sip before leaning back on the stone wall.

"Been chopping trees down?" Looking down at him, Valeyna gave a slight friendly glare before setting her drink down to the side allowing her to watch the camp go about its business as the servants rushed around lighting candles and fires all over place to give the small camp light as the yellow sun got closer and closer to descending in the distance.

"No, I was talking to the others in camp about what our next step should be." Yawning while she stretched out her arms in hopes of trying to keep herself from falling asleep, Valeyna began to feel the stress of the day affect her more than it usually would when compared to what she would get up to with her clan. Noticing this, Nat made sure that the woman didn't panic, after all, she was in an unfamiliar place with different customs. Most likely, it would be a long time before she ever saw her clan again, and that was if she survived the whole ordeal of saving the world from demons.

"You should be taking things easy at least for today, your body is still recovering from stabilising the Breach. I would recommend getting an early night and waiting here at Haven until you're back at full power before you head anywhere. Wherever you lead us is going to be covered in demons, Templar's, Mages and a whole load of other trouble. Trust me when I say that as much as you want to get back into action now, you're going to crave these rare quiet nights that you get to yourself."

Frowning at the concern, Valeyna didn't want to be told that she couldn't handle something. She had already been told by Varrick that she should recover just to make sure that she didn't just keel over and die whilst they were in the middle of the fight. Varrick was just trying to be kind, but she wasn't some human Orlesian girl who stayed out of a fight and looked pretty. She was the first of clan Lavellan, she was supposed to take over the role of Keeper one day and keep her clan safe whilst also maintaining the legacy of the elves.

"Leliana says that we need to build up influence to even gain an audience with either the mages or Templars. It's just so unbelievable that with the Breach threatening everything that they won't even give the Inquisition an audience." Frustration was evident on the beautiful elves face, it was obvious to Nat having been taught how to read people as it was an essential skill for being a politician, that the woman didn't desire to be here. She was angry at what had happened, angry that she had been sent, angry that she was now been hailed as the Herald of Andraste and angry that she now had to lead a human religious group in a possible holy war. Valeyna had never been trained for this, she was never to take on this duty, then again whoever was.

"Can you blame them, as far as the rest of the world is concerned, a small group of people have decided to create an organisation that would give them large amounts of power on the orders of a dead woman with no evidence to the contrary. A group which seems to be capitalising on the death of a religious leader to grab power. However, despite the fancy title, the Inquisition has no power no allies, no force, nothing bar a group of misfits and rebels. Who would ever give a ragtag bunch of heretics and outlaws an audience, you have to prove that the Inquisition is powerful Valeyna, powerful enough that it cannot be ignored. Then and only then will people be willing to listen".

Sighing annoyingly, Valeyna flipped her hair back as she was informed that things wouldn't be as easy as she wanted them to be. Despite the kid actually saying the same things as Leliana and Josephine, Nat was actually kind enough to give her an explanation as to why they couldn't do things. Sometimes her constant questions made her feel stupid compared to the others, but it wasn't something she could really do about. Dalish culture was different to humans and the only humans she had interacted with, were merchants had traded with or worse when she had to defend her clan from attacking humans. In general, Dalish didn't do the whole creating alliances and grand scale politics as they simply couldn't do so without the land. Land which had been stolen from them by the Chantry, a Chantry that she was now a holy figure for.

There was no great leader of the Dalish who communicated with all the clans, no great leader that when the Dalish were finally given a homeland, would instantly be put in charge. Rather the Dalish were simply small groups of wandering clans of elves. Human ways and customs were very strange at times, having to constantly jump through hoops just so they can organise meetings about having meetings to organise meetings about having proper meetings with people. If a Dalish wanted to talk with someone, then they simply did. Had she been trying to gain the attention of Dalish clans, then she could simply track them down and talk to them as easy as that, but she had to deal with humans.

"And how do you suggest I go about doing that?"

"Small actions at first, help a few people out here and there and they might be able to get you onto a path that will eventually get you a meeting with the ones in charge, or a person who can help you. As for how you'll have to figure that one out. I don't know what exactly these random acts will entail, but I seriously doubt it's going to be anything so mundane as gathering up sheep or returning anything. The Inquisition may be weak and lack influence at the moment, but it's not as bad as everyone says. Wherever you go, you will make a name for yourself, once word of your actions gets spread around, people will talk. If you can, also see if you can speak with anyone important. Even if you hate them and can't stand them, if just one noble opens the door into politics, then take it. You can abandon them later once you've got your feet wet and have found someone better, but you need to take every chance you're taken."

Curious, Valeyna turned towards the younger boy. " You seem to know a great deal about how all these things work, are you by any chance experienced in such things" Valeyna wasn't any political mastermind, but children didn't know these types of politics unless they were raised too. As the first and by extension next keeper of her clan, she had been raised to know more about their elvish history and about their clan. She wondered if Nat had been the same, for him to know so much about what they should do. Had he been raised as a new leader of their group.

"Part of my education was to look at things in-depth and figure out what way things might blow. Politics was taught to all children as a precautionary measure, the past civil war was not our first there had been many before. To ensure that in the event that the leaders of our group and all the others that would likely replace them were killed, all of us needed to know basic politics so that in the case that we were forced to take over, then we could carry on the way did before".

Valeyna nodded, she could understand that Nat wasn't any sort of noble as she had first expected, it was just a case of he knew what he knew to ensure that his clan could survive. Besides the keeper and the first, Dalish clans also had storytellers and their apprentices, craftsman and their apprentices, in the event that a master was killed the apprentice would take over and in the reverse he master would take on a new apprentice. Even then, most in the clan knew the basics of their history and could pass it on or knew basics in herb making for when they went hunting, they went experts but the little knowledge they did have, could prove invaluable.

"Thank you for your opinion, according to Leliana we should start in the Hinterlands near Redcliffe, the mage-Templar war has spread there and she thinks it's a good way to start getting some influence. What are your thoughts?"

Nat shrugged his shoulders not meeting the look from Valeyna as she looked at him waiting for an answer, currently he was enjoying the sight of the sun setting on the horizon. At home, he had been so busy learning and educating himself so he could get through education early as possible alongside learning other things especially when it came to duelling. Here though, things were different, it was far more relaxed than the hustle and bustle of city life as well as the constant pressure, here in Ferelden he could take the time to enjoy nature and the scenery. Had it not been for the woman at his side, then he would have already started to take pictures of this world as he waited for things to happen. As he did so, he answered the Heralds question.

Honestly, I don't really get whey you're coming to me for advice. I'm fourteen and you're like eight years older than me, for all the wise stuff that I seem to say, I really don't know what to do all I can is speculate, observe, analyse and theorise. Leliana and the others are the ones you really need to talk to, they know all of this stuff a lot better than I do. All I can do is offer fancy words and my combat ability, the rest has been placed on your shoulders I'm afraid. Though if you do want other options besides the long grind, then you could either burst down the gates of the mages or Templars guns blazing and take what you want by force, or you can find out who is the leader and steal something important to get an audience."

"Steal something important, like a person. And I'll have you know I'm twenty years old" Pouting at the boy thinking she was older than she actually was, the dalish elf focused on her friend's possible new strategies. Truthfully, Valeyna would never consider such an option, she could very likely see that if she attempts such an act, then she would get the exact opposite of what she desired, which made her even more curious about why the boy had even brought the idea up.

"That or you could always threaten to reveal their internet history". There was another thing Valeyna had noticed about Nat, he spoke of words that she had never heard off, first was the word oxygen which was another term for air and now he spoke of the internet and its history. Was the internet some type of strange magic, some strange weapon and just why would threatening to reveal someone's history with the internet work as a threat.

"What is this internet you speak off?" Looking inquisitively, Nat got off his feet now that the sun had disappeared leaving the sky dark leaving the dancing candle lights alongside the moon to be that things that allowed the majority human population of Haven to continue navigating around. Something that was showed the slower pace of humans as they avoided the guy ropes and other small objects compared to the elven servants who were easily dancing their way through the camp because of their superior vision.

"It's not important. Either way, whilst we're in our current weak state, we need to do our best to fly under the radar. But for now you need some sleep, if you can't I would suggest speaking to the apothecary for something to help. I wouldn't be surprised if you were suffering from nightmares, a few soldiers have already gone for nightmares" That surprised Valeyna, she had spoken to the apothecary earlier and he had mentioned that he was rather busy looking after the men in general, when he said it she thought in terms of physical injuries, not nightmares.

"Are the soldiers okay, are you okay?" Valeyna asked in a concerned tone.

"Most of them are fine, it's just the few that took part in the battle to get to the rift. A number of soldiers died and most of those here are volunteers and have never seen death before, some of them even lost friends. I'm not a psychiatrist so I have no idea if or when they'll recover, as for me though, nightmares aren't my thing. Now no more questions, get some sleep recover fully, the breach isn't going anywhere." Feeling bold and wanting to try and embarrass the kid due to his apparent concern trying to act like the adult, Valeyna flirted.

"And what are you going to do about it" Fluttering her eyelids, she was slightly disappointed when she got no reaction.

"Nothing, besides catch you when you collapse. You do feel it don't you?. Your eyes are heavy, your legs are sore and you're ever so desperately trying to prevent yourself from yawning. You can't hide it from me, I've had my fair share of sleepless nights to notice the signs. If you really are so desperate to head off to the Hinterlands tomorrow that's fine, but get sleep Valeyna, it will help you process things" Speaking slowly, Nat noticed that as he spoke, that subconsciously Valeyna yawned although she didn't really notice it. Other clues were also evident such as how she was blinking less, her head was also dipping a small amount and her movements were slightly sluggish, far from the fast and sharper movement that Valeyna had demonstrated when she first awoke hours ago.

Valeyna at first thought to argue, she was a grown a woman and didn't need a child telling her what to do. But yawning suddenly, she realised that she did feel tired and her feet were aching from all the running around that she had to do. She could also start to feel the beginning of a headache, all the information she had learned and the responsibilities placed upon her, perhaps having an early night wasn't a bad thing.

"What will you do?" Nat rolled his eyes at the question; honestly, it wasn't late for him in the slightest. He was used to getting very little sleep with all his training and researching that he did, for a normal human his age it could be rather damaging to the body due to sleep deprivation, but his magical blood enabled to get off with far less sleep. Looking at his watch, it wasn't six o'clock yet something that really indicated that Valeyna needed more time to recover from the past events. Normally he would go to sleep around midnight and wake up at four in the morning entirely refreshed. On the other hand, if he was recovering from some major injury, then he'd go to bed earlier and wake up later, but that wasn't now.

"I will be fine Valeyna, You're the one who needs rest, Especially if we head towards the Hinterlands tomorrow" Nodding graciously before giving a respectful goodbye, Valeyna covering her mouth as she yawned again headed back to her small hut to get some proper sleep leaving Nat alone on the wall observing the camp.

"She seems comfortable around you" Not turning his head, Nat had felt the redhead approach him, Leliana was attempting to be quiet like she normally did, something that was just part of her being the spymaster, he could sense her easily enough tough, perks of magical radar. As to why she was speaking to him, without peering into her mind with the use of mind magic, something he was unwilling to do, as mind magic was far easier to detect than other branches. Without knowing how easily Solas could detect magic or how far he could sense it, then he would simply guess less spook the old man. In this case, he had a feeling that Leliana might be here to ask him about his past in hopes of creating a profile around him.

"I'm a child as most people would say. Despite my skill, physically I don't look old enough to present a threat, as a result perhaps subconsciously she finds me the easiest to talk to. But I assume you wish to talk to me about something different Leliana, it's too early for you to be heading to sleep with your work". Leliana looked at the boy, it was so strange to see a person never reveal emotion on their face, nothing anyone said startled him and his body movement was incredibly calm even when faced with Templars.

He had seen serious combat before he had joined up with Cassandra and the others, his movements were refined and sharp to the point. Could she see his eyes, then no doubt she would see them flickering about place to place, observing for enemies and taking in everything within his vision? Yet despite not being able to examine his eyes, the strange mask he wore told her about the child. Nathanael was concerned about people seeing his eye movements, most likely as they gave away a lot in body motion. If his eyes were to twitch when he lied, such as turning them away for a brief moment rather than keeping eye contact, then not being able to see his eyes helped to prevent a person from telling if he was lying to them

"Learned anything interesting Spymaster" Despite his polite tone, by referring to her as spymaster it meant that he had noticed what she was doing, something that was yet another tell. Had the boy been some kind of guard or guard in training before his group was racked with civil war, or was there something more to him. No, the way he stood was straighter than most common folk did. Nathanael was not incredibly high up in his old society like a noble, but neither was he a simple commoner equivalent

"It is a beautiful night is it not, it is a shame that such a wondrous sight is ruined by the breach" So she was taking this approach Nat realised. He wondered, was she personally trying to read him, because she could find nothing on him because he was far harder to read because he was close, perhaps because he used unused and unheard of magic, or mayhap due his strange people and terms. He did use strange phrases that others did not understand, perhaps she wished him to use those around her so she could teach her little birds what he meant.

"I don't know, the Breach has a certain dangerous and forbidden beauty to it. It's like a moth and flame, appealing at a distance but the closer you approach the more likely you are to die violently."

"It makes ask why the Maker allowed for such things to happen, is it a punishment, some test we must overcome. No evil can occur naturally, the Inquisition is most grateful for giving us a chance by sending us the Herald of Andraste". Despite Leliana soft tone, Nat could detect that the woman was both offering up some kind of prayer to her imaginary friend in the sky as well as trying to get him to infer that she wanted to know what he truly believed about the world.

"Why Valeyna though?. If your maker had truly sent her to you, why her, she is young and beautiful and powerful, but why choose one who does not believe in your god to fulfil his plan. Surely there are better candidates, ones with the connections needed to help solve this crisis, one who is some kind of great peacemaker between the Templars and Mages who with words alone can solve the problem".

Leliana did not frown, she had heard and witnessed the young boys utter lack of faith in a divine being. She wondered what it must be like, to have such conviction that the maker did not exist, but she did wonder how he had come to such a conclusion. Who else could have created the beauty that exists in the world, love, the birds that flew in the sky the gorgeous sight if the sun descending, shoes? If not for the maker, how did the world come to exist, how can a person not view the world and if not the maker, not believe that someone had granted them such a bounty?

Kneeling down with her hands crossed, Leliana did what Nat thought was praying or something similar, he didn't know nor care."The maker must be challenging us in our faith after so long being apart. He does truly love us and perhaps this is his way of showcasing the beauty that we have been granted by showcasing what we truly have by taking it away." Nat stayed silent as Leliana spoke more to herself. "Once I was believed to be chosen by the Maker to protect the land against great peril when the fifth blight began. I thought once it was over that the world would be safe, I never for a moment thought that the world would be thrown in such great peril again so soon". Turning to him, after standing up again she asked a question that was in her mind. "How do you see the world, why do you believe we were put on this earth if not to witness the beauty and glory that the maker has created?".

"You would not believe me, nor would I have the evidence with me to demonstrate my answers" Leliana smiled gently, even if the boy did not believe in the maker, perhaps the boy might have answers that could help her and others understand the chant of light better. So often did people strictly believe in what was taught that their utter refusal to hear other alternatives could prevent them from understanding the Chant better.

"Then why do you believe we are here, is there some kind of maker where you are from.?"

"I don't believe there is any reason for us to be here in the slightest. Life is nothing but a complete fluke; the chance of any world developing life is so astronomically slim, that it seems impossible. But with how vast the universe is, it does happen. It's all happenstance, no god or divine being creating the world, just billions of years of space dust forming to create planets and then billions more for the first microbe to exist and then eventually evolve into the life we see today. If a person requires to find meaning in their life, then they have to create meaning, nothing will give it to them. And isn't that all that life's about, chance, discovery"

Concern etched onto Lelianas face as she took in those words, the very idea of what he said was simultaneously enlightening and yet horrifying. To think that there was no plan for them, that nobody had a purpose, that all the good and suffering in the world was not created by a divine being but purely up to chance like the toss of a coin or a game of wicked chance made her feel something she had never felt before. It was horrible, like nothing she had ever done would ever matter, that none of all the trials and tribulations meant anything. That all those people who had been killed in the last blight by the darkspawn were not because the Maker had deemed them worthy to come to his side, but because they were there. And what did he mean by space dust and billions of years, what was a microbe and what was evolving? Nathanael was a strange person.

"I, I cannot imagine how you see the world in such a way. To see such beauty in the world and think that none of it was created to be enjoyed, that love is not the maker's greatest gift, that everything we undergo is not a way for the maker to test us. I feel sorry for you; the world must be such a sad place." Nat didn't feel offended by Lelianas statement, he knew what she was feeling, he felt the exact same thing every time he thought about the insignificance of human life, about what they were and in the end, that when the universe finally died, that there would be no one to remember.

"I do not despise those who believe in some higher being or purpose Leliana, it isn't a pleasant experience when one does not know why what happen's happen. What I hold a distaste for, is religion itself. Too many times had it shown what it will do if it disagrees with another who holds a difference of opinion. Valeyna and her people lost their second homeland purely because the Chantry could not accept that another set of people had a different viewpoint. People will always fight each other, it's the way the universe works, Survival of the Fittest. We hardly need religion for that."

"The maker declared that the world would be turned into a glorious place once the entire sung the Chant of Light. There would be no war, no poverty, children would not starve and that suffering will come to an end". Nat took a sip of his tea before breathing out slowly, he was going to try and take a different approach. He would not try to convert Leliana, while he despised religion and still thought that the idea of a man in the sky was far too simplistic, he did understand why people liked these things. The idea of gods in a time without proper knowledge was a way of explaining unknown things, it was almost logical in a sense. A person would look at something they did not understand and look at things they did.

They hadn't known how the sky worked all those millennia ago, but they could look around them and see that humans controlled so many important things of life from farming to fighting and politics. Therefore in those old uneducated minds, it was only logical that some sort of human was controlling the sky. But that didn't make sense either, normal humans couldn't control the weather, which meant it had to be special humans who manipulated the heavens above them to make it pour water, lash with wind or strike with bolts of thunder and lightning. If one kept going down that track, then it only made sense that gods were created.

"Leliana" Asking softly, he waited until he had her full undivided attention. "Do you believe that if a person has a different opinion to you on anything that they should be tortured, or killed, or be ostracised. Should I say that the colour blue is the best and most holy colour in the world and that if anyone disagrees with me, that I should have the right to kill that person simply because they disagree"? Leliana blinked at the odd question. It was a rather foolish concept a person should have their mind to chose the colour they liked, to be killed for thinking another thought was barbaric.

"No to kill someone over such a petty thing is to behave like children squabbling over a toy". Nat smiled inside, it was always an interesting experience thinking about philosophy. He found the more he thought about things, the strange and more unique things became.

"Exactly, that is how I and others like me see religion. Nothing but a bunch of people acting like small children over a colour, only whereas children may hit one another, religion will call for wars and the mass execution and destruction of others purely on a disparity of opinion. Religion is fine when it only affects yourself, but religion always affects others, the way you see people, the way you believe the world should be run, how you think events played out. If a religion believes that women are second-rate people and are not valuable or equal to men, then that will shape your views on women and how they should be treated. Or in another example, if your religion believed that it was wrong to consume a particular animal or not to eat animals at all, that is fine when it applies to yourself, but religion would say that all people should not eat that animal even when others may enjoy the taste."

Leliana went to reply only to stop as she considered the words spoken to her. Fighting over a colour was indeed petty and childish, just like fighting over a toy, as for a religion preventing a person from eating an animal it also sounded bad until she realised that Nat had not specified which animal. Did he mean chickens, pigs, cows or did he mean something more sinister like a dog? Such thoughts were fine at a basic level, but what about other more important matters, should a man be allowed to cheat on his wife, should the rights of others be more important than the individual. It was also so very confusing forcing her to think more and more about the one who had put her on this planet in the first place.

"I don't think I have ever thought about it in such a way before, the Maker is important to me, he is the one who gave my life new direction, the one who helped me recover after my past. It is so strange to think of the world in such a manner, I have found that the chant gave me direction and purpose, that it put my mind at ease." Leliana spoke softly, memories of her life from when she travelled with the Grey Warden to her time as a Bard before that and even when she had found herself at Lothering and then after the fifth blight becoming the left hand of the Divine. Then there was now, she may not be the one to lead the Inquisition and seal the breach preventing demons from escaping and saving countless lives, but she was here when it happened and was helping the Herald of Andraste accomplish the Maker's plans.

Nat chuckled as he heard that. "Don't worry about it Leliana, the human race if full of contradictories. I believe that religion is cruel and manipulative and should be abolished because of what it does and what it will do. Yet, on the other hand, I entirely support nation states and despise the idea of a single world government. I support nation-states even when millions have been slaughtered and brutally killed and tortured alongside countless utter horrific actions that have taken place in the name of two nations battling against one another."

Pausing slightly, Leliana couldn't help but wonder if there was some sort of deeper meaning behind his words. What else could there be besides kingdoms, the Qun had already demonstrated what it did to people. It twisted their minds turning away from the makers light as they were willingly stripped of their freedom. The Qun prevented anyone from having an individual thought, a person had to believe the exact same thing that the Qun believed, it didn't make people but slaves. Before she could ask, however, Nat carried on.

"In the end, to form our own opinions, we are the ones who shall ultimately decide what we think should be allowed for people to do, and what we think people should not. True freedom shall never exist we will forever live in hypocrisy. It's not all bad, the alternative is anarchy and that's far worse"

Gazing up at the twinkling burst of beautiful lights that danced across the black canvas otherwise known as stars, Leliana smiled once again. Nat's words were strange yet comforting, even more so when he did not believe in the Maker. She could not entirely understand how he could not see a higher being, but there was wisdom in those words. For now, she would continue to believe in the maker and that he guided the world in all its actions. Yet his words held some truth, and perhaps that might be the way to show the maker that the world has truly accepted his love. Not by subjugating people and forcing others to convert, but by showing understanding and love to all of the makers children for that after all was the Makers greatest gift, love itself.

"You do you what works for you Leliana and screw anyone else who thinks otherwise. Also, remember that in times of strife sacrifice is needed, you did the right thing by killing the traitor, more lives would have been lost had you spared your hand. Oh and look at the time, I wasn't expecting to get into a philosophical talk, normally I have a bit of preparation before those. Anyway, I'm going to go for a walk to clear my mind, It was nice talking to you, perhaps we could continue this talk at a later date. It's always interesting to debate things like this. Well bye" And with that, Nat jumped down from the wall that he had been sitting on dusted himself off and started heading towards the gates of Haven to undoubtedly contemplate the entire universe and other things leaving a smiling Leliana to herself as she also got up and headed towards her position.

Leliana had doubts at first about killing her old agent who had turned traitor, but Nathanael was right. How many innocent people would die because she did not have the strength to prevent it, she did not have the luxury to be nice, not with a war on her hands and not when the entire world was threatened by the fade itself.

Later

"Hey kid, what can I do for you" Inquisitive, Varrick wondered why the youngest member of the Inquisition had taken the time to stop right outside him. Nat, unlike the other main members of Valeyna's little group, seemed to move around a lot. That didn't mean that the rest of them stayed still in one place constantly, they did have to eat from time to time and shit and write stories and enjoy other pursuits. However, according to the Herald, he was the hardest to track down as he rarely stayed in one place for long, something that had changed ever since he had read through the entire library. That kid could read books faster than a fat noble could scoff cake.

"I was wondering if you had a moment to talk about Kirkwall and Hawke, I read your book in the library and found it rather informative" Varrick smirked at that, it was always good to hear when someone liked his books.

"Sure, I've got nothing else to do what do you want to know kid?" Before Nat spoke, he gently handed a cup of tea over to Varrick. Nat knew others would find it odd and strange that he always managed to have a hot brew with him at all times, but he liked to drink tea. Currently with lower temperatures' made even more apparent now that the sun had set, having a warm drink might do Varrick some good. Varrick graciously accepted the drink from the strange looking cup made of a thin metal and had steam rising from it. Tea wasn't really his thing, but having something so warm to heat up his freezing hands comforting.

"According to your tale, Hawke and you discovered red Lyrium when you visited the Deep Roads". Varrick nodded grimly as he remembered that little adventure and all the shit that had happened because of it. He had hoped never to see the stuff again, only his wish hadn't been granted as whoever had attacked the Conclave had used Red Lyrium.

"Yeah, that shit is evil, turned the Knight Commander Meredith insane and made statues come to life. Weird ass fucking stuff, I have a piece being checked out, nobody can study it for more than an hour and people have to take a week between shifts." Nat nodded as he remembered that part of the story, Varrick had written about it in extreme detail, something about an idol that had been sold to the Knight Commander and drove her up the fucking wall with time.

"I had the chance to study some normal Lyrium earlier, you need to tell your people to be far more careful Varrick, It's not natural" Varrick raised an eyebrow as he heard that a few mages had studied the small fragment but were struggling to come up with any sort of information and yet the kid could already tell there was something up with it. Then again he wasn't surprised, the kid had said that he was sensitive to magic and with coming from a different magical background, perhaps the kid knew different things.

"I could have told you that. Normal Lyrium only causes problems when you ingest it, but the red stuff, that shit messes with things just by being near it" Varrick spoke sarcastically, yet he didn't do so in a manner to offend the kid, it's just that he had heard lots of people tell him that Red Lyrium was odd.

"Its corrupted Varrick, it's like some sort of plague and disease that spreads about it. The Lyrium was normal once, but it got infected by an outside force, one which isn't quite sentient, but reeks of death and destruction. It actually makes me think of this darkspawn taint I've read about, something that makes sense as Lyrium doesn't feel like a rock to me. Not sentient and not microscopic, but the connection to magic makes it far easier to sense than other things. I can't be sure, not without encountering a darkspawn and sensing a connection between red lyrium and the blight, but if they are linked, then you might be exposing your agents to the blight itself"

Varrick's eyes widened, a look of horror and shock on his face and he turned pale. Staring at the kid, he didn't know if the kid was speaking the truth or not. He had also contacted the few people he knew to see if there was anyone who might know anything about the kid's strange group of mages, but so far nobody had anything on them. Something that was rather amazing, this group that the kid had once belonged too, really knew how to hide from people.

"Are you sure of that, if the red stuff is infected with the Blight than it changes far more than what we think about not just Red Lyrium, but also regular Lyrium as well." Nat had not stated it directly, however, the implication of the wizard's words was easy for Varrick to understand. The blight only infected living beings, insects, plants, trees, people, animals; if the kid's theory was correct and Red Lyrium was actually in fact blight corrupted Lyrium, then it meant that Lyium itself was alive. If that was the case, then it would change a whole lot of things, not just for the mages but also for Orzammar.

"It's nothing but a theory, for now. I need to make contact with a darkspawn to see if the thing corrupting the Lyrium is the same at the blight. There's a chance that the two infections could be different, but undoubtedly, Red Lyrium is corrupted with something. Whatever that corruption is, that's what's responsible for it being so active compared to normal Lyrium". Varrick frowned again as he heard that news, silently he made a note to himself to inform those studying the small fragment of the possible enlightened risk that was involved with studying the object as well as the new discovery.

"Well, that's good news". Varrick spoke sarcastically when he had first encountered Red Lyrium all those years ago, he had hoped that there would have been a way to make a profit on the stuff. That was before all the shit that it had caused, now he wished he and Hawke had never found that dam Thaig, things had only gone downhill since. "Kid do you have any way of definitely making sure that the Lyrium is tainted, my guys will want to know for certain".

Nat remained silent as he thought about what he knew. As a Ravenclaw and a Duellist, he knew far more about magic than most people did. Combat magic was his speciality, but he had graduated from Hogwarts with top grades, not the highest there ever was, but he was certainly no slouch. There was also the case, of the many magical books that he had transferred to his kindle that he could check and read on for any hints or clues. Alongside this, he also had knowledge of other non-combat magic that he had an interest in such as wards and a small amount of blood magic for things like magical contracts or blood wards but he seriously doubted they would come into play. The evidence he was thinking off was more in the muggle department like that of a biologist.

Potions might come into play, but he had never studied a corrupted dead body and corrupted lyrium, hell he hadn't even studied lyrium in-depth to anywhere near considered competent to look at its most likely far more complex and corrupted form. His muggle knowledge wasn't as limited as a person might have first thought, but the idea of studying something like this made him think of test tubes and taking swabs of blood and putting them under microscopes. It wasn't something he had ever done before in his life, people went to universities getting into ridiculous sums of debts and spending years of their life learning the basics to be able to understand blood types and all that stuff properly. All of which. were just the basics, he knew from his own duelling career that despite all the things you studied and lessons learned, it never prepared you for the real thing. Any testing he could do with a result that he would actually understand would simply be pinging both the taint in the dark spawn and the taint in the Lyrium with magic and determining if both felt the same like a Sonar. Ultimately any sort of blood or cellular test or whatever muggle's called it he could do would be worth nothing to him as he would not know what to look for or what was normal. More likely he would make mistakes, get something wrong and he certainly couldn't look it up online or on his Kindle as he had neither access to the internet not have books on complex human biology.

"Perhaps, I'd need a private entirely sealed laboratory on my own alongside a few other things. With that, I might be able to show you physical evidence rather than just saying that the Red Lyrium and Darkspawn feels different". Thank Merlin for magic, he could likely create a microscope and other things easy enough, it wasn't like he would be trying to make a car out of thin air. Had he been a muggle, then he wouldn't have been able to do anything, besides perhaps make a rudimentary microscope together, luckily with magic he didn't. As for a lab, he didn't want anything to escape, for all he knew, if he poked and prodded it with magic and other stuff, he might make things worse. But that still didn't excuse the fact he didn't have a clue and was only going to guess if he did have a look.

"A few other things like what exactly"

"Red Lyrium and fresh alive Darkspawn. Alongside a good amount of time to study it rather than hour-long sessions." Varrick grimaced as he heard the last thing, he had set up the current shifts to prevent anyone from going crazy, already he could hear the shit singing to him, the last thing he wanted was for the kid to be subjected to the same arduous thing especially at a young age.

"Not the best idea then. I'll take your advice anyway kid but the last thing I want is you to be anywhere near darkspawn or Red Lyrium. Demons are bad, but if you mess up around Darkspawn, then you only hope is to find a Grey Warden." Nat agreed, despite knowing that microscopes could see things closer, he certainly wasn't a scientist, something that would certainly most likely prevent anything useful from being discovered. He also hadn't ever used a microscope before, he'd only suggested the idea to Varrick in case the dwarf desperately needed evidence rather than a feeling that a mage got.

"That would be best, I'd rather not be in the presence of dark tainted monsters or lyrium. From what I've heard, neither are good for one's health" Laughing as he heard that, Varrick being curious about the kids to own connection to magic, decided that he would ask some questions while he was at it.

"So kid did your people know anything about Red Lyrium?."

"No, my people were incredibly isolationist, before now I don't even know about normal Lyrium or Darkspawn. In fact we didn't even know elves, dwarves or Qunari existed, the first two were considered fictional and the last nobody had a clue about" Shock was evident on Varricks face, he was aware of a few groups who hid themselves or tried to hide themselves for whatever reason, either they didn't like people much, or just petrified that some other group would hunt them down, but even then, they knew stuff about the outside world. For a kid to grow up in such a community to as believe that elves and dwarves were nothing but fiction was a real experience.

"Now that's a surprise, most groups at least know something about the world. Your little band of mages must have really been good at keeping things hidden." Varrick had no clue how accurate that was, Nat knew. For all the faults of the magical world, they were very good at keeping key things secret with the use of magic. Fidelus charms to hide a certain piece of information or item hidden within the very soul, wiping a person's memory, dominating a person's mind, using compulsion charms to subtly coerce a person what to do, not notice me charms and anti-muggle spells alongside wards. The wizarding world had created several advanced forms of magic to keep their existence hidden from the muggle world both for their sake and the muggles.

"My people were too concerned about revealing ourselves. However that didn't mean that the leadership wasn't aware of what was happening in the outside world, having learnt about this world, our leaders did the right thing. Disaster would have fallen upon us otherwise." Realistically, if the magical community from Earth had taken shelter in Thedas for whatever reason and had been revealed, the muggle's would have been the ones under serious threat. After being in this word for only a short time, if the Chantry and the rest of the world were to discover what he could do with magic, then he would be hunted down relentlessly. Should normal mages be capable of performing aparation or invisibility spells or any other host of spells that would make Templars useless, then the circles would have rebelled. Of course, that was under the illusion that he arrived earlier and the giant green hole in the sky wasn't threatening to gobble up the planet all the while mages and Templars fought each other. In other terms, had he arrived ten years earlier, the Chantry would have shit themselves.

"Fair enough, I can't see the Templars being too kind to a group of apostate mages who have kept themselves hidden for so long. Oh and on that kid, I wanted to tell you that I've sent word to my contacts, if I hear anything about any other survivors of your people, I'll let you know". Nat didn't know why Varrick would do such a thing, perhaps the man only wanted to be kind to him, perhaps there was a small business incentive or perhaps it was the dwarves way of trying to become his friend.

"Thank You, Varrick I appreciate it."

"Don't mention it kid, now is there anything else you wanted to talk about or just crazy red lyrium that makes everyone go nuts?"

"Your adventures with Hawke, I get the feeling from your writing that a few things were missed out. I was wondering if there were any stories about Hawke which haven't been noted in your books for whatever reason." It wasn't always obvious, but when reading Varricks book about Hawke, there was a certain point where there just seemed to be something missing. It wasn't obvious, however as a Ravenclaw and therefore taught how to read very closely between the lines, there was just this slight feeling that something hadn't been written down. Varrick also didn't do a good enough job of hiding that something was off, but Nat could see by the look n the dwarves face that he didn't want to reveal it just yet.

"Sure there are, there are so many little stories that Hawke got up to, did I ever tell you about the time that these members of the Coterie turned up at his estate one time." Varrick began telling the insignificant story, yet Nat was more focused on what Varrick wasn't telling. Something had happened with Hawke, something that might have been pretty major enough if Varrick hadn't put it down in his book for whatever reason. Considering that it was Varrick and Hawke who had first discovered Red Lyrium, perhaps whatever Varrick was hiding might be connected in some way s well.

There were only three ways that came to mind of learning what Varrick was hiding, the first was to use his own magic and look through the dwarves memories. Unfortunately, until he learned how powerful Solas was and what he could and couldn't detect, using something as flashy as mind magic was a risk he was not willing to take. Secondly, he could always talk to Cassandra and say that whatever Varrick was hiding might have some sort of connection to the Red Lyrium, although the woman didn't trust him.

Finally and the most realistically was to build up a trust with Varrick so that he may eventually tell the story possibly giving him clues.

"So Hawke simply shoved the cargo off the coast and into the ocean pissing both sides off". Varrick chuckled as he remembered the look on Bethany's face when she had watched her sister do that act, Merril had been funnier though, her little face was confused beyond all possible belief, she spent the next few weeks asking why Hawke had done what she did.

"Thanks for the tale Varrick, I'll pay you back later by teaching you pool or poker" Nat replied

"And what are those? Some type of card game"

"Half correct, Pokers a card game Pools a ball game with wooden sticks. Come to think of it I can teach you blackjack when I go over Poker, you might like it."Varrick nodded, there was little to do at Haven besides standing around in the cold, and learning a new card game could be a decent way to pass the time.

"Only if I get to teach you, Wicked Grace." Nat nodded, with his conversation now over, Nat gave a quick goodbye to the Dwarf before moving towards the next person he wished to speak to. His purpose for speaking to everyone at camp was mainly to try and boost his own reputation as well as develop some new skills. With an unknown period of time before he could return home if he ever could in the first place, gaining some extra skills now would be rather useful to fit in. And on that subject, Cullen seemed to have finally left his troops and was now heading towards the main building likely to coordinate with Leliana and Josephine. Taking his chance whilst he could, he approached.

"Commander Cullen, it's fine to meet you" Stopping in his tracks, Cullen turned to face the young teenager his eyes recognising him from before.

"Nathanael Tempest correct, I'm sorry we haven't had a proper chance to introduce myself. You can call me Cullen if you wish, is there something you wanted?" Cullen spoke gently as he took in the young mages appearance, it took him back all the way to when he had first severed in the Fereldan circle of Magi, young apprentices first learning to control their powers and the messes they would cause. It was a lot more peaceful then, but that was before the incident at the Fereldan circle and the utter devastation wrought at Kirkwall.

"I was wondering Cullen if you would be so willing to update me on some sword training. I do have some training under my belt, but considering the current environment we're in, restricting myself purely to magic is a grave error to make" Sincerely, Nat knew that if he was placed into a position that he had to clash swords with an opponent, then something had gone very fucking badly. Even taking away his ability to apparate in this world less raise considerable suspicion, he knew a great many ways to stop a person from hacking or slashing at his person. Yet in that case, or whether he was trying to blend in with others, the ability to be competent with a sword would be most precious.

"I wouldn't normally train a mage, but seeing our position, it's better to be safe than sorry. I might have some time later when I'm training the troops up, come to see me then and I'll get you round the basics." Cullen held nothing against the kid, had he still be part of the Templar order, then the last thing the order would want would be for mages to be trained in martial skills. The whole advantage Templars had against mages, was that they could use their powers to prevent magic taking place enabling them to close in on the mages and cut them down with swords. If a mage knew how to wield a blade than it made the job of fighting them far harder. "Is there anything else you wish to talk about?"

"Could you please get the Templar's to leave Solas, Valeyna and I alone, it sets us on edge and the last thing we need is an incident" Cullen frowned at that, he had already been asked on a few occasions by the Templars to do the exact opposite especially with the young teenager. He had been able to talk to them about leaving Solas and Valeyna alone as the former was their expert on the fade and the latter was the Herald of Andraste, but Nathanael was just a young mage. Okay if the rumours were to believed, he was a rather powerful young mage, easily able to kill pride demons single handily, but with his strange people and the possible unknown magic he wielded, he very much understood his former brother and sisters opinion on the matter.

"I'll talk to them when I have the opportunity. You have to understand that with your background, their very cautious, as far as they see things, you're the enemy" Smiling at the boy in hopes of reassuring him, Cullen didn't get a smile or anything in return although coming from the boys perspective, he could see why. Young mages around his age would normally start to get their rebellious thoughts around this age having being cooped up in a circle for so long. With the Templars as their guardians and ultimately as the ones who prevented their freedom, a resentment was given their way. In Nat's case, it was likely worse as he saw them as a group of people who wanted to take him away and lock him up.

"Thank you Cullen, the last thing I want at the moment is some type of conflict. There are ever so slightly bigger things that require our attention" Directing his attention to the sky, Cullen locked his gaze onto the entrance of the fade his eyes sharpening and his hand grasping the hilt of his sword tightly. It was an old reaction born as his time as a Templar, but seeing that thing up there made him feel like he could be attacked at any moment.

"Thank you. It's almost funny you know, despite the threat that the Breach possesses, it also simplifies a lot for you Templars" Confused Cullen wondered what the teenager was on about.

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about"

"Normally you Templars had to worry about an abomination sneaking into a mage and hiding among you, now with the breach, you don't have to worry about abominations as much. All you have to do is simply kill every demon in sight." Despite the seriousness of the situation, Cullen couldn't help but laugh slightly as he heard the sarcastic tone. The teenager was certainly right, the amount of time he would have to stay up long hours looking for every nook and cranny for mages who were hiding what they were up to was now gone. As were the elaborate plots that abominations made when one did sneak through, if a demon wanted into Thedas all they had to do was jump through one of the multiple new rifts that formed; something far easier than trying to forcibly take over a mage's body.

"I suppose it is although now my nights have me filling in far more paperwork." Smiling as he found the time to rest, Cullen was glad of this small chance to talk with the mage, it felt like he was unwinding slightly from everything. "You would not believe how much paperwork there is, it seems there's a report for every soldier every weapon every person who uses one where they all are, all other types of supplies the blacksmiths we use and the armour and metals and all the other fortifications that need to be created. By the Maker, it's a nightmare".

"Think on the bright side Cullen, you get your own private tent and as leader of the Inquisitions armies, it's going to be a lot easier to find someone to share it with." Taking another sip of his infinite tea courtesy of magic, Nat was witnessed to the event as Cullen slightly sputtered having heard that. The man didn't go anything like a full blush, but the man was certainly not expecting this subtle comment Deciding to tease the man to amuse himself, Nat carried on.

"Have you seen the way that some of the sisters look at you, those eyes aren't ones of holy duty, those eyes are the ones which follow your posterior everywhere you walk licking their lips when you're not looking". Cullen's eyes widened as he looked around him taking careful note of the few Chantry sisters who were looking in his direction. "I'd be careful Cullen, one day you're going to find yourself tied to the bed blindfolded and at the mercy of some very horny woman"

Cullens face was a myriad of emotions, first there was the bright red blush on his cheeks as he heard that something that only grew ever brighter as in his mind he saw a few bashful looks on some of the sisters and servants; then there was the look of utter shock then after a small amount of time he managed to regain his composure although not fully. Nat didn't laugh, but he had found the sight of a flustering Templar an interesting sight to watch. He filed that little piece of blackmail away for later, just in case he needed something to use against the man.

"That... that would not be appropriate and women have never expressed an interest before. Why would they do so now?" Cullen had generally been confused since working for the Inquisition as to why so many women had been giving him odd looks and glances. He thought he had been imagining it first, but then came the light touching of servants and full on grabbing as they dropped items. With it now revealed to him, he felt mortified once again as he realised what they had actually been up to. Maker he realised, that explained all those pinches his bottom had received.

"Don't ask me, I'm the last one to speak to for relationship advice. All I did was notice that they liked you, it's up to you to work out the rest. Oh, and FYI, I wouldn't suggest speaking to Leliana about this, knowing her she'll simply strip you naked throw you outside and leave you to those hungry wolves." Cullen went to object only to pale in horror as he realised that sounded exactly something like Leliana would do. The Spy Master would also very likely watch the entire scene with a very large grin on her face. Cullen shivered, that woman was terrified him to his core.

"Uh well yes, I have a meeting to get to with Cassandra on tomorrows training regime. I have to go" Speeding off towards the large building, Nat refocused his glasses covered gaze over to his right where above he felt Leliana who while in her tent doing work, seemed to have remained still during the conversation. Poor Cullen, that sod was fucked the moment Leliana got bored. Good job she didn't have his magic, the last thing he would want to see would be a nude Cullen wrapped around a flagpole.

Unfortunately, his day was not yet done as he still had the Lady Ambassador to talk to. If he wanted to survive in this world, having power was a useful tool to possess and utilise almost as much as magic. At present, the best way to do that was to gain influence in the Inquisition, and the best way to do that was to make friends with those in charge so that he may help direct its actions. Valeyna was very much the leader even if the others hand realised it yet, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to try and gain all the power he could whilst he was here.

Josephine office

"Come in" looking up from her desk, Josephine turned her attention towards the person who had just been knocking on her door. It was none other than the mysterious mage child who had joined the inquisition as well the representative of. Did anyone actually know what he was supposed to represent, so far he just seemed to be a random teenager that was on speaking terms with the Herald of Andraste. The same couldn't be said of Lady Lavellan's other companions, Cassandra was the leader of the Seekers, Varrick had multiple contacts in the Merchant's guild and Solas was the Inquisitions expert on the fade. In contrast, Nathanael, as he called himself was just a young teenager who had lost his people and was now hanging out in the Inquisition doing something or other.

"Lady Montilyet a pleasure to meet you, I was wondering if I may have a moment of your time to introduce myself. With our current predicament, I see it in my best interest to get along with my fellow members of the Inquisition. To that matter, I simply desire to get to know you" Walking up to the woman that the table was working on, subtly Nat looked out the corner of his eyes reading rapidly the contents of every letter and every word that had been written. Names were remembered, diplomatic acts could be referenced later and the wealth and power of each family were categorised. When it came to politics there was an awful lot to remember, far more so when it came to Orlais and their dreaded game.

Magical politics were rather simple in comparison, you're family was entirely safe from danger so long as you didn't commit a crime. People could threaten or bribe voters, but it was nowhere near as bad from the impression that the Orlesian game gave off. Far less murder, subterfuge and all that. In fact, his family never really played the equivalent back home. The Tempest family before Weasley took over, was neutral and voted on an individual level rather than on some sort of political party scale. They also didn't try to up their position like others, they were rather happy just being a minor non-consequential house that required no special privilege. The extreme sort of politics was favoured mostly by Slytherins. Orlesians would hate British magical politics as it was rather simple and boring. If your family had a vote, then when a matter came up you voted nothing more nothing less. After all most families were only minor ones and unlike the stereotypical view, most magical noble families actually worked for a living and couldn't afford to lounge away all day thinking up diabolical schemes.

"It is nice to meet you too Mr Tempest, since we will be working together, you can call me Josephine" Smiling at the boy as he stood on the other side of the table, Josephine could finally understand what some of the others meant by the slightly strange and creepiness the teenager presented with those black things over his eyes. Besides the strange things on his face, she also looked at the very oddly designed clothing he wore among his people.

They were certainly fare more connected to commoner clothing than nobility, they were also reflective more of Ferelden apparel than Orlais or Antiva. There were just so many pouches, there were pouches on the back of his pants, pouches on the side of his pants, pouches inside pouches and other less pronounced pouches, there were also pouches hidden within that strange jacket hidden by strange metal teeth.

Whoever the boy's people had been, one thing was certain to Josephine, his people were obsessed with pouches. Then there was also the case of material, the pants he wore looked so thin, and the strange jacket was made of a material that she had never seen before, it was so glossy. Not to mention that strange black jacket he had also held those weird symbols on both shoulders, she had to wonder, were they a symbol of his family of his people. Not to mention why did he only seem to wear black, was it a symbol of mourning the dead or were his people like Tevinter, the boy's clothing alone posed so many questions.

"My apologies, I was observing your clothing. It's not like anything I have seen before; can I ask what the symbol on your shoulders are for?"

"It's the flag of my people, like the flag of Fereldan or Orlais". Josephine looked at the flag closer, it was so unique compared to the flags of the nations of Thedas. Orlais had the symbol of their signature mask, Fereldan was known for its two Mabari hounds, Tevinter had its two snakes on a green background while Nevarra had its skull. But this flag had no animal or person or weapon or item on it, rather there were just multiple red crosses inlaid with white on the site laid on top of a blue background. For some reason, she couldn't help but think that despite its simplicity, that it also worked rather well and if it were to be spotted on a ship, easily recognisable.

"Ah, I'm sorry about what happened to your people. If you ever wish to talk about things, then you can speak to me about it. Although I must ask, what is with all those strange pouches on your clothing and that strange metal on your jacket". Inwardly, Nat sighed. It appeared that for the next few hours he was going to be discussing clothing with a woman, dear Merlin how had he fallen to such lows.

"My people's clothing was designed for all sorts of purpose, it just depended on the job you did. However, whatever you were, everybody had pockets on our clothing because they were used to store things in". As an example to the woman, slipping his hand into his internal jacket pocket which surprised Josephine even more as there were hidden pockets on the inside of the jacket, he brought out his wallet and opened it up revealing a few coins and his debit card. "The advantages with pockets is that when you have items you want to keep from getting wet or dirty or if you just want to carry them, all you have to do is put them in a pocket rather than keeping them in your hands. In fact generally, most people consider having to carry things with your hands as cumbersome. All so it helps prevent a person from stealing your gold. Another great thing is, that when its cold you can just put your hands in them and keep them warm. In your case, with all the work you do, you'd most likely use it to carry pen and paper"

Hearing that, Josephine's eyes lit up with realisation as she recognised just how useful this pockets could be, cold breezes regularly made it into her room with how often that large door at the entrance was. Even when that was not the case, these pockets that his people had created sounded like something that would go down very well with the Ferelden commoners as they preferred practical clothing over anything stylish. But the mention of the last two things got her confused.

"What is a pen?" Nat placed his hand back into one of his many pockets, this time though he brought out a strange thin thing, a small pocket-sized book. At Nathanael's insistence, she opened up the small book only to blink repeatedly as she saw the paper within. It was white, the paper was white not the cream that the paper she was used to, but pure bright white untouched un tainted just a white piece of paper. "Where did your people get such fine paper" Josephine did not lie when she called the paper fine, it had a strange texture to it, but what was more impressive was the impossible straight clear cut side that the paper had. There weren't any bumps or creases, just pure white perfectly sliced paper.

"We made it. Now a pen which is this little thing in my hand is similar to a quill or your brush only the ink is inside the pen". Intrigued, Josephine extended her arm out and accepted the strange thing called a pen. It was black like everything else the boy seemed to own, she couldn't recognise the material it was made of, it was incredibly smooth but it certainly wasn't painted wood and neither did it feel like pottery. Before she could ask what the material was called, Nat brought out another pen and promptly pressed the end forcing the end of the pen out of its small plastic case. "Now you have to use a little more force with a pen, but it's far less messy"

Demonstrating the use of the pen, Josephine looked intrigued, the tip of the pen then hit the paper and then began to deposit the ink that was inside. Once Nat was done, he clicked the end of the pen retreating the writing bit back inside and putting it in his pocket.

"May I" Gesturing towards the paper book that was on the table and the pen. Nat nodded in agreement. Following the steps that had been given to her, Josephine clicked the end of the pen giving it a close look before bringing the end to the paper. Taking the advice given to her, she pressed down lightly and started to move, much to her delight, the ink deposited itself onto the paper.

"It is different to a brush, it requires more force and it is far less messy, the number of times I have accidentally gotten ink on my dress. Do you suppose I can keep it? This pen, I would very much appreciate it and we can also save money on ink" Upon hearing her request, Nat reached inside one of his jacket pockets and pulled out a number of pens. The reason for this was that there that besides the normal anti-weather enchantments, there was also small-scale duplication charm for small items, something which got incredibly useful with how often one could misplace a pen.

"Sure take a hundred to start off with, and if you need any more come to me and ask" Shock was prevalent on the lady ambassadors face as she watched the child just pull these strange pens out of nowhere so easily. His people, whoever they were had been very strange, all these pockets and creative things such as pens and white paper. "Oh you can have this as well, I have a few spare" Much more to Josephine surprise, she was witnessed as a thick book far too large for one of his outside pockets was brought out and placed in the table in front of her. Before she could ask, the book was opened revealing the beautiful white paper that had, in this case, had black lines perfectly horizontal. "In fact, since we're part of the Inquisition, why not have some normal paper as well alongside some coloured pens. No, wait how about I just give you an entire stationary set"

Minutes later, Jospehine's desk had all sorts of strange new stationary that had been deposited on her desk. There were pens, rubbers, rulers, highlighters and all other sorts of things she had never come across but were quickly described to her. Best of all though, was something that Nat had called a calculator, having been showed how it worked, she learned that his people had managed to make a device which could do complex mathematical sums in a heartbeat. The device could multiply, take away, subtract and divide, it was truly an amazing product which would seriously help her with not only her business as the ambassador of the Inquisition, but also reduce the time doing sums. Finally, with a small happy glint in her eye, and a very confused face on where in the makers name the boy had managed to hide so many things in these mysterious pockets, she gave a very warm smile.

"Thank you these will be very useful with my job. Just one thing is there any chance that you might have a small cupboard in there, with so many things I think I will need one "The stack of items on her desk was massive, but also somewhat exciting. The idea that she may be the first one ever to use such basic yet revolutionary witting tools was almost like giving a new toy to a child, she couldn't wait to get started.

"I'm afraid not, but I do hope you like the stationary, its all yours, you never need to give it back, even the calculator." Josephine gave off a warm smile as she glanced all the items that had just been bequeathed to her. Some she could see an immediate use for, the white paper was far neater than the darker brown paper that she was sued to and the pens were also far easier to use. The notepads could also prove useful and she was sure she could find a use for the ruler, however as had been made poignant, the calculator was certainly the gift she prized most of all.

It was such a simple device and had a simple purpose, but it would revolutionise her work. The amount of time that was required at times to add up all the sums individually or divide a certain amount was really time-consuming especially as she had to repeat the process less she make a grand mistake and pay too much or too little. This little device though was a device sent by the maker himself, she could significantly cut down on her work time and so long as she pressed the buttons in the right order, there would never be a mistake made. She was very grateful for this device and she also couldn't help but wonder if Leliana would wish to see it, her friend would likely find this thing interesting.

"Thank you, I promise that I will make good use of it when I have time. Now all I need to do is speak to the local carpenter and see if he can have something made. Is there anything I can do for you in return Mr Tempest?"

"Actually there is, from what I've gathered there is a good chance that the Inquisition may interact with the nobility of Fereldan and Orlais in the future. While I doubt that I would be the one to meet with them when one factor's in my age, in the case that something were to happen, do you suppose you would inform me of the proper mannerisms and actions that I would have to learn? I'd rather not embarrass myself in front of the nobility, it could be rather degrading for the Inquisition"

Having interacted with Orlesian nobility, Josephine knew exactly what he meant and was one of the few concerns bugging her in the back of her mind when it came to the Herald of Andraste. Valeyna was Dalish and therefore did not know the customs of Orlais. If the Inquisition was ever to interact with the Orlesian nobility in order to gain support, the Herald would most certainly have to attend, but if she was not aware of how Orlais worked and especially the game, it could be disastrous. Perhaps she could solve that problem later down the line, but if Mr Tempest wanted to make sure he was prepared for any possible meeting, it could only be to their favour to ensure that he could act the part.

"Very well, I will prepare some lessons for you when you return from the Hinterlands. Now I do not desire to be rude, however, I must go back to my previous business. If you could perhaps assist me with this stationary" A small pained smile was on the Antivan woman, she did like the gifts bestowed upon her, but she did have business to get back to and she had not expected for such a long conversation.

Immediately upon hearing her words, her dark eyes widened as all of the stationary lifted itself off the table and then promptly to fly in a neat elegant line to the opposing wall stacking themselves with unbeaten precision. Only a few things hadn't been moved and those were a few pens alongside her calculator which was sat proudly on her desk. With the stationary now transported, Nat gave a polite goodbye to the woman and left the Lady Ambassador to her work.

As the hours passed and moonlight danced on the floor illuminating all in its path, Nat watched silently as the camp mostly remained silent. Soldiers slept in their tents while the tavern was relatively quiet, the only lights visible were those of flaming origin. Reflecting back on the conversations he had shared with the most important members with the inquisition bar Cassandra who he couldn't see much of a point talking to, he had hoped he had moved forward with his plan.

Gaining influence and building the friendship of those in the inquisition was paramount. Should he find the people and magic to return home, then being able to call upon the inquisition for a favour or two would be highly useful. If not and he was stuck here which as much as he hated the idea, was far more likely the result of his travel here, then being on the good side of a powerful organisation such as the Inquisition was again useful.

Hopefully, he had taken the first few steps to his goal, but the future will tell whether or not his actions had any merit. For now, he would think about things, tomorrow he would be leaving for the Hinterlands.


	5. Chapter 5 The Opening Move

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 5 The Opening Move**

9:41 Dragon

The Hinterlands

Clouds crawled slowly above Valeyna gently dancing along in the sky as they moved from one direction to another as she marched into the small grass clearing. It had been a bit of a walk from the white snowy terrain of Haven to the now lush green land of the Hinterlands that she and her group had found themselves in, but it was a welcome one. No longer did her spine occasionally shiver as a mountain breeze pushed against her lithe frame and harsh mountain winds attempt to topple her over; instead she was greeted with a warmer happier day. a day that they had spent the most day walking in giving them little time to get things done. Behind her Cassandra's heavier armoured footfalls made themselves as they impacted the dry ground.

As the only warrior in their group, it was essential that she have the correct equipment on her ensuring that she was protected from the inevitable sword strikes, arrows and magic that would be thrown at her as she took the vanguard. That had not meant it was easy, the Inquisition was young and didn't yet have enough equipment for all of their recruits let alone something of any serious use for the Seeker to equip herself with. To counteract this, she had spent a chunk of yesterday while at Haven running round obtaining the proper crafting supplies to hand to the blacksmith. It wasn't an easy task though, while there had been a few iron deposits nearby the remains of the village, it had taken a good hard look just to scrape together the right things needed.

Unfortunately, when the blacksmith had said that supplies were scarce, the man had meant it. It would be some time the man had told her before any new sets of armour could be created simply because all of their supplies were desperately needed for the army, due to this both her and Varrick would have to wait their turn until they could have possessed more appropriate battle clothing. As for Nat, he had refused point blank to change his clothing. It wasn't something she understood, while different looking, his clothing did not seem to have any appearance that they could sustain a proper hit from a blade or resist magic, Although there was always the possibility that the clothing had been enchanted with runes. Poor Solas, on the other hand, was the one really left out, as a Dalish she was used to hardship and not having the prettiest clothing, but the old elven mage seemed only to wear old tattered rags.

As she walked into the clearing, soldiers of the inquisition dressed in their instantly recognisable armour bowed their heads crossing their arms in respect. She started wondering how these individuals knew who she was, only to be pulled out of such though when she saw the pretty dwarf woman approaching her quickly.

"The Herald of Andraste! I've heard the stories. Everyone has. We know what you did at the Breach." Quirking her right eyebrow, a brief second passed as the woman took in Valeyna's vallaslin recognising the elf as Dalish. "It's off for a Dalish Elf to care about what happens to anyone else, but you'll get no backtalk here. That's a promise. Inquisition Scout Harding, at your service. I-all of us here-we'll do whatever we can to help." There was a small pause in Harding's tone Nat noted, something was affecting her. He didn't think it was anything major, perhaps she was just in awe of Valeyna's presence or still trying to come to grips that there was a portal to another world floating in the sky spewing forth demons. Either way, she was straight back to professionalism.

"Harding huh. Ever been to Kirkwall's Hightown" Sensing a potential joke, Varrick smirked wanting to see if the scout would get what he was referencing.

"Can't say I have why?" Slightly confused, Harding waited for an answer.

"You'd be Harding in ... oh never mind"

"Ugh" Cassandra rolled her eyes at the dwarves rather bad attempt at a pun. Seeing that she had regained the conversation, Valeyna took charge of the situation.

"I'm starting to wonder about these "stories" everyone's heard" Harding smiled upon hearing that, she had been a little bit intimidated by the Herald at first, she wondered if Valeyna was more of the serious type then again how could one tell with so many fanciful tales being spurted everywhere since her actions in Haven.

"Oh, there's nothing to worry about. They only say you're the last great hope for Thedas" Caught off guard slightly by the reply, Valeyna's eyes blinked as she comprehended what the dwarf just told her.

"Oh, Wonderful" Varrick chuckled at that. How typical was that reaction from larger than life heroes, all the talk and stories about them, making them some sort of super powerful bigger life person and once they heard it, they're just utterly dumbfounded. It was the same with Hawke and apparently the exact same thing with the Herald. Quickly finding her feet so to speak, ensuring she embarrass herself, she allowed for Harding to carry on with her briefing of the situation.

"We came to secure horses from Redcliffe's old horse master. I grew up here, and people always said that Dennets herds were the strongest and fastest this side of the Frostbacks. But with the Mage-Templar fighting getting worse, we couldn't get to Dennet. Maker even knows if he's still alive. Mother Giselle's at the crossroads helping refugees and the wounded. Our latest reports say that the war's spread there too. Corporal Vale and our men are doing what we can to help protect the people, but they won't be able to hold out very long. You best get going, no time to lose." With Valeyna and the group filled in, Harding turned away to return to the rest of her scouts in order to coordinate their work and wait for the inevitable next report.

"Valeyna our first priority should be rescuing Corporal Vale and his men. The Inquisition cannot afford losses, not this early on. Afterword's we need to get those horses, if the Inquisition desires work efficiently and effectively, then it needs the ability to dispatch members with haste. The quicker we get the horses, the more time we save in the long run." What Nat did not mention to the Herald of Andraste, was the potential window of time they had to get the horses. Strong horses in his mind would be useful to either faction.

For mages, having strong horses would give them a greater opportunity to flee from combat. Whereas, if the Templars were to get hold of the horses, they would be transformed into battle horses and used against the mages. Whether horses would be useful against mages was another debate. Nat was no expert, in fact, he'd never been anywhere near a horse let alone ride one or use one in battle, but he had heard that horses were very skittish creatures often pelting at the tiniest disturbance. It may be difficult enough feat to get a horse not to run at the sounds of swords clashing against armour, but close up and personal against a mage? He doubted that horses would want to run towards an individual that may throw lightning, fire or ice in its face. If the horses didn't throw their rider's and run away, then the horses would surely be killed or severely injured. Losing good horses would be a waste of good recourses and something they had to prevent. That and the fact that if the horses could be properly trained, then a strong set of Inquisition cavalry could be devastating on the battlefield.

"I'm going agree with the kid Herald. If we're going to be going all over the place knee-deep in demons and shit, having a horse would be really helpful." Joining in on the conversation, Varrick couldn't help but remember the long trek that he and Cassandra had ventured on from Kirkwall after she had kidnapped him, tying him to a chair in a dark room forcing him to tell her the story of Hawke and then promptly drag him across the continent just so they could get to the Temple of Sacred Ashes. He was used to the walking, especially after spending so much time with Hawke running from place to place fighting through dungeons which for some reason all seemed to look exactly alike; but all of those things had been nearby. The idea of spending days on the road hiking across roads and hills alongside the real chance of being attacked by bandits or others was not the best sounding option.

"I agree, we cannot leave members of the Inquisition to die and we also cannot risk those horses falling into enemy hands. " Valeyna agreed with Cassandra and the others statement's, it wasn't like there was anything else to do for the moment. With no allies and friends, it was time to start building up some power in the area.

"We also need to be on the lookout for some crafting materials whilst we're here. Does anyone else have any other suggestions?" Looking at her three companions to speak, she waited for some kind of answer, maybe there was a useful person in the vicinity who could help them on their journey, or maybe there was some sort of supplies that they could bring back. With no one saying anything, Valeyna walked forward leading the group further into the clearing to take a closer look at the scenery.

The small clearing they were on, was located in an elevated position giving the group the ability to see several objects worth studying. In the distance, Valeyna frowned as her eyes locked onto the appearance of wolves prowling a bunch of rams up ahead. Below them in the more prominent foreground, were a set of dead bodies consisting of both Templar's and Mage's, both had seemingly killed one another. Another key point of interest, was only a few metres away was a house that had been seemingly abandoned, it wasn't large, but Valeyna did note the location down in the chance that if her group was forced to spend the night in the Hinterlands, that they may have a roof over their heads.

Nat noticed the same thing's that Valeyna had, only his concern was the very obvious landmark that could be used for the Inquisition. This was their points of observation differed, Valeyna concentrated on a small hut only a small distance away, whereas his focus was the damaged castle perched on some advantageous ground little bit farther ahead on a hill. It was a bit ruined, some of the walls had crumbled with time and neglect. Even so, he trusted in the protection of solid stone walls more than in a flimsy wooden box that could be set on fire at any time either burning them all to death or suffocating them.

"Lead on" Cassandra spoke clearly indicating towards the small dirt path that led towards the dirt road. Valeyna promptly took it heading down until at the end she came across the small abandoned house/hut that she had seen from her previous position. It certainly wasn't anything impressive to look at, but without a doubt, it had been abandoned; most likely when the Mages and Templar's had arrived in the area with their conflict risking the lives of innocent people. Opposite of the slightly damaged front door, was a small little garden heeded of by a small wicker fence which attempted to guard the few Elfroot plants growing inside.

Quickly she began to gather the necessary ingredients from the plants. Elfroot was a common ingredient in the usage of health potions; Something which she found could likely be of very high use later on when they faced any potential enemies. While Valeyna picked up her ingredients, Nat entered the small hut his wand at the ready. Behind him, he could already feel the slightly amused looks of Varrick at the precaution he was taking as he slowly opened the door from one side. While no soldier, he had tried to duplicate what he had seen on tv, sweeping the room quickly taking and much cover as he could. It may look silly to the others he was with, but he preferred that over the risk of an enemy filling him full of holes he opened the door.

"Oh just walk through kid there's no danger." Brushing past his younger companion, Varrick pushed open the door marching inside casually as his eyes looked from side to side reading the atmosphere. Tools were missing as were clothing and food, whoever had lived in this small shack had been one of the lucky ones, most likely they had been given some type of warning, and packed up as soon as they could before rushing away desperate to find a safe place to stay. All in all, though, the small shack with grass growing on the top of it, had nothing special about it prompting the three companions to walk out and rejoin Valeyna as she finished with gathering her herbs. They carried on down the path picking up some iron in the local rocks as they did so.

"Careful there's Templar and Mages up ahead" Thankful for the warning from their youngest member before they walked straight into the middle of an ongoing fight, the group of fours equipped their weapons and advanced down the forward. Nat's warning soon proved right as the sounds of spells flying across the sky was mixed with the sound of sharp metal hitting flesh angry and painful yells alongside the whistle of arrows. Once they were in sight of the situation, Cassandra helpfully yelled what was going on.

"Inquisition forces, they're trying to protect the refugees" Trying was certainly the keyword. In total, there were about three soldiers of the Inquisition crouched behind a crate that they were requisitioning as cover, measly short bows in their hands against a group of about thirty Templar's and about five mages. Wasting no time jumping into the fray, the closest opponent, a Templar that had been advancing on an inquisition soldier suddenly exploded outwards in a flash of red. their guts and insides falling all over the place as a blasting curse smashed into their armour.

The sudden eruption of the man drew attention from the rest of the group as they noticed the newcomer's group enter the fight. Splitting off from their group, some templar's went to turn on their heel and charge only to find their legs and other appendages blew of their body in a concoction of bloody gore that forced one of the inquisition soldiers to vomit there and then. Another red light of a blasting curse smashed the ground between a set of Templar's. Like a grenade, the force lifted them up of the ground against their will with enough sheer force to kill them instantly as the air pressure pulverised their organs internally. Recognising the serious threat of what they assumed were a powerful bunch of apostates, the few archers drew their bows only to find their heads promptly sliced cleanly from their bodies via cutting curses.

A few brave Templars charged, only to then find themselves impaled by either a bolt from Bianca or an arrow that Nat had conjured slicing straight through the templar's jugulars thanks to magical accuracy. Valeyna managed also to get a few kills of as she struck some of the Templars with lightning, however, poor Cassandra hadn't even managed to feet close to an opponent before all the Templars lay dead on the ground most courtesy of the youngest member.

However, the mages that had briefly been spared, were still enemies and launched a barrage of attacks desperately hoping to save themselves only to Cassandra's surprise to constantly slam against rapidly created and dissipated magical shields from Nat again before he with far more speed and grace than she had seen of any staff-wielding mage. Quickly conjuring five silver spears, Nat directed them towards the mages, impaling the apostate mages straight through their hearts killing them instantly. Approaching the now red stained ground, Cassandra couldn't help but be both impressed and concerned with the sheer deadliness that the majority of Templars had been dispatched with.

Valeyna spoke with the few soldiers who now seeing the fight was over, had elected on coming out of their nice cosy hiding places in the multiple village buildings and get back to work. They informed her of the location as where to find Mother Gisselle. Yet as she did so, Cassandra couldn't help but focus on the way that the Templars had been dispatched her eyes flickering in a horrified manner from just how they had met their end. The fight with her former comrades had been so quick yet so utterly devastating. The chunks of corpses that littered the comrades showed the truth of just how powerful magic was when used in certain hands.

She had wanted to speak with the Templars upon first seeing that they were there, speak and convince them to put aside their war with the mages, and fight with the Inquisition and help close the breach. But she never had a chance. The spells Nathanael had used she had seen before, back when they went to initially close the Breach; but they had been against demons so she had waved them off. Now though, against people against Templars, the damage he could do was quite sufficient as well as a slight amount of guilty relief. If just one of his people could devastate Templars so easily, what could all of his people have done if the Templars had marched? As much as she trusted in the Templar training, she couldn't help but have a deep fear of what would likely have become a bloodbath.

Dismembered limbs and heads were scattered all over the place in a gory sight, legs and arms blown off in the explosion. A few corpses had huge deep jagged gouges in their armour from where the explosion had kicked up rocks and dirt, catapulting them at high enough speed to shred through even plate armour and chain mail. Moving her head towards the templar's whose bodies were mostly intact, the archers. she found that their heads had been sliced cleanly off with as much precision as a veteran butcher ad their meat, a solid straight cut like a great sword at an execution. They hadn't suffered something that even with those Templars being her enemies, she was grateful of. Yet she couldn't deny that when she came to the more familiar appearance of those killed by Valeyna, bodies melted and turned black, the smell of burnt flesh prevalent. that the child was far more dangerous than she had initially given credit for.

Templars were trained for years in gruelling and unrelenting harsh training, to fight magic and how to wield the sword. They were taught that it required a number of Templars to subdue a mage, and even then it was best to corner Mages, never letting them get out into the open where mages magic could be used to far greater and more devasting effect.

After years of work their training allowed them to help endure the magical attacks Templar's would endure alongside extensive knowledge in how to counter fire, ice and lightning attacks, the most common they would face in battle. But what Nathanael had just used, exploding the physical bodies of the men and women sworn to defend the Chantry with but a bolt of light. They ever stood a chance. No blizzards were created or ice walls or freezing them in place, an explosion had hit their bodies and shattered in so many pieces, ripping their limbs off in a display of raw magical power. And the mages, their corpses had a look of horror still etched onto them while they leant back on the silver spear that was impaling them. One of them even still had their hands around the shaft of silver in a weak grip.

Unlike the Templars, she felt no sympathy for the mages and was glad that her companion had dispatched with them quickly before they could harm more innocents. But he had done it so quickly!. His spells moved far faster than she had ever seen before, he also unleashed far more and far faster than any other mage she had encountered. When Solas and Valeyna used their staffs to unleash magical energy, one could see the distance between their spells of at least a metre or two. However, Nathanael's were so tightly knit that it appeared that at most only a couple of inches lay between each spell at most.

It raised far more questions and the urgency of discovering where his people had lived. For a Mage to fire off so many spells in quick succession was dangerous and severely changed the balance of power in their favour. Yet, it also finally informed her why the boy carried that small staff.

Nathanael had moved that stick in his hand so rapidly so gracefully that it had become a blur and was more of an extension of himself just like any veteran swordsman. No mage she knew could cast staff spells like that, but that was due to the bulk of a staff and moving it from one position to another. That stick in his hand, however, never moved seemed to move from the same firing position seriously preventing her or anyone else from working out what form of attack he would unleash besides the glowing light.

Despite him being on the inquisition's side, Cassandra couldn't help but worry about events after the Inquisition was finished with its job if it ever did. How would the Templars ever be able to enforce their role in fighting mages if the mages had weapons that would enable them to effortlessly cast spells at such a speed that Templar's would be forced to take cover all the time to even approach? It was a long off desire she knew, restoring the Templar order to what it should have been, but she couldn't help her thoughts of concern for the future.

Upon hearing the sounds of conflict disappear, the doors of the few village huts began to open themselves revealing the faces of civilians and soldiers of the Inquisition who had taken shelter with them to keep them protected against those who would threaten their lives. Not everybody recognised the group upon first sight, some of the soldiers and civilians panicked as they noticed the staff on Valeyna's back recognising her as a mage and then the markings on her face making even worse. They were suddenly stopped from rushing back into their homes cowering under a table when the name of the group was declared loudly by one of the soldiers who had been at Haven previously, therefore, knowing the identity of the four who had come to their aid.

"It's the Herald of Andraste, thank the Maker" Loud cheers and applause rose up from those who could now take in the appearance of the one destined to save them all from the horrors of the Breach and demons. That was at first, of course, a few particular individuals after being made aware that it was the attractive elf who was their chosen one soon had their applause transform into dark and suspicious looks which were made darker worse as they noted the markings on her face showcasing that she was Dalish.

"I hate that title" Muttering under her breath, Valeyna greeted two of the Inquisition members with the signature bow after they hammered in an inquisition post into the ground declaring what it was and how these particular individuals were now under the protection of the Inquisition. Cassandra, on the other hand, gave a disproving look after hearing Valeyna refuse who she was, she would follow the elf for now, but that did not mean she could understand why the Herald refused her title. Who else other than one chosen by the Bride of the Maker could have escaped the Fade?

"Well, that's what you get when you big heroes do things" Looking around the camp, Varrick took in the situation that those here were in. It wasn't good. To his right a group of children were leaning against a set of steps, bandages had been wrapped around some of them and they all had coatings of blood on a different part of their bodies, others had their arms in makeshift casts, all in all, the kids looked miserable. Beyond those kids, there was an obvious picture of starving people, ribs were visible on one man, and one woman's pain from seeing her children suffer from starvation was horrifying.

"These people have lost so much because of the mage's rebellion, can they not see the harm that they have caused". Behind Cassandra's back, Valeyna gave an annoyed look, it was just typical behaviour to blame something wrong on magic. Were the mages supposed to enjoy living like cooped up hens being abused by Templar's when others got to be free? This whole war could have been prevented if Mages were actually treated like people rather than monsters to be hunted down and slain if they didn't agree with the Chantry. It was the Templar's who were responsible for this war, just like they were responsible for the destruction of the Dales.

"You did notice the Templar's right seeker?" Varrick asked. "Both them and the mages are responsible for this mess" Walking up a set of stone steps towards where mother Gisele was supposed to be located thanks to some directions of a helpful soldier.

"The mages aren't responsible for this, all they wanted is freedom and ever since the Templar's have hunted them down. They were only defending themselves" Cassandra disapproved of Valeyna's response, how many times had it been shown that the moment they get the freedom that they would use their powers on others for their own gain. The Templars had become corrupt over the years straying from their original purpose, but they did do an honourable worthwhile job. Templars protected the common people of Thedas from the terrors of Magic. Years ago during the fifth blight, the Fereldan circle had suffered from a demon infestation, had the Templars not been there ready to undergo the right of annulment then the demons would have broken free of the tower and slaughtered a great many deal of innocents. Had it not been for the Hero of Ferelden, coming in just at the right moment to save the day, then the circle would have been overrun all because of some foolish mages.

"The Templars serve the Chantry, if we could reason with them, get them to help us seal the breach" Rebutting the Heralds words, she hoped to make the Herald see how she was right.

"Calm yourselves you two, this woman would like to speak with you if you hadn't noticed" Gesturing towards the older darker skinned woman wearing her ridiculous Chantry robes in the current environment, Nat broke up the argument before it could get really going. Once the two women gave the mother her attention, Mother Giselle granted Nat a silent thank you before speaking to the Herald.

"You must be the one called the Herald of Andraste. I am mother Gisele. "

"Not through any choice of mine" Giselle smiled chuckling as she heard the slight contempt that the young elf girl spoke with about her new title.

"We seldom have much say in our fate. I'm sad to say"

"So you agree with them?" Valeyna asked she wondered how anyone could believe such a story that she was chosen by the maker simply because she had walked out of the Fade. Did the people not wonder for a moment if they thought it was nought but a lie. Leliana and Josephine were spreading the rumour in hopes of gaining attention but did people truly think she was chosen.

"I don't presume to know the maker's intentions, for any of us. But I did not simply ask you here to come debate with me"

Upon hearing that, Nat wondered if there were just some stereotypical monotheistic religions phrases that they all had to say. It might have just been him, but that sounded something like what a Christian would say. All he had to do now was wait for the inevitable "God works in mysterious ways" quote. Once that was said then he could officially declare that there was indeed a certain set of phrases one had to declare in order to join the "one true god" club.

"I know of the Chanty's denouncement, I am familiar with those behind it. I won't lie to you, some of them are grandstanding hoping their chances of becoming the new divine. Some are simply terrified." Having taken Valeyna on a little walk, Gisele could not prevent the pain on he face from showing as she remembered a number of good people who had been her friends once only to be slaughtered in the conclave explosion. "So many good people taken from us".

"But don't you stand with the rest of the Chantry ?" Valeyna questioned, so far the Chantry had been very critical of the Inquisition considering it a blasphemous organisation that had to be torn down and destroyed. Whether it was for personal power leaving the Inquisition as a threat to them, the Inquisition itself being considered a danger to the Chantry and the people especially when ran by a Dalish elf of all things, or just an attempt by Leliana and others as a way to grab power and extended their influence through unsavoury means. The Inquisition was not a well-liked group by those with power and influence. All these factors left Valeyna wondering why Mother Gisele would want to speak to her instead of condemning her and the others for their actions.

"With no Divine, we are each left to our own conscience. And mine tells me this, go to them, convince the remaining clerics you are no demon to be feared. They have heard only frightful tales of you. Give them something else to believe."

"You want me to appeal to them?" Frankly, Valeyna could not see how that was going to work. If she had been a Human and not a mage, then they may have been more willing to listen to what she would have to say, but humans feared the Dalish and feared magic even more. She had little hope for the clerics to actually take the time to hear what she may have to say. More than likely they would scoff in her face throw her away if not cuff her in irons and have the Templars make a tranquil out of her. She shivered at that the idea of becoming tranquil was horrendous.

"If I thought you were incapable, I wouldn't suggest it."

"Will they even listen?"

"Let me put it this way, you needn't convince them all, you just need some to doubt. Their power is their unified voice, take that from them and you will receive the time you need" While appreciating the woman's apparent trust in her, alongside a valuable strategy on dealing with the Chantry problem, Valeyna still wasn't sure it was just going to be that easy. She knew very little on the Maker or how religious politics worked, they were far more complex than her gods. She did have to wonder why having politics ingrained into so many matters of Human culture was so integral.

"It's not going to be that simple"

"I honestly don't know if you've been touched by fate or sent to you to help us. But I hope, hope is what we need now. The people will listen to your rallying call as they will listen to no other. You could build the inquisition into a force that will deliver us, or destroy us. I will go to Haven, and provide sister Leliana the names of those in the Chantry who would be amenable to a gathering. It is not much, but I will do whatever I can." Without saying another word, Mother Gisele rapidly took off down the stairs without so much as saying goodbye followed by the mage who had been next to her. Watching her go, Valeyna witnessed the woman come up to the children and soothe the worries of the adults there enabling the mage to start healing them of their injuries.

"Corporal Vale is coordinating the Inquisitions efforts in the area. We should speak with him." Following Cassandra's advice, the group spoke with the man who informed them of the rather poor state that they were in. People were going to starve as while a lot of refugees had brought food along with them when they had initially fled the conflict, they had by now expected to be either back home or safe in a city. As neither had happened food was running low. There were other concerns about people freezing to death thanks to a lack of blankets to keep people warm.

Only after conversing with others in the refugee camp after a suggestion from the corporal did they see the larger picture of what state the camp was in, and possible ways how to fix said problems. Valeyna on Nat's advice also decided to help some of the normal people who were in the camp for the purpose of improving her image making her appear like a kind woman. According to him, common people would trust her more if she was perceived as the type who cared for others no matter their race. Of course, she was planning on doing so anyway when they had a chance, but ultimately their goal of retrieving the horses had been pushed back long enough to ensure that the refugees did not die.

Besides the problems that the common folk were experiencing, useful and informative information was given to them by the man. Neither the Templars nor the mages they had slaughtered upon arriving at the camp were part of the main forces. Cassandra was rather thankful for that as it meant that they had not hindered any possible plans of negotiating with the Templars. Also, the mages wondering around the Hinterlands were apostates who had gone mad with power after being free to use it properly for the first time now that they were not confined to their prisons. As for the Templars, they had elected to ignore the call from the Chantry for all Templars to return to Val Royeux instead hunting down rebel mages and slaughtering anyone they believed to be harbouring mage sympathies. In other words, both groups were offshoots and could be dealt with by force without any negative repercussions.

Burdened by a new set of quests and the promise of gaining some political power, the group of four travelled forward looking for rams and other random stuff.

Later

Splattering blood out of their mouth, the sellsword felt their last vestige of life slip out of them resulting in their body going limp collapsing to the floor as a silver spear appeared from nowhere piercing straight through his not cheap, but certainly not high-quality armour ripping out the other side. It was relatively painless how quickly they had their life extinguished, a few of the others weren't gifted the same treatment as they were burned alive courtesy of the fire spell that Valeyna had hit them with. Their clothes set alight, skin burning and blackening while they choked as the smoke-clogged their throat suffocating them. Further back an archer loosed an arrow at the younger member only for it to stop in mid-air turn around and travel at double the speed straight at them with enough force to push them back several metres shredding lungs as the metal tip became like a finely sharpened point thrust straight into their organs.

"Herald it seems we've found ourselves some rams" Aiming his crossbow, Varrick was promptly stopped from taking the first shot that without a doubt would have gone straight through its hide and into is body hopefully killing it and providing a good source of food for the refugees.

"Don't shoot them" Cassandra un-amused looked at Nat wondering what in the Makers name the mage was going to complain about.

"What is it? The inquisition needs these rams did you not hear the hunter back at camp"

"Have you thought about how you're going to bring them back to camp?" Silence reigned for a few moments as the other three looked at Nat questionably, wondering why he was asking such a question. Nat, on the other hand, was wondering how they had skipped over something so critical. "You were just going to kill the rams, weren't you?. You were going to kill them here this very moment and skin them of their hide. Only did you ever consider how you were going to bring them all back? were you planning on carrying dead skinned animals on your back all the way to camp? Did you also ever consider where the hunter was going to hang them once he had them because I don't remember seeing any mats to lay down the ram meat after you brought them back".

Valeyna flushed as she heard that, how could she have forgotten such a simple thing. Back when she was with her clan, the hunters preferred to bring back the animal alive if possible as it made things easier for keeping it in better condition. Once the animal had been killed and prepared to eat, it had very little time left without any salt to try and preserve it. Also if she had just killed the ram, then she and the others would have been forced to leave the dead ram here to be potentially stolen or eaten by thieves while they transported the others back.

"What do you suggest" Gazing over at the ram, the group watched as ropes shot out the end of Nats small staff flying through the air before wrapping themselves around the animals tightly to give him control. Yelling at their sudden capture, the Rams rushed away desperate to get away from the strange thing that had caught them and wanted to eat them in their opinion. If they could even have opinions that was?. Tried was the key word, however, for as they yanked, a compulsion charm was sent down each of the ropes like electricity on the wire impacting the animals.

While certainly not as powerful as the imperious curse, the spell did the trick. The spell that had been cast upon the woolly creatures forced the animals to have a sudden strange compulsion that food awaited them if they went with the strange two-legged ram. Happily, they allowed him followed by the other strange to legged creatures on each other side of them to walk them all the way over to the strange place where more two-legged animals were located.

Walking through the camp, heads turned as the focused on the sight of the Herald of Andraste walk rams on a leash like they were some kind of dog. Whispers abounded about the scene and besides the elf, Varrick struggled to hold in his amusement for the whole situation, the sight they made must have been legendary. Getting further into the camp towards the hunter who had asked for the animals although technically he has asked for the dead, the man just gave an odd look before accepting the rings of the rams from Valeyna.

"Uhm thank you I think. You got more than needed but this ram will do the refuges a world of good. I just have to find somewhere to store them" It would be a bit more work for the hunter, but it was certainly better than potentially ruining good meat not to mention he had far greater control of the meat if he could do it his way. Despite the strange circumstances, the hunter was very happy for the animals; he had asked for ten and had gotten thirty. "My thanks Herald" A sigh was the response from Valeyna before giving a respectful nod this time intent on actually getting to the horses this time.

After some time

"Nathanael might I ask where you gained your combat skills.?" Inquisitive, Valeyna focuses her attention on the young mage also hoping for some kind of answer from him. Varrick had also found Cassandra's question to be a good one, he could feel a good story, and he could feel that the kid had a good juicy story. Only much to the disappointment of all three, Nat merely remained quiet refusing to answer the dark-haired woman's question preventing her from getting anything. Huffing with annoyance as she gave him a glare, Cassandra tried once again to get a response from the mysterious mage."Can you tell me what you were taught?"

"No" A harsher more irritated glare was sent to the back of his head, which meant nothing to Nat as he carried on walking west to where at least according to Valeyna's map, the horse master was located. Choosing not to respond to Cassandra's request and by extension enlightening both Valeyna and Varrick on what he could do with magic was a tactical decision on his part. In the long run, revealing or anything about how his magic worked could be very detrimental to his own safety in the far future.

While not agreeing with Cassandra on her points with mages, he could understand her position which was why he did not want her to know anything about learning his type of magic. If the Breach became sealed as was their goal, the Inquisition would lose its use or be turned into the Chantries puppet. A Chantry who would most certainly desire a return to the status quo of throwing those with magical gifts into prisons guarded by Templars if not outright butchering them on the spot. In the future, Cassandra could very likely be while not a Templar, an individual who would assist the Templars in their efforts' in capturing mages living outside the circles and refused to bow down to tyranny. Eventually, the Chantry would come after him.

Templar abilities had no effect on his magic whatsoever due to their power sources being different. He had discovered this when experimenting with some of the Templars who were practising their abilities. It was a simple test, having borrowed a shield placed it in the Templar practise place and enchant it to become invisible with a powerful camouflage spell. Time and time the Templars practised their magical nullification abilities even so far as to politely ask a young mage to help them train. Upon utilising their abilities, the templar's nullified the mages magic leaving them in a hypothetical fight useless. In contrast, Nat's own magic wasn't affected him in the slightest and neither was the shield he had placed down.

Undeniably this was a brilliant set of circumstances, well at least for him. Templars were nothing but normal humans wearing heavy armour and swords that could easily be dealt with and the same would be with those of the Seeker order. Cassandra and her group did use similar techniques, only Templars relied on Lyrium to fuel their powers whereas the Seekers did not. Such an advantage over the Templars was a very useful edge in the case he either had to fight them again. Something that would inevitably occur if the circles were placed back up and attendance was mandatory.

That advantage he held over the Chantry worshipping Lyrium addicted servants of the maker could be potentially thwarted, however. Should Cassandra learn more about his magic worked or what he could do, she might try to develop a counter to such a skill, even should it fail, it was still a threat and was why he would not give the woman any information that could be used against him. If the Templars did manage to find a way to level the playing ground, then he was in serious trouble, especially if they managed to catch him by surprise. If his ability to apparate was suspended, then he would be forced to rely on martial skills consisting of the swordplay he knew alongside hand to hand fighting. His skills weren't bad and his hand to hand skill was certainly of a higher quality than the sword work if only because the chance of him ever using a sword against anyone when magic was not in play was negligible. Nevertheless engaging an actual Templar without magic was not something he liked the sound off.

He had to ensure to the best of his ability that he restricted Cassandra and anyone else allies or no from discovering any counter to his power. One way to help him in minimizing that risk he faced, was to ensure Valeyna would side with the rebel mages. He would also sabotage any attempts of siding with the Templars. Another viable strategy would be to help convince Leliana to use her agents to permanently silence those enemy clerics who would be too aggressive about any form of alliance with the mages.

Not all of them, if all those clerics who opposed the Inquisition were slain left right and centre, then the organisation would be viewed in a negative light. Had the world not be threatened by the small little problem of two realities crashing into one, then the Inquisition could not get away with such action so easily. Generally, he was a firm believer in allowing for people to speak their beliefs and minds even if they were stupid like those particular individuals who thought the earth was fucking flat.

In war things were different. Too many opposing voices could rally support and severely damage plans either by public pressure or the leakage of valuable intelligence. Should the Inquisition face yet another powerful opponent in the Chantry should it be given the time needed t rally behind an enemy, then the world could be lost because of political infighting. He'd leave that to Leliana, she was the spymaster and far better versed in the more cutthroat politics of this world then he was.

There was very little room for his modern-day perspective in this world. He was from a modern nation and part of the developed world that people of Thedas could only dream off. To them he lived in paradise at one time, and as annoying as it sounded, he just was not used to the brutality and the harshness of the world that the average person here would be. Some of his opinions would work in his favour such as not having a problem with elves, but others would work against him should he cling to them. For one he had to harden himself for medieval politics, consequences of messing up were far more drastic, instead of a fine or a prison sentence, death was most certainly a common occurrence. The same held true for justice, locking people up in prison or fining was just not something that could be done here, the punishment was rather a death or having limbs cut off. It was barbaric, but there was at least half a millennia by earth standards in their opinions. Going by his in this word could cost dearly.

Most importantly, he would not allow himself to make mistakes that could cost him his life or freedom. He would not allow himself to be thrown into some dam tower for the rest of his life, he would kill all those who tried. Despite being on the same side now, Cassandra was still a person who he viewed as a potential enemy in the future, one that if he was kind to now, could really come back and bite him in the ass if he wasn't careful.

"No, why not?"

"No" Nat repeated. Growling at the lack of response, Cassandra raised her voice instinctively ready to talk down to the childlike she would do a soldier should they show disrespect to a superior officer. Her body stiffened slightly and she started her intimidation glare the only thing was, it was hard to intimidate a person when they did not once look at the sad excuse that Cassandra was attempting.

"If we are going to work together in the Inquisition, it is useful to know how you work so we can be more effective" Cassandra argued her hand gripping her swords' hilt clutching it not tightly, but hard enough to show the frustration that the seeker was feeling.

"No" Seeking assistance in the mater, Cassandra gave Valeyna a look that yelled. "Please help" Sighing, Valeyna decided to end the argument so they could carry on with their current objective of gathering horses and saving the world from demons.

"Cassandra if he doesn't want to answer perhaps you should leave him alone" Receiving a nod of approval of the young mage for his defence even if in his opinion he did not require it, Valeyna focused her attention onto Cassandra getting her to back off. Exhaling loudly having lost the argument, Cassandra turned silent.

"We got a castle ahead of us" Warning the group of the stone structure towering over them in the distance, Varrick looked over at the top of the battlements for any person who may be residing in its old battered walls. The party prepared their weapons. Varrick, Cassandra and Valeyna were all used to negative experiences when it came to castles. Once abandoned and left for the vines to entangle them, large stone structures even if damaged, often left perfect bases for bandits and others to strike out of and attack folk. Naturally, with the Templars and mages in the Hinterlands fighting one another to the death, such a structure could prove to be very useful and therefore likely be swarming with one faction or another.

Following their lead, Nat moved himself to the back of the group his eyes skirting around the lush landscape looking for anyone in sight. He had not felt anyone nearby them, nevertheless, it was always a good habit to be prepared than sorry. Once they arrived at the base of the wall, Valeyna gave out orders.

"Cassandra Varrick you search the outside, Nat come with me" Before Cassandra could object to the party composition of having both mages go into the what looked to be an abandoned castle, a strong firm hand gripped her arm before dragging her off to join Varrick.

"Don't complain, seeker, there's no danger here, just come with me and watch for Templars and shit" Smirking as he left the two young mages alone, Varrick jokingly called out to them. "You two enjoy each others company" Winking at the two, the dwarf groaned as there was no reaction from the younger mage who was the true target of his joke. No flinch, no blush, no awkward movements at the innuendo, rather just a calm expression. Valeyna, in contrast, did not blush but she did give a small smile at the joke watching the two walk away to secure the outside of the castle while she pondered on how to get into the castle itself.

Once upon a time, there had been a small moat beneath the now-defunct destroyed bridge preventing intruders from storming the building ransacking, raping and murdering those who would have been within. Now the not deep ditch, but deep enough to prevent a person from just entering the castle via climbing up it stopped her from simply walking in. "We need to look around for an entrance in the wall" Rushing towards the end of the bridge in a quick run, Valeyna observed as Nat pushed off the old stone walkway, and jumped to the other end of the bridge before then promptly walking calmly. "Or we could do that" Following his lead, she backed up a small amount for her run before following her younger companions example of leaping off and landing on both feet on the other side.

"This place would work as a camp. All that's needed is a small bridge built, a few palisades fitted in to close that hole in the wall there and you have a somewhat secure outpost. Far better than some camp in the middle of nowhere" As he spoke, Nat analysed the situation that the old castle was in. Without a doubt it had seen better days, the old stone and gravel courtyard had nearly been entirely taken over by moss. None of the four corner towers was entirely intact leaving no place with actual cover should rainfall, on the east side of the castle, part of the wall had collapsed leaving a large gap for any who desired to conquer the ruin. A few small slim trees had also taken up root and would require cutting down. The only tower that remained somewhat intact would have to be reinforced to ensure the timber did not rot away too much stealing away the only watch post. Besides those flaws, the castle could be used as a forward base camp and more importantly should the Templar's or mages come knocking at the refugee's doors again, the castle could protect them better than flimsy wooden huts.

"We should alert the soldiers down below then" A loud explosion sounded outside the walls behind them, veering in that direction, Valeyna's eyes widened as the ominous glowing green light of the Beyond as her people called the Fade, appeared on the other side of the walkway before blasting again. Upon the second explosion tentacles of light hit the ground bringing forth demons, demons who instantly turned their attention upon the two of them firing off a bolt of fade energy.

Smash

Boom.

A quickly created shield charm from her companion shielded Valeyna from the attack and was promptly followed by what at this point seemed to be a signature spell for her younger friend. Smashing full force onto the demon, killing it which visually appeared as the demon evoporating. Another bolt followed only to be blocked and countered with another spell that rained a hail of arrow onto the demon.

"Herald" Coming over the walls, Cassandra's concern for Valeyna's safety made itself known. Moments later, the woman herself became visible upon charging straight into a rage demon her shield drawn and stabbed it in the gut. Another demon went to strike her side only for her to pull up her shield blocking the hit and then slice the head of the next demon. From behind her, Varrick unloaded a few bolts from Bianca with supreme accuracy striking the heads of the demons bringing them to the ground.

Not wasting time, Valeyna sprinted out of the castle so she was in close enough range of the newly formed rift for her mark to work. With the green tendril of energy connected, she shattered the rift closing one more entrance that the demons had into the world. Seeing the danger had passed, the four of them returned to gather as a single group.

"What did you find" Grim-faced, Varrick informed the elf.

"Someone's burnt the entire village down below us, the castle's also been taken over."

"Shit, we're going to need to clear that out if we want to get the horses" Taking out the map that had been handed to her by Leliana when she had left earlier that day from Haven, Valeyna studied the map. The Castle and village that had been taken over, stood right beside the only bridge in the region. She could if she wanted too, ignore the bridge and simply wade through inevitable freezing cold water. According to the map, on the other hand, the map did not inform her of how deep the water was potentially risking their lives or suffering grievous harm. However, if they left the castle, then at any point its occupants could come and kill any horses that they obtain whilst they were crossing.

"We will need to wait for tomorrow then, we should rest for now the hour is getting quite late" True to Cassandra's words although they hadn't really been paying attention t it that much, the sky had been growing darker and the four of them had lost substantial time on their fast march from Haven to the Hinterlands. Despite this, Valeyna couldn't help but be concerned, was it wise resting and leaving the enemy for now. Currently, the enemy was far away not really at risk, but that could change. On the other hand, her feet were starting to ache from all the pressure they had been put under.

"I'll go tell the soldiers to start a camp, you three get comfortable" Refusing to wait for an answer, Valeyna and the others heeded the youngest members words and began to search the old castle for the best possible sleeping spots. It wasn't the biggest castle, but it was better than sleeping out in the open where animals or demons could attack them. Solas Valeyna beckoned would enjoy this place, had he accompanied them, then he would have slept here with giddiness just so he could explore the Fade.

"That spot there's mine seeker, if you want though you can join me" Cassandra rolled her eyes as the bad attempt at flirting by the dwarf, he was insufferable at times. At least during her sleep, she got to be away from the dwarf. Still, she accepted, there was a small amount of cover in that particular corner. She may have rejected the life of nobility as a seeker, that did not mean that she liked to be rained on in the middle of the night.

"I'm going to go get some firewood" Valeyna announced.

"Be careful, if you see any demons come right back here" Replying sternly in hopes of protecting the woman who was destined to save the world from calamity, Cassandra made her concern for Valeyna's safety known.

"You know seeker now that the Herald and the kid have left it's just the two of us now" Joking in a slightly evil manner as he knew how Cassandra would respond to be being left all alone with him, Varrick deemed to make Cassandra as uncomfortable as he could. Cassandra had apologised to him in private about his hole treatment, but that did not mean he didn't want to take out a little bit of revenge on the seeker.

"Take me with you" Cassandra yelled pitifully out the castle. It was too late, however, Valeyna had already managed to nimbly escape the castle grounds escaping into the small woods in the distance. Reluctantly turning her attention onto the dwarf, she sighed before taking a seat next to him.

"Oh cheer up seeker I'm not that bad, I'm a brilliant storyteller" As much as she wanted to refute the dwarves claims, Cassandra couldn't. Besides her annoyance with the dwarf at times, Varrick was correct in the fact that he was a fantastic storyteller easily able to bring entire stories to life with just his words. The characters he had created in his books, the scenarios and everything he wrote was amazing especially in Swords and Shields. Not that she would ever let Varrick know that, if he did discover it, he would let her shut up about it.

"So you say. Varrick, now that we're alone, what do you think of the Inquisition. Leliana, Cullen Josephine Solas, Nathanael the Herald. We have an impossible task ahead of us, do you think we can do it, save the world from demons". Leaning back against the old stone wall, Varrick set Bianca down next to him in arms reach just in case any bandits or demos rushed though forcing the two of them to defend themselves. Sighing promptly afterwards, he turned to face Cassandra seeing the worried look that she had on her face. He'd seen it before with Hawke, the feeling of the weight of the world on one's shoulders it seemed Cassandra was carrying that weight.

"I don't know seeker. When something like a Blight hits and starts to screw shit up, you need a hero to swoop in and save the day. The Hero of Ferelden did that and Hawke managed to save Kirkwall, but this shit, the sky raining down on our heads while the Fade is threatening to cover the world and spew demons forth. That type of shit takes more than heroes. A miracle is what we need, I don't think even Hawke could have solved this."

Up in the sky, the two of them watched as the clouds mixed with the swirling remains of the temple of sacred ashes. Levitating and circling around the gap constantly. It was both an impressive and utterly frightening sight. A sight Varrick couldn't help but remind him of when he had been in Kirkwall after Anders had destroyed the chantey sparking the Mage rebellion which culminated in the war.

"What about you seeker, how are you managing with this whole end of the world stuff. " Screwing her face in a ball as she grimaced, Cassandra went to glare about the almost joking tone that Varrick had used only to stop. Varrick meant no disrespect; he was simply trying to use humour to keep himself going. After all the things he had experienced and gone through with Hawke, she couldn't blame the man.

"I'm... Every day I think about what happened at the Conclave." Voice faltering, memories of everything she had done was crystal clear in her head, What she had eaten that day, where her sword was the ridiculous beards that one of the Templars had on his face. All of it was so perfectly clear that she could easily walk that day over and over again like it was one of Varrick's novels. But her mind focused on her failure, it had been her job to defend Divine Justinia and she had failed so utterly. Her failure now meant the Fade threatened the world itself all the world the world tried to tear itself apart."If I had been there ... I, I could have defended Justinia. ". Her voice trembled, was there anything she could have done differently?

"Don't beat yourself up about it Seeker. You did all you could to keep that place safe, no one would have expected something like the Breach to happen. All you have to do is help close it." Cassandra blinked as she looked at Varrick in an unexpectedly vulnerable manner. Her common hard face used to intimidate others revealed a more soft and weak side to the woman, a side that showed that she was still mourning the loss of a close and very valuable friend. "You're the best swordswoman I know seeker, if you couldn't stop this no one could" She smiled ser so slightly hearing that it felt genuine the concern. It was nice she reckoned although she steeled her features again, never could she allow the dwarf the chance to tease her.

"Thank you, Varrick. If you don't mind me asking, what do you think about the Herald?"

I don't know how that mark on the girl's hand works, but I' sure glad she has it. I don't care what anyone else says, heroes can get away with some crazy shit, the Hero of Ferelden managed to unify Orzamar save a Dalish clan from werewolves, deal with a demon infestation at the circle tower, find the urn of sacred ashes and save Arl Eamon and then lead the charge against the Arch Demon. And Hawke, she barely escaped the Blight with her family, then she travelled into the deep roads found an ancient abandoned thaig and escape only for years later to kill the Arishok single handily before fighting off an entire battalion of Templars to defend the mages. That shit sounds crazy, but that's what heroes do. But the Herald, Hawke couldn't have survived that explosion no one could unless they had help. I mean she walked out of the Fade Andraste's breath, I mean who does that type of thing."

As Varrick talked, recalling the rather bizarre set of event that had happened at the temple of Sacred Ashes, Cassandra found herself agreeing with every word that the hairy dwarf spoke. All of it made sense, only a powerful individual could have assisted the Herald in escaping the Fade, who other than the Maker would deign to protect his children like that. It was clear proof that the Maker via the proxy of his bride, did care about them and were giving them a chance to prove themselves loyal to him. Yet despite this opportunity, not only the Herald, who could be explained by clinging to her wrong beliefs in Dalish gods, but also the boy who simply refused to believe at all.

"I do not understand why Nathanael refuses to believe, who other than the Maker could have granted us such gifts as emotions. And who other than the Chantry should decide what is right or wrong. As the vestige of the Maker and his bride, can he not see that it is imperative that the world should worship the maker. To not care that the Divine was killed, how far have his people fled from the light of the Maker?".

"I wouldn't put too much into what he said at the Temple Seeker; he's just lost his entire people to a civil war and bandits. You don't just recover from something like that and especially not at his age without serious damage. As for religion, we spoke earlier, apparently, their group never made contact with the rest of Thedas. In fact, he even said that dwarves and elves were myths in his people, like fictional stories. I also can't see his people being too fond of the Chantry either if his stories right, his people got driven from their home and killed simply for having magic."

"I won't deny the Chantry, the circles and the Templars are flawed, but it is much safer for everyone if the Mages aren't allowed to just roam the countryside. Apostates kill so many innocent people and often turn to blood magic and the common folk. They do not welcome mages, if you so much as mention that one might be nearby, they panic and fear if not try to kill the child. However the Templars have abused their power, Meredith's paranoia was the cause of the Kirkwall rebellion, if the mages had been treated fairer, then perhaps this could have all been avoided." Varrick frowned, he'd have similar conversations with Hawke once a long time ago.

"I told you before Seeker, Blondie is just as responsible for this whole mess as much as Meredith was. He was the one who blew up the Chantry after all"

"But if Meredith had not pressured the mages so far, then perhaps Anders may not have been driven to such rash action.

"True, but the situation in Kirkwall could have been localised. Once Blondie blew up the Chantry, shit got out of control. Anyway what do you think about the Herald and her companions" Turning her own previous questions against her, Varrick was curious as to see what the Seeker thought of the people that they were now working with.

"The Herald is young. She has been raised to be the next keeper of her people so she has some leadership skills, but there's a certain uncertainty to her like she doesn't really know if she's taking the right action." Varrick nodded, the Herald did lead them but having seen Hawke who was also a natural leader, Valeyna's youth kind of showed as she questioned her decisions and wasn't as quick to make them often asking for advice a bit more than she should do.

"What about the elf"

"Solas is mysterious, how he managed to avoid getting caught by the Templar's for so long is a mystery. However, with what we face, I am glad to have him on our side. I am glad for his expertise on the Fade, it may very likely prove to be invaluable in the future. However, he is a bit... distant, preferring to be on his own. I assume that must be down to a lack of social interaction"

"And the kid" Cassandra narrowed her eyes, not in a threatening manner, but in a way that showed she was thinking intensely.

"He has been trained in magical combat. I've never seen any mage fight like the way he does, constantly moving back and forth the brief barriers he creates and then collapses instantaneously. Not to mention his talent for creation magic is astounding and far beyond any mage I've encountered. Though I do wonder, how he is so mature. Most children his age are far more" she struggled to find the words, as she considered the way he behaved. He certainly did not act like a normal child his age rushing off whenever they could or trying to play at sword fighting. The child was serious about never showing any emotion and had the ability for reasoned and logical thought.

"Mature, I've seen it before all the time back in Kirkwall. The kid probably had a rough childhood forcing him to grow up early. When the Blight was going on and all those refugees from Fereldan arrived, the number of kids who were thrown on the streets to starve or sold themselves into prostitution wasn't pretty. That's if their refugees, that kid isn't, the way he fights, the experience he had when it comes to fighting, he's used to someone trying to kill him."

Cassandra utterly agreed with Varrick's statement. There wasn't a single flaw in his magic casting, he was aware of his surroundings and he fought with far more experience than most circle mages would ever dream of having. The few mages she had fought from the circle when they escaped, were often very sloppy having been raised in the circles. They were still dangerous of course, magic was a very dangerous tool and object: especially when tuned against people but that was the good part about having them in the towers. With no real conflict, the mages even with their power and learning shouldn't have been able to hold up against Templars in a battle. Although that was moot, the Templars no matter how hard they tried to restore Southern Thedas to normality just had not found the edge they needed to deal with the rebel mages.

"Perhaps, Leliana has not been able to find anything on his people though. Do you believe him Varrick, do you think he is lying to us. " Not able to help himself, Varrick let out a full-on belly laugh while rolling onto his back at the naiveté of the Seeker.

"Of course the kids lying about something's Seeker, everyone does. As for if I think he's from some strange magic clan, well it makes sense. For one there are the strange clothes that he wears, second have you heard the way he speaks, he sounds educated I guess is the right word. Not to mention that miniature staff he has, the shit he can do with that thing, I wouldn't be surprised if mages all over Thedas didn't bend over backwards to get one that small."

"I.. I trust Leliana, if she is cannot find anything on him, I guess I am just suspicious" Seeing the self-doubt, Varrick shook his head quickly grabbing her attention and pulling the woman away from such dangerous thoughts.

"Now stop that Seeker, suspicious is good especially if we're going to save the world from Demons. Lelianas really good, she even scares me especially when she does that little smile of her" Shivering at the mention of that slightly happy but incredibly intimidating smile the woman gave off, a smile which said "I know everything about you or. I can kill you in your sleep and there is nothing you can do about it" Andrastes tits it was creepy. When I talked to the kid yesterday, he said that his people are rather isolationist to make sure nobody knew about them meaning no contacts. I guess it is possible for a group of mages to exists and not be known about".

"I suppose. Having him with us is better than him being our enemy. The things he can do with magic is rather dangerous, the last thing the Templars need is to face a bunch of Mages who could use his magic. The results would be horrendous" Images of screaming templar's being tortured and killed mercilessly made its way into Cassandra's mind. Dead corpses stained red with their own blood stretching all over the floor heads decapitated from their bodies and placed on spikes. It was a brutal sight, if normal mages could become as skilled in combat as the boy, the Chantry would never be able to regain control of the Mages. Mages were not inherently evil, their magic was just too dangerous to allow mages to wander free. If a demon were to assault a mage, then if that mage were to lose allowing the demon to conquer their body and turn it to their own desires, then many innocent would die until the Templars could finally arrive. Mages had to be treated fairly and not be treated like animals less it deteriorate the situation, but they could not allow them to be left out of the circles, the risk was too great.

"Guess we'll have to wait and see Seeker. For now, I just want the Herald to get back with that firewood, I have eaten since we had that quick stop on the road here" Cassandra rolled her eyes at that.

"You mean when you stole my kill and ate my rabbit as well." Giving a fake look of hurt, Varrick acted as if that the woman had just offended him.

"You wound me, seeker, I was the one who shot it and you didn't complain when the Herald took that other one" Cassandra was not impressed.

"The Herald needs her food, she is still recovering from the Breach. You, on the other hand, are quite wide enough, with the way you eat, you will be larger than a horse" Another look of hurt only this time, Varrick looked at his waist slightly self-conscious. Was he getting fat, he didn't think he was and dwarves always looked bigger than humans because they were smaller in stature.

"I'll have you know that I didn't get any breakfast today, I left it by my place only Cullen wanted to ask me something and then it was stolen. And what about the kid, he didn't have breakfast or lunch" Thinking about the events earlier as they left, Varrick remembered a certain individual who had been looking at his breakfast with hungry eyes. It was an elf if he remembered, a servant of one of the now dead clerics who had attended the conclave, she was only a thin girl. Most likely she'd been starving the last few days and seeing a fresh meal that had been abandoned was the greatest thing she had recently. He'd have to mention her to Leliana to make sure that the girl got fed, poor thing was probably too afraid to approach anyone less she is considered a conspirer.

"He doesn't eat Varrick, I asked the servants and according to them he does not accept any food or drink whatsoever. How he's been able to cope so far I don't know and according to the stock master he hasn't taken any tea out either." That caught Varrick's attention, the Herald, him, Cassandra, Solas alongside the three advisors were all given hand cooked meals as they were considered the Heralds companions raising their status a bit in the Inquisition. Nat on the other hand outright refused any food that was offered to him to the point that it had worried one of the Servants as she was fearful for her job.

"That's odd, has any food been taken from the pantry" Cassandra shook her head. "I wouldn't worry about it Seeker, the kid looks perfectly healthy. If the kid collapses on the floor then we might have a problem, for now, he's either hunting his own food or he has some with him from his people. With enough time we'll see the kid eating" Even with his words, Varrick mentally made a note to keep a careful eye on the kid the next few days. If the kid wasn't eating, then he could be in serious trouble and would affect him incredibly badly. Unfortunately, he had a feeling that the apparent lack of eating, was that despite the kid's apparent rapid recovery from having everyone he ever knew slaughtered and everything he had ever known destroyed, that the kid was not alright. After all normal people didn't keep up a blank emotionless mask all the time, kids his age were more often than not making crass jokes and following every attractive girl they could find. He could still remember the times when young lads would come into the Hangman and give Hawke and her sister those sultry looks. Nat, on the other hand, acted quite prudish, preferring to spend time on books or learning general knowledge, he also preferred to avoid social groups and locations.

"Varrick, do you think he's still recovering?. He says he's fine, but he just doesn't act normal" Despite the refusal earlier from the boy about answering her questions, Cassandra found herself concerned for him., of course for Inquisition reasons only.

"Probably Seeker. I'd give him space and don't pry into his life too much, he's mourning in his own way. Anyway shall we get onto a bit more of a cheery subject, all this talk about the world coming to an end and a dead kid's people isn't really the thing I want to be thinking off when I go to sleep" Acquiescing to the Dwarf, Cassandra followed Varricks advice and became silent. In hopes of ridding her mind of the less than stellar depressing topics they had just discussed previously, she thought about what she needed to train the new Inquisition recruits. Most of them were former peasants who had decided to join which was fine she guessed. Currently, with the Chantry and every other group looking down on the Inquisition, peasants were the best they could really get. Still, they would hardly be a match for well-trained Templars or other groups they may come across, Templars had years of harsh and brutal training in service of the maker whereas most peasants had only used a pitchfork to move hay from one place to another.

Later that night

"Thinking of home?" Spinning 180 degrees, Valeyna narrowly managed to stop her hair from falling in her mouth due to how swiftly she had responded to the sudden voice behind her. In her hand, she had drawn her knife. It was only small, only to be used for cutting small objects in general, but within the tight confines of this half demolished grey tower, it was a better choice than her staff. Upon seeing the ever calm expression of the other mage in the group quietly she attempted to sneak the knife back into her belt only she hadn't been as sneaky as she had thought she had been.

"Good reflexes although I'm not a Templar so you don't have to worry".

Blushing at being caught, Valeyna no longer tried to conceal her actions of placing the knife back into her belt instead doing the easier and more obvious action.

"I'm sorry I just didn't expect anyone to sneak up on me like that" She replied gently only as she did so she now feeling safe with the presence of the powerful and dangerous young mage beside her, she fixedly locked her eyes onto the twinkling starry night above her.

"Fair enough. The stars do they look different here to when you were with your clan" Following her example, Nat peered upwards into the sky gazing upon the patterns in the sky before frowning internally. The night sky was still pretty, all those burning balls of gas light years away, but it was just another reminder of where he was. He was used to one of either two scenarios when he took in the black sky. At Hogwarts, he could make out the stars and their patterns and knew the history of the symbols that were made, constellations such as Orion, Aquarius, Leo, Virgo, Hydra all of them he could see on Earth thanks to ridiculous Hogwarts classes taking place in the middle of the night. Or if he were at home in London, then he would not see them at all as the sheer amount of light pollution drowned every out.

Here on Thedas, besides the Elves, and the Dwarves, the Templars and Chantry, the massive disparity in technology, things felt somewhat similar. However the night sky was the thing that stood out amongst all other things, the famous old brilliantly shining north Star was no longer present, preventing him from telling north from south simply by gazing upon the night sky. And while he certainly lacked the knowledge to be a person who could navigate by the celestial dots in the sky, he could always find a strange comfort that so long as you could see the stars, he knew he was home. It was something he regretted not spending more time on and having only truly come to appreciate. The complete loss of familiarity forcing him to come more and more to grips with the situation he was in. He was alone. He had never been one for social interaction, but without anyone he could relate to in history or events, Thedas seemed so much larger.

"No, They're the same yet they feel different. Is it because I've never been away from the Clan on my own before for so long?" She turned her face flush with befuddlement, she hoped that her friend might have an answer to this question, he always seemed to.

"Most likely. You said you've never really been away from your clan for an extended time. The stars are the one thing that you really have with you that remind you of your people, of your home. Whilst you think of them, they are doing the same thing for you. Most likely they pray every day to Mythal for your protection and that you return home safely to them one day". A small look of shock passed over her face, how did he know about what each of their gods did, she had not discussed it with him and there were no other Dalish in the area.

"How did you know?"

"I spoke with Solas this morning before we left, he told me some of the beliefs of Dalish culture. Speaking of which Valeyna, if you too, I'd be happy to learn about your people." There was no happy or heart-warming smile from the kid as he leant back against the stronger part of the collapsed tower. It was a friendly gesture, but Valeyna saw it as questioning, an all too familiar experience that shem's had asked before. They attempted to be nice to learn about her people after she had told them, they made fun of her and her people. Her eyes narrowed and her friendly attitude towards one of anger.

"Why do you wish to learn? All humans I have met think our beliefs are wrong and even you said that you don't believe in any type of gods. So why are you interested in my people" Valeyna's voice raised, her eyes narrowing with suspicion, there was no reason for him to be so curious about her people. All humans who had wished to discuss it with her had only tried to use that information to insult or mock her people belittling them and harshly reminding her of "old glory" and how the Dalish were nothing but savage monsters holding onto to stupid memories. She didn't yell, she had no desire to wake either Cassandra or Varrick, yet still, her anger as being asked by a shem couldn't help be prevalent.

"Ir abelas Valeyna." With the moon shining brightly onto her hair illuminating it like a torch making every single strand of her silvery blonde hair visible, Valeynas hair became slightly dishevelled from her sudden head swish as Nat apologised to her in Elvish. She had not expected him to respond that way, as she heard it, she thought that she would be angry that a Human would dare to speak her people's language after all that they had done to her, only she did not. Nathanael's people had not been on Thedas when Aralathan was destroyed and conquered by Tevinter enslaving the people and forcing them to quicken. They had been elsewhere in the world far away from the events that would befall her people. He was not responsible, he only desired to be friendly to her. "I do not wish to cause offence only learn, if you so desire, I can tell you about some of the old mythology of my own people. On the other hand, if you would prefer for me not to pester you, I shall leave you"

Creaking under his weight, the sound of old floorboards having the pressure of a human alerted her to the fact that he was planning on leaving her in peace. She wasted no action, rushing to her feet she grabbed him by his shoulder stopping from leaving her alone. As much as she found it strange, she liked his company, he was comforting in a way, helping her get used to the way things were so far away from her clan surrounded by humans.

"No stay, I'm sorry for yelling at you. I don't... It's just so complicated for all of this, being the Herald all of the responsibility. I would appreciate being able to talk. I don't hate you or humans, it's just all this pressure, the looks the title. People only call me Herald now I just want to be me. I'd appreciate being able to talk about my clan." Her tone heavily dictated the stress that she was suffering and her face was one of pain, all people did was tell her what they needed to do and all the alliances that she had to make and political actions she had to take. The soldiers and servants of the Inquisition saw her as either a hero or suspiciously because of her Dalish heritage. Solas was rather judgemental on her people, Varick was interesting to listen to, but even he referred to her as some great Hero by calling her the Herald, Cassandra no longer considered her a killer, but as she believed in the creators, there was a sort of disapproval from her.

Nat, on the other hand, was like her in so many ways. They were both young mage's raised in an outcast society; Both of them were separated from their people due to circumstances outside of their control with no guarantee of ever being able to rejoin them. Both of them were treated with suspicion from those in the group, her for having the strange mark on her hand and him for the magic he wielded. Maybe it was because of this fact, that he seemed so familiar to her in so many aspects why she found it easier to follow his advice, almost like he was a part of her clan she didn't.

She didn't know how but he always knew what to do or what to say to help calm her down and feel better. He understood the politics that were at play while she did not; most importantly he listened to her and did not mock her beliefs of the creators. He was also the only one who consistently called her by her actual name, it may only have been a short time since the incident at the Breach, but he made her feel like an actual person and not some thing. Out of all of those she was working with, she found him to be the most trustful one, the one she had a feeling would support her when she needed it.

Unknown to her, as she thought about her friend, she did not know that person had smiled internally at his plan succeeding. Looking at the girl in his usual calm facade her face smiled as he joined her sitting down on the edge, his recognised that his plan to gain influence was coming together rather brilliantly. Valeyna was vulnerable and naive, she was strong and could make decisions, but everything about her life had changed so rapidly, that it currently resulted in her barely being capable of handling things as she still adjusted to her new life. It would pass soon, after a few days she would recover her strength that she had shown during the Breach, but now was when he was taking his move.

He needed to gain influence in the inquisition as not only for his own desires, but also as a defence to protect himself from anyone who would try to act against him which for the most part meant the Chantry and the Templars. Valeyna was the leader of the Inquisition, even if the others hadn't realised it yet. For this purpose, he was using this time he had now while she wasn't sure of what to do and was looking for anyone to help her to worm himself into a good relationship with her. By becoming her "friend" and likely advisor, it would hopefully give him influence over her and therefore increase his own within the Inquisition. If he subtly managed to place her into a position where she regarded him as her most trusted companion, then she would likely take his advice over anyone else's. For that reason he was striking now, giving off fancy words and trying to get the woman to feel comfortable with him while she was vulnerable, the moment she wasn't it would be far harder to build that relationship and gain the influence he required.

It was simply a manner of politics, while he hadn't lied about his beliefs to Leliana and Solas about what he thought, while he attempting to befriend them by engaging in interesting conversations. That did not mean in the slightest he had any desire of actually becoming their friends, influence, power, knowledge and assistance was what he desired. If he acted like an obvious asshole to everyone, then they would turn against him resulting in him not gaining what he wanted. On the other hand if continued to play his role of the young mage deeply scarred by the death of his people, eager to learn about the outside world, then he would find gaining what he wished far easier. For now, he would continue to be the young wise wizard to Valeyna, the one who comforted her, the one who found interest in her hobbies and people, the one who was there for her. He would be her rock, and she would be his puppet. All without her even knowing what was happening.

"So your clan, how was it growing up. It mustn't have been easy being the first to the keeper after all. With all that responsibility, I bet you didn't have much time for yourself." Valeyna shook her head slightly as more memories of when she was a little girl came back to her.

"I got to play with the other kids when I was young but it was always less. When it was revealed that I had magic, everyone congratulated me and told me that I was special, it felt so good at the time, all the extra responsibility of being a grown-up, how to lead the clan. Now I just think that I wished I had more time to play with the others and go off hunting especially with Eldrion" Pink flashed on the cheeks of the woman as she mentioned the name of an all too familiar elf to her clan.

"Your boyfriend I presume" Her cheeks turned even redder at that but she grinned in a lustful manner.

"No, she's a girl, but she's the one who introduced me to everything. She became very sexually active when she got older. We're good friends, and we use to help each other out when it came to our needs. " More than happy memories came to mind as she remembered the body of her fellow elf, taking a glance at her companion, she wondered if like her he had gone red or showed any sort of emotion. He hadn't.

"If you don't feel comfortable"

"No, it's not that. Anyway because of how often we visited human cities to trade things, she had sex with one of the city elves there, a guy in fact. After she came back she kept bragging about how good it was and that she wanted to do it more often and that I should try it as well"

"Dear Merlin am I going to have to listen to this girl talks about what and who's she's done. Fuck." While not said out loud, Nat could only start to think of his sister, the girl Valeyna was describing sounded a bit liker her at least when it came to sex. The amount she would discuss her sex life with him was not something he generally appreciated. Even if he was the little brother, he still felt a need to protect his sister and it certainly wasn't a nice experience when your sibling informed you of everything they liked to do in that department especially so graphically. His sister knew that he could imagine in-depth scenarios because of how much time he spent in his head and she used that against him. Of course, wanting to get this conversation over with Valeyna, he answered. "So what did you do?"

Valeya grinned, Nat resisted the urge to facepalm. "Who did we do more like, she took me to the guy's house so he would do the same to me so the Keeper wouldn't find out. Only the guy had friends over and he was discussing what happened."

"Please say you didn't"

"No, she took me to the guy in private the first time while she spent the rest of the night with his friends. After the first few times, it kinda became normal, finding a few nice guys or girls and enjoying ourselves. One time she dared me to a bet with her and if I lost, I would have to be with her when she went to have fun with a few people. I lost " Her grin turned even bigger.

"How many were there?" He already felt regret for asking this, but for his plan to work he needed to become friendly with what seemed to be a fairly promiscuous woman under all her Dalish heritage.

"Eight guys and two other girls" Things were silent, beside him, Valeyna waited to see what her friend's reaction would be. Mostly, she felt fear would he reject their friendship because of what she had done. Seeing her worry, Nat alleviated it.

"How many were there?" He already felt regret for asking this, but for his plan to work he needed to become friendly with what seemed to be a fairly promiscuous woman under all her Dalish heritage.

"Eight guys and two other girls" Things were silent, beside him, Valeyna waited to see what her friend's reaction would be. Mostly, she felt fear would he reject their friendship because of what she had done. Seeing her worry, Nat alleviated it.

"Firstly, I don't care about how many people you've had interpersonal relations with. It's not my business, it's your body and your life so you can choose what to want to do with it. Secondly, why you tell me this? I thought most people would be terrified of such a thing especially if you had to hide it from your keeper. Thirdly, please don't ever speak with me about this type of topic again, It's not something I'm interested in. Fourth stop giving me those hooded eyes it's not going to work, I'm not interested. Fifth again it's not my business but if you do find someone you want to "enjoy your company with" Please nowhere near me. Sixth before you ask, No I certainly unequivocally, undoubtedly, absolutely have no desire in the absolute slightest to hear the rest of the story."

For a brief moment, there was a downhearted look on Valeyna as she realised she could not carry on with her discussion before she gave an evil grin. Finally, she had found something she could use against her friend when it came to teasing, he was so solid on everything else but when it came to Sex he simply did not want to talk. She was looking forward to teasing him more.

"Well the first thing Eldrion did to me was" And like that Nat had sped away from his position and down the old ladders to rest of the Inquisition who were asleep as they recovered for the next day's adventures in the Hinterlands. Deciding that she would join them, she too made her way down the set of ladders where then she found her sleeping roll fitting herself as comfortably as she could on a cold hard stone ground and fell asleep guarded by the soldiers of the Inquisition who were on watch.


	6. Chapter 6 Betrayer's Folly

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 6 Betrayer's Folly**

9:41 Dragon

Hinterlands

Quickly and silently, Valeyna advanced towards her targets. In front of her, two Templar's had their back turned as they stood beside the entrance to the small village. Gently drawing her small sharp knife so as not to make a sound and alert the Templars, from its sheath, she stalked towards her target making no noise whatsoever controlling her footfall to make far less noisy steps as they impacted the grass as well as ensuring she did not accidentally step on some twig. On her right, Cassandra copied her example only she possessed a rather dagger instead of a small cutting knife. Unfortunately, Cassandra's armour prevented the Seeker from being anywhere near as subtle in her actions compared to the young elf who had spent a good amount of her time light on her feet dancing across the forest occasionally with the hunters of clan Lavellan. Something that was showcased rather obviously when by accident the dark-haired woman stood on a twig that snapped. Reacting before anything could be screwed up, the two rushed over hiding behind a rather conveniently placed boulder before the Templar's turned around.

Having recognised the lone stone tower within the mostly destroyed village as the headquarters for the rouge Templars in the Hinterlands, Valeyna knew she had to clear it of enemy forces less it's strategic position overlooking the only bridge over the vital river be turned against them. They had seen this location the previous day when they had first arrived at their broken down castle they had slept in the previous night and seen for themselves the damage wrought by the rouge members of the Templar order. In the clearing surrounded by stony hill formations on one side and a river on the other were homes that had once been owned by normal common folk that had been burnt down in the most part or occupied by the attackers. Bodies had been dumped haphazardly into a pile with no care for those now dead instead they had been left to decompose in the open allowing for flies to buzz around as they waited to feed upon corpses.

Elsewhere in the clearing, Templar's walked around completing their daily tasks, sounds of metal clashing against metal were prevalent as they trained against one another. Another sound that could be heard was the thunking of wood as Templar archers loosed their arrows at set up targets practising their accuracy for when they inevitably faced down another mage. All around the camp, there were gaps for people to sneak in through and all had been plugged with a posting of Templars to securely hold the many entrances to their camp. Not that they were doing a good job.

Brilliant fighter's the Templar order might be, but they still got bored and after having cleared away anyone who had been in this village before they had arrived, they felt safe in their power. After all, who was going to clear them out, the King of Ferelden?. King Alistair had far more important concerns on his plate to worry about than just a few Templars causing on a holy crusade. Thanks to their newfound safety, they had grown bored in their location and were raring to butcher some mages and all those who sympathised with their cause only for now they had been halted due to the forces of a heretical order which had just shown up on their doorstep. But ultimate they were still bored, and when bored they tended to look for anything to entertain them which in this case were a few girls that they had "commandeered" to help the Templar order. As the holy servants of the Maker and the ones who held back the evil that was magic, it was only fair in their minds if they had certain individuals to alleviate their "troubles". As for the girls themselves, they wouldn't dare complain out loud at the treatment, one only had to look at the pile of bodies to see what happened to them and that was if they were men. It wasn't allowed to last long, just a few quick goes to humiliate them and then they were executed with their bodies joining the rest of the corpse pile. What was even worse, was that all of it had to take part in the tower itself just in case some idiot decided to attack them. As if anyone was that reckless.

Hiding behind the large rock, Valeyna concentrated on what she remembered was a Templars weak point in their armour and the best way to slip her knife into it. She dare not use magic less the sound it makes draw too much notice and alert the others in the area. Without a doubt, she knew that if the Templars were to get wind of an attack on them, then the girls who resided in the tower would be outright murdered. One of the greatest problems with her choice of attack in a subtle manner was that it forced her to split her team in two. The first group of her and Cassandra would sneak into the main village and rescue a group of hostages stuck in a tower whilst Nat and Varrick would infiltrate the tower itself in hopes of killing the Templar commander. Another reason why she couldn't use magic besides the noise it generated, was that the smell of a burning corpse would soo waft itself around the rest of the Templar base. For this exact reason, the group had lost half its strength as both her and Nat were rather useless leaving it up to Cassandra and Varrick to cover them.

Cassandra's stony gaze fell upon her as she gripped her sword while placing herself in a more advantageous position. Curious as to the nose they heard, the Templars got closer. Searching her immediate vicinity for any sort of way out of this in hopes of saving innocent girls lives, she smirked when she saw a grey small rock that would fit in the size of her hand. Picking it up, she peered around the rock just revealing enough of her body to see the area behind the rock yet still remaining unseen by the Templars. It was a far easier job then one realised. While wearing armour was a very valuable commodity for Templars so they could protect themselves from attack, their helmets only had a very thin gap for their eyes severely limiting their vision.

Valeyna waited for the Templars to change the direction of their gaze. When they did, she threw the rock that she had previously picked up high into the air and behind the armoured men. It flew for a few metres before then hitting the ground behind the Templars. Spontaneously the men turned on their heels expecting to see some kind of apostate only for instead them to come face to face with none other than the terrifying monster that haunted the dreams of men and demons alike, for they saw a squirrel. They laughed at their own paranoia lowering their guard not believing that they had been so disturbed by such a creature. It was the last thing they did. Neither of them felt as strong hands gripped their helmets tightly and the sharp cold metal that plunged hard into the back of their necks and came straight out the other side. They were then caught swiftly before they could fall and lowered to the ground were quickly hidden away by their attackers leaving the entrance they were guarding wide open.

Continuing in their mission, the two of them crept into the back end of the village vaulting over a small wicker fence on one house into its back garden. Scanning the immediate area in the small but still possible case that they disrupted any person, the women kept silent although relieved. When they checked back door into the house they hoped desperately that with all the chaos, that whoever had owned this house had simply forgotten to lock the door. They had. Progressing inside, the two of them slid their backs against the interior wall by the front window which overlooked the main road in the village supplying them a favourable view of the village.

For the next ten minutes, they watched the village outside of this small shack that hadn't even possessed a wooden floor but rather a hard dirt floor only made so by the constant pressure of walking provided from the common folk who had once lived within. They marked down where each of the archers was located which in general was in groups of five situated within a bigger group of about thirty templars in total. Each group besides its five archers also had twelve normal Templar's with their swords and shield alongside three veteran Templars equipped in far bulkier armour with a thicker shield that would be able to take the impact of a staff's usual spell protecting the Templar from harm. All in all, there were three groups of stacked together Templars consisting of a total of ninety and another forty other Templars which were more on their own various performing duties or simply relaxing with an unknown total in the tower itself.

Aside from the rouge Templars, they also saw where some captured mages were being held going by their fluffy shouldered mage robes. Both Valeyna and Cassandra wondered why the Templars had kept some mages captive, but it was soon made prevalent as a Templar with an evil malicious grin on her face marched to the wooden house that the mages were being kept in. Upon her arrival, the six Templars who had been standing guard moved to let her pass while one of the group opened the door revealing the looks of terrified mages. The woman whoever she was, left the house mere moments later with a young child no older than Nat was, brutally dragging him by his ear all the while the kid tried to fight the best he could. After a hard yank, the boy pulled free only for seconds later the Templar woman to get in front of him and shove her knee straight into the kids gut winding him as he fell to the floor with a heavy thump. With no care or mercy, she then proceeded to drag the kid head first through all the mud, blood and shit of the village before dragging him up a pyre where a beam of wood was set upright.

"Maker have mercy" Cassandra was horrified by what she was seeing. The two women witnessed as with tears and streams running down the boy's cheeks that the kid was tied to the wooden post. Once the Templar woman had ensured that the boy had been tied down correctly, she stepped down from the wooden pyre with excited glee as she heard the boy wail for help.

"Brothers and Sisters of the Templar Order" Increasing the volume of her voice, the woman's words echoed around the camp grabbing the attention of all those within the vicinity to hear, after a few moments of checking that she had everyone's gaze on her, the woman continued her speech. "Today we do our rightful duty to the Chantry, Andraste and to the Maker himself. For too long magic has been allowed to plague this good earth corrupting all it touches. For a time we were sworn to defend the people of Thedas from the evil that is magic so that good people may live their lives free from terror. We were kind to the mages, we allowed them to live in Circles meant to protect them so that they could harness their power for good." While she yelled, Valeyna noticed that the Templars who were off guard as showcased by them not wearing their helmets showed anger on their faces as the name of the Chantry was brought up as well as what their former duty had been. "However was our kindness ever acknowledged"

"No" The crowd of Templars yelled loudly answering the question that their commander had given them. Anger burned in their eyes the memories of good friends and comrades lost to the forces of magic or corrupted by its presence fresh in the minds of many.

"That is right my friends. Their disgusting kind never thanked us for the kindness that we showed them, they refuse to admit that they are not even people. Because that is what mages are bothers and sisters, they are simply shells for demons to come through and destroy the world. They are not people, they do not deserve our kindness or respect, rather they are a curse on good people, a curse that had brought countless horrors like the Blights themselves." As she continued to bellow on to her lunatic Templars, the sounds and angry yelling coming from her subordinates only increased to the point that only the commander could be heard.

"It was Andraste herself who said that Magic is meant to serve man and never to rule over him. Yet the mages have never heeded the wise words of the Prophet and have sought only to showcase Magic's true purpose. Yet people ask for proof of Magic's evil, Mages scoff at us believing that we are the tyrants., they lie, of course, Templar's have only ever served the common folk and to protect them every action is required and justified".

"That's not true" Cassandra spat angrily upon hearing the disgusting words that were vomited from the vile repugnant woman who was demonizing mages, This was not the true Templar order, the true Templar order was to protect both the common man and the mage from harm. Mages were born with an incredible curse, but so many were good people who did not deserve to be born the way they were. Valeyna, for example, may have been Dalish but she used her magic to assist the Inquisition to bring order back to Thedas and to help people. Nat also helped people with his magic by killing those who would harm innocents. Solas was yet another mage who was on the Makers side. The Maker did not hate mages, for when the Breach opened he sent three. One gifted with none other than the key to closing the Breach itself, the other who held advanced and extreme knowledge of the Fade and the third a powerful mage who could strike down those who would see chaos reign.

"Cassandra you need to be quiet, else someone hears us" With an angry growl, Cassandra relented, but she could only watch angrily with her lips twitching as she knew what that Templar woman was going to do to that child. It was a fate that nobody deserved.

"Herald they are going to kill a young boy simply for having magic. Surely we must help" Painfully, Valeyna closed her eyes slowly gripping her staff as she did so. She felt anger, so much anger inside of herself for not intervening. That boy was going to die, he was going to be burnt alive screaming as the fire cooked him alive treating to him a brutal death and there was nothing she could do. She wanted to help, the boy didn't deserve to die. Except for the moment she revealed herself, was the moment everyone died. The house where the other mages were locked up in, was made of wood and guarded by Templar's with unlit torches in arms reach and a fire pit directly in front of them. Should she show herself, then the Templar's on guard would set the entire house on fire burning all the mages alive. Not to mention, that she was also concerned for her own safety. Her staff gave her away as a mage making her an easy target for the Templars to cut down. All the soldiers of the Chantry would have to do, is nullify magic and that would leave her and Nat out of the fight leaving Cassandra and Varrick to fight one hundred Templars on their own.

"No, if we do the mages will be killed" As much as she hated it, the way her stomach was sinking with dread, she did not muster herself from her spot and also prevented Cassandra from leaping into action. She carried on watching.

"And now they have gone one step too far. Not only have Mages destroyed the Chantry in Kirkwall killing the revered mother and sparking of the first rebellion, but they also destroyed the Templars there. After which they then escaped like the cowards they are including one other than the one responsible for such a horrendous act. And not only did the mages dare to oppose us by killing us, the Makers chosen one's soldiers sworn to defend this land from the heresy of magic but they did the evilest thing of all. They destroyed the conclave killing Divine Justinia herself"

Roaring in utter anger, the templar's drew their swords waving them in the air as they yelled the name of the now dead Divine in vengeance. Calls for the death of all mages were made, that no mage should be left unpunished and finally, that from this day a mage should never be allowed to live.

"And what has happened since the death of our beloved Divine, her two most trusted members have created the inquisition to none other than seizing power and worst of all they named a HERETIC the Herald of Andraste. I for one will not allow the name of the Maker and Andraste to be sullied in such a way, I will not allow a corrupt and decadent Chantry to prevent us from accomplishing the true goals of the Templar order. From this day forth I declare an annulment of all mages, wherever they may hide on every continent of every race. We shall find and slay them all until none remain. And we shall start with this one. Let this one be a message to all those with the barbaric curse of Magic. Your kind will no longer be tolerated"

Grabbing a torch, the woman shoved it into a fire pit before igniting the stick with red hot fire an action that was then taken by three other Templars who took their positions at one of each of the four corners of the square-shaped pyre. By now the kid had screamed so much that his voice had gone course begging and pleading for his life for mercy invoking the name of the Maker and Andraste. The commander ignored the pleas and the tears in his eyes the fear plastered on his young innocent face. Instead, the commander wore a happy psychotic grin on her face as she lowered the torch excruciatingly slowly so as to torture the boy even further teasing the boy with mental torture about something they could not stop.

Flames danced from the torch happily leaping onto the old dried wood base that made up the stand of the pyre. A few moments, that was all that was required for the fire to turn into a blaze as it lathered itself from all four corners smothering the entire wood before finally once given enough energy, it blazed upwards like an inferno. Then the screams came, the nightmare-inducing god-awful utter agony of the screams emanating from the boy's mouth. Screams of pain as the fire licked and dried the boy's skin cooking them slowly like one might cook a piece of meat on a spit. The flames burnt all, the tears straining the boy's cheek as he cried out in pain and for his mother, for it to stop, anything. Death permeated the air; the smell of a child cooking was met with joyous applause by the Templar's as they yelled in triumph.

Then it fell silent.

No screams, no wailing, only the sounds of flesh being cooked alive and the crackling of fire as orange flame danced wildly gave away what was occurring.

The boy was dead.

"Those monsters, they are not Templar's they deserve nothing but death for their crimes" Enraged, it required all of Valeyna's strength to prevent Cassandra from kicking the door down there and then and massacre every single Templar in the village.

"Leave it to Nat and Varrick Cassandra" Valeyna implored as best she could not wanting to raise a scene and risk the lives of more mages. "We need to get those kids out of that house". Valeyna's tone was harsh, her eyes burning with fury at the sheer lack of mercy that the Templar's had treated the young boy and the screams he yelled. Locking onto the Templar commander she gave a silent prayer to Elgar'nan the god of vengeance to grant her strength so she could kill that woman when the time came. For now, she convinced the Seeker to focus on what was more important. They ducked down under the window again escaping the vision of the Templar commander as she examined the area looking for any hostiles.

Sneaking out of the house and directly into an alley nestled between the house they had been in and another leading directly onto the main street, they paused. Templar soldiers were standing guard waiting watching for an opportunity to fight or kill anyone they could as adrenaline pumped through their veins. On the other side of the street, a young set of eyes located in the house golding the mages hostage discovered the two women. Screaming banging and yelling suddenly emerged loudly from the structure drawing the six guard's attention to the individual making such a ruckus. Recognising a distraction when she saw one, Cassandra grabbed Valeynas shoulder and started pulled her out of the alley into the street.

Quickly dashing as fast as they could, Valeyna picked up another stone from the road as she did so Thanks to the distraction of both the boy's body burning located by the Templar commander and the now distracted Templar guards, the two easily managed to get to the other side where they were spotted again by the mages inside. They kept quiet, both sides knew that any sort of sign would tip the Templars off to a rescue resulting in all of their deaths.

"Be quiet back there before we set all of you alight at once" Angrily yelling at their prisoners the Templars with their swords drawn banged against the slightly damaged front door. Slipping around the back, Valeyna felt wary and scared as she came within enough distance to feel the Templar's abilities first hand. Her connection to the Fade had been weakened and made impossible to draw upon. From this moment until she left the vicinity of the Templars she knew she would not be able to draw on the slightest spark of magical energy. It had for this exact reason why the mages had been captured like pigs only unlike animals, they got to watch as they were each taken away one by one and burnt at the stake or worse for attractive females, taken to the tower.

Crouched beside the side of the building, Cassandra gave a quick glimpse at what was at the other side. The woman frowned as she counted the opponents. There were only two Templar's that were guarding what seemed to be an entry into an underground basement attached to the house above. Most certainly if the rest of the building was formed of wood, then the basement had been created of stone to better store perishable items or it had been used for that purpose before the Templar's arrived. Ever since their arrival, the Templar's had decimated leaving the group very little in terms of structures to properly operate. Nevertheless, they had made a smart tactical move by placing the mages in a location that they could not escape from with any attempt resulting in them being cooked alive.

The basement entrance had been barred shut however by a thick wooden plank pushed through the two handles preventing anyone from the inside from opening it. Still, two Templar's had been assigned to guard the back entrance just in case there was an incident of some kind. However, like the other Templars they had encountered, the guardians of the basement door didn't seem very interested in their job rather they were bored beyond belief and so arrogant in their idea that a person could not sneak into their camp that not once did they contemplate performing a scan of the area to ensure no one was attempting to sneak up on them and kill them weren't they weren't looking. To Cassandra, it was disgraceful to see Templars so poor at basic jobs, even if they had become psychotic murdering assholes. On the other hand, lazy Templars made for easy pickings. With hand motions alone, Valeyna and Cassandra picked their targets and stalked forward's with weapons drawn.

A quick shiv of her knife into the back of the Templar's neck instantly ended the life of the former Templar. Once again ensuring that the Templars bodies made no sounds, they caught them before gently laying them on the floor. Cassandra took the next action, stepping towards the basement entrance she gripped the plank of heavy wood where she then yanked the blockading wood out of the handles bars leaving the door in a position to be opened. When she opened the doors to the basement, Cassandra was met by the faces of terrified mages who looked at her in fright. Not letting them ruin her plan, Cassandra placed a finger to her lips to indicate that she needed silence. The people complied.

"I am Cassandra Penthagast of the Inquisition and this is the Herald of Andraste, we require your silence for you to escape. For now remain silent as we clear a path for your escape". On hearing that none other than the legendary chosen women that had survived the conclave, the mages offered the most respectful bow that they could give as they gave off what they considered to be a more appropriate greeting for someone of Valeyna's social standing. It was interrupted when one man in his thirties pushed ahead of the group of mages so that he could be seen by both of the women.

"What about my daughter, she and her friend were taken to that tower. Can you get her back, please she's all I have, she doesn't deserve to be treated like some whore" Focusing on the tower, Valeyna shook her head, it was too much of a risk for her and Cassandra to head there, they would be spotted instantly resulting in a group of dead mages. She did feel for the man, to have his daughter taken away to be raped by Templars likely before they brutally killed her was not a fate she would want for anyone. But she had a more important job of rescuing the majority of the mages.

Before they began this operation, Nat had stated that there was the very real possibility that there may be mage prisoners and in which case if that were true, then they should do their best to rescue and recruit them into the Inquisition to assist them in their goals of closing the breach. Now that she had discovered that there were indeed mages that required saving, she knew she had to rescue the mages and for this reason as much as she despised the idea of what those Templars may be doing to the young girls who had been taken, that she could not place one man's daughter above the lives of all the other mages. Only once the rest of the mages were safe, could she cut loose on the Templars and start killing them or going on more high profile rescue missions. Otherwise, she would have to rely on her two friends to complete their half of the mission.

"I have friends wrking on that, for now, I need you to stay here while Cassandra and I clear a path for you to escape" With trepidation and fear, the man had tears starting to run down his cheeks as he thought of what might happen to his daughter. In another scenario, the man would have gone after his daughter himself but right now he had no way to help his daughter, with his magic repressed by the Templars. Anything he would try would end up killing his daughter and his friends alongside the other members of the circle they had escaped from. Because of this, he desperately clung to the young Dalish woman's words and prayed to the Maker that she would be successful.

"We need to go, drag those bodies inside and stay quiet until we create a path for you." With orders given from Cassandra, the two carried on around the back of the house looking to identify the best way to escape the village. The route they took, Valeyna knew that it had to be short and have as much cover from archer fire as possible. Should the Templars be made aware of their presence, then archers would be the most poignant problem they would face. Because mages only wore robes, a decision made by the Templars that were supposed to be a stylish choice when in actuality it was to prevent the mages from having anything to defend themselves from a sword slash or arrow, the mages were very likely to be killed if they were hit.

After only a small amount of searching, they found one. There was a small narrow crack in the valley on the north side barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through and led onto an incline. Luckily, it was defended by a lone distracted Templar. The only problem with this route was that they would have t expose themselves and cross the street to get to it and escape. Y when compared to the other entrances that were close to Templar backup, it was also the least defended and offered the best chance for escape. They didn't go for it, however, rather the two women scouted the area around their escape route and learned of what they would be facing.

One of the groups of thirty templars were close and an alert to them would most assuredly lead to the extinction of all of the mages. Despite this, Valeyna still accepted this route as it was the best possible way to get the innocent mages out of the area. To this end, she alongside Cassandra quickly crossed the street and sneaked to the poorly manned crevice she had seen.

Unfortunately, Cassandra's footsteps weren't quite enough, the heavily armed lady had rushed too much alerting the Templar soldier who picked up his sword as he opened his mouth the undoubtedly bellow out to his companions that the base had been infiltrated. Striking between the eyes of the Templars unguarded forehead, Cassandra's dagger went straight through the skin and bone striking and killing the brain dropping the corpse to the floor.

"Disgraceful, Templar's should always wear helmets when guarding a location". Valeyna gave the seeker an odd look.

"You're berating them?" Cassandras faced turned to that of a more serious one like when she would bark out orders to the training soldiers back at Haven.

"They may be rogue, but they were once Templars, they should have known better." Shaking her head, Valeyna returned her attention back across the road to where she had left the mages. Once she knew she had the group's attention, she gave a wave of her hand to indicate that they should start moving from their location over to the escape route. It started off as a few waves of three to seven just to try and minimize the noise, things were going well and some of the children had already reached their position and began crawling out of the valley. Then the fourth group went, a group of three consisting of two teenage female mages and what was likely their tutor. They ran across the still empty road.

Whoosh

Slamming into the man's chest with a mighty thwack, an arrow penetrated the flesh of the man sliding straight through until it cut directly into his liver. A brief groan of pain escaped the man promptly followed by two high pitched screams from the girl as they stopped in their tracks shaken by fear. This proved to be their death as two more loosed arrows fell from the sky and stuck their chests killing them instantly.

"Run" Valeyna screamed at the top of her lungs. Grasping the staff from her back, she targeted the first group of Templars. It was the group of six who had instantaneously performed their duties of setting the house alight before then throwing away the torches and rushing to meet the now scampering mages. As soon as the first one came into sight, Valeyna unleashed a bolt of chain lightning at the men covered in armour. It struck hard and true, using the steel of their armour as a conductor, the powerful lightning attack bounced from the first Templar into all the others dropping their charred bodies down to the floor dead.

Yells of bellowing Templars soon followed, in the distance heavy footfall was painfully clear as the Templars all left their position to strike the group of escaping mages. Arrows kept flying from on top the tower, only they had swapped their aim form the weaponless mages to her and Cassandra who in contrast had weapons in their hands. Raising a barrier over herself, Valeyna was glad of the spell's existence as an arrow raced towards her and then disintegrated off her shield.

"We must protect the mages Cassandra" The dark haired woman nodded in return before charging in the direction that the group of thirty Templars had been stationed. Both of them, of course, knew that with just the two of them, they didn't have much hope of fending off the entire garrison. As to when Nat and Varrick would arrive and provide assistance to them in the fight, Valeyna didn't know, but she desperately hoped that they would deal with the archers. A bolt rushed towards her. Her eyes widened in recognition. Throwing her self to the side, narrowly she managed to dodge as a ballista bolt crashed into a mage directly behind her slicing them in half like a hot knife through butter.

"A ballista, they have a fucking ballista" She yelled angrily as she took in the sight of the now very dead mage that moments ago had been behind her and the large chunk of wood that had severed their body from their legs. More screaming and yelling followed from the mages as they gave up all pretence of trying to be sneaky instead taking their chances and summoning whatever barriers they could to defend themselves as they made for the valley entrance. Another bolt followed missing her but impaling itself into the ground on Valeyna's right-hand side. "Nat where the fuck are you?".

Nat and Varrick

"So kid, what you going to do when we get back to Haven.?" Curious about the boy's future plans, Varrick kept his voice relatively quiet as they infiltrated the base. As the two of them were most assuredly the sneakier ones of the group, Varrick because he was a rogue and Nat since he had a seemingly amazing ability to stay out of the sight of Templars, they were the ones who would be climbing up the tower in hopes of finding the commander of the area.

"Read most likely. You wouldn't happen to know any decent science and technology books would you." Nat replied lightly. Behind his sunglasses, he bookmarked the location of every single Templar and the weapons that they were using and the likely strategies that they would use. He didn't have anything as fancy as photographic memory, although he would have loved to have that special ability. Rather it was all down to experience, after enough battles, you just knew where everything was subconsciously and how enemies would use it and in turn, he knew how to counter it.

"Technology, why do you want to read that type of stuff?" Most books that kids read to Varrick's knowledge were more often obsessed with becoming knights and fighting evil creatures for boys. In the case for girls, it was about becoming beautiful girls that guys would want to marry. Personally, Varrick preferred fiction. It allowed him to escape the shitty reality of life and if not, he often found at a minimum the commentary on everyday life amusing.

"Just curious" Nat responded blandly backing himself against a wall as a Templar turned in his direction escaping from view. Honestly, without access to the internet to keep him entertained and learn random facts about things or just study entire new lessons, on things like science, he was struck with having to rely on the books he had on his kindle. The technology of this world was something that intrigued him for a multitude of reasons.

For one, he desired to place where roughly this world was in the technological process compared to Earth. Currently, he was favouring more towards the early renaissance period thanks to things such as the designs of modern sailing ships, heavy plate armour, gunpowder otherwise known as Gatlok to the Qunari and multiple other notable things that were associated with the late medieval period. As for why he wanted to know about technology, the answer was rather simple. Knowing about such technological advancements could prove useful in the long run if he was unable to go home and was stuck here.

He wasn't some fool optimist who absolutely believed with utter univariably that he was going to escape this fucked up world and return to his more sane one of Earth. Even if that did mean returning to a world where nuclear war could occur and the social situation at home was going to utter shit thanks to consecutive awful muggle governments no matter the bloody party. Even with all the possible searching, he could do, the odds of ever discovering and then replicating the elven cross-dimensional portal was slim, Rather the far more likely result was that he was stuck here for the rest of his days away from home in a dangerous world. Should that be the case, then he had no intention whatsoever of doing nothing bar sitting on his arse all day complaining about the loss of the "good old day's" hidden from the rest of humanity.

Not that it sounded all bad, being alone away from annoying neighbours was something he rather very much liked the sound of. However, he liked to do something with his time, things like solving problems or reading a book or something practical in general. Not to mention, sitting down on his ass all day every day wouldn't get him a job even if he didn't need one thanks to his magic. He craved something that could stimulate his mind, especially as most likely his magical combat skills would surely deteriorate over time as there weren't any official duelling tournaments unless he decided to go to war with someone.

He also desired political power, he was still learning more about this world and especially about magic and how powerful it could be directed by those who made the big decisions on Magic. Officially he was classed as a mage and therefore any legislation passed by any monarch or the Chantry would affect him restricting his freedom. Considering that most legislation on magic was to thrown them in a circle, it was a necessity that he could gain the power he needed to ensure that he was safe from any action taken against him.

Hence he had come to the conclusion that should he not be able to return to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northen Ireland the place of his birth, then he would become a businessman recreating what technology he could from the earth and sell it here for a profit. Thankfully he had already gained an interest in science and technology before departing for this world leaving him a strong base for any future projects or businesses he may have. Of course, creating a business wasn't that simple, he needed to get a good look at the market to see what was being sold by competitors and thrust himself in the places that nobody even knew existed.

To gain any type of monetary power, he would have to start off small; building up the capital and the technology so he could expand his potential business. For instance, he knew that should he bring forth the steam train to this world and then charge those who desired to use it, then he could make a good deal of profit from such a venture. Only it was not so simple as major problems hindered him. Firstly, iron and steel in this world were ridiculously expensive because of the lack of technology to both efficiently mine it, and craft it. Most iron and steel of this world were hoarded for weapons with full steel plate armour for a knight being worth at least a year's wages. To create a train and the track that would be needed to ensure that it ran without giving away too much of his magic, he would first have to kick-start an entire industrial revolution.

Nat knew that many other things and processes needed to be created or invented first, but it was still a backup plan for the future in case things went poorly in his quest to return home. Without a doubt, his main priority where nearly all efforts would be focused on would be to get home. Yet he could not ignore the very real possibility that he never would achieve that requiring him to have a backup plan just in case. Should he be able to return home to his world one day, then he may be annoyed with himself for diverting time away from his goal and creating a business. On the other hand, if he didn't then he would be glad that he had planned ahead for his own financial safety. Speaking of which, with a new set of future plans being put into production, he knew he had to ensure that he was not attacked by possible opponents in the case he was successful.

As a member of the merchant guild, Varrick had a large number of contacts and knowledge on how the different businesses worked. If he were to befriend the man, then he may get the leverage needed to get the man to assist in him in his future goals. For instance, Should he need to know the locations of vast iron sites, Varrick would likely be able to find out for him alongside who was operating them. Should he manage to get a business running, then he could speak to Varrick about encouraging his contacts into a business deal with him. Varrick could also provide him with a starting point in any business he made, with how influential he was in Kirkwall, Varrick might be able to speak to some people about bending the rules for him.

"Yeah, I might know a few. When we get back to Haven I'll give you a list" Following the boy closely, Varrick assumed that with how much the boy read, that he simply desired to learn new things about the world including how things worked. Not that he had a problem with that, those who weren't born into noble or merchant families were dirt poor and suffered through life. Learning a decent trade and working for a merchant or something similar could lead to a better standard than most and with the kid's abilities, he knew a few people who wouldn't mind in the future having a young deadly mage with them.

"Thank you, Varrick. Now please don't yell this next part." After sneaking around the village, they had come to the back part of the tower. It wasn't in the best of condition having most likely been damaged in a confrontation with the mages at an earlier date, but it was still good enough to act as a base. The back part of the tower hadn't been guarded, mostly as there was nothing to guard, no back door into the tower or cellar, no houses nearby and no escape to the rest of the Hinterlands area. On the opposite side of the tower where the front door was located, there were a set of guards who like every other Templar they had witnessed, were rather bored with their jobs of standing around despite being religious maniacs. How they had managed to avoid the archers on the higher levels was thanks to a mix of training and the archers being too bored to care.

Not desiring to risk the fact that his magic would be unaffected by the Templars raising future uncomfortable questions, Nat had not used any fancy magic to hide him and Varrick from sight such as a camouflage spell. Rather instead, to try and help them sneak around the tower, he had applied a muffling spell on them. It was not as good as a silencing charm which would prevent all noise entirely, but the muffling spell was a way of decreasing the noise to a certain level and still being believable. Should he start throwing blasting curses around, then the enemy would be alerted. still, it was better than causing Varrick to get suspicious and the dwarf accidentally revealing what had happened to Cassandra or Leliana later down the line. Otherwise, It was only slightly annoying having to hold back on such useful spells. Had it not been for the presence of Varrick, then he could have dealt with this situation rather easily. Onto the enemy Templars that were guarding the place, he wasn't impressed by what he had seen.

Actually, Nat was rather pleased with the rather lacklustre standards that these bored out of their mind Templars had. Their sloppiness with their duties made it far easier for him to discover a way into the castle without using the front door. Because, While the front door may have been guarded heavily and with the tower not possessing a back door leaving it firmly secure, the Templars had felt rather safe leaving a wide wooded board window open to the fresh morning air of the Hinterlands.

Before Varrick could even ask what the kid meant, he felt his feet unwillingly leave the ground, shocked he looked around trying to figure out what had happened. Only once he looked at his feet, he saw that he had already risen at least four metres off the ground and was continuing to rise towards the open window. Below him, Varrick chuckled slightly shaking his head as he saw the kid with that staff of his lift him higher into the air without a word before then depositing him onto the towers stony window.

Nat didn't follow immediately, instead, preferring to give himself five minutes on the floor to ensure that Varrick had secured the immediate area. With no sounds of battle, he raised his wand at the window once more only this time firing a rope connected to a large metal grappling hook at the end. Clinging once it struck the stone window frame sill, Nat pulled back the rope. Once Nat had given it a good few tugs making sure that the rope was strong and secure so he wouldn't ultimately plummet down to his death, he gripped the rope and then proceeded to haul himself upwards his feet impacting the castle walls steadying himself while his arms did the vital work of pulling himself upwards.

"Nice work kid, how come you didn't do the floaty thing on yourself" Gently landing on the floor of the room, Nat vanished the climbing rope and joined Varrick answering his question as he did so.

"Its awkward, two mages levitating one another at the exact same time is far easier than trying to levitate yourself unless you know how to fly" Varrick blinked had the kid seriously just implied what he thought he did.

"You can fly kid, Wish I had that type of power, you don't know the number of things I could use that for. Ah shit" Breaking his lock picks, Varrick swore, it had been a rather nice set that Hawke had bought him a few years back. With the door lock now jammed, Varrick turned to Nat silently asking him to sort the problem out most likely by blowing the door up. Nat shook his head, approaching the door to the room, he lowered his wand in the direction of the keyhole and then cast an unlocking charm. A small flash of white light from the keyhole later, and the door was unlocked. Turning his attention onto the dwarf Nat saw that Varrick who had been expecting a bit more of an explosive solution. Then he witnessed Varrick treating him with a very intrigued look. That intrigued look soon enough turned into a smirk as Varrick thought of all the little things he could use such a spell for. "So you can fly and unlock door's, just curious but what else can that spell of yours do. For instance, could it open a locked safe?" Desiring to build a good relationship with Varrick, Nat relayed some information to the man.

"No, I can't personally fly, its a very tricky type of magic to learn even among our people. It requires ridiculous amounts of power and knowledge. In fact, there's only ever been one person amongst our people that could fly, and that guy's now dead. As for that unlocking spell, so long as it isn't protected by magic, I can open any lock or door from the smallest one to the most tightly protected ones." Varrick grinned, he was glad that he had asked that when he was alone with the kid, had he asked it in front of Cassandra, then the woman would have been far more cautious of the kid or berate him for merely inquiring just what Nat could do with magic. The possibilities were endless, if he could manage to convince Nat to give him some help with some particular objects, then it would save him a decent amount of coin then having to use a large amount of favours hunting and recruiting the one person who might be able to open a particular locked item.

"How come no one else learned to fly?" Varrick asked, entering an open room, they were soon met by two very startled Templars. Two startled Templars who soon found themselves impaled by arrows not making a noise. Varrick nodded toward Nat thankful that the kid had managed not to give their location away to a bunch of rather inept Templars.

"Guy wanted to keep the magic for himself, it's not uncommon. He also wasn't exactly in a position to teach others considering the fact that he was the leader of the group who wanted to conquer Thedas in the civil war. Shame really, Wish I knew how to fly". That was something that Varrick entirely agreed with, he may be a dwarf but he could just imagine the shocked look on Cassandras face if he was to suddenly start flying in front of her. Actually, that gave him an idea, he'd have to speak with the kid later but he had an idea for a great trick.

"So kid about this unlocking spell of yours, do you think you could help me out with a small favour when we get back to Haven" Varrick wouldn't lie about the fact that he was somewhat jealous of the kid. He had to learn how to pick locks with his equipment and there was always the chance of it breaking, so for a mage to have a spell that simply unlocked something was rather amazing. It was also very profitable.

"That depends on how much you're paying. After all, when I say that spell unlock's anything that isn't magically protected, I mean anything. You could have a twenty ton highly reinforced door with the most complex gear system requiring a hundred keys that had to be made out of a particular metal all turned within a particular pattern within a certain time frame. All I have to do is cast one simple spell it's open sesame." While Varrick didn't exactly understand the last phrase, he was very happy to hear just how effective Nat's little spell was. If the kid was telling the truth, then all the troubles that he and others he had been in contact with when it came to opening certain locked containers, then he may have singlehandedly just found a master key. Of course, he'd have to test it out, he couldn't exactly make money if the kid was lying to him, but he trusted the kid to a certain amount.

"20%" Varrick offered. Noticing the slightly greedy tone to the man, Nat smiled internally. Varrick was generally a good guy from what he had seen so far, he was a rogue and so had the typical traits that came with it such as wanting to expand his business and was willing to use cutthroat tactics if absolutely needed. Yet he could tell Varrick more often than not didn't want to go round killing people when they could negotiate things diplomatically. Varrick was also quite protective it seemed. He had noticed how the man would talk to the servants from time to time when he was reading about Thedas asking them how he was. It was made far more apparent when after only knowing him for a short time, that Varrick had sent word to his contacts for help.

"70%" With a fake gasp, Varrick felt a little joy at seeing the kid try to barter with him. It was almost like seeing a young protégé join up, stepping into the big bad world as they got ready to make their first cutthroat deal and take on other merchants.

"Come on now kid, I'd be doing all the work, I need the extra fees to cover the finding and transport task. 25%" Varrick waited for a response, he wanted to see how far the kid was willing to take this.

"70% of profit, after all, expenses are paid, no less" Moving up the stairs, Varrick while aware of his surroundings had not noticed that by now they should have been noticed for the noise they were making. What he didn't know, was that while Nat was attempting to keep off using magic, he was using a local sound muffling charm, that while not as effective as an outright sound barrier preventing it from escaping, essentially lowered the sound they made. Should a Templar notice them and use their abilities, he could then drop the muffle charm raising the sound to a normal level allowing Varrick to believe that they were dealing with a rather rubbish bunch of Templar's.

"You aren't asking for much" Varrick joked "25% is a good amount for a kid your age, far more then what others have and certainly above what any mage kid in this part of Thedas. Why would you want more?" Varrick observed the kid closely. Nat had a good business face, he never let anyone see what he was thinking or gave off any emotion when he talked. It was slightly creepy in that respect, but it also gave him something that most merchants spent years trying to get only for it to be very sloppy.

"Books, property, land, food, I'm not the type who relies on handouts. If you want my help Varrick, then it's 70% of any profit on anything that I open. If you have a problem, then I can always ask someone else, personally, I like working with you which is why I offered 70% instead of 80%" Screwing his face into a ball, Varrick tried to think of a reasonable deal that he could give to the kid. He did want the kids to help in this matter, that was if the boy was telling the truth, however. If not then he would cancel the arrangement.

"All right how about 50% after profit. But just so you know kid. This deal is only up for grabs if you're telling the truth. Also if you don't mind kid give this spell a demonstration when we get to Haven. Oh one more thing, you're only getting this deal because it's you if it was anyone else I wouldn't go past twenty so count yourself lucky". Staying silent for a moment pretending to ponder the arrangement Varrick was offering him weighing up the pros and cons, he soon came to a conclusion.

"I accept your offer Varrick shall we draw up a contract when we get back." In truth, Nat had never wanted 70% of the profits. At most he wanted forty per cent of profit so he could start to line his pockets with gold that he could store away for a later time. Asking for far more then he was going to get was only logical, if he said 40% outright, then Varrick would try to whittle him down, yet by giving an unrealistic number her could be whittled down to his original goal of 40% at most.

Another key thing by making this trade deal with Varrick was that it may get him a foot in the door when it came to the Merchants Guild. In the future should any of Varricks contacts want anything personal done, then they may come directly to him should Varrick give his name out. With any luck he could make Varricks contacts his contacts bringing him one step closer to a possible business should he require one. He almost felt bad for Varrick, if things were different and he wasn't on purposely trying to avoid connections with people, then he could see himself becoming friendlier with the man. For now, he would have to settle for exploiting the man's natural reaction to take care of those he worked with.

In contrast, Varrick had a different view on the trade. He was only willing to give up so much money because the kid really needed it. With his entire family and people dead, he had no one to rely on and unless he got some form of gold, the kid wouldn't make it long in the world. Besides He wasn't really going to lose much with the deal he made with the kid, he had far more coin then he really needed and if he gave some to a kid who's in need of some then it was all fine and good. Besides once the kid had some money in his purse he'd then start cutting back on the deals he gave.

"Sure kid for now we need to stop these Templar's from losing their minds if they haven't already and stop them from killing everyone"

"I think they already have" Motioning towards a window, anxious as to what he was going to see, Varrick joined the younger kid at the open window and viewed as what they assumed to be none other than the rouge Templar commander snatch an innocent kid from a home. Nat refused to remain silent neither making any expression or motion to turn away or show pain. Nat didn't know the kid so he couldn't say the kid's death affected him, it didn't make him sad or angry about the kids particular death instead it only reinforced his position. Templar's did not deserve mercy, this might be a rogue group of Templars, but all the same, they did not deserve mercy. Their order was nothing but an oppressive group who abused their powers to kill and torture anyone all for their ridiculous misguided beliefs on magic. Templar's weren't police who were supposed to keep law and order, they were nought but a bunch of thugs preying on those weaker than them. And yes while some Templar's were good people, they were the minority.

A templar's mission was simply to kill mages purely because they had magic and refused to be locked away in some prison like an animal. Templars had made their choice when they took on their jobs, and they knew what it would entail from the start. Mages didn't have that option, mages were simply born different, it was just like being born from another ethnicity or race. If one wished to despise a group of people, then it shouldn't be because they were born with magic or were born an elf or human. No, if one truly desires to hate another group, then it should due to actions or beliefs or religion of the people they despised.

Hating an individual because they were a Templar made sense, Templar's had made a choice and would, therefore, have to be held accountable for that action. Mages, on the other hand, did not choose to have their magic, they were simply born different and were oppressed because of it. They were essentially born to be nothing but slaves, since as soon as they were found they faced death or working in a tower crafting goods for others with nothing in return with only occasionally being let out of their cages to have even the slightest glimpse of freedom.

And yes while some mages did go bad, it was not because of magic, it was simply due to psychology. Some people were evil people, magic didn't change that. What did it matter if a person was burnt alive or stabbed to death, the result and thereby the sentence to the crime should be treated the exact same? It was only to be expected, after all, that upon escaping from a circle, that mages would be paranoid and so willing to kill. It certainly did not excuse their actions killing innocent people bar in a time of war. However, the amount of pent-up stress and aggression that mages would have because of their poor treatment by templar's was bound to make them lash out. If a normal person discovered a mage, then in terms of pure survival, it only makes sense that the Mage ensures that the person who discovered them never reveals the information to the Templars. And now when the mages finally had a chance of being equal, to enjoy both the rewards and risks of being a normal person, the Templar's desired to grab them by their old leash and kill them outright all because they were born with magic.

He wasn't naive, he could see the use of Templar's in this world, but only in a very limited role. Mages were far more at risk to possession by demons than anyone else, and should a mage fail and they transform into an abomination risking the lives of others, then having a group of people who were specifically trained to deal with demons was a good idea. However, that good idea had been blown entirely out of proportion and became corrupt as instead of them acting like a police force; where they would only deal with those who committed crimes, they had instead become authoritarian despots. Throwing mages into circles in the hopes of preventing crime, was the exact same as throwing black, white, Asian, or any group people purely on the way they were born from the moment they are recognised in order to help prevent crime. It was nothing but racist bullshit.

Point blank the Templar order had been a good idea that had become entirely corrupt to its revolting core. There was no saving this organisation, it had to be destroyed and if really needed, something entirely new put in its place. There was nothing else for it, only one viable solution could be made.

The Templar's had to die.

Varrick in contrast at seeing the scene below him turned away in disgust as the woman who he identified as the commander finally set alight the pyre turning it into a screaming deathbed as the smoke choked the kid while the fire cooked him bit by bit until the screams were no more.

"Shit, it's just like Kirkwall all over again. We're going to need to take those archers out on the roof if the Herald and Seeker wants any chance of escaping" Varricks voice turned harsh, flashes of the mage rebellion in Kirkwall, the screams, blood and corpses that littered the ground, the thing that the Grand Enchanter had done to himself and poor Bethany. That girl had bonded greatly with the man only for her to be betrayed by that very same man all because Meridith had slaughtered them for Blondies crime. There was nothing he could do for the dead kid, but there certainly was for those down below in the village that the Herald was attempting to rescue.

"mmmprgh" Suddenly above them the sounds of muffled yells and screams could be heard, these were then followed by a dark and cruel voice. Nat didn't rush up the stairs, the muffled scream he had heard was most certainly one for help, but going full speed and slamming open the door was not a smart move. He was in the centre of the Templar base where a great many deals of mage hunters were located. Blowing the door off may give him a temporary surprise advantage over anyone inside the room, but that noise would echo around alerting the other Templar in the camp to his and Varricks presence. For this reason, he moved up the stairs at his usual pace before then peering through a keyhole to see, what the cause was of the anonymous muffled scream he had heard.

In the room, were a set of obvious off-duty Templar's, only unlike the few other off-duty Templar that they had witnessed on the way upwards, these ones had taken a different course of action to take on how to spend their free time. As shown by what they were doing to the lone female of the group. She was a young highly attractive, most likely around his age human girl going by her round as they brutally forced her body back and forth from the Templars as they abused her. They struck her, yelling abuse about her being a mage whatsoever and that she had no rights in the slightest with only one lone repulsive purpose in life. On the floor to the side, was the remains of another girl, a redheaded elf girl who had her face smashed in and a certain white liquid staining all over her dead battered nude corpse.

The girl kicked and screamed tears rolling down her cheeks as she tried to scream through a cloth gag that had been wound around her face. She kicked one of the Templars, only to receive a hard punch to her face dazing the girl. This was then followed by a swift punch to the stomach winding her. Now in control, the Templars grinned maliciously at the prettiest mage they could find the second prettiest they had already enjoyed themselves with. Struggling to regain her breath, the girl looked up fearfully no longer having the strength to resist the inevitable brutal treatment they had in store for her as she desperately tried to get oxygen into her lungs. The Templar's reached out to grab her.

She screwed her eyes shut and screamed.

Thump

Splash

Something warm and liquid splattered against her pale skin then the sound of multiple heavy objects hitting the floor reached her ear. She panicked, what did the Templars plan to do with her. Already they had killed her friend before her as payback for killing one of their order, were they going to stab her.

"You're safe now, open your eyes now" A calm voice spoke to her in the distance, in response she curled up not believing the cruel words of the Templars and what cruel acts they desired to perform on her. She did not want to see what they were going to do to her. Suddenly she felt her terror fade, her mind began to calm for some reason that she couldn't explain. She heard the voice again. "You're safe, please open your eyes" Reluctantly she did so, revealing her emerald eyes, she gasped at the scene before her.

Blood coated the walls of the tower running down and staining the floor's old orange tattered carpet. Corpses littered the ground like toys only they had their heads removed from their torsos leaving both parts of the body to lay apart from one another like a doll she had once played with only for another child to rip its head off in spite. Despite this strange calmness that had overtaken her, she focused her petrified gaze on the one whose voice had cut through the darkness as she had kept her eyes closed hoping to avoid the torture.

"Who are you" Her voice trembled, silently she prayed to the prophet Andraste that this boy had indeed saved her and was not another Templar.

"Your clothes first" Blushing red at having not even realised that in her fear she had not tried to cover herself up, she instantly moved her hands in order to prevent the stranger from seeing her in such a state. Not meeting his eyes embarrassed at her position, her eyes briefly looked up wanting to make sure that this boy did not mean any harm only for her eyes to widen. Cloth from her now destroyed robes came together in the air neatly knitting itself together. She could see the strands and fur all come perfectly back into place like it had been done by some master apparel worker, not it was even better than that, it was like her dress had been sent back in time and restored to what it once was. Speechless at such a display, she said nothing besides a small peep when the repaired robes split down the back and then flew onto her front half fitting around her until she was entirely covered once more in her mage robes. Afterwards, the back of her robes was done up.

"Thank you, you're a mage" Instinctively knowing that he was safe to be around, she raised her head up wanting to meet his eyes as she gave a proper thank you only she met a strange black thing covering them. The boy didn't answer her question at first, instead, he brought out the smallest staff that she had ever seen in her life before then bringing it down to bare near her face. "What are you going to do" Before she could feel scared, the tip of the staff glowed. Instantly, the pain in her face disappeared entirely. Gingerly she raised her finger sup touching where a wound should be only to feel nothing, no bump no bruiser or cut. Her face was perfectly fine, he had healed her. Straight after he repeated the process on the rest of her body, healing the wounds so quickly and leaving not even a scar, after only a minute, he had healed every single injury on her body. He reached out to her with an outstretched arm, nervous she accepted allowing him to pull her back onto her feet. "I, I can't thank you enough. I'm Elyria Trevelyan You saved me from" She shivered, fear pushing through the strange calming that had been placed upon her.

"Trevelyan, you wouldn't happen to be from the Trevelyan family in Ostwick?" She turned her head on hearing a new person, who she saw wasn't who she expected. It was a dwarf, she didn't know who he was, but she just hadn't been expecting a dwarf. She tossed aside those thought's she was grateful for her rescue.

"Yes. When I was discovered to have magic, I was sent to the Ostwick circle. When the circles fell, we tried to join up with the other mages but we got delayed and" She couldn't carry on, memories of her friends and tutors being slaughtered. All the blood the dead bodies, the end of everything she knew, the Templar she had killed when she had escaped and her capture what the Templars were going to do to her what they had done to her friend and the others. She collapsed only for Nat to catch her in his arms preventing her from impacting. "Thank you". Seeing the stress she was under, Varrick gave a small smile hoping to cheer the girl up or at the very least prevent her from thinking of what had nearly just happened.

"Don't worry, we're with the Inquisition. Dealing with demons, Templar's and mages since two days ago three if you include today. We'll get you home kid doesn't worry for now just stay with us and try to keep out of reach of the Templar's. If you want you can always hide behind the kid, he's the one who saved you after all" Varrick winked at the girl. Nat rolled his eyes at that, the last thing he needed was some teenage girl who didn't currently possess an exactly strong emotional control. He could also tell what Varrick was trying to do and it wouldn't work.

"I'm Nat, the fat git trying to play matchmaker is Varrick. Just stay in cover, we'll handle the rest" Despite the situation, Elyria couldn't help but give out a small laugh at hearing the way the guy had introduced himself. She could never dream of speaking to anyone like that, her family and the circle had drilled into her respect ever since she was a young girl. Not saying anything else, Nat headed back onto the stairs to head up to the next level. There was no way yet of knowing if Valeyna had gotten detected, he hoped not but either way he needed to get rid of those archers before they caused a problem for her down the line.

Later

Following the two members of the Inquisition, Elyria watched with a sense of smug happiness as she saw the Templar's get cut down one by one. She didn't know their faces, but they had butchered and raped her friends burning them alive and calling it justice. Seeing her oppressors cut down brought her immense delight for she was getting vengeance and most importantly, it came from a mage. And that that turned her thoughts to that particular mage. She had never seen any mage at her age as powerful as Nat was. The way he easily cut through Templar after Templar without hesitation and all so quickly was awe-inspiring. Her teacher had said that she had been one of the most talented mages he had seen, and she thought she had been talented for her age. But Nat, Nat was in a whole other league. She admired the way his spells sped so fast that she would blink and miss them entirely, how close they were together and how effective they were cleaving off the heads of Templar's before they even had a clue as to what had happened. It was simply amazing she wished she could be so talented, she hadn't even been allowed to take her Harrowing yet, something that according to her teacher was several years away much to her chagrin. She couldn't help but think to herself if he would be willing to teach her what he knew. If she became as powerful as him, then she could return to her family and defend them.

Turning around, Nat went to check out the window only to sigh internally with great annoyance as he saw Trevelyan. He recognised that look in her eyes, the mystified amazed one that shone with surprise, he'd seen it so many times on the faces of younger wannabe duelists. They were amazed at what he and other professional duelists could do and would then spout something like how they wanted to be like him or if he could teach them or if they could hang out or something. It was all incredibly droll. The thing he hated most was when he had those fucking fans would follow him around and ask something begging to get responded to or for him to sign something or to teach them. He fucking hated it.

He had taken up duelling for himself and nobody else. The fans could like him as much as they wanted, but he cared nothing for them, they were nothing but strangers with an unhealthy obsession. Trevelyan it appeared had entered that bloody camp and he could already tell that the girl was going to beg him to educate her on magic. Once they had saved these mages, he would ensure that alongside the others that they move the mages to the refugee camp as quickly as possible before the girl started bloody stalking him.

"So Trevelyan how's things in Ostwick" Nat promised to buy Varrick something when he got back to Haven in thanks for starting a conversation with the girl.

"Good before the rebellion, once Ostwick got the news, a few of us escaped before the Templars could get us. Is it true that the grand Enchanter died at the conclave" Varrick confirmed the news with an apologetic nod?

"Do you hear that" Stopping the conversation dead in its tracks, Varrick and Elyria listened.

Fwoosh

"That sounds like arrows and the Ballista's, they were testing them earlier" Hoping to prove herself useful to those who had rescued, her, Elyria did her best to inform Nat and Varrick about the weapons that the rouge Templar's had acquired.

"Valeyna" Rushing towards the edge of the room towards one of the windows, he scanned the village for the location of his companion. He soon found her. Valeyna was in trouble, Templar's were dashing towards her location swords drawn and archers readying their bows. In the distance, he located the Templar commander as she yelled orders to her troops her sword in hand as she moved as quickly as possible most likely so she could kill Valeyna. His attention was soon grabbed again, as a heavy bolt of wood soared downwards towards Valeyna and the mages that she was escorting.

"Varrick, clear downstairs and take Trevelyan with you. I'll handle the archers"

"Well, Bianca baby is it looks like we have some work to do. Kid follow me". Still scared, Trevelyan accepted the orders given to her by the fellow mage racing down the stairs so that she and the dwarf could join whoever this Valeyna person was.

Blasting down the door to the battlements, the Templar which had stood to fire his arrows was blown of his feet where gravity then took hold of him pelting him at the ground below smashing him on impact into jam. Shocked by the sudden explosion, that had just occurred out of nowhere, the Templars threw themselves on the ground as a first response, leaving themselves exposed in an undefended position. They never saw the cutting curses coming instead only feeling the slightest pain before their heads rolled off their shoulders leaving the entire battlements empty of its former alive users.

Wasting no time, Nat sprinted towards the nearest ballista. At this distance, there was nothing that the Templars could do in an attempt to nullify his magic leaving him free in his options. To this end, he rapidly enchanted the ballista that had been used against Valeyna. First was a replication spell on the bolts so every time one would fire a new one would appear, second was a spell that cranked the wheels back at a speed that no human could have hoped to replicate. After that was an aiming spell, all he had to do now was mentally think of the person he wanted to kill, then once he had that person in mind, the ballista would make all the necessary calculations.

He fired the ballista.

Singing a deadly song as it fell downwards at tremendous speed, the commander of the Templars was only given the briefest warning as she heard the sound of imminent death before the bolt ripped straight through her armour and out the back impacting the floor leaving a deep cavity in her chest large enough for a person to look through one side to another. There was no warning whatsoever, for the next Templar was treated to the same fate skewering them with a giant wooden pole with a sharp metal point at the end. After the first five Templar's had been cut down in quick succession, the other Templar's stared back at the tower with fear in their eyes not that it showed behind their helmets. This momentary distraction gave a few of the mages who were assisting Valeyna in the escape the opportunity they required to unleash a powerful tempest spell above the Templar's. With lightning thundering above them and electrocuting them and frying their bodies, bolts from their own ballista rapidly turning them into Templar Kebabs and their leader dead, they panicked and retreated.

Valeyna and Cassandra

"We've won" Breathing outwards, Cassandra announced the results of the battle. "we need to alert the inquisition and tell them to take this castle over." Falling back to the Herald, Cassandra kept her sword and shield in her hands making sure that there was no sneak attack from the retreating Templars. However, while she was still prepared for battle, she had in fact withdrawn from the fighting keeping close to the mages sending a silent message to them that they shouldn't even consider running away. The purpose of this was that in her mind there was a very high chance that there could be apostates hiding in the group hoping to avoid just punishment for their crimes.

"First we need to decide what to do with these mages" A glance at the mages would easily tell an observer that they had no hope of escaping. One of the reasons for this was that Valeyna and Cassandra had just fought off a very large amount of Templar's. Then, there was whoever was manning that giant ballista up on the tower with surprising amounts of accuracy. Even now as the Templar's were retreating away from the tower, the ballista never stopped firing continuously butchering the Templar's who had once charged them in hopes of ending their lives. Thirdly whoever was controlling that ballista was happily continuing to cut down the fleeing Templars.

"Good they are surrendering, at least some of them have sense" Cassandra soon paled a small look on horror on her face. Straight after speaking those words, it became apparent that the ballista kept firing only this time it mercilessly impaled even those who had surrendered."Who is on that tower, those Templars had surrendered they must be given a trial?" No matter what she said, the ballista never stopped firing and after a few minutes, every single Templar lay dead with not one survivor.

A little later

"Well you're not dead, guess I'll have to try harder next time" Joking as he approached Valeyna, Nat was once more glad for his enchanted clothing. Unlike Varrick who's clothing were permanently stained red with the blood of Templar's coating even his face and exposed chest, Nat was entirely clean without a drop on him. Upon hearing the joke, Valeyna gave a light chuckle it was good to make sure that Nat hadn't been killed. She had been worrying about him, while she never said it top him, she was deeply petrified that with the Templars nullifying ability, that he would have been left exposed and injured if not outright killed. Those fears were promptly pushed aside once she saw that he was mysteriously the cleanest one of the group and not looking tired in the slightest.

"No more then you" She replied happily glad that he hadn't been hurt. Then her eyes turned to the human girl following so closely behind him. With the close proximity she was staying to her young mage friend, Valeyna was sure that had the girl been any younger than she actually was, then she would have been hanging off his clothes like a young child.

Moving herself to see better the girl better, she frowned in a remorseful fashion as she saw how sacred the girl was and the way the girl's eyes darted up to Nat as if he was her protector. Valeyna didn't know what had befallen the girl, she looked fine her clothes were in perfectly good condition, then the horror struck full force like a sprinting Halla crashing into her as she remembered what one of the men had said. She grimaced in reply anger and hatred towards the dead Templars burning within her from committing such a revolting act. She approached Nat hoping to check on the girl to make sure she was okay only the girl stepped back frightfully hiding behind Nat as if for some sought of protection.

"This is Elyria Trevelyan, she was in the tower she's the only survivor". On hearing that news, a cry of pain and anger toward out as the man who had been the father of the other child crying out for the death of his daughter. Nat continued. "Elyria this is Valeyna Lavellan a member of the Inquisition" Stunned, Elyria bowed instantly showing respect for the woman known as none other than the Herald of Andraste. Valeyna groaned in response couldn't people just ever treat her as a normal person for once. She was Dalish, she didn't believe in their Maker let alone picked as the chosen one for the Maker. Only Mythal could have protected her from what had happened at the conclave.

"My lady it is an honour to meet you." Elyria's tone was not quite broken, Valeyna realised. The girl was very much scared, but it appeared that by some luck Nat had gotten to the girl before the Templars had done anything too bad against her.

"Okay, now that's over don't we have horses or something like that we need to pick up". Cassandra blinked at that, how long had it taken them to rescue the mages and take the tower. Looking up at the sky in order to roughly work out what the time was by the position of the sun, she was surprised to see that it was late morning. That was strange, normally an operation like this would require most of the day yet they had done everything so quickly well besides the part where the Templars had attacked, but that battle hadn't taken long.

"Indeed we should get to Master Dennet as soon as possible for now we need to deal with the mages" On that note, Valeyna turned to focus on the mages, likely out of fear or thanks they had not decided to run away and escape to Redcliffe where the rest of the mages were located. Not that she was going to complain, the Inquisition was going to need the help of every mage they could get their hands on if they wanted to close the breach. "Mages" She addressed. "I am a part of the inquisition, we require mages to help us seal the breach and prevent Demons from taking over this world. Join us and we will see you protected from the Templar's. If you do not, then you are welcome to rejoin the mages at Redcliffe"

Surprisingly, before the mages could even start discussing whether it was a good deal or not, Trevelyan had already stepped forward to the group bowing and then swearing an oath of loyalty to the inquisition. It didn't take long for the other mages to follow her example, with their heads bowed they agreed to the offered terms that Valeyna had set out for them.

"We are grateful to have you mages fight beside us as allies of the Inquisition" Wanting to see how her companions felt about her decision, she could sense a disapproving look on Cassandra's face, the woman's lips had frowned and her eyes narrowed on the mages likely trying to read their actions and gather if any of them needed to be given their own trial for any crimes they may have committed.

"So we have a bunch mages huh, let's just hope they don't blow up the chantry this time" While not disproving of her choice, Varrick couldn't help but be wary of the mages. With the stress that they had endured over the last few days, he could quite easily see tensions rising between the small group of Templar's stationed at Haven and the growing number of mages. On the other hand, even if it wasn't a particularly large group of mages, getting them out of the Hinterlands and somewhere whey they could utilize their purpose for good without screwing shit up and killing innocent people was a decent thing.

"We will have to send word of their arrival, the Templars there will need to ensure that they dod not pester the mages." Trevelyan freaked at the word Templar, her face went pale and strangely she went to grip Nat'arm tightly. Before she could though, Nat stepped away leaving the girl grief-stricken a betrayed look on her face, she approached towards him again hoping desperately to feel safe again, to feel protected.

She had fought the Templars and lost as had those she escaped the tower with. Foolishly when she had run away she thought she would be powerful enough to defend herself and friends with her magic easily battering down those who would take them as slaves again. But then the Templars came. Tears escaped her eyes, they had violated and then killed her best friend in front of her and had nearly done the same to her. But they didn't. They had been stopped by none other than a mage like her. She knew she had to remain strong, she had just sworn to fight for the Inquisition, but she didn't feel safe. Not even the presence of the other mages made her feel safe, they had tried to fight but ended up like her locked up in a house destined to be burnt alive or violated and then have their necks slit.

"Templar's, why are there Templar's" Trevelyan took another step towards Nat feeling safe in the proximity to the one mage who could slaughter Templar's with utter ease. He made her feel protected and she didn't want to lose that right now.

"They are what remains of the Templar's that attended the conclave". Cassandra addressed the petrified girl. "They should leave you alone. If not, speak with Commander Cullen he is the one in charge of the Inquisitions forces. If that doesn't work, speak to the Herald of Andraste or myself. If you have any questions you should speak now." Taking her turn to explain the situation that the mages would face when they arrived at Haven so they wouldn't freak out beforehand, Cassandra attempted to calm down the population of mages but much to her avail, it achieved nothing.

"This is not a time for division. The breach threatens the entire world, If we fight amongst ourselves then it will swallow us all and no one will be safe. Desperate to try and get the assistance of some of the mages, Valeyna implored the group of mages her voice remaining strong but also compassionate as she hoped that even though they had been seriously wronged by the Templar's, they may be able to put aside their differences... at least for now. With a large amount of trepidation, Trevelyan led the way, not because of what the Dalish elf woman had stated, rather if her rescuer a mage her age who dealt so much damage to the Templar's stood by the Inquisition, then so would she.

"I accept" Once more committing to the purpose of the Inquisition, Trevelyan joined the rest of the mages who also pledged the same oath. When they began to walk, Trvelyan ensured that she stayed on the edge of the group. After a little walking, they made it to the entrance of the refugee camp. Immediately seeing their presence, one of the soldiers approached the group wary of so many easily identifiable mages. Before he could speak, Cassandra took the man aside informing him of the situation and how they were to be taken directly to Haven as fast as possible. This was followed by orders to secure the castle that they had just taken. Everything was done quite quickly and soon the group of four began to turn around to head to the horse master and make sure that they got their horses before it was too late.

"Lady Trevelyan" Blinking at hearing her name called as she had been more focused on the other mages, Trevelyan turned and found none other than the strange boy who has saved her.

"Take these for the road, its chocolate and some tea. Done worry the tea's been enchanted to stay warm and here's a pouch to store it in." Giving her the gifts, a faint dusting of red graced Trevelyan's cheeks. Gratefully she accepted the gifts with a small smile and looked down to wrap the pouch around her waist so as to hold them. When she looked up with a small smile on her face though, her saviour was gone having already left with the others leaving her alone. Feeling guilty, she was about to sprint to say thank you only her name was called out again this time by one of her fellow mages. Sighing she joined them on their journey to Haven vowing to herself that when she arrived she would find the boy and thank him for all that he had done to her.

Later

Not bothered in the slightest, as their feet impacted the hard bloodstained floor of the castle grounds that they had previously placed under siege and conquered not even an hour ago. The four ignored the gory sight of multiple Templar's having very large holes blown out of their chest. Had others witnessed the mentioned scene, then those with less hardy stomachs surely would have vomited. Some of the corpses were in such a bad condition, that it was like a miniature darkspawn had been growing inside of the Templar's chests before escaping outwards ripping and tearing all flesh, bone and organ apart in a messy display of violence. In the eyes of two members of the group, specifically the two mages. They saw it as a just thing. What the Templars had done and were planning on doing was inexcusable. The Templars they had slain had no right to mercy and certainly didn't suffer any.

Rather the main concern of three of the members was made poignant by ones intrigued and interested face, one's smirk and ones look of confusion but also a desire to learn. The other already knew what they were going to ask and groaned internally as he waited for the inevitable bombardment of questions.

"So Nat" Valeyna began teasingly hoping to rile him up and make the kid blush. "I saw that you gave that girl some chocolate and tea." She spoke slowly drawing the question out inspecting his face and movements as carefully as she could, she wanted no needed to see the kid blush. It was impressive Valeyna admitted the way he never gave off anything about what he was feeling, but she also knew that this was a weak point for him and she desired to exploit it. "Do you have certain feelings to that girl. She is very beautiful you know. I would be surprised if she didn't want to take you somewhere private and her show you, her "appreciation". With the way she looks at you, it wouldn't be hard. Creators know's if she's willing I will."

"The Herald is correct, that girl was gazing at you rather intently. She seemed rather attached when Templar's were mentioned" Cassandra added.

"It makes for a great story kid. A Young heroic mage saves the damsel in distress, at last, the last possible minute healing her wounds and slaying the villains. Over time the two learn to love each other and have a family together". Varrick joked good-naturedly. Nat understood that the others were trying to be kind, but he couldn't join them.

"That girl requires serious counselling. She just witnessed the brutal rape and murder of her friend before her very eyes. She would have received the exact same treatment if we hadn't arrived when we did. The only reason she's "attached" herself to me, is because I represent strength and security to her. I am a mage who is the same age as her and yet managed to kill those Templar's at close range where they should have held the advantage and cut me down. To her, I am a person she likely desires to emulate, in hopes that she will never feel defenceless again so that nobody will do to her what was done to her friend and nearly done to her. As for me giving her chocolate and tea, as well as healing her wounds. I don't think trying to calm her down and give her a small amount of kindness that might stop her from falling into depression and committing suicide as a bad thing. Also, on the more tactical view, according to Varrick the girl is of noble blood. If she should happen to pertain a good standing with her family, then we may be able to gain influence to help the Inquisition. If we mock the girl in front of her, we lose that power."

There was no anger or annoyance his tone, in fact, there was no emotion at all. Instead, the normal cold emotionless yet calm voice spoke as it always did unhindered by the words that were pronounced. Yet Valeyna couldn't help feel a pit of deep guilt grow within her burying deeper and deeper as she was made aware of the girl's situation. She had heard stories occasionally from other elves when the Dalish clans met up about close or bad experiences with humans that they had experienced. Often the good bad stories were simply when the Dalish ran out of an area, the bad ones usually centred around when nearly an entire clan had been massacred with very few survivors. The more medium bad stories were generally how a clan had lost a few members due to disease of angering some lord or villagers.

"Nat I'm sorry" Speaking gently not wishing to offend her young friend, Valeyna apologised for making jokes.

"I'm not offended Valeyna just don't mistake my kindness for a girl who had just been traumatized, for romantic feelings. When we get back to Haven I'll try and speak to someone might be able to help her to start to recover from her ordeal. Otherwise, we have business we need to get on with." Motioning to the west where the horse master was supposedly located, the group carried on for a small amount of time in silence before Cassandra curious about the youngest member spoke.

"Nathanael you said that you don't have feelings for the girl, I wonder have you ever been with anyone" More than Cassandra was interested in the question, Varrick kept his ears sharp waiting to hear about the kids exploits with someone or his first time with a girl. At his age, most kids had already done it a number of times. It was mostly done at whore houses where it was almost seen as a right of passage otherwise they were already in relationships and getting ready to be married if they already weren't.

"No, and I'm not interested into getting involved with one either. My future is far more important to me than some girl. Not to mention I don't see any advantage in the slightest to becoming involved with someone". Cassandra nodded giving understanding face.

"I can understand that. There is so much work to be done, a relationship would take away far too much crucial time away especially when the breach threatens us all." Varrick rolled his eyes giving a fake sigh as she shook his head at the Seeker in an apologetic way.

"Oh come now Seeker with us trying to save the world, everyone needs a little love. It's how all stories are, the main protagonist starts off single but by the end of the story they've found someone they truly care for. And most importantly one of the best ways to show how much the characters show their love is through very well written and described lovemaking scenes". Turning red, Cassandra averted her gaze from the face of the smug dwarf hoping not to let the man see what dirty thoughts were going through her mind. The Herald, on the other hand, was grinning wickedly.

"I love those scenes, there's a few I want to try out with someone if they're willing. Say Varrick when we get back would you be up for a little "fun" " Winking the elf was glad to see Varrick chuckle in response before he then took a mock lustful gaze as his eyes scanned up and down her well-built figure before ultimately shaking his head.

"Sorry Herald, you're just not my type perhaps the Seeker though" Grinning, Valeyna turned her beautiful eyes onto the dark haired warrior. Fluttering her eyelashes, she was elated when she saw the red rise on the woman's cheeks as she flustered trying to find a response.

"What you say Cassandra do you want me to make me scream your name tonight. Trust me, it will be amazingly fun, and the things you could do to me. This one time when I was with my clan, me and Eldrion found some strawberries by a lake and we spent the whole night" Cassandra froze her eyes darting all over the place not entirely believing that the Herald of Andraste had said such a vulgar thing to her. Had the woman truly just asked to bed her and the vulgarity at what she was proposing? By the maker.

"Uhm... I, uh, what you said, how do I put this. By the Maker" Falling back onto her training, with her cheeks still flushed she breathed in and out a few times to catch her breath and calm her down before finally she managed to find the words to respond to the Heralds proposition. "Herald you are a brilliant person, but I do not."

"She's not gay Valeyna. You know doesn't bat for the other team, she's straight, heterosexual for the more scientific terms, she wants the D. In other words, she likes guys". Cassandra nodded glad for the quick interjection taking away the pressure of trying to discover the right words, only she hadn't heard of three of the phrases that the kid had used to describe her preferences when it came to a possible romantic partner.

"Yes as Nathanael said, I am not interested in such an... act" Finally Valeyna turned on Nat this time determined to get a blush or anything out of him.

"So Nat" She began.

"Not a chance in hell" With another rejection Valeyna gave a dejected look before she then recapped on what was another strange phase that Nat had used. What was Hell and what did it mean if he were to reject her on it?

"Nat this Hell thing, what is it exactly" Nat sighed internally, asking him an Atheist to explain the Christian belief system really wasn't the smartest idea. He hadn't even once bothered to waste his precious time reading the bloody book. He had far more important thing's on his time than reading a dull fictional book about an oppressive set of rules and how all magic was evil and utter nonsense like that. Asking him to explain the Christian faith was like getting the American Republican party to accept that Climate Change was real. Still, he'd try. Hopefully, he wouldn't get into a religious debate.

"According to one of the religions my people had. Hell is a spiritual realm of never-ending evil and suffering. It is the home of demons and perpetually on fire typically depicted as being the centre of the planet and controlled by none other than the leader of all demons known as the Devil also occasionally known as Lucifer. Either way, when a person dies, Hell is one of three possible realms that a person goes to for the rest of their eternity. Hell is for the bad people, where once they arrive, they are then promptly tortured for the rest of eternity in the most brutal ways possible such as being continuously boiled in a pot, flayed, again and again, put on a torture rack and continuously pulled or whipped. I think it has multiple levels but I don't really know. Lovely place to visit during summer great fun for the whole you can even take photos"

The expression on the three companion's faces was exactly what Nat had been expecting even with his sarcastic tone. Cassandra looked rather disturbed by the mental image of what was happening to people. This was most likely that because demons were always a problem for Thedas actively subjecting people to eternal torture and torment for the rest of eternity to what she likely perceived as the Makers most sworn enemies was rather horrific. Varrick also gave a slightly painful face, but he also seemed to be fascinated with the idea of this hell and was perhaps thinking of some way to add it into the next novel he wrote. As for the young incredibly attractive elf she was also rather disturbed by the idea of just tossing people to demons once they died.

"So kid these other two realms when a person dies what are they" Sensing the natural curiosity, Nat sensed a potential business opportunity.

"If I tell you Varrick, then if you reference them in any work you do then you have to pay me a 30% percentage on any book with this stuff in it"

"30% that's preposterous, 15%"

"25%" Nat countered

"18%"

"20% take it or leave it" Mulling the figures in his head, Varrick nodded and shook Nat's hand on a deal made.

"20% then. You know what kid; when we get to Haven I'll teach you some techniques for trading with merchants. I'm only giving you this as it'll be interesting to see you barter with another merchant. I can just imagine their face" To the sides, Valeyna and Cassandra watched the exchange curiously before then focusing on Nat as he carried on explaining.

"Anyway, the other two dimensions are Limbo or is it Purgatory? either way its one of those two. The other one is Heaven. Heaven is the opposite of hell, where when a person dies instead of cursed to eternal damnation, they are instead rewarded living the rest of eternity happily and with all their previous friends and family generally doing whatever they wish in the presence of God. Limbo, on the other hand, is the middle ground, its neither good or bad and is far more akin to being stuck on a wagon for the rest of one's life. So more eternal boredom for the rest of eternity. However, don't take my word for it as I never read the books."

"Heaven you mean when people die they live by the Makers side for the rest of eternity" Hearing that, Nat didn't know if Cassandra hearing the idea of a Heaven was a good thing. According to the Chantry there was no heaven and there was no hell, people may swear on the Void which he guessed was something like hell but for the most part, it just sounded like Limbo until the Maker decided o get off his lazy ass and do something. Heaven, on the other hand, sounded something the Chantry would love the idea of. Already they had declared multiple exalted marches/crusades against different groups. If they got it into their head that they could call for another one, only this time declare to all those who fight for their cause that they would be gifted with eternal happiness in the presence of the Maker after they died. Then there was going to be a lot more trouble. Hell would also have a negative effect if the Chantry implemented something like that in their teaching, then they would be able to demonise certain groups even more than they did now.

"Well with him and his angels anyway. Don't quote me on that"

"Angels, what are angels?" To his side, Nat noticed that Varrick had brought out a book he was keeping from somewhere and had started to note down everything he was saying. Cassandra, on the other hand, listened incredibly intently it was almost if to Nat that she was noticing so many similarities that she might be wondering if the two religions were the same only with Christianity perhaps being an offshoot branch that knew different stories. Then again, it could be the opposite and she was trying to determine that if the two religions were connected, where they may have split up.

Truthfully, Nat couldn't blame her on that front. While he hadn't given it much thought yet with all the stuff he had to learn, the more similarities he noticed about not only the Chantry but also older religions on this continent, the more he wondered if there was a far older connection to this world then he knew. He decided that when he got back to Haven, he would speak more to Solas about the old elven gods and to Leliana about the Chantry. If there was a connection between Earths religions and Thedas's, then he needed to know what exactly those connections were. For now, he had to explain angels.

"In the modern sense, Humans with at least ten times the beauty of the most gorgeous elf of all time, the strength of a thousand qunari warriors, more grace than any animal. They are ageless and immortal, gods first children, warriors of brilliant strength and ability, wiser and more intelligent than any mortal. Not to mention the puffy white wings on their back with a glowing crown of golden light above their heads called a halo.

Their job is to act as protectors and guides giving out helpful advice to mortals where they may occasionally save them from devastating deaths or mistakes. Of course, should they take part in sin, then they are kicked out of heaven or as it is more colloquially called, falling from grace. In other words, depending on who tells it, they become normal humans, demons, fallen angels which are just like normal angels only their wings turn as black as night to reflect their sin as does their Halo. And once fallen from grace, they then do things"

"Things" Cassandra inquired, curiously she wondered just what an angel would do after they had lost their place form heaven.

"Depends on the angel, some try in vain for the rest of existence to get God to forgive them so they can re-enter heaven, others live normal human lives. A different type would indulge in sin allowing themselves to feel more human by indulging in all those forbidden things that angels are restricted from like falling in love or having sex or eating a large amount of food. Others in anger join Lucifer and the legions of hell essentially becoming demons. As I said, depending on who tells the story depends on exactly what fallen angels are." Varrick massaged his beard carefully all sorts of ideas running through his head, he wasn't planning on writing a book just yet, but he wondered if the kid had any idea of a story background for such a character.

"So kid, do people write fiction about this religion"

"That's putting it mildly. Anyway yes, they did but with the war, every single book or copy would be destroyed meaning you can write anything you wish without facing copyright. In fact, I might just write a book myself. Of course, if you're willing to find me a decent agent, I would pay you a finders fee"

"Excuse me, when I want to write a book you ask for a certain amount of percentage on sales, but if you want to write one you'd only pay me a finder's fee." Astonished by such an offer, Varrick waited to see how the kid would justify his reasoning yet he was also impressed by being so daring as to be so cutthroat, he acted just like a merchant.

"Well, one you're a high-class author. Anything you write will get instant attention, in contrast, if I write anything I'm going to need the money just to cover my living expenses. As of currently, I don't have a copper to my name. Speaking of which" Nat turned to face Cassandra. "When exactly do I get paid?"

"Paid, why would you get paid?" Cassandra replied in disbelief. The entire concept of a mage behaving money was foreign, mages had always been stuck in circles so they had never once required money so for a young mage to ask for payment.

"Oh, in that case, fuck this I'm going to go to Tevinter at least there I'll be appreciated." Not waiting for a reply, Nat made an exaggerated effort of turning on his heel and proceeded to march north a few stops before Cassandra's voice cried out.

"Stop. Very well when we get back to Haven I will speak to Josephine about payment" Nat turned around again joining the group.

"Wait if he's getting paid then why I am not getting the same treatment. I am the one with the mark after all" Grinning at Nat's actions, Valeyna found the perfect excuse to badger the warrior woman, she wanted to see where this was going.

"I also need to be paid Seeker, not to mention I need to be compensated for the lost business I have because you kidnapped me and dragged me halfway across the continent" Pressured by three dangerous people, with a painful look she backed down to the demand to being paid. When she got back she would have to discuss the matter with Leliana and Josephine hopefully they would be able to sort this mess out.

"Anyway Varrick, I need the money especially if I am ever to rebuild my people. Now that we've been discovered, It will be impossible to go back to our hiding away from society thing. Besides you're a very kind handsome merchant prince who won't care about the small amount of money I may ever get from any book I might publish.". Varrick rolled his eyes but a smirk had appeared on his face, he would agree to the kid's terms on one condition, a condition that he thought he would win.

"Sure kid, I'll agree you just have to give me the basic plot of your story and the protagonist's name. If you cant think of something then you don't have much chance of becoming a writer, in which case I know a few friends who could find a mage of your talents rather useful after this whole giant hole to hell thing is through. Actually, I rather like that word fits the shit we're in brilliantly. Honestly, Varrick wasn't going to do such a thing, it was merely a joke to rile up the kid when they got back to Haven he would speak to the kid to help his thinking process and give him some tips to writing books. Besides the type of stuff the kid was thinking about writing was not his thing, he wrote more along the lines of fictional stories that would take place in this world.

"Sorry, Varrick I won't let you steal any ideas from me. " With a grin, Carrick gave Nat a nod of approval. He was glad Nat had some business sense if he didn't then he was afraid that perhaps others would take easy advantage of the kid leading him on with fake unwritten promises and then be screwing him over the first opportunity they had. Cassandra, on the other hand, held a different view.

"You would ransom an entire region, to make a profit off it. What about those who worship, do you not have any concern about insulting those who believe in that god." To her, a devout woman who worshipped the maker for all that he had done for her and the world, the very prospect of somebody using a faith similar to her own was utterly repulsive. By telling false stories, the boy was setting up false literature that people would believe. Varrick on the other hand when he wrote kept to how the Chantry was in his books, never did he add in a new character in the past or create entirely new creatures to simply add to a well-established faith. No his stories while fictional were always based in reality.

"Nope," Nat popped the p as he carried on forward. "The people that worshipped this religion was the same lot who pushed us out of our homes over a thousand years ago. With all the stuff they've done to us, profiting of their religion is the least they could pay in compensation." Cassandra was scorned, how could anyone be so heartless, even if she believed that the Heralds religion was wrong, she would never go so far as to write literature which would change things about it.

"But to do such a thing, to profit of another's belief for one's own gain that is despicable"

"You're one to talk Seeker. Doesn't the Chantry have hundreds if not thousands of buildings dotted all over the continent dedicated towards your Maker? Does it also not pay for the large number of sisters and other servants it has via donations. Donations which would be better served being placed into businesses and education to help raise the standards of living around the world rather than building fancy palaces, owning a fanatical religious army, oppressing others simply because they were born different whether elf or mage, call holy wars whenever they desire simply due to a difference of opinion. Also does the Chantry not have exceptional power and influence, if they so desired they could label an individual as undesirable or kidnap a person within a political territory and face no repercussions as all you would have to do is say that the Chantry ordered it. Not to mention, the Chantry also profits off religion as it enables itself to control the narrative of certain facts and get away with outright lies even erasing entire bits of history simply because it is convenient. So yes please do explain to me how profiting off a religion is evil."

Nat waited for a reply and waited even more, the more he watched Cassandra's face twist and turn into all types of shapes as she attempted to find an appropriate response, the more he found it entertaining. There wasn't a chance that Cassandra could not deny that the Chantry had profited off religion and even better, she couldn't deny that she hadn't benefited from the Chantry profiting off religion. Her life training and all the powers she held was because the Chantry had used its money to build itself whatever it desired and then used its power to fight anyone who opposed it. And what Cassandra hope to deny, if she said she hadn't then he would merely mention that the Seekers had been formed and were funded through the chantry, and if she mentioned holy wars he could counter that by calling for an exalted march, they were profiting as they would be able to ultimately spread their religion further. Within time, more churches erected in converted areas meant more profit for the ones at the top.

"But you are a non-believer, you do not care about the religion like others do. You creating stories about such a thing is like me creating stories about your people" Gaining a more triumphant look on her face, Cassandra gripped her sword tightly in confidence that she had won the debate.

"So I don't care, if folks want to write about my people then they can go ahead. They can think of as much stuff as they can possibly want. They can spread as many false impressions as they desire, fair is fair after all. Should a person desire to write a fictional book about how my people are always the evil villains who want to do nothing other than conquer and subjugate the world using brutal methods such as mass starvation and placing them internment camp. And how the protagonist of their story is some young plucky person coming from an oppressed family who somehow manages to drive off the evil empire even if it is entirely unrealistic. If a book is a work of fiction, then a writer can do anything they desire. The problems I have are when a nonfiction book is on purposely written false especially when it is to push a religious or political message."

Tears rapidly tore down Cassandra's points, everything she had mentioned so far was brushed aside and rebutted time and time again. Desperately, she tried to find an argument to defend her position on why making up stories for a religion was an un-moral thing and why Nat should not use another's religion for his selfish profit.

"What about their feelings, their beliefs, they could find what you write down offensive and blasphemous." Silently begging Varrick for help on the subject, the woman felt betrayal hit her as Varrick merely grinned fascinated with where the debate was going and especially as it started to reveal to him just who Nat was as an individual but also more importantly, what his people were like.

"You're always going to hurt someone's feelings no matter what you do. If let's say someone wanted to ban anything blasphemous against the Chantry because its offensive, then surely Valeyna could demand that nobody ever insult the Dalish or say anything blasphemous against them. Which in that case it's only fair that nobody says 's anything wrong about the Qun or about Tevinter or anything. As soon as you start to ban one person from saying something because you find it offensive; before you know it everything will be illegal. If you find the idea of what I'm doing detestable, fine that's your opinion. In contrast, I think the Chantry having the ability to call for exalted Marches create organisations like the inquisition and hold private armies that suppress the rights of minorities is an evil group that needs to be abolished. Would you prevent me from having such thoughts and throw me into a dungeon or burn me at the stake. Finally, Cassandra compare what I may gain in profit from a few fiction nooks compared to the Chantry. I may introduce a few readers to some new concepts for a book that they will know is fictional, and earn a small amount of coin. If a person doesn't like my book then they choose not to read it or burn it or wipe their arse with it. In contrast, if a person doesn't agree with the Chantry, they can expect to have an army of soldiers turning up on their door waving sharp pieces of metal around threatening to kill them. It's hardly an equal comparison. Lastly, besides it being fictional, I doubt there is one follower of the religion on this continent so there's very little risk of a holy war."

Checking the map that she had been given, Valeyna listened intently to the discussion fascinated by the very strange views Nat held of the world. All these things he seemed to hold sacred, these ideas of fairness equality, the defence of allowing a person to mock his own people in response for the same it was just very strange. She wouldn't stand for people insulting the Dalish, the number of times she had been called a savage by humans or a knife-ear or that Dalish culture was uncivilized, it riled her up so much that she had always been ready to defend her people and its culture but Nat, Nat was very different.

"Nat how exactly did your people work" Before Nat could respond, howls yelled loudly into the air scaring the other local wildlife. Somewhat pleased to get out of the argument with their youngest member, Cassandra was pleased about the emergence of wolves as it would allow her to concentrate on something else. Without hesitation, she raised her shield at the first creature and ran towards the first enemy.


	7. Chapter 7 The Gathering of Power

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 7 The Gathering of Power**

9:41 Dragon

Val Royeux

"Finally, we have arrived" Smiling whilst she leaned on one of the white knee-high walls that prevented an individual from toppling over the edge of the white stone bridge, Cassandra took some moments to catch her breath. Beside her, Valeyna, Solas and Varrick also took the exact same opportunity to relax after navigating the busy streets of Orlais's capital. It had been a long ride from Haven to Val Royeux, a total of two whole weeks in fact. Not that it wasn't to be expected, Val Royeux was a fair way from Haven and Orlais was far larger then Ferelden was. On their journey to the land of gilded lions, they had encountered a number of issues delaying them by at least a week more than it should require for them reaching the capital. On that journey, they had been witness to just how much Southern Thedas was in utter chaos from not only the Breach but also because of the civil war in Orlais and the mage-Templar war. On the road, they had been accosted more than once by bandits attempting to take advantage of the utter insanity that was afflicting the world. On other occasions, they had come across refugees fleeing desperately from their homes in hopes of finding somewhere safe. The situation only got worse when they entered the Dales. While they had stuck purely tot he road in order to minimize the danger of running into either of the two armies fighting down there, that didn't mean that there was no conflict to be found. A conflict which had been solved in the end through the force of arms. When combined with the multiple rifts that had popped up on their journey, the four of them had carved a bloody path to get to where they were now.

"We've been on the road for quite some time. I'm glad Nat convinced us to get those horses first, otherwise we would have been walking the entire way" Valeyna responded in a much similar way, the constant riding even with the somewhat comfortable beds of taverns had left her bottom rather sore.

"Indeed, had we not, then this journey would have quite likely taken twice as long. In which case we would have left out our other companion alone for over two months" Despite not being with the current group on their trip to the rather beautiful city of Val Royeux, Solas was rather glad that Nat had been insistent on gathering the horses before they had departed. Every day lost because of walking was another day lost to the Breach and the demons that planned to escape. On the other hand, Horses were no eluvians and with how much horses went up and down, it did get uncomfortable after some time. As such he was rather enjoying the time he now had on the ground in this old city.

"Well, we're here now. Might as well enjoy ourselves before we have to head back to Haven again" At the mention of having to ride so far away again so quickly, the other members of the inquisition groaned loudly. Valeyna gently tapped her bottom as she still remembered the pain that would arise for that area of her body with the constant bumps of the horses back constantly crashing into her. It was not a pleasant experience, and she desperately hoped that she would not have to repeat it soon.

"We have more than just the clerics to talk to; the Herald was also invited by Madame Vivienne to discuss matters. However as that is in a few days, we have some time to build up some new allies whilst we wait". Despite how much Cassandra would like to leave the constant noble culture of Orlais and its rather pompous and irritating customs at times, the Seeker knew that they had to make the most of their time whilst they were there. Constant round trips to VBal Royeux and back was not something that could be done with how tumultuous things were. As had the Herald mentioned, taking a trip to somewhere required days of constant travelling and that was just for Ferelden. Should they be required to travel into Orlais in a substantial distance, they were talking at least several weeks especially as they did not have a ship to take them over the sea. Not that it would have been a good idea.

The idea of riding to the nearest harbour and taking a ship to Val Royeux had been mentioned, however, Leliana had cut down that idea stating quite clearly that ever since the conclave explosion, pirates had been far more active. Therefore with what few soldiers the Inquisition had guarding some outposts, scouting or helping refugees, the Inquisition neither had the manpower nor coin to operate or even purchase transit on a vessel. Only once the Inquisition gained more power could journies be shortened to a respectable length for saving the world.

"What do you know of this Madame Vivienne Cassandra" Curious as to the identity of the mage that had sent them a letter inviting them to a party days ago, Valeyna turned her focus onto the Seeker as they started to move forward into the merchant area where the clerics were stationed. Unfortunately for Valeyna's mental idea of Vivienne's, Cassandra's change of expression to her usual stoic grumpy one transformed into one of mistrust.

"I would be careful when you meet with her."Cassandra frowned heavily as she spoke of that woman. "She is also known as Madame De Fer, she was raised in the Ostwick circle of Magic and is considered to be an incredibly talented and powerful mage. In 9:20 Dragon, Empress Celine picked her as her court Enchanter and ever since Made De Fer has used that position to gain serious political advances and power. When the mages rebelled, she became the leader of the loyalists to the Chantry and has been known to despise the acts of the rebel mages calling them selfish. She is well known in Orlesian politics and likely desires to boost her power by allying with the Inquisition". Finishing on her report, Valeyna could understand why Cassandra was frowning. By this point despite it still being very early on, she had with her actions already started to lean the inquisition down the path of assisting the mages in the Mage-Templar War should she be forced to pick a side. If this woman was the leader of the loyalist faction, then it was bound to cause plenty of problems.

"She sounds like a lovely person" Varrick smirked at Valeyna's reply yet Solas also seemed to have the same unspoken concerns as her.

"Even if our viewpoints our opposed, we cannot afford to push away potential allies. Closing the Breach is our most important concern anything else is secondary" Offering his wisdom, Solas mentally prepared himself for the days to come in the chance that he had to meet such a woman. Circle Mages were often very bigoted and set in stone about the way they did things, rarely did they choose to listen to an opposing side or anything that clashed with their beliefs pushed down their throats by Templars. If this woman was the leader of the loyalist faction, then he could see the usual nonsense Chantry mages spouted as being far worse with such a woman.

"Now, now play nice. We haven't even met the woman yet and it looks like you're already planning on trying to kill her. Besides, I think we need to focus more on the grumpy old hags in charge of the Chantry." Interrupting the conversation, Varrick ensured to redirect the group's mind onto the upcoming takes of trying to convince the clerics that they were not the enemy. Luckily it seemed to work as a conversation on the Orlesian mage ceased and silence reigned for a small while as they crossed the bridge.

As they advanced, they took in the sights of Orlais. When people mentioned how Orlais was a land of beauty and intrigue they weren't kidding. Compared to Ferelden who's villages, castles, towns and cities were built strong and practical, Orlais was far more aesthetic in its choices. Ever since arriving at Val Royeux, the four had seen nonstop golden statues of gilded golden lions sitting on their paws gazing out menacingly at anyone who dares look at them almost as if they would come alive and tear the flesh of the onlooker. Other differences compared to what they had been used to at the small village base they had established, were the smells. Expensive perfumes, flowers, and baking bread filled the air masking those nearby in its grace granting the area smell slightly of a flower garden fresh in bloom during a warm summer day. The walls had also been crafted with great care, they stood proud and strong made of marble and plastered in bright worldly colours of sky blue, leaf green, scarlet, gold as well as a great may others that were associated with beauty and art all of which were decorated in many shapes but especially those of lions and flowers depicting the elegance of the Orlesian culture and the strength of its military. Besides that, however, columns had been placed to help support large arches where groups of nobles were sitting at tables under the shade from the burning sun sipping tea or eating some form of small cake all behind their colourful masks.

The legendary masks of Orlesian nobility were known far and wide in rumours if one had never met one, but here as Valeyna gazed upon the occupants enjoying their time sitting and drinking fine tea on the neatly placed stone floor, Valeyna was very much witnessed to the legendary rumours of the masks. Very rarely were the masks the nobles wore the same, and those that were were only for the servants and far less beautiful. The servant's masks were crafted in a more general manner, only covering the area around the eyes like. Each of the servant's masks was either crafted or painted in silver and compared to the nobles masks were far more basic but still delightful pieces to look at. It was a bit odd as the only experience that she had with such things were the full masks that some humans would wear whilst putting on a kind of performance. On the other hand, these masks looked similar yet nothing like the strange black mask that Nat wore on his face. However, it was the masks of the nobility that go to her.

Not one mask was the same when it came to the nobility of Orlais. She noticed similarities between masks in the design, but one may have ridges where another would have a flat edge, there could be a slight difference in style around the eyes by adding small tears or delicately placed in carving like her vallaslin. Colour was another key part in the difference, whereas the servants only seemed to wear silver coloured masks likely denoting their inferiority to their masters, the nobility wore all types. They varied in degrees of shades of colour, but the most common were gold, silver and bronze and all of which were identifiable. Compared to the servants that only hid the forehead of their eyes and nose, the nobles masks had a tendency of covering far more from a design like the servants to the entire face being obscured by the mask. And all of them hiding the identities of those behind them from one another like an elaborate game of cat and mouse. Even the soldiers wore mask's in Orlais. Whilst not as elaborate or elegant as the nobility, the masks had seemingly been mixed with helmets as the entirety of the head had been covered with a long red material that stretched from the back of their helmets onto their shoulders like a flowing head of hair from a beautiful woman.

As they kept moving forward towards the main courtyard taking in the wondrous sights as they did so, Valeyna could not help but admit that Nat would both fit in here and also stand out. He would fit in his scenery for the infamous black mask he wore, hiding his eyes and very identity with a very simple but strangely designed mask. However, he would also stand out like a fire in the night only quite the opposite. For while the Orlesian wore their brightly coloured ruffled dresses and clothing with large bags of material puffed up here and there, showing off the joints. Nat would wear his dark black clothing that while not hugging his form showing off the contours of his body, it would give one a few hints of just what lay beneath. She would like to see one day just how these nobles would react to what her friend wore on a regular basis. The few nobles that bothered to avert their eyes looking at her, Cassandra, Varrick and Solas gave constant looks of disparagement, some even going so far as to tut at seeing the clothes they had dressed in.

Finally coming to the end of the small bridge guarded by a metal gate that had also been cast in ever so common Orlesian eloquent designs and guarded by more staring lions gilded lions, Valeyna was not expecting one of the reactions from the noble women. The woman screamed backing away once her eyes locked onto the four of them fear evident in her eyes. Valeyna wasn't concerned, it wasn't the first time a human had screamed upon recognising her as Dalsih. Humans had this odd belief that her people were cannibals and snatched little children to east them. but it was the type of fear that concerned her and the other most. Her mind soon changed when she looked into the woman's eyes and saw the fear within them. It wasn't the fear that she had been accustomed to so far. That fear, as some of the nobles had shown, was apparently a fear of their poor taste in fashion that may spread to the nobles as she had been informed by Cassandra, but rather a genuine fear for her life as if the inquisition was going to cut her down right there and then.

"Just a guess Seeker but I think they all know who we are" Briefly Solas kept his eyes on the couple ensuring that they did not try to attack them. Having spent enough time in the fade viewing memories of others, the elf knew the dangers when it came to Orlais, a knife could be lodged behind any corner from the lowest servant to the highest noble. After all, despite the image that Orlais wanted to present with all its splendour, its reputation for equality was very poor especially when it came to the common folk trying to live a normal life. He had on more than one occasion saw in the fade as a common man that was cut down his life made short simply for "insulting" a nobleman.

"Your skills of observation never cease to impress me Varrick" Cassandra replied bored of their trip to Orlais already. Before they could continue, a soldier rushed towards them garbed in the inquisitions attire. Kneeling in front of Valeyna, she kept her eyes to the ground in reverence for her saviour.

"My Lady Herald" The soldier began.

"How many times am I going to have to say I'm not the Herald" Cassandra shot Valeyna a disproving look. Immediately after, Cassandra turned back to the soldier who did not seem to react to having her faith rebuked so openly.

"You're one of lady Leliana's people. What have you found" Valeyna blinked slightly? If this woman was supposed to be one of Leliana's spies, then shouldn't the woman be dressed in better clothing rather than wearing an Inquisition uniform. With the Chantry so hostile to the inquisition, wearing such a uniform seemed like a terrible idea so what was the woman thinking.

"The Chantry's mothers await you. But so do a great many Templar's" Valeyna gulped, Templar's were bad business especially if they were in the middle of Val Royeux. Should a fight break out, then she and the others would never be able to escape the city alive.

"There are Templar's here" Confused Cassandra's kept questioning the woman.

"People seem to think the Templar's will protect them from... from the Inquisition" Varrick groaned at hearing that. Almost by instinct, the dwarf placed his right hand a little closer to his back, should a fight occur, then he could get Bianca and fire a few bolts before the inevitable onslaught of men wearing heavy armour. "They're gathering on the other side of the market I think that's where the Templar's plan to meet you". Not deterred by the mention of Templar's in the slightest, Cassandra moved first, she hadn't even gone to place her hand on her blade so confident in her ability to reason with the Templar's.

"You seem awfully calm about the Templar's Seeker" Solas spoke quietly. Like Varrick, the elf gave cursory glances to the upper level of the balcony. With the way that market had been structured, if the Templar's did plan an attack, then having archers on the upper level would give an inevitable advantage in a fight likely pinning them down to one side.

"These are not the rouge Templar's of the Hinterlands, these are the Templar's who accepted the order to withdraw and return to the Chantry. They will listen to reason" Unlike her, the other three were nowhere near as confident in the group of mage hunters.

"I wouldn't be too optimistic Seeker, we are in their territory now and remember what they've been doing since Kirkwall" Cassandra chose to ignore Varrick's warning, had it been about mages or the rouge Templar's then she would understand, but these weren't the rogue Templar's. No these were the good Templar's, the men and women who had dedicated their lives towards defending the common people from dangerous abominations.

"We will be fine Varrick, the Templar's will not attack us without just cause" Valeyna and Solas shared a quiet look both rather desiring to be like their younger companion. At least Nat could hide that baby staff of his, they, on the other hand, were essentially yelling to anyone who would listen that they were Mages with the big clumps of wood on their back. Varrick kept quiet, not because he didn't have a rebuttal for the short-haired woman, but rather because they had joined the back of the nobles and wanted to hear the woman on the recently crafted wooden stage speak.

"Good people of Val Royeux, hear me" Taking the spot directly in front of the Chantry member, Valeyna kept her eyes on the young Templar to the woman's side. The man had no weapon or shield equipped, but she couldn't still help but twirl the scenario of the man using his abilities' to nullify her and Solas's magic where than a whole bunch of Templar's would approach and assault them. "Together we mourn our Divine. Her naive and beautiful heart silence by treachery" There was no missing the angered look on Cassandra's face when the woman said naive, the seeker's eyes had narrowed ever so slightly in an intimidating fashion. Absently, Valeyna wondered if Cassandra was mentally thinking of the torture she could put this Chantry woman under for insulting her dear friend. "You wonder what will become of her murderer, well wonder no more" All heads turned to face the young elf loud whispers and rumours spreading around faster than one could imagine, calls for her prompt execution were called by some while others spoke with fearful tones of just what this savage Dalish elf mage would do to them. Before the rumours' could get too loud though, the woman carried on her tirade. "Behold the so-called "Herald of Andraste" claiming to rise where our beloved fell. We say this is a false prophet! The maker would not send some Ignorant savage Dalish Elf mage whore in our hour of need.

"I make no such claim; I wasn't sent here by Andraste or the Maker. I'm simply trying to close the breach, it threatens us all". Anger swirled through Valeyna; she was tempted to set this woman alight in flames. First, that woman had called her a murderer, and then she had the gall to call her a savage, what typical behaviour from such shems always believing they were better than the Dalish. She was proud of her heritage; the Dalish would keep their culture and tradition no matter what these ignorant humans said or did. Despite her anger and urge to unleash the power of the fade, however, she did not attack the woman only yelling to showcase her anger at the woman. Unfortunately, because she had yelled it came as a victory for the woman on stage, recognising this, Cassandra interrupted but spoke in a calmer manner so as to try and win over the crowd and demonstrate to the nobles of Orlais, that they were not ignorant thugs.

"It's true. The Inquisition only seeks to end this madness before it's too late." As she spoke, all eyes turned to the right as the sound of heavy armour chinking against each other getting closer and closer. Turning to face it, Valeyna stopped herself from going for her staff. Stern in the face and thoroughly un-amused by the current events and roughly pushing past all those in the vicinity, the Templar's moved into the centre of the group dominating the conversation. The woman grinned.

"It is already too late. The Templar's have returned to the Chantry! They will face this "Inquisition" And the people will be safe once more". The leader of the group, the one Cassandra realised as none other than Lord Seeker Lucious walked by the woman not even giving her the time of day. Shocked at the lack of respect, the woman did not see as the soldier after the commander smashed his fist into her face, instantly knocking the woman to the ground unconscious with a dislocated jaw. Valeyna wincing slightly as she heard the pop.

"Still yourself she is beneath us" Utterly confused as to what the fuck had just occurred, the Templar soldier who had been standing guard over the cleric kept his eyes on the downed woman all the while the leader of the group of Templar's latched his hands in a firm grip shaking the man slightly to try and reassure him and remind the man that he was a soldier. Below them, however, more rumouring and whispering took pace with even a few feminine cries wondering why on earth a member of the Chantry had been attacked by what was supposed to be a soldier of the Maker.

"Thanks for shutting her up, I was about to do that myself" Grinning at the downed woman, Valeyna could not say in the slightest that she felt sorry for the woman. The bitch had it coming to her especially when she had called her a savage. Luscious was not bothered by the woman's comment and simply turned his head t her glaring at her maliciously showing how little he cared for her or her options on the matter in fact Valeyna was rather sure that if it weren't for the mess, the man would happily crush her school by jamming his thumbs in her eyeballs. It was so fierce in fact, that she started wishing she had not left Nat back in Haven.

"Her claim to "Authority" is an insult. Much like your own." Beside Valeyna, Cassandra stared at her Lord Seeker in open disbelief. This was not the man she knew and the way he was behaving was bizarre. Even so, she needed to gain support from the man and confronted the Seeker as he walked down the steps dismissing all those nearby as worthless and even going so far as to actively push a woman who was in his way roughly to the ground.

"Lord Seeker Lucius, It's imperative that we speak with-" She began only even more to the founder of the inquisitions shock, the man wouldn't even dare look at her rather preferring to treat her as some kind of outcast that didn't even hold the right to speak.

"You will not address me"

"Lord Seeker?" Having no desire in the slightest to allow the woman to become a bothersome nuisance constantly following him like a lost puppy, Lucius decided to end the conversation as quickly as he could.

"Creating a heretical movement, raising up a puppet as Andraste's Prophet. You should be ashamed" His words burning with utter disgust at the actions of one of his former seekers, Lucius ensured to glare in such a manner that Cassandra actually stepped back slightly hurt by the words of a man she had looked up to. "You should all be ashamed" Lucius turned his disparagement onto all those in the courtyard. "The Templar's failed no one when they left the Chantry to purge the Mages. You are the ones who have failed" Once again, Lucius directed his tirade onto Valeyna angering her as shown by her twitching lips and the growing urge to encase the man in ice."You who'd leash our righteous swords with doubt and fear. If you came to appeal to the Chantry, you are too late. The only destiny here that demands respect is mine."

"Then why are you here if all you're going to do is shout out loud. The breach needs closing and all you're doing around is scaring nobles" Valeyna retorted her eyes switching between the unarmed Templars but also wary of the weapon store directly behind them. If a fight did break out, she had to make the first move less the Templars activate their abilities.

"Oh, the breach is indeed a threat. But you certainly have no power to do anything about it." Guttering his words, The man only scowled more when the solider from earlier who had been watching over the angry woman walked forward.

"But Lord Seeker... What if she really was sent by the maker? What if-" If looks could kill, then the icy glare that Lord Seeker Lucius gave the man would have frozen over his veins killing him instantly. Cassandra, on the other hand, shook her head feeling a great amount of sorry for the man. The soldier may have been trying to help them, but by speaking out of tone, he was going to be reprimanded harshly for his actions.

"You are called to a higher purpose. Do not question" Spitting on the ground, another soldier interrupted the first and walked off glaring menacingly at any noble who dared lay their posh privileged undeserving eyes on him.

"I will make the Templar order a power that stands alone against the Void. WE deserve recognition. Independence" Again the man redirected his focus onto the Inquisition before carrying on. "You have shown me nothing, and the Inquisition... less than nothing. Templar's Val Royeux is unworthy of our protection! We march." And like that the group of soldiers hastily made their exit no longer desiring to be in the presence of such an ugly, cruel, traitorous and corrupt lot.

"Charming fellow isn't he" Shaking his head at the attitude, Varrick watched the soldiers leave with a keen look.

"Has lord Seeker Lucius gone mad?"

"Do you know him very well" Trusting her own Seeker on these matters, Valeyna wanted to know exactly what the dark-haired warrior knew about the so-called leader of the Templar's.

"He took over the Seeker's of truth two years ago, after Lord Seeker Lamberts death. He was always a decent man, never given to ambition and grandstanding. This is very bizarre". Frowning at the news, Valeyna couldn't help but feel more weight press down on her at hearing that. If the Templars had declared independence and called them a heretical movement then even if she had really wanted to work with the Templars to close the Breach, then it appeared they would never listen to her in the first place.

"It doesn't look like we'll be getting the Templar's to help us at all"

"I wouldn't write them off so quickly. There must be those in the order who see what he's become. Either way, we must find a place to rest so we can wait for the Madame De Fer's party to go speak with her." Had circumstance been different, Cassandra would have preferred to head straight back to Haven and alert the others, but it wasn't exactly doable. By the time they would arrive at Haven, Madame De Fer's party would have started so in the meantime they were stuck in Val Royeux.

"Oh, it's not all bad Seeker. We can enjoy the sight's while we're here and the Herald can enjoy some Orlesian culture. What do you say chuckles want to go look around the market for a bit see if there's anything interesting for sale" Turning his head around, Varrick could see a few things that he might want to visit while he was in Val Royeux. Orlais was renown less for its food than other places, but enjoying a meal at a proper tavern was bound to be nicer than the watery soup he was fed day after day.

"Why not, I noticed some interesting cakes on the way here. If you would care to join me Master Varrick I'm sure we could sample them together" Giving a grin to the dwarf, Solas agreed to his request.

"Oh you mean the ones with the jam on top, yeah I noticed that oses ones as well. Would you two care to join us." Eloquently refusing, Valeyna alongside Cassandra simply watched as Varrick and Solas started to walk off into the city to begin exploring and most likely to find some small cakes to partake in while they were here. Before they did though, Cassandra gave the two a certain time to meet up where they were now to make sure they did not get separated in the city.

"So what do we do now?" Cassandra asked Valeyna hoping for an idea of their next course of action. It was going to be a week before they could attend the party invitation gifted to them by Madame De Fer. It gave them an awful lot of time to do nothing but wait. Not that Valeyna couldn't see the upsides to such a thing, being inside a city meant that she could explore and purchase a few supplies that she needed and wasn't able to get back at Haven. Thing's such as a proper set of clothes would do her some good, all of her old ones were tattered by the blast at the conclave and she wanted something nice to wear when she was in the mood for it. The cream coloured clothes she had been given were practical, but a girl wanted to look nice and that jacket was quite the opposite. Especially in that disastrous beige colour.

"We could follow the Varrick's lead and find somewhere to eat. Or-" Cassandra pushed her aside slamming her onto the floor whilst covering her with her shield as she stared up at the balcony.

"Assassin take cover" Looking over to where Cassandra had pushed her from, Valeyna paled as she saw the arrow that had struck the floor. It wasn't the most accurate shot, at least a metre away from where she had been standing, however, if the archer had been a bit more accurate with their bow, then she would have been very dead if not for Cassandra. Quickly Valeyna cast a barrier over herself and Cassandra giving the two of them some much-needed protection if the potential attacker attempted again. The two of them waited for the inevitable attack, and waited and waited some more. After twenty minutes of full waiting and keeping their weapons drawn, nothing happened. Her arm's starting to ache a little, Valeyna lowered her staff before focusing her gaze onto the arrow only for her eyes to widen slightly as she saw a piece of paper attached to the end of it. Curious she approached it.

"Be careful, it could be a distraction" Nodding, Valeyna continued with her investigation yanking the arrow out off the ground and retrieving the paper. Ensuring that she wasn't prone to a sneak attack by staying out in the open while she read the note, Valeyna alongside Cassandra rapidly made their way to under one of the balconies hoping to limit the actions that a possible attacker could have. Once they believed they were in a safer location, Valeyna began to read the note whilst Cassandra narrowed her brown eyes at the elevated in the distance her shield ready to defend if she saw even the slightest hint of movement.

 _People say you're special. I want to help, and I can bring everyone_

 _There's a baddie in Val Royeux. I hear he wants to hurt you. Have a search for the red things in the market, the docks, round the cafe, and maybe you'll meet him first. Bring Swords._

 _Friends of Red Jenny._

Analysing the handwriting, Valeyna wondered who the sender of such a message was. Whoever they were, they weren't... normal she guessed would be the correct term. After all, instead of sending a courier or giving the message to her themselves, they had elected to shoot an arrow at her. It wasn't the most sensible action to take. In fact, had she seen the archer, she would have likely killed them for what initially appeared to be a threat to her life. As for the note itself, the handwriting was large and scribbly nothing like how she had seen Josephine write. It was a rather messy style and there were also doodles on the side of the note of all kinds of random things that she didn't understand but she was sure that the sender did. Either way, it made her curious as to who would warn her of such a plot.

"What do you think Cassandra" Showing the note to the older woman, Valeyna watched in interested as the woman read the note a few times over attempting to see if there was any kind hidden clue or message in the notes that she could find out. Unfortunately for the seeker, she couldn't and as she was not Leliana, she also could not just give it to one of her soldiers in the odd chance that they might know something.

"It is most likely a trap, they desire to get you in a place that you will be vulnerable in and then strike where they have the advantage." Crumpling up the piece of paper to show her regard to the individual who had shot an arrow at them just in case they happen to be watching, Cassandra disregarded the note before then returning to her duties and swept the local nearby area. Mere moments later, her eyes narrowed as she noticed a particular red handkerchief that had been deposited in the cafe around them. "There," She alerted Valeyna drawing the elf woman's eyes onto what Cassandra had spotted. "That red handkerchief that must be one of these objects the archer wants us to find".

"We won't get answers if we just sit around; we need to find the other notes" Getting out of her seat, Valeyna ignored the dark suspicious and occasional lustful looks that she received from the Orlesian's as she moved further into their midst. At one point a server came out with a tray of tea nearly dropping it when they saw two well-armed women one of whom was a Seeker and the other was a Dalish mage. Had the servers not been working at the cafe for quite some time, then they may have panicked and rushed to tell the guards of their presence. Instead, after the initial shock, the servers got to work again. Picking the not quickly of the ground, Valeyna read the second not hoping for some kind of clue as to whop the sender or the "baddie" was.

 _Thank you, friends, for helping good lady Keris, Saw those who asked about the Herald enter_ third _passage. Could not stay to see them exit._

"People have been watching us, I didn't think enough people knew what I looked liked for something like that. And what's this third passage?" Motioning for Cassandra to read the note, Valeyna was both troubled and concerned, she had only just entered Val Royeux hours ago and before arriving when they had stopped off at small little taverns, she and the other's had attempted to keep their identities as secret as possible not to give others time ahead to plan and counter them. Ultimately, that plan seemed to have failed.

"I don't know, but we should be more careful with where we tread. Leliana was not joking when she said that the ears have walls" A disgusted grunt came from Cassandra's mouth as her mind focused on the type of people who did this type of thing for a job. Almost all of them were nobles and cared little for the people under them only for themselves and the best way to advance their goals even at the expense of their own morality. "Politics, one of the worst evils of this world".

"Sure would be nice if we could just get the help when we ask for it instead of having to solve everyone's problems. I feel like the Hero of Ferelden when he went to stop the blight" Cassandra chuckled slightly at that both because of the irony and the strange but real events that had occurred.

"I believe it was Alistar who stated upon first meeting the Warden "One good thing about the blight, is how it brings people together" Despite the different circumstances, it suits our situation well." Speaking sarcastically, Cassandra secretly wished that she had managed to contact the Hero of Fereldan. Despite Valeyna's efforts, with something so important as saving the world itself from the Fade, she would have preferred someone with a bit more experience. Only the Warden was nowhere to be found as was Hawke who had also mysteriously disappeared with not even Varrick knowing how to contact her.

"It's like a party, we could all stand in a circle and hold hands. That would give something the demons to think about it" Not able to help herself, the dark-haired woman laughed. Of course, the Herald would know that story as well as she did, the Hero had been a Dalish as well likely making them a pariah among her people. Valeyna joined her in laughing entertaining the idea of none other than King Alistair Therin throwing away his king uniform and rushing to meet the demons head-on with a snarky attitude.

"Indeed but let's get back to what we were doing before, if we are going to investigate these notes, we need to get moving less that archer attacks us once more. We should check the upper levels before we head to the docks in order to save time" Agreeing with her, the two women found the set of stairs to the second floor and quickly climbed up them giving them the ability to view the nearby area with a far greater vantage point then they had at the lower level. From this floor, they could watch as the nobles and servants of Orlais scampered about the place. Something that briefly bought both of the women's attention, was the fast movements of two nobles dancing back and forth clashing swords against one another; Why they were doing this they didn't know as they were too far to hear anything but most likely someone's honour had been insulted and the other desired compensation and decided to acquire it through swordplay. Unfortunately for their entertainment, however, the duel was brought to a swift ended with a clear victor while the other gripped their wounded appendage which appeared to be their left arm and rapidly made a retreat. With them focusing back on their businesses, it did not take long for them to discover another one of the mysterious red handkerchiefs and like the others, it had a note on it.

 _"And we are to obey well. We meet at three bells to discuss how best to serve the new way._

 _Herald go at_ time _. Praise Adrast"._

"I think the notes are telling us when to meet this person," Valeyna said handing over the message to Cassandra so the Seeker could confirm her theory on the matter. "We need to find the other note to get the full message, however". Yet again Cassandra was unsure, this was feeling more and more like a trap that the Herald willingly wanted to comply with. While they did not have the last note, it appeared that it was going to be a remote place far from any help should they attend. She didn't like this and had Leliana been present she would have brought it straight to her for analysis. Only she couldn't send the notes back and a full letter since while ravens were good at carrying a short message on a slip of paper, they could not deliver a long-winded letter. She was not going to get Leliana's help, it would take too long and by the time she and the others had finally arrived, it would likely be too late and the one who had set up these messages would be long gone.

"I agree, we need to work out the identity of this individual if we are going to meet them. We should also inform Solas and Varrick, the last thing we need is to be separated and ambushed." Valeyna agreed, stuffing the note into her pouch, she followed Cassandra keeping her eyes on the surroundings in hopes of finding the one who had fired the arrow at her and given her message. However this person was, they certainly didn't care for revealing their identity other than being a member of some mysterious group.

"Cassandra what is the friends of Red Jenny" Despite her previous experiences with humans in their cities, Valeyna had never once come across this group. On the other hand, as Cassandra had worked closely with Leliana and the Divine, there was the possibility that she may know who they were dealing with. And going by the intense look on the woman's face, it seemed that Cassandra knew something after all.

"They are a group of troublemakers from what little we know. Not much is known about them other than the fact that they may attack a nobleman or commit some kind of action for no obvious reason. There are mentions that both the Hero of Ferelden and Hawke interacted with them at one point or another, but beyond that, we don't know". Recalling the stories of heroes previously, Cassandra regretted not asking more of Varrick about his and Hawke's encounters with the infamous group during their time in Kirkwall. Instead, it would appear that they had to go on blind faith to discover more about an apparent plot to hurt the Herald.

"Do you think they'll help us?" Cassandra crossed her and kept glaring harshly at any Orlesian who started to look at them in suspicious and dark looks. Once she noticed that the Herald was being treated with rather lustful looks as some of the man and ladies looked up and down the elf's body ravenously, Cassandra ensured to give a death glare to them instantly getting them to back off at the first possible moment that had.

"From what little we know, the friends of Red Jenny prefer to assault people in places of authority, Templar's, Chantry Sisters and nobles. Usually, they don't do anything with normal people or that's from what we here. I still suggest that we contact one of Leliana's spies and see what they can gather, we have no idea what we might be possible walking into." While Valeyna did take Cassandra's advice under considerations she would have to disagree with the woman. If the mysterious archer had wanted her dead, then they would not have missed the first shot and she would be a corpse laying on the ground. Not to mention, when people did shoot arrows at other people, they normally didn't attach notes at the end of them to put them on a treasure hunt. So while she did not think that the one who had contacted her wanted her dead, that did not mean that she was going to trust the person the first time she met them, whoever they were.

"We should still give them a chance, they could help the inquisition. We're really not in a position to turn down help right now" Cassandra grunted relenting to the wisdom of the younger elf in their course of action. That didn't mean, however, that Cassandra didn't want to keep some form of conversation going, she hated the ways that some of the nobles were watching her every move observing her like she was some small fascinating creature that had only recently been discovered. With a blush and a stutter, she asked the Herald a question.

"Herald, I... I have noticed your behaviour when it comes to sharing... private time with individuals. May I ask, is, is there a reason why you are so open about such things. I will admit that my experience in such regards is limited, but I was not aware that a woman such as yourself could be so ... open" Blushing profusely head to toe, Cassandra averted her gaze as Valeyna returned it only with a sultry look.

"Are you asking about sex Cassandra" The Seeker's face turned darker confirming it. "Well yes, I quite like it. In fact, I've found it quite fun experimenting with new people, everyone is different in the way they do things"

"Have you ever found someone or some group better than others. I haven't much experience in the subject"

"Oh you're curious, that's adorable" Valeyna teased, swishing her hair back in a certain fashion, she hoodwinked her eyes at a rather young elf serving boy who had been staring at her with unhidden infatuation and lust. In return, she blew him a kiss and a suggestive wink. Unfortunately for the boy, they froze blushing so much that their face went pink and they were forced to turn away; Disappointed, Valeyna tutted at such a pathetic display. The servant was rather cute, she wouldn't have minded spending a little personal time with such an individual. Disappointed however at the lack of initiative from the boy, Valeyna focused back on the woman. "It depends on who's doing it, you've got the experienced ones, the young innocent ones, the okay ones, the terrible ones. It all depends on who you've got. Why is there something wrong with me enjoying myself or do you want to become a better lover?" Questioning the Seeker, she smirked, even more, wishing that it was just as easy to tease their youngest companion.

"As the Herald of Andraste, it is not appropriate for you to be... fooling around so often. Your actions could stain the reputation of the Inquisition which could lose us allies when it comes to closing the Breach." Managing to find the courage that had been hidden somewhere within her, Cassandra reprimanded the promiscuous elven mage. Instead of getting an understanding face and an apology of the woman that she would never do it again, Valeyna simply frowned rolling her eyes at the accusation.

"I thought I told you that I am not the Herald of Andraste. Besides, you aren't the first one who has told me to stop enjoying myself, some friends pleaded to me as well, saying that I won't ever find a husband. In fact, I bet that if I was a man, you wouldn't care about my interactions; it's only because I'm a woman and that I need to preserve myself for some man isn't it" Valeyna's tone was raised, a hurt expression on her face due to the unspoken yet obvious insult Cassandra had thrown her way. She had thought that even if Cassandra didn't agree with her, that she would not insult her like the other members of her clan had behind her back. How was it even fair anyway, that it was socially acceptable for a man to sleep with how many women they wanted, but a woman had to stay as pure as much as possible only ever allowed to take on a few partners their entire lives.

"It doesn't matter what I believe" Cassandra countered. "What matters is the inquisition and if you are viewed as a... a whore, then we may not get the nobles assistance" Valeyna stopped in her tracks, she glared menacingly at the women anger coursing through her, Cassandra had just called her a whore. Even worse than that, it appeared that she didn't even view her as her own person, just some elf with the power to close the breach. Was that how Cullen and Leliana saw her, just some tool to be used to gain power, they were still keeping her in the inquisition against her will less the anger of a perceived betrayal at her leaving kill her own people.

"The Inquisition isn't everything, if you have a problem with me than you can leave if you want" Pausing at hearing the anger in the woman's tone, Cassandra quickly thought on her words. Personally, she could not see the desire in engaging in such a personal union so many times and with different people, it felt wrong to her. But the far more important fact was that while the people of Thedas were used to sex for someone who would be seen as holy such as the Herald to take part in such unashamed acts would severely cripple the Inquisition. She could already imagine what the nobles of Orlais would whisper behind the Heralds back if rumours of what she liked to do were to return to them if they already hadn't. The Herald led them into a lot of important places and meetings, should they try to speak with the nobility for support, any strength or fear they may gain would be lost in an instant because of the elf's exploits.

"Herald, I, I do not wish to offend. I am only thinking of the Inquisition, I worry about what the people will think of you when they hear what you like to get up to." Speaking in a calm manner, Cassandra watched in a concerned manner, subtly preparing herself to use her Seeker abilities should a fight break out to end it. Nothing happened however, Valeyna was not stupid enough to attack one of the other members of the Inquisition. She wasn't a noble or used to anything of that real sort, but even she could see that should the people think that the Herald attacked people who disagreed with her, then they might see her as a tyrant and multiple issues could then arise. For instance, her people could be attacked and killed or the Chantry would use their power to dismiss her as a heretic more than they did now and even call for an exalted march against her. Yet she could also see Cassandra's point, humans thought poorly of elves in general only seeing them as servants, useless or whores. If she managed to grow the power of the inquisition, then perhaps she could improve the lives of elves and her people, however, she did not wish to stop her activities. Sex was fun and as of the moment was a great way of stress relief. Something that she desperately needed as she felt like the sky was crashing down on her with the new responsibilities she was given ever since she had become the Herald.

"How about we leave this topic and never speak of it again" Cassandra wanted to refute the girl, to drill in the very important points of the reputation. On the other hand, with where they were in such an exposed location where nobles would pay a huge sum of gold for any interesting rumours to keep themselves entertained, Cassandra relented. She knew she wasn't the best type of person for this, perhaps she should speak to Leliana or Josephine and get them to convince the woman that her actions could cost the Inquisition.

"Very well we should return back to our search" Unlike before, the two of them stayed utterly silent neither one initiating a conversation. When they reached the dock's, it did not take long to find the last red handkerchief. The thing had been nestled in some barrels that had been stacked high blocking the way until someone moved them, all the same though, they got the last piece of the puzzle.

 _Key lifted from drunk swearing about Herald. Don't know what door. I'm out, My debt is paid"_

"Three bell's, third passage and a key I think I know where to go, we should alert Varrick and Solas when we meet up with them" Despite the notes not exactly being clear on what the "third passage" was, Valeyna had a rough guess and if it didn't work, then she could always complain to the one who had written the message and tell them that "third passage" meant nothing if she didn't know from where.

"We should prepare then, get something to eat whilst we could" Cassandra replied, quietly not desiring to stir up any drama between herself and the Herald, it seemed that she had found something that the woman cared about deeply and insulting her on it was not a wise move.

Later

Varrick and Solas

"Ah here we are chuckles, one of the best bakeries in Val Royeux or so I've been told" Nudging the elf as they walked into the store, the duo allowed the smells of freshly cooked bread, cookies, cakes and other delicious things enter their noses enticing them as to what they could have. The bakery was actually a bit of a mix between a cafe and a bakery, outside the store there were a few tables that had been placed around with chairs next to them filled with all sorts of people enjoying a myriad of drinks and sweet things. One patron Varrick observed was drinking a strange dark brown liquid on top with those Orlesian guimauves, a strange fluffy squidgy white thing that was also rather chewy and could stick to a person's teeth. Another individual was feasting himself on a small cake with some type of sugary cream that had been styled on top of it.

"It would appear that we are not the only one with the same idea" Varrick chuckled as Solas's remark before heading inside with the elf. When they did reach inside, Solas was greeted with strange looks not that it wasn't to be unexpected, Elves typically did not have the cash to purchase themselves a cake. However, when the patrons saw that the dwarf was with the elf, they assumed that the elf must have been a servant and was instead some type of mercenary going by his staff and the fact that the dwarf held a crossbow on their backs.

"Tell you what chuckles, I'm feeling generous choose anything you want I'll buy" Gratefully, Solas accepted Varrick's offer and began to look at all the trays where scores of cakes were laid upon all of which were beautiful specimens drawing the eye and begging to be picked and consumed. Varrick couldn't help but chuckle slightly as he saw Solas lean in closely licking his lips unconsciously while he stared in great detail at each individual cake weighing up the pros and cons of each one. On the other hand, Varrick was rather quick in his order choosing a small cake with the sugary cream on top and as a filling. Solas, meanwhile, was taking longer and with how his eyes were flickering between three different cakes like the world was going to end if he didn't choose the right one. Varrick rolled his eyes before smiling at the person who was serving them.

"One of those sugary creamy ones, one of those pink ones, one of the yellow topped ones with the fruit ones please" Handing the coins out of his purse, Varrick was struggling not to burst out laughing at the way the usually stern elf eyes followed the now purchased cakes with great amount of drama and speed. When he got back to Haven he was going to have to tell the kid this. With the purchase complete, the two found themselves a small table at the back out of the way so they wouldn't have to deal with people staring at Solas because he was an elf eating something that they usually did not get to.

"Thank you Varrick, I shall endeavour to repay you next time we visit such a place" And with that said, Solas eagerly started to bite into the first cake giving a small blissful smile as he tasted the raspberry flavoured cream on one of the cakes.

"I'll hold you to that chuckles. Besides I wanted to ask you a couple of questions" Solas looked up from his cake curious as to what the dwarf might want to talk to him about.

"Oh, and what would these questions be about?"

"Mostly about how you know all the stuff you know, I've met a fair few people who have travelled the world and I used to swap letters occasionally with Sunshine when she was in the Kirkwall Circle. You though, you know far more about things than most, So I've got to ask, how far have you travelled exactly" Solas gave a slight grin as he mentally deliberated which cake he was going to devour next. Despite the faults of humans, they made rather good cakes. If only he could have enjoyed them more.

"I believe I mentioned that I spent as much time in the Fade as possible. It is there where I learn secrets that others do not possess." Varrick rolled his eyes at that answer, he had heard Solas give that answer before to others who had asked him questions but he wanted a bit more of an in-depth answer other than visiting a strange place of dreams that dwarves could never visit.

"Oh come on chuckles, you have to give a bit more information than that. Just saying that you learnt it in the Fade makes for a terrible story." Amused by the dwarf's sentiment, Solas wondered if he should humour the dwarf.

"What would you prefer me to say? That I vanquished an army of demons to secure some kind of ancient Fade book of knowledge" Interested in the human architecture of Orlais, Solas allowed his eyes to dance between multiple objects taking in the style of art that was depicted. It was different from the Elvhen art, but it was not ugly, just different. It was yet another reminder of a time long ago.

"That'll work." Varrick countered sharing a smirk as he subtly looked at all of those sitting at the cafe picking them out. A few of them were richer than they were trying to show off, most assumedly the dwarf guessed that they preferred the taste of the food here compared to other places. However, if they were seen in the presence of poorer peasants, it could negatively affect their reputation. Such was the was of quite frankly stupid Orlesian nobility "So you got any interesting stories from what you've seen."

"I have slept in many places around Thedasd and seen many different stories. When I slept at Ostagar, there were so many memories and stories that had gone unnoticed, so many different sides of the same story. At one moment I see King Cailan fighting against the Darkspawn horde with the Grey Wardens beside him, they are successful at first but the tide of battle turns. However, they do not lose hope or faith believing themselves secure in the fact that Loghain will bring his troops down and smash the enemy. That hope is soon quashed, for as the beacon is lit, instead of charging to help his King, Loghain turns away. The next moment, however, I see it from the view of the soldier's with the man. Those soldiers see a lost cause, any effort to assist the king will end in slaughter, and their army would be destroyed dooming all those in Ferelden to death by the monsters. Or if they are not killed by the Darkspawn, fears of the Orlesian's invading their only recently liberated homeland dominate their minds."

Varrick shivered slightly in his seat, even with all his experience in the Deep Roads when he went with Hawke on that expedition, he still remembered those void dammed creatures. The pale sickly skin of a man on their death bed and the oozing blackness that ran through their veins and from their eyes and mouth, the hatred for all things burning in their eyes, the way that some of them had eaten other's who had not managed to survive and the taint Andraste's tits the taint. Darkspawn were horrific creatures, so to actively want to observe the memories as they slaughtered and butchered the Fereldan's as they desperately tried to protect their country was not something they wanted to watch.

"I bet that was fun"

"It was more informative. On the other hand, besides the death of the King, I got to watch as the man who would later become the Hero of Fereldan tentatively took his first steps as a Warden and undertook his joining. It's a rather interesting process if you're curious". Varrick blinked, was the elf actually offering him the information of what the Joining was. He definitely couldn't say that he wasn't curious as were most people. The Grey Wardens didn't now allow the details of the joining to escape them.

"Go on then Chuckles"

"When a recruit undertakes their joining, they have to drink a concoction from a cup. Part of this concoction is the blood of an Arch Demon" Varrick choked as the new hit him, slamming his back with the palm of his hand repeatedly, he managed to get things back to normal. Solas gave an apologetic look for the pain he had caused the child of stone.

"That'd explain why they're so bloody cranky and secretive. Maker's Balls that sounds- shit" Varrick had no way to express his shock at what he had just heard. Nearly all people revered the Grey Wardens for the sacrifice they make when it comes to stopping the Blight, however, besides being extremely skilled warrior's nobody knew why they were the only ones who could stop the Blight. "Explains why Blondie went nuts' I doubt having a spirit inside of you and drinking Arch Demon blood is a good idea."

"I would agree, the Blight is not something one smugly outsmarts, all the Grey Wardens have done is buy time."

"Okay, what are you on about Chuckles. The Wardens are the only ones who can slay the Arch Demons and end the blights. How exactly is that a bad thing?"

"I would prefer not to discuss it. What I have seen in the Fade I could not describe" Varrick shook his head in response not really getting what the elf meant. Perhaps as the elf had just implied, because he was a dwarf, he would not be able to understand the complex things which happened in the Fade. In fact, thinking on with his adventures with Hawke, not even mages seemed to know a lot about the place where demons did demon things.

"Hey Chuckles, on your uh travels, have you ever encountered a demon called Lucifer or the Devil"

"No, I have not, where did you hear of such a tale". Solas found what Varrick was starting to be rather odd. Demons did not have names like dwarves, elves or humans did, rather they simply were called whatever type of demon they were. Should a person encounter a rage demon, then they would refer to it by that title and the same would be said of Desire Demons and Pride Demons as well as the others.

"The kid told us about it when we were in the Hinterlands. Apparently, Lucifer is the king of all Demons and lives in nothing but a fiery dimension".

"Strange, while it is possible, the Fade after all constantly changes and never stays the same bar the Black City, I would doubt that if there was a demon king, that it would be a rage demon," Varrick remembered the Rage demons, they were the ones who looked like weird lava worms, yelled a lot and threw fire at him. They also weren't very strong.

"Never mind then, the kid did say it was part of the religion of people who kicked his people from their home. Just wondering, if there was a demon king what sort would it be"

"Pride, Pride demons are the most powerful, deceitful and dangerous class of demons there are. Compared to the lesser demons, there aren't that many of them, but they are dangerous none the less. Desire would be my next choice, they are not as powerful as some of the other's, but they are very experienced in getting others to get things for them in return for something." Varrick agreed with that, he remembered when Hawke had brought some of her companions to face a demon to help the elf boy in the Kirkwall alienage. According to her, the demons had tempted her companions and she was forced to fight a whole host of them. Before he came off the subject, however, one final question came to mind.

"How do you know its a rage demon Chuckles. The kid didn't say what type it was"

"He doesn't have to, only a rage demon would have their environment as a blazing inferno or anything in that design. A Pride Demon would never stoop to such levels, their areas are often turned and transformed to play on the pride and desires of those they trap." Not being an expert on demons, Varrick simply decided to take Solas's word for it.

"You're the expert chuckles. Andraste knows I wouldn't want to willingly go into the place where demons live" Slightly amused by the dwarves sentiment, Solas shook his head. It appeared that the teachings of the Chantry were so ingrained in the population that they wouldn't dare question things or experiment. It was a shame really if more people willingly explored the Fade and find old memories and information long forgotten, they could live better lives.

"Yes, I have spent a decent amount of time, however, we should move onto brighter topics. What do you think of Val Royeux for example, it is rather different to other memories when it was first established with only a few tents and a place for traders as was most locations that would become great cities." Varrick shook his head again. Despite Solas apparently wanting to move onto less depressing topics, it appeared the opposite since the elf had decided to mention the Fade.

"It's pretty, certainly beats Kirkwall in aesthetics. Kirkwall's a shit hole despite what it's citizens think. You won't get these fancy cakes back there, far too Orlesian although knowing Hawke, she would have probably been down a bakery often"

"Oh, I did not know Hawke was a gluten" Varrick laughed loudly hitting the table at the comment before giving Solas a joking look.

"I wouldn't say that Hawke just rather liked sweet things. Got rather funny, this one time Daisy found out about Hawke's love of sweet things and wanted to make her a cake for her birthday. She bought all the things she needed and got a recipe book and started cooking. She was rather messy, asked me to help her one time as she didn't know where to find one of the ingredients. I helped her and she gave thanks saying that she wanted to practise a few times before she gave it to Hawke. Well, Hawke's birthday comes and she gets given all her gifts except for Daisy. Worried about her friend, Hawke decides to check up on her friend as Daisy had made t quite clear she was looking forward to celebrating Hawke's birthday. When they arrive at Daisy's house, Hawke finds Daisy had somehow managed to cover the inside of her entire house in flour and Daisy herself covered head to toe in flour wearing nothing"

"Why exactly was she not wearing clothing?" Varrick chuckled more a knowing look on his face.

"Apparently Daisy thought she made a mistake when she was getting dressed that morning and accidentally ripped one of the bags of flour. She tried to repair it only making it worse. By the time Hawke arrived, it was too late." Solas started imagining the scene of this naive little Dalish girl far too innocent for the real world as Varrick described her.

"Apparently, it sounds like there's more of a story here"

"Hawke didn't complain, she took one straight look at Daisy and started kissing her, and you can tell what happened next" Rolling his eyes, Solas had remembered reading about Hawke and her attitude towards those thing's it seemed that the legendary Champion had been just as promiscuous as their own Herald. Actually, now that he considered it, there seemed to be a trend of new heroes being just as famous for their sexual exploits as they were for their other achievements.

"I thought Hawke didn't care for anyone in that fashion"

"She didn't, but well it's Hawke, by the time she was finished in Kirkwall, there wasn't a single virgin left and she took advantage of the situation. Daisy didn't mind the rumours. The next few days her neighbours complained of some kind of creature screaming in the alienage. Had to tell Aveline what had happened before she sent some of her guardsmen to investigate. It's a shame what happened to her clan at Sundermount, Hawke just wasn't able to diffuse the situation". Ah, that was another thing Solas recognised from Varrick story, the Danish girl Merrill had her entire clan slaughtered because of a mistake. Varrick it seemed despite not personally knowing the clans' held a deep set of sympathy for the girl at having her entire family killed.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up Varrick" Apologising Solas was met with Varrick waving him off and informing him that it was all okay and that the girl was fine having left Kirkwall aft the incident to find somewhere safe to reside before the Templar's arrived to try and slaughter the remaining mages. When the two of them had finished their cakes, they left quickly avoiding the looks from the humans as they took in the sight of two suspicious and armed individuals.

Later 

Unknown

"Remind me why we're heading to the place that an archer who shot at you recommended again, I'm not quite sure I heard the part clearly where you said that you think it's an ambush" Speaking sarcastically, Varrick wasn't entirely sure why the Herald wanted to walk into a trap that she knew about simply to meet this mysterious person. Then again, he was used to women leading him into dangerous places even when they knew it was a trap. At least the Seeker had the good sense to be more careful about her movements.

"The note said that there's a plot to kill me and that they can bring people to help" Valeyna having filled Varrick and Solas in of the previous events shook her head amusedly. She perfectly knew what Varrick was going on about, having an arrow shot near her position with a note on it may have been a definite way to grab her attention, but had the archer not quickly hidden, she likely would have killed them.

"If it work's then we might get an ally and stop a plot, if not then we can always kill whoever attacks us. Anyway I thought you liked these types of things, Solas said that there are quite a few of them in your book and the hero always gets out alive" Turning his attention to the elf once again, Solas quickly found himself having to defend Valeyna's words.

"You do seem quite fond of ambushes" Raising his arms up in mock surrender, Varrick made one last jab.

"At least I'm not the one who wanted to fully assault a Templar base with just four people." Valeyna blushed considerably, when they went to save the Mage's she had wanted simply to walk in and slaughter each Templar one by one and then rescue them. Considering the fact that her other three companions at the time were incredibly strong and talented to the Templar's she thought it was an easy thing to do. The only problem she had, was that Nat had point blank refused to go into such a fight calling it suicide, Varrick and Cassandra also had their problems, but they hadn't point blank rejected the idea of complaining out of hand. Still she had wanted his help and the only way to get it was if she used her head for once, and decided to infiltrate the place rather than just attacking it outright. Of course she had mostly gotten her way, as instead of Nat's plan of drawing them out using a few of the Inquisition scouts and ambushing the Templar's when they were out of range, they had gone straight in. Nat had vehemently been against this, but went with them because and she quoted "I don't want to be the one who has to go back to Haven and inform Leliana and Cullen that the world's fucked because the Herald wanted to rush off into a conflict".

"It would have worked" Cassandra raised her eyebrow at that.

"I doubt that, while we may have held of the Templar's the mages would have been killed. I do understand your desire to rush into a fight and deal with the threat Herald, but unfortunately, there are other things at play". Cassandra Replied. Despite their previous arguments earlier on their opinion on how Valeyna should act, the two had realised the futility in them arguing and how it would weaken the Inquisition and had so dropped the arguing.

"Besides Herald, if we had attacked the Templar's head on and killed the mages than the Kid wouldn't have that Trevelyan girl all over him." Valeyna smiled at that, while they had only been at Haven for a short time after getting the horses from Master Dennet. It had been rather amusing the way the girl had tried to cling onto Nat like he was her lover or something. It was such a shame that the teasing they had wanted to do hadn't worked in the slightest. Valeyna knew she had to keep looking for something to break that calm emotionless expression he kept up.

"I believe we should focus our efforts focus on the task at hand, if we are walking into an ambush it would be wise to be prepared" Shutting the conversation up so it didn't give away their position before it was too late, Solas prepared his staff gripping it tightly in his hand and a spell ready to strike the first person who would be their enemies. The others soon joined in agreement, not quite drawing their weapons but ensuring that they were close at hand in the situation that negotiations broke down and they were all doomed to conflict. Coming to the end of the thin passageway that they had been walking down, they entered into the clearing.

Fwoosh

Valeyna dodged to her left and then to her right avoiding the blasts of fire that had been launched at her in a rather sloppy fashion. Taking in the sight of the mage, she was not impressed in the slightest. The Orlesian was wearing those fancy noble clothes all puffed up in places alongside with one of those masks that they all seemed to wear with a strange curved hat on his head. Strangely, the mage was incredibly cocky, placing his hands on his hips strutting back and forth like he owned the place or was the most powerful person on the planet even though he had rather poor performance.

"Your work is rather sloppy" Valeyna replied slightly amused at the sheer arrogance the man was trying to broadcast. "I feel sorry for your lovers" Her insult had seemingly worked as the man puffed up like a little kitten glaring and snarling at her like a dog before he attempted to wave her off as some other servant girl. It appeared that the man hadn't even noticed that she was accompanied by an archer, a seeker and a mage.

"Herald of Andraste! How much did you spend to discover me? It must have weakened the Inquisition immeasurably" Valeyna blinked, was the man seriously this arrogant. She turned to Varrick who simply shrugged his shoulders in response. Solas also seemed to be slightly baffled at just how this man was taking the situation.

"Who are you?" The man raged insulted in his mind to the highest degree that some elf would disrespect their human betters let alone some elf heretic.

"You don't fool me. I'm too important for this to be an accident" Without a word, Valeyna and the rest walked forward quietly and as slowly as they could so as not to make it appeared rushed, take positions around the man. When the Orlesian had finally figured out that he had lost his little argument, he would be facing an enemy on all sides. "My efforts will survive in victories against you elsewhere" Bored Valeyna once again turned to her companions ignoring the flashy Orlesian like he didn't even exist.

"Anyone have any idea what he's on about" They all shook their heads.

Bang

Ugh

All eyes turned, to the sudden sounds of something wooden being kicked in harshly and then to the sound of an arrow being loosed and then impacting the flesh of a person. What they saw wasn't quite what they expected and neither Valeyna nor the rest of the group had time to take in the appearance of the individual before the next set of actions.

Drawing their bow, the recent entry into the area aimed it at the Orlesian.

"Just say what" Turning to face his attacker in his typical posh Orlesian sense, the man stared into the eyes of his attacker.

"What is the-" He got no further, an arrow sliced straight through his throat loosed by the archer into the back of neck killing the man instantly with a lot of blood and a heavy thump. Soon the man's corpse was lying in a pool of his own blood eyes white and face still in shock at the audacity of his murderer. Valeyna, on the other hand, concentrated on the person who had just killed the strange arrogant noble.

"Eww," The archer gave a disgusted look.

The attacker was an elf the thinner physical form and the pointy ears confirmed it. Pale in appearance, Valeyna wouldn't say that the woman was the most attractive person she had ever seen. With short blonde hair and a thicker than average nose alongside the very strange "rough" accent, this elf she could tell was certainly not anyone who had a higher quality of life. The woman's clothes were also of a low quality, red, black and a creamy yellow were the main colours of her short-sleeved shirt that had been rolled up to just below her elbows. Not that the clothing was in good condition having large amounts of tears and rips that had been left undone revealing bits of skin. As for her lower half, the elf wore strange bright yellow ghastly garments that were quite frankly ugly. The woman's bow, was also not anything fancy, in fact, it seemed to have endured quite a bit going by the large obvious notches running down it.

"Squishy one, but you heard me right. Just say "What". Rich tit's always try for more than they deserve." Turning away, the woman then bent down to the corpse of the dead man yanking the arrow out of the throat with little care to the extra mess she made of the dead man's throat as it tore through the flesh and muscle. As for the arrow itself, it was caked in blood not that the woman minded instead simply giving it a quick wipe with her clothes before placing it back in the quiver. "Blah, Blah, Blah! Obey me! Arrow in my face" Getting back onto her feet, the elf then turned to face Valeyna walking closer as she took her in before instantly frowning.

"So you followed the notes well enough. Glad to see your-. And your an elf" The woman whoever she was turned her face away and down in utter disgust, a look of disapproving that seemed to proclaim that all elves were worthless drivel all over her face. Finally, the woman turned her attention back only with hostility and a suspicious look. "Well, hope you're not too elfy" Valeyna crossed her arms a slightly irritated and confused expression gracing her features as she heard the woman say that. "I mean it's all good innit. The important thing is, you glow. You're the Herald thingy"

"What do you mean by being too elfy" Valeyna asked while narrowing her eyes at the woman not pleased in the slightest by the silent accusation that had been thrown to her by the woman. "And who are you and who is that person" At her response, a tension seemed to rise between the two as the other elf woman began to glare. Still, the woman responded.

"No idea, I don't know this idiot from manners. My people just said that the Inquisition should look at him"

"Your people; Elves?" Again the woman scowled at the mention of elves, why Valeyna didn't know, but it was rather obvious that whoever this woman was, that she had a serious problem against her own kind.

"ha, ha no. People, people. Names Sera, this is cover get round it" Valeyna blinked, what was the woman going on about. Sera had just pointed to a box of crates stacked on top of each other like it was a person. Was the woman mad, the way she had behaved in delivering the note to her seemed to say so?. "For the reinforcements. Don't worry. Someone tipped me their equipment shed. They've got no breaches" Valeyna blinked again as she tried to understand this elf.

"Was that supposed to be some kind of joke?" Sera rolled her eyes before quickly rushing to behind cover as the echoes of thundering metal feet hammered on the stone floor. Moments later they rushed into the courtyard weapons bared and the intention to kill the Herald. Valeyna and the others readied their weapons in response.

After the fight

Friends really came through with that tip, no breaches" Sera giggled at her own joke, however, Valeyna and the rest of her group didn't. Personally, Cassandra just wanted to get this over and done with, caring little for not funny jokes. She and the rest of the group had missed a comfortable night in a taverns bed to meet this elf woman and even if she did have training in archery, that did not mean Cassandra desired to be scrounging around the dark streets of Orlais well past midnight and into the early hours of the morning just recruit a confusing elf. "So Herald of Andraste" Sera shook her head. "You're a strange one, I'd like to join." Valeyna shook her head, had Sera actually just asked that?.

"All I know about you or your group is that I followed a random trail into a trap." Valeyna eyed Sera suspiciously, even with her curiosity, she couldn't help but feel like she may have been tricked into some elaborate scheme to get an assassin near her and end her life. There was no way that one noble had been so incompetent.

"What trap?. You knocked he crapped. It's... look. It's like this. I sent you a note to look for hidden stuff by my friends. The friends of Red Jenny. That's me. Well, I'm one. So is a fence in Montfort, some woman in Kirkwall. There were three in Starkhaven. Brothers or something. It's just a name yeah. It lets little people, "friends" be part of something while they stick it to nobles they hate. So here, in your face, I'm Sera. "The Friends of Red Jenny" are sort of out there. I used them to help you. Plus arrows." Despite the suspicious looks they were both sending to one another courtesy of Sera's complaining that she was an elf, Valeyna ensured to listen carefully you what the woman had to say. Quickly she grasped what the woman was offering her.

"The Inquisition has spies already. Can you add to these professionals?" Sera rolled her eyes at the questioning and disbelieving tone of the Herald.

"Here's how it is. You important people are up here shoving your cod's around" Extending her arms above her head in a slightly mocking manner, Sera made her point. "Blah, Blah, I'll crush you, I'll crush you".

Unexpectedly to the Herald, Sera then began to make kissing sounds lost in some kind of joke that nobody understood. Varrick in response gave an amused if slightly confused look which was in contrast to Cassandra's quickly souring her face. Valeyna only needed a single look to see that the woman had already formulated a negative impression of the woman for her childish sense of behaviour. As for Solas, the man was looking at her both amused and curious almost as if she was some kind of strange creature to be studied. Valeyna for her part also had her opinion start to deteriorate.

"Oh crush you. Ahem." Sera returned back to task. "Then you've got cloaks and spy-kings. Like this tit. Or was he one of the little knives, all serious with his... little knife. All those secret's and what gave him up? Some houseboy who don't know shite, but knows a bad person when he sees one. So no, I'm not knifey shivdark, all hidden. But if you don't listen down here too, you risk your breaches. Like those guard. I stole their..." Sera went to burst into laughter again but somehow managed to refrain from doing so and return back to a serious nature. "Look, do you need people or not? I want to get everything back to normal. Like you?"

"Back there you wanted to know if I glowed. Why?" Valeyna questioned the strange woman peering for answers that could help her determined if this strange woman was really up to the task of working with the Inquisition.

"That's what you do, innit? You walked out of somewhere and now you glow. Andraste's Herald." There was a bit of reverence in the last line, however, Valeyna focused far more on the fact that the woman didn't even know where she had walked out from. She hadn't been expecting Sera to be some kind of expert on magic, no far from it as she was obviously neither a mage nor a Templar, yet it was common knowledge of the place where Mage's drew their power and visited when they slept. The Fade was also mentioned multiple times according to the rumours she had heard. "True or not, it seemed like the easiest way to know if it was you."

"True or not" Valeyna etched an eyebrow, Sera was giving very mixed signals.

"Well that's what they say and all. Look, don't get ahead, yeah? I want to help this... whatever it is. Inquisition" Contemplating her word's Valeyna really wasn't too sure, Sera seemed to be... she didn't know the exact word, but she wasn't really sure that the rouge would be a good fit for the organisation's he was now committing operations for. Not to mention, the way Sera had described herself didn't sound too good especially for the reputation of the Inquistion.

"You sound like a thief who acts 's our petty revenge fantasies." Sera grinned. "And that would be bad" Valeyna added ensuring that the woman knew she was not complimenting her.

Oh right" Sera didn't sound impressed. "You want me to prop that guy up so I can say my sorries. Bad things should happen to bad people. We find someone not so bad, maybe he'll end up not so dead." Silently wishing for some kind of support, Valeyna turned to Varrick hoping he might have something to say on the situation only he didn't, then she turned to Solas and reluctantly Cassandra both having nothing to say. Though in the latter's case, it seemed that Cassandra's expression was declaring loudly that this would be a terrible choice with seemingly how violent and reckless Sera was making herself out to be.

"You say that like' it's obvious, but you didn't know him."

"I knew about him" Sera countered.

"That's just rumour" Valeyna shook her head disregarding the archer's argument altogether.

"Look, I would have been fine just stripping his guards and nicking his stuff. Turns out he deserved worse. Or was him trying to kill you a good thing? Are you the baddie? I didn't think so." Finished with asking her questions, Valeyna mulled over what Sera had said going over the pros and cons of recruiting such a... unique individual to the ranks of the Inquisition. Sera was rather odd and her attitudes towards things weren't exactly the best, but things might change and it could be some kind of front or something. Not to mention, she was sure Leliana could do with some extra eyes and ears at the moment. Reluctantly she gave her answer.

"All right Sera I can use you and your friends." Almost like a child, Sera's face lit up with a strange excitement, she even bobbed a few steps backwards seemingly forgetting about the attitude she had against Valeyna because of her elf heritage.

"Yes. Get in good before you're too big to like. That'll keep your breaches where they should be. Plus extra breaches, because I have all these...you have merchants who buy that pish, yeah? Got to be worth something. Anyway, Haven. See you there, Herald. This will be grand." Not waiting for a reply, Sera quickly walked off most likely to collect any possessions she had before taking the long walk all the way to Haven or take a ship through pirate-infested waters. Once she was out of earshot, Cassandra commented.

"I think you have made a terrible mistake" Strangely Valeyna didn't refute her. With the attitude that Sera had shown to her so far, she wasn't too sure that it was much of a good decision either. However, the Inquisition was young, weak, prone to destruction and had a severe manpower shortage, if Sera could provide some assistance to Leliana, then it would be well worth the risk. She would just have to send a note to Leliana and the others to inform them of the situation.

"She did seem... lively" Solas spoke recollecting his thoughts on the woman. "The way she frowned and became hostile the moment she noticed our ears, there appears to be some kind of hatred against elves. It is something I would consider investigating if possible." Cassandra nodded, while it wasn't a major concern for the Inquisition, she alongside Cullen, Josephine and Lelliana were trying to make people far more welcoming of others who joined their ranks. Already she herself had to put down a few groups of soldiers who had been bullying one of the elf servants and while Sera did not strike her as the type to be bullied without retribution, such an attitude towards elves was unwelcome.

"I agree. However I think we should find some rest as our main focus, we have several days before Madame De Fer's party." Solas gave a quaint smile at the information, while it wasn't a lot of time, the short time that he had he could spend exploring the human city and perhaps discovering secrets of the place in the Fade. Varrick, In contrast, wasn't too bothered, but it would give him the opportunity to write more accurately about Orlais and Orlesian's as he studied their patterns more closely. Then there was the annoying fact of that he could finally shut up the whiner's who wrote to him complaining about the Orlesian fashion and how he got things wrong or that a character is wearing the wrong shade of blue. It truly was astonishing how much Orlesian's fussed about the correct shade of colour on a dress or what they looked like.

"Well now that's over, I think I'm, going to find somewhere to lose some stress" Cassandra turned her attention onto the Herald her eyes narrowed as their earlier conversation came back into play. She had warned the Herald before that such activity would be detrimental to the Inquisition but it was rather obvious that the young girl had no care in the slightest.

"What are our plans for the next few days" Solas asked as he looked at their leader. Valeyna stopped thinking about anything they needed to get up to whilst they were here.

"I guess we can enjoy ourselves although we should meet up at some place every so often just to make sure. Otherwise, you can do what you want just make sure that you're in the right place so we can all leave after Enchanter Vivienne's ball." Solas nodded accepting the terms of their agreement. With nothing else to do for the next few days, he could spend his time looking around and doing whatever he wished without the scrutiny of others on his back. Then again, he had a feeling that Leliana might know what he would be up to whilst in the city with those spies she had.

"Is that wise?"Cassandra commented.

"Well unless you want to accompany me to the brothel, then you have the days to yourself. Maybe you can find somewhere to pray or catch up with some other Seekers. Either way, we will meet each other in the morning or at night. Now if you don't mind I have an itch that needs to be scratched" Not waiting for a reply from the others, Valeyna walked away with an amused look from Solas as he knew exactly what the woman meant and a sigh from Varrick.

"It seems Hawke isn't the only promiscuous one." Noticing Cassandra's concerned expression he rolled his eyes in boredom and then walking over to her. "Come now Seeker, if the Herald wants to find some time to "relax" then we should let her. Not to mention the Herald's right, you can always visit someone whilst we're here. I personally plan on finding a good deal to be made, make some new contacts. And Chuckle's, well Chuckles is just going to find a good place to nap" Solas didn't deny this, simply giving the woman a smile to try and loosen her up and not be so tight as she was being now.

"Indeed, now if you excuse me Master Tethras, Seeker Penthagast the Fade awaits" And like that Solas went off in an entirely other direction. Varrick left soon as well leaving poor Cassandra on her own well she would have been on her own had she not suddenly called out to Varrick marching after him.

"Varrick, wait for my presence" Varrick grinned popping a small joke getting the seeker to roll her eyes before heading back to the main bit of Val Royeux where a tavern with hot food, ale and beds would be awaiting them.

Two Days Later

Varrick and Valeyna

It was a bit of an odd site to see on the streets of Val Royeux, a hairy dwarf with some kind of strange crossbow attached to his back somehow and a Dalish mage. As per normal and expected, the latter grew the most attention not just for her heritage and extremely attractive good looks that turned a great many heads as she walked down, but also because more people were becoming alert to who she apparently was. Whispers ran through the streets as the occupants of the Capital of Orlais viewed the apparent saviour with a multitude of looks.

Those of nobility typically held an arrogant nature, looking down on Valeyna due to her not only being an elf but also because she was "a savage Dalish mage girl". Quite frankly, she was exactly the worst thing that could have been chosen as the Herald of Andraste. For one she did not believe in the human god or worship it, second as an elf she was considered inferior in all things bar looks as, despite their oppression, humans found elves attractive. The third was that as a Dalish, she had never lived in "civilized" society; instead, the belief was that she and her band of Dalish savages wandered the countryside gobbling up any human child they could find cooking them in strange cruel torturous ways. Finally, there was the fact that as a mage, she was considered even more cursed. To wield the power of magic in others eyes could be nothing but a curse, one that had to be tolerated and not wiped out but nevertheless, a mage was considered even lower than a Dalish elf. Finally, there was the fact that she was a girl in their eyes. Young, untested a novice and outsider only trying to play at games she had no right to partake in. Had Nat been there with them, he would have noted that while Valeyna being female did mean that she was given less respect than a man, it was nothing compared to how women in medieval Europe had been treated and even how women back in the time he came from was still treated in certain places of the world. Valeyna was used to it by now, the stares only slightly annoying her, but there was no desire in her to turn to cinders all those who had given her those looks, to begin with. Yet Valeyna had a feeling that if they knew her penchant for "fun" the rumours would get worse. Not that she would care, the Chantry, Templar's, Orlais and all that lot could go fuck themselves.

For now, however, she was enjoying a peaceful stroll out into the market of Val Royeux allowing her eyes to dawdle on object to object, seeing the strange things that the humans of this illustrious city had made. Whether it was the scrumptious looking cakes or cookies, or the nice dresses that merchants sold or perhaps even the stall that sold some short dagger's, there were things that caught her attention on. Varrick had volunteered to come with her this morning to the market. Solas hadn't really been seen besides making his rendezvous with the group at the allotted times to ensure that he was safe and was in no need of rescue. Cassandra, on the other hand, was visiting the chantry likely praying in hopes of finding some kind of guidance or she was checking up on the other Seeker's and Templar's to try and turn some of them to the side of the Inquisition.

"What exactly are you looking for Herald, a dagger, lyrium, potions I can easily point you in the right direction if that's the case" Having known Varrick for a little while, Valeyna was pretty sure that when said "point in the right direction", that he meant to bring her to some illegal merchants who were peddling goods for more than they were worth or was it the opposite? Although being Dalish, her clan had done it's best not to rile up those peoples who cities they visited and so one of the best ways to do this was to stay away from any sort of black market fewer guards be called and the entire clan could be facing their annihilation. Speaking of which, she wondered how they were doing.

Before departing for Orlais, she had received a letter not dressed directly to her but rather to the Inquisition from her keeper. They had thought that she had been kidnapped or imprisoned, in response, she had written a letter back explaining the situation that was happening and gave it to Lelliana so she could have her agents give it to them. Cullen had offered to go to her clan and explain in person as a way of respect but she had downvoted the idea. With how many soldiers the man had wanted to bring, a fight would have likely broken out as her clan would have assumed they were under attack.

"A present" Valeyna responded.

"Oh who for, Chuckles he doesn't exactly seem your type" Valeyna blinked, had Varrick been watching their interactions that closely. She shook her head dismissing the thought, no she realised Varrick simply assumed such a thing because they were both elves which were perfectly acceptable.

"No Nat" Varrick smirked a bit his mind starting to be filled with jokes he could make on teasing the kid when he got back to Haven.

"You're trying to get into his breaches" Varrick chuckled in response. "I'd pay to see that, the kid isn't exactly the type who does that. Have you seen the way he skirts around those servant girls? It's like some kind of game he plays, stay a virgin forever. You'll have your work cut out for you." Valeyna smiled, it was indeed funny to see the way Nat went out of his ways to avoid certain members of the female population. Not many had taken an interest in him, mostly because he was a mage, but there were some who gave interested glances. In truth, Valeyna was surprised that not more had tried with his connection to her as the Herald. Boy's at his age was incredibly easy to manipulate if one promised them pleasure. The stuff she had gotten others to do was quite remarkable. Were she in a Servants position, she may have attempted to get with him to increase the amount of pay she received or to heal a sick or wounded family member.

"Not if I get hold of him" She returned. Curious Varrick raised an eyebrow and grinned at the Heralds response; he hadn't been expecting that.

"Planning on showing him how to do things?"

"It's always fun when you get to take someone's first time, they're face just goes bright red and the stammering they give is adorable. It even funnier when they let you take control of everything and do what you wish" Responding with a laugh, images of some of the many younger partners she had ion her experience came to mind. A few had tried to act like they were in charge when she took them, only as soon as she touched them they just melted into her hands doing everything she said. "When you get to dominate them is amazing" Varrick was now enraptured into the conversation, he had at first assumed that Valeyna may have been like Daisy being all innocent and all over the place. However, it was very apparent that the Herald reminded him far more of Hawke, insatiable and never failing to take advantage of a person when it came to sex.

"So do you prefer to tie them up or something different? I know this guy who had a business selling all types of toys in Kirkwall"

"It depends on my mood, I just want to get with Nat so I can make him turn all red. You've seen how he is, all stiff and seriousness never showing any mention. I want to see him actually show some emotion for once and nothing's better than having some good fun. Besides, he's at that age he needs to have some proper experience." Varrick shook his head amusedly, he didn't think the Herald would be successful. Nat had a very strong aversion to anything related to romance or sex. Any conversation opened up to him about the topic would be shut down by him as soon as quickly as possible.

"You're insatiable Herald, reminds me of Hawke. You two would get on perfectly if you ever met." Valeyna smiled but her face turned more serious now that the joke was over.

"No, I'm getting him a book because he's nearly always on his own. Well I mean when he's not with Cullen training or with Solas or talking with Josephine or Leliana or you." Valeyna stopped as her argument seemed to fall apart around her. She had thought that with how little the kid seemed to spend with people, that he didn't actually talk to anyone yet it was rather the opposite with him spending time with quite a few people speaking to them about random stuff. "Well you know what I mean, he speaks to people but he always wants to learn something, it's never for a casual conversation, but always about training in this or gathering information on that. He just doesn't sit down and have a normal conversation and he disappears so often" Varrick knew exactly what she meant, Nat did spend a lot of time with other people and when he wasn't he was reading, but at other times he was just entirely gone and nobody could find him not even the best searchers or the Templars which was always amusing. He was like a ghost at times, just suddenly appearing after being gone for hours. It made her curious as to what he was doing at this time, practising magic maybe or was he just reading more books.

"The kid likes to learn" Varrick shrugged his shoulders as he thought about all the things Nat asked about, the way he kept prying for information on so many topics seemingly desperate to learn about the world was a bit odd and overwhelming at times. "Have you heard how many questions he asks, especially about technology? I gave a bit more of an in-depth story on when Hawke encountered Jarvis and the search for Gatlok. The kid wanted to know if I knew what the recipe was, he was really insistent and it's not just that, he wants to know all about experiments in Orzamar. Asked me if I knew any book's on technology that he could get" Valeyna's eyes fluttered as she heard that, Nat had been asking Varrick for books on technology, finally she had something to go on.

"Do you happen to know any bookstores nearby?" Valeyna asked the dwarf as he inspected some of the jewellery on the next stall they visited before telling her that it was fake and that if she wanted anything, that she shouldn't waste it on this place. However, Varrick had heard her question and so began to think back from what some of his business partners had said about their experience in the illegal book trade.

"Well there's one I know off, no strictly legal because they sell books not allowed by the Chantry, but it also has books on other topics so we can check there. I'm going to ask anyway, besides buying the kid a book because he isn't with us, what's the real reason you're buying him a gift, don't tell me you want to romance him" Valeyna rolled her eyes, she knew what the dwarf was hinting about. Apparently, the Hero of Ferelden had been a rather big spender when he was going around Fereldan in order to stop the blight. According to multiple reports, he often bought gifts for other members of his party and this was what apparently started the romance between him and the Witch of the Wilds named Morrigan. How this worked she didn't know, but again according to the story, the Warden just giving random gifts to people made them seriously like him and when he made a decision that annoyed one of them, he would just give them another gift and the entire problem would be solved. Valeyna wished she had it so simple.

"No nothing like that, I just thought it would be a nice thing to do since well... since he lost everyone. He's helped me out a lot ever since I became the Herald. He's surprisingly wise, the advice he gives can be really helpful and comforting at times." Valeyna still remembered that night in the Hinterlands in vibrant detail. It had been cold, not too cold so that she was shivering but there had been a chill in the air which made her wrap her clothes around herself tighter. Then the was the homesickness she had felt, being so far away from her clan without any of her friends was scary at first, she had thought there was nobody she could trust. Then came Nat speaking softly to her showing an interest in things she held dear to her, despite being so far away from her clan, that conversation with him had felt like he was part of her clan and they were relaxing around the fire at night speaking about their experiences that day. It was nice and had calmed her down, she hadn't felt so alone anymore with him around to speak to.

"Fair enough I suppose. Well if you really want to pay him back, you need to get him the really good books from Orzamar. Most folk can't read let alone understand the stuff that's in those books, however knowing the Kid, he'll breeze through them." Pointing in the direction that they needed to go, Varrick started to lead the elf down the jam-packed streets of Val Royeux. They passed a great deal other more stores as they did so. Most the same type of store selling a certain type of food like fish, chicken, meat, fruit, others sold more advanced forms of food such as one high-end market store was selling chocolate but that person was only being visited buy nobles who could afford such an expensive gift. Then there were other stores and Valeyna was once again able traced the smooth metal curves of some plate armour. She would never be able to wear it, she had not been trained to wear such heavy armour and it was also far too expensive to buy as of yet, still, it was nice to watch the quality workmanship that an armour could produce. There were also a few other bookstores that they passed however according to Varrick, they were bland and generic not selling the really good types of books whatever that meant.

After a while of crossing through alleys, they came to a small warehouse off the main road and out of the way of other merchants. Of course, Valeyna only knew it was warehouse when she walked inside and was directed by another person to go down a few flights of stairs where she then entered a large room lit by smokeless torches. She looked around amazed at all the crates that had been stacked on top of one another and labelled. A few had the names of armour and a person on it that was likely to be covered up soon before being picked up and sold at a later date. They kept moving, Varrick leading the way as they promptly made their way through the multiple aisles that were packed with stuff. At one point, Valeyna was pretty sure she saw a half opened crate of raw lyrium.

She became slightly nervous as she realised more and more just how bad the situation would become if someone was to spot them. Varrick on the other had was perfectly calm despite the situation occasionally stopping here and there to view an item before eventually he stopped at the book aisle. From there he allowed Valeyna top take the lead and allowed her to choose the book that she wanted to purchase. Even so, she couldn't help but ask questions.

"Are there really so many books banned by the Chantry?" While certainly not the biggest aisle that she had walked down, those were instead the arms and armour with the biggest being lyrium, there was still a sustainable number of books all lined in a row ready to be purchased. Most of the books as she approached she had never seen before or authors she had never heard then again she wasn't really a reader like Nat was instead having so many duties to her clans that she had a different method to keep her mind busy. Varrick, however, laughed at the question.

"The Chantry isn't too fond of authors who question them or paint them in a poor light. Depending on what the author wrote can depend on what happens to them. The lucky ones will get a warning and told to remove their books or rewrite them so they are more "correct" if they do then they get to keep selling if not then you have the worse consequences" Also curious as to what was on the shelves, Varrick began to pick a few books up that caught his interest most of which was because of the name of the author although a few had interesting titles.

"What type of punishments" Valeyna wasn't surprised in the slightest that the Chantry would do such things. After the fall of the Dales all those years ago, a great many deal of books about their history or about their people were destroyed. Also considering the Templars, she had learned that they expressly forbade any type of book that might have to do with questioning the Chantry and especially it's stance on magic. After all, the Templars had wanted to keep the Mages contained and by indoctrinating them from birth helped in that. This was shown very prevalently by the fact that there were loyal mages to the Chantry even after all the hardships they had to ensure and the fact that they were treated as slaves.

"Some get arrested, some get executed some are flung on a ship to find another land. There's even been a few who have been beheaded publically. Divine Justinia attempted to change that, softened up the laws but there are still a number of books that you can be caught with and be thrown in a cell for. Also useful for other secret knowledge that nobody wants you to know about such as books on heritage. Anrdastes tits Orzamar tries to prevent any surface dwarf from learning about their families. They're not that successful, but they try sometimes, even send the Crows after them. Either way, people get to read books and the Carta gets to earn some coin on readers." Despite Varricks way of trying to make the Carta seem innocent, Valeyna had a pretty good idea that while some of the nooks they were selling were just here because the author went against the Chantry, others were very likely highly illegal magic books on blood magic. Not that she was looking for those types of books, Blood Magic was pure evil.

"What about you Varrick, from what I've heard the Chantry bans your books" The dwarf smiled in a roguish and smug way. Taking a bow, Varrick gave the Lady Herald and explanation for her question.

"I guess I'm too popular. Of course, the Chantry has said that they shouldn't associate me, in fact, I believe that I'm on their list of people who a decent follower of the Chantry shouldn't even speak to. But people still like my book, even the Seeker read it before she kidnapped me. Not to mention I have too many connections. If the Chantry told people not to buy my book, they'd be ignored and read it in secret. As for shops, most want to make sure they can make enough money to eat that night. They'll sell the book anyway so the Chantry just has to cope with me. Anyway go find your book, I'm going to go speak to the one in charge see if they have what I ordered" Explaining as to how he knew where this place was, Varrick left Valeyna alone to browse all sorts of books as she tried to think of the right present for her friend.

It was a bit difficult finding the section on technology seeing as there was no labelling as to where the different sections of books were, but with enough determination, she managed to slog her way through reading the titles of books until she finally got to names that started to sound like what she needed. Bok after book she flicked through reading a few words but not understanding anything. She was tempted a few times to choose a particular book however it was too expensive. As much as she would want to spend money especially after they had raided the corpses of the dead Templar's a while back, most of that cash had gone into purchasing some better arms and armour or paying for lodging and food on the way here. However, she had some money that she wanted to spend on her friend as a thank you and soon came a set of green spine books. Picking one up, she gave a slight frown noticing a small mark on the bottom of the book and flicked it over.

Flipping through the pages, it seemed to be a usual book until a certain part when it changed the design. Instead of the text-heavy parts, detailed drawings and images appeared and written in someone else's handwriting. Curious she turned a page back wanting to know why there was a difference only she saw a very strange type of writing.

 _As you requested, all the machines and inventions techniques used by the dwarf Bianca Davri. This goes down to the last detail of how all her machines and new steam technology works. She's been hiding this for as long as she can, however, I managed to figure out what goes into each thing and how to build them. I expect payment to be given to the usual place._

Bianca wasn't a name familiar to Valeyna, but a quick read through gave her a small amount of understanding what each machine did as she went through the descriptions. One of the machines this dwarf had created could split wheat from chaff doing the works of hundreds of labourers weeks to do in only a few hours. Another was a machine that could dig the correct size hole and plant the seed in it. And finally, there was a machine that allowed a person to easily spin thread. There were other designs as well, mostly weapons but the thing that caught her attention when she saw it was none other than a mirror image of the crossbow Varrick carried. Reading further into the book, she became more and more certain that this was something Nat would want as a present.

Picking it up, she checked the price tag on the book praying silently that it was not too expensive. It wasn't, smiling with glee, she picked the book up and planned to head to the person who was in charge of this place. Arriving, she saw the dwarf give a content smile to her as she walked up and presented the book Noting the name of the book, Varrick nodded.

"Good choice Herald, the kid will like that one" Looking at him, Valeyna saw that the dwarf had already been given his package. The book or at least she thought it was a book going by its shape was in his hand and covered. Not wasting any time, however, she showed the book she wished to purchase to the show owner and then gave her coin.

"Congratulations Herald, you're officially one of us. Buying your first book on the black market, I'm so proud" Valeyna shook her head at Varricks antics. The man had given her fake tears and a fake fatherly look like he had actually been related to her and was deeply proud of her buying something from the black market. It was rather amusing.

"Maybe we should do it again" Varrick gave a nod of approval to that, it was good to see that the Herald was willing to use not strictly legal methods to get what she wanted to be done, done. Then again considering what they were dealing with, Varrick doubted anyone was really in a position to judge them later down the road if it came down to it.

"Oh becoming a fully fledged criminal are we Herald, what a great inspiration we are to the rest of Thedas. Anyway, I think we should try and find the Seeker before start's a fight." Valeyna nodded at that, she had heard what Cassandra had said to her during the last time they had met up. According to the Seeker, she was halfway to punching or killing a few of the sisters for being so stubborn or criticizing the inquisition claiming on a continual basis that they were heretics that had to be removed. Not wishing to get involved in that type of political business without either the knowledge nor the mental willpower to deal with such a headache, Valeyna had opted just to leave the woman to it as more than likely she would join the woman in killing a few sisters out of annoyance.

"Yeah I think we need to take her away before she starts more problems with the Chantry then we already have"

Later

Courtyard

"Traitors" Cassandra yelled her eyes burning with fury as she glared menacingly the urge to slap if not outright kill this one certain sister becoming more and more prevalent. The woman was looking at her in a disgusted manner whilst wearing those ridiculous ornate robes and lecturing her.

"You and that Nightingale have no place in the Chantry. You have taken some filthy savage and named her the herald of Andraste, an elf a mage. Clearly, you have lost your mind and have turned your back on the makers light in order for you to advance your power. In fact, I bet that you and that woman are directly responsible for the death of the Divine. She dies and you just so happened to have been granted authority by her to create a new Inquisition without permission from the Chantry. And then what do you do, you recruit elven savages, apostates and enemies of the Chantry all to seize power. You are a traitor, one who when the Templar's have annulled all the mages will then rightfully crush" Cassandra's blood warmed, this woman who was giving her looks of utter loathing. How she wanted to smash her face in.

"You blame me and Leliana" The seeker yelled incredulously. "You are nothing but some desk working woman who has never done a single thing of good in their life. All you do is sit all day and eat pretending to play as one of the Maker's servants. The Inquisition only wants to return the world back to normal so that a new Divine can be chosen as well as to hunt down the murderer of the Divine." Cassandra gripped the end of her sword feeling the stern stares of other Templar's that were present who it seemed were already for conflict ready to betray the Chantry for this woman who was denouncing her.

"You just have to love how the Chantry cares for its people. Have a different opinion to them and you're thrown away like some gutter rat." Both women turned to see the source of the sarcastic sentence that had been uttered to them. Upon seeing who it was, Cassandra groaned when she realised that the dwarf was here.

"Varrick" She groaned.

"Oh come now Seeker, we came to see how you're doing." With that ever happy smile on his face, Varrick turned his attention on to the sister who his companion had been arguing with before taking in the decrepit old woman with a laugh. "I got bored and wanted to give you the pleasure of my company, but here I find you in the middle of a conversation with an old hag. It seems your losing your touch" The Chantry cleric went bright red her angry gaze locked onto a non-bothered Varrick who didn't even give her the time of day instead preferring to look at his fingernails as they were more interesting. Cassandra chuckled slightly at the sight. "Oh wow I didn't know anyone could do that" Varrick commented lastly.

If Cassandra had thought that the Cleric had despised her, then as soon as the cleric had seen the Herald she went utterly insane. Spouting so many obscenities that just merged together, what should have been the sight of an angry woman screaming at the top of her lungs instead turned to blank confused looks from the Herald as she couldn't make out a single word form the woman. After about five minutes of angry screaming, the cleric got right in her face spitting in the elfs face. Valeyna had enough.

Thump

Driving her hard fist into the woman's stomach, the cleric slammed to the floor desperately holding her stomach as she tried to regain her breath back. Valeyna then smashed her foot into the back of the cleric's skull hard enough to knock her unconscious against the stone floor of the courtyard. Cassandra shocked at the action didn't know what to say. Varrick laughed.

"Yeah, you and Hawke would love each other" Varrick replied swiftly not at all angry at the fate of the old woman.

"Why would you do that, yes she was annoying and rude, but she was a cleric." Moving her head from the downed woman to the one who had assaulted her, Cassandra still couldn't believe what she had just seen.

"She annoyed me" Valeyna replied in a bored fashion shaking her shoulders as she did so. The woman had it coming in her view. If you were going to scream down her ear, then she was going to punch you in the gut. Cassandra stated nothing merely shaking her head at the act.

"Uhm excuse me Lady Herald" Spinning around quickly, Valeyna nearly drew her staff as she heard someone speak behind her. How she didn't notice this person she didn't know, but whoever they were had to have some type of experience. Instantly, however, she recognised the one talking to her.

"Grand Enchanter Fiona," She said surprisingly. "I thought you were killed in the explosion at the Conclave. How are you alive?"

"The leader of the Mage rebellion?" Varrick asked for confirmation. "Is it not dangerous for you to be here?" On instinct, Cassandra started to look around the area. If the arch-enemy of the Templars was in the very wall's of Val Royeux, then there was a very high possibility that Templar's would storm them at any moment, daring to cut the head of the rebellion where they could. However, Cassandra realised this presented a brilliant opportunity. If the leader of the Rebel mages were here, then perhaps they finally had a way to contact them for help in dealing with the Breach.

"I had heard of the gathering days ago, but the Templar's nearly caught me so I had to retreat. I wanted to see the fabled Herald of Andraste with my own eyes. If it's help with the Breach you seek, Perhaps you should look among your fellow mages." Even with her calm disposition, Varrick noted the silent fear in her eyes. Not for herself, but rather it seemed for those she wished to protect from Chantry rule. Most likely, if the Herald did not assist them, then something grave would happen to the mages although what he didn't know and he had a feeling that the Grand Enchanter was not going to say out in the open where someone else could hear them and take new to their Templar Masters.

"That would have been my first choice if you'd been willing to speak with us" Honestly Valeyna was relieved now that she finally got to speak with the leader of the Mage Rebellion. Nobody among her inner circle had any connection to the rebels and the prospect of having to go to the Templars for help had become a real one. Yet she didn't know why the mages were only willing to speak to her now instead of before. According to Cassandra, the Inquisition was allowed to give protection to people from the law if needed. Surely the mages could appreciate such an offer.

"We are willing now. That's the important thing" Fiona wasn't impressed by the accusatory tone the Herald was giving her, still, she continued with her plan." Consider this an invitation to Redcliffe: come meet with the mages. An alliance could help us both after all. I hope to see you there. Au revoir my lord Herald" With that said the woman turned around on her Herald not even bothering to answer any questions that Valeyna may have had. Blinking, she turned to Varrick.

"Is it just me or do people seem to tell us stuff and then walk away for no apparent reason". Varrick shrugged.

Days Later

Duke Ghislain Party 

This was it Valeyna thought. After so long in the capital of Val Royeux enjoying it's many wonders and "wonders" the time had come for the meeting with the woman known as Vivienne. As she approached the large estate where the sounds of music could easily be heard playing over the courtyard in the early night, she couldn't help but admit that she wasn't too sure what this woman wanted to speak to her about. Rumours had spread fast around Val Royeux, and some of those that she had heard spoke of her meeting with First Enchanter Fiona with them stating that she had already thrown her weight behind her cause. There were other rumours as well such as her power to close rifts which had now turned into the power to summon demon armies. How that happened she didn't know, but rather her main concerns was on this infamous Madame De Fer.

Cassandra and Varrick had given what advice they could, Varrick through his contracts and Cassandra through experience and what she had heard. It helped a small bit, but what she had managed to gather, was that she was a big player in the Orlesian game of politics meaning that she was at a serious disadvantage. Politics was not her thing and she was afraid she was going to make some terrible mistake as she went onwards especially when it came to Madame De Fer. Even so, she stepped forward into the open halls of Duke Ghislains estate her presence made public almost immediately by a man reading her name out.

"The "Herald of Andraste Lavellan" The announcer spoke loudly. Looking around her as she desperately hoped not to be noticed by the humans, Valeyna suddenly felt that would be impossible. Besides being an elf and her Dalish Vallaslin marking her as one who lived out of human civilization, her choice of apparel had not been a smart choice. All around her the human nobles were dressed up fancy in puffy colourful clothes with mask's covering their faces and the women wore finely embroidered dresses and overly sized hats. Briefly, she had to blink a few times as she swore she saw one woman's hat to be covered in all sorts of fruit. Orlesian's she shook her head, Leliana had not been joking when she told her that they were obsessed with fashion and the appearance of other things.

The music was nice she guessed, light and slow it set the pace of the evening for the nobles to listen to in the background not even paying those who had gone out of their way to learn such a skill any thought of mind. Then again she didn't really get to listen often, hardly anyone in her clan could play any human instruments and only the bard at Haven had that lute of hers. Unfortunately even as she tried to stay away from the nobles in hopes of finding the one known as Madame De Fer by standing to the side of the stairs out of the way embarrassed and nervous in a way she had not felt before two nobles approached her.

"A pleasure miss. We so rarely have a chance to meet anyone new. It is always the same crowd at these parties" Valeyna tried desperately not to show her panic. What exactly was she supposed to do? was she meant to smile and answer directly or was she supposed to give some kind of roundabout answer? Creator's blast politics. "So you must be a guest of Madame De Fe. Or are you here for Duke Bastien?" The man asked.

"Are you here on business? I have heard the most curious tales about you. I cannot imagine half of them are true" The woman asked looking at the Herald in a normal Orlesian noble way of inspecting a person's body to see how attractive they were and how their physical appearance compared to others. However going by what she could see, Valeyna wouldn't refuse if the noble lady offered to "get to know her better".

"Madame De Fer, do you mean First Enchanter Vivienne?"

"Madame De Fer is a... fond nickname the court has given Lady Vivienne" The man replied with a slight amount of amusement or degradation Valeyna wasn't sure as the man hid it so well or was she just not trained to detect it.

"I've heard she find's it amusing"

"What have you heard about me," Valeyna asked as she kept a close eye on her surroundings. Ever so subtly some of the other nobles had been moving closer to try and peer into their conversation hoping for some kind of juicy details they could exploit or listen to. Even knowing that was the reason, it made her feel uncomfortable with everything. So many people wanting to get close to her and in a sneaky fashion couldn't help but bring memories of humans who had attacked her clan in hopes of killing her people. It required a decent amount of willpower on her part to stop her hand from wondering to her staff.

"Some say that when the Veil opened. Andraste herself delivered you from the Fade." Valeyna took a step back an obviously fake smile present as she attempted poorly to hold her distaste for such a story. It was noticed.

"Some of those storytellers may have gotten carried away"

"But only for the best effect. The Inquisition is a ripe subject for wild tales" Oh that comment from the noblewoman got her attention. She wondered what type of rumours had passed to Orlais since the founding of the Inquisition. In fact, by the way, the ladies eyes lit up, it seemed to Valeyna that some of these wild tales sounded quite interesting.

"Oh like what"

"They say that a young apostate is part of the inquisition. I have heard that he destroyed an entire army of Templar's in the Hinterlands and have since garnered a harem of young mage girls and have orgies at least three times a day. It is also said that he comes from Tevinter as he wears all black clothing that is darker than any night and covers his eyes with a strange black mask that prevents demons from possessing him. I do not remember his name. I think it was Mathew Storm" Valeyna held back a laugh, she couldn't wait to tell Nat that rumour. She couldn't wait to see his face when she told him that apparently he had an entire harem and had orgies every day. Actually knowing him, the most he would do is raise an eyebrow. Still, it was rather funny. "They even say that you yourself are part of this harem which is to recreate a whole new breed of mage" Valeyna looked in shock, how had a rumour about Nat having a harem come to include her.

"That's wrong" Valeyna commented. "His name is Nathanael Tempest and while he is a powerful mage, he doesn't have any kind of Harem and neither am I in it. Also while he is an apostate, he actually comes from a secret group of mages who were hiding until a civil war came and killed them all leaving him the last one left. And he certainly doesn't have orgies every day, from what I've seen I think he's a virgin" Informing the two of the fact, Valeyna had a quick look round only for a weight o ht her stomach as she saw the very interested faces on her two speaking companions and amused looks from others who seemed to have made a mental note of that.

"Oh, that is a shame about the rumours. " The woman responded. "But I will ask Lady Herald, are you married" Valeyna shook her head.

"No, why do you ask" Blinking, Valeyna wasn't sure why any human would be interested. While humans did find her race beautiful, marriages between humans and elves were rare and there were none between nobility and elves. She could only imagine the utter chaos there would be if the nobles were to somehow learn that an elf had married a human let alone a Dalish Mage.

"Oh, no reason I was just wondering if there was anyone special to you" Valeyna shook her head.

"No there isn't" The woman gave a slight smile before carrying on.

"The inquisition should attend more of these parties"

"The Inquisition? What a load of pig shit!" Spouting above them, all eyes turned to face a noble waltzing down the steps like he owned the place a rapier on his back and by his tone, Valeyna had a feeling that the man meant to use it. As subtly as she could, she went to grip her staff but not used to the game of Orlais, what she thought had been subtle just alerted all those watching that a fight was about to break out. "Washed up Sisters and crazed Seekers? No one can take them seriously. Everyone knows it's just an excuse for a bunch of political outcasts to grab power".

"I've never made any claims to holiness, what's your point" Valeyna spat back at the man. The man chuckled taken back at first but then found the advantage in what the woman had said and turned them against her.

"In front of all these people. You admit to being a pretentious usurper" The man stepped forward not giving the elf a moment to speak back so he could press the advantage. Soon enough Valeyna stepped back slightly as the noble got a bit too close to comfort. As a man with a sword on his back, he would have the advantage should a fight break out? There was no way she was going to allow herself to be stabbed or slashed by allowing the smirking man to get too close as he gripped his sword. "We know what your "Inquisition" truly is. If you were a woman of honour, you'd step outside and answer the charges."

Rushing for her staff, Valeyna had managed to pull it off her back just enough when the man suddenly froze in place a light blue field surrounding his every being holding him like a statue. Turning her attention upwards Valeyna saw the one responsible for the act.

The one responsible was easy to notice seeing as she had her right hand clenched in a fist where magic was consistently glowing as she kept her hold on the man who had just threatened Valeyna's life. She had dark ebony skin, large lips that had been coated in lipstick and a small set of ears that contrasted with her bigger than average nose. Other than that, the woman had while not exactly a delicate face as the nobles, the woman could be said to be beautiful for a woman of her years though. Valeyna would estimate that the woman might be in her forties, the woman had no creases or heavy eyes indicating that she took care of herself. This was only confirmed by the ornate Orlesian grey and white dress she wore that exposed a decent amount of her upper chest area but hinting at what lay underneath. The woman only seemed to be wearing poufy clothing on her shoulders compared to others who apparently preferred to wear it everywhere on their person. However all this was nothing as when Valeyna looked at her, she had to blink a few times as she stared at the area of the woman's head. There were horns out the side, horns that had been covered by metal and fabric, but she had been sure that Cassandra has said that Grand Enchanter Vivienne was human. So why did it appear that she was about to talk to a Qunari.

"My dear Marquis, how unkind of you to use such language in my house... to my guests" Sternly but strangely politely and almost sensually, the woman scolded the man elegantly making her way down the stairs as she did so demonstrating her strength and poise to all those who may be watching, showcasing that she was the dominant one in this small engagement. Had Valeyna been trained in Orlesian politics, then she would have noticed that already Vivienne was mocking and insulting the marquis with simple basic movements. She didn't however and instead rounded on the woman as she took her time approaching them. "You know such rudeness is... intolerable" The woman let her words hang festering in the Marquis mind as his heart went faster and faster fear would have taken over his face had it the opportunity to do so.

"Madame Vivienne, I humbly beg your pardon." Desperate to save face, the man tried not to let slip his anxiety and desperation as he spoke. He did a poor job and those around started to point and whisper excitedly at the newest scandal that would soon become the main topic of Orlesian politics for the next few days.

"You should" Vivienne smiled sternly as she looked the man directly in the face taking a great amount of joy in the embarrassment she was causing for the marquis. "Whatever am I going to do with you, my dear?" She turned away, instead smiling graciously at the elf. "My Lady you are the wounded party in this unfortunate affair. What would you have me do with this foolish, foolish man" Conversation stopped entirely, the sounds of glasses clinking dresses moving because of a slight chill and the small quiet steps of shoes on a stone floor all ceased as attention waited for the verdict?

Valeyna gulped hoping to hide the sudden nervousness that had hit her. Everyone was surveying her, hanging onto every single little motion that she was doing. All were eager to see how the Herald dealt with her enemies. Was she the type to give mercy? Would she take the Marquis's life or would she allow the hostess of the party to take the course that she desired? Whatever was chosen, a great many people would be discussing these events for quite some time. Valeyna, on the other hand, tried to figure out what was the most precedent course of action, usually, she would ask for some kind of punishment like asking for money or something. On the other hand, that was with elves and normal people, from what little she had learned and witnessed, the response she needed to deal had to be strong and robust as well as save the reputation of the Inquisition less it be crushed by politics she didn't understand.

"He insulted mine and the honour of the Inquisition. I want him dead" Vivienne smiled in return and then placed her fingers gently on the man's cheek as if he was just a small child.

"And this Marquis, is why one must always be courteous to one's fellow guests" Utterly bored of the conversation with the man anyway, the mage snapped her fingers enveloping the man in ice puncturing his body with many holes both all the while the marquis gurgled pathetically as he collapsed onto the floor in a mix of both his own blood and a bit of water. "Someone be a dear and clean this mess up. We can't have him cluttering up the dance floor" Blinking, Valeyna took a few moments to collect herself as she took in the scene. Cassandra had not been lying when she said that Vivienne was a talented mage, one which could prove problematic if she was to focus that power on hurting the rebel mages. Then the mage turned on her. "I'm delighted you could attend this little gathering my dear. I've so wanted to meet you. With a wave of her hand, Valeyna was enticed to follow the horned mage out of the main lobby so that they could speak more private without anyone eavesdropping. They found that place out in the hallways by an opened window looking into the small garden below.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Vivienne. First Enchanter of Montsimmard and Enchantress to the Imperial Court."

"Can you get away with killing a nobleman like that" While she wasn't complaining, and she was sure that she had strengthened the reputation on the Inquisition, Valeyna wasn't entirely too sure that there wouldn't be some kind of consequence.

"He attempted to draw his weapon, unprovoked. In the presence of witnesses. Duels are not fought in the drawing room. By Chevalier code, his life was forfeit the moment his hand fell to his hilt." That was a thing Valeyna thought, a man could simply be killed because he touched his weapon by some kind of code. She couldn't imagine living under anything so strict.

"You invited me here, what is it you want?". On the inside, Vivienne shook her head at the utter reckless display and lack of political sensibility the Herald had. She had heard that the Herald had been a Dalish elf, but she had expected more than this, even a few basic lessons in Orlesian politics would have just prevented the disaster that the young girl had created. With utter certainty, the Grand Enchantress knew that had the girl been visiting something like an actual political court, then she would have been torn to pieces and made a laughing stock.

"I wanted to meet face to face. It is important to consider one's connections carefully. With Divine Justinia dead the Chantry is in shambles. But the faithful flock to your banner, pinning their hopes on you to deliver them from chaos. As the leader of the last loyal mages of Thedas, I feel it only right that I lend my assistance to your cause."

"What exactly can you do for the Inquisition" With an invitation to Redcliffe and two mages who were pretty staunchly for freedom, Valeyna wasn't really sure of having this woman with them was a good idea.

"I am well versed in the politics of the Orlesian Empire. I know every member of the Imperial court personally. I have all the recourses remaining to the Circle at my disposal. And I am a mage of no small talent. Will that do?"

"Does that mean you'd be aiding the Inquisition from the Imperial Palace?" If it kept this woman away from the two mages she already had, Valeyna could see an advantage to such an arrangement. Otherwise, there was bound to be a high amount of tension between this woman and the mages that Valeyna had already liberated from Templar hands.

"Ordinarily, I would be happy to serve as liaison for the court, but these are not ordinary times. The Veil has been ripped apart, and there is a hole in the sky. It is now the duty of every mage to work toward sealing the Breach. And so I would join the Inquisition in the field of battle." Valeyna hid her groan, that wasn't what she had been wanting to happen. She would have been happy keeping the woman far away from others so long as she could prove useful but being at Haven where there already were a number of rebel mages, that wasn't going to end well.

"What's in this for you" Vivienne shook her head again at the naiveté shown by the elf but gave a polite smile. It appeared that it would be far easier for her to gain power then she had imagined. Not that she would complain, an inept Herald unaware of how the game of Orlesian politics was played worked very much to her favour. Once she was in, she could start to influence the woman to see the world her way and do what she wanted.

"The same thing anyone gets by fighting this chaos: The chance to meet my enemy, to decide my fate. I won't wait quietly for destruction." With the end of the conversation, Valeyna was left with two options and two set of consequences. On one hand, she could reject the woman's offer which was something she was considering. Already she had two powerful Mages on her side and both were prominently pro-freedom when this was combined with the other mages that she was trying to gain the assistance of especially those at Redcliffe, it could cause some unnecessary complications. Creators know if she was the leader of the Rebel Mage's she would be cautious if the Inquisition was already working with the loyal mages. On the other hand, as it always seemed to be doing so at the moment the lack of strength the Inquisition currently had was a severe weakness that needed to be dealt with less it cost them dearly in the future. Personally, she cared little if this woman was a talented mage, what she did require was political connections especially when it came to Orlais. Finally, there was the fact that if talks with the rebel mages went south, then perhaps she could rely on this woman to bring the power of the loyal mages instead. With a fake smile and gritting her teeth tightly, she replied.

"The Inquisition will be happy to have you, Lady Vivienne."

"Great things are beginning, my dear. I can promise you that." With a gesture, Vivienne pointed back towards the salon inviting her guest to enjoy it.


	8. Chapter 8 A Breath of Fresh Air

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 8 A Breath of Fresh Air**

9:41 Dragon

Haven

Metal struck against metal. Clanging loudly in the clearing as two blades dashed and impacted one another time and time again in a deadly dance. Slicing swiftly through the air at a fast pace with enough accuracy that only those who had been trained with blades from a young age could have. When one blade slashed, the other parried knocking it to the side in an attempt to take advantage of the opening only for that blade to then be deflected away as it made a strike at the wielders arm. Besides the well-trained movements of the two blades that continued to clash with great speed and accuracy, the bodies of the two fighting members differed wildly in their approach.

The first consisted of a more defensive stance which complimented that of the heavier one-handed sword in their hand. For this match, the owner had forgone the use of a shield relying purely on their skill with a blade to make the fight fair. It was a bit strange for one-handed sword user, every time they fought for real against an opponent who desired to kill them they relied on their shield to take the brunt of the attacks enabling them to take advantage of the openings that were quickly revealed. That did not mean in the slightest though, that this person was failing the match or was at a disadvantage rather their skill with a sword combined with their more defensive footwork allowed them to hold off the attacker.

In contrast to the more defensive stance of the long sword user, those surrounding the fight had watched with great interest the other member for a multitude of reasons. One of the many cases for the interest was the very type of weapon this person fought with. Unlike the one-handed swords that they were trained with, the blade of the second individual was curved in a way they had never imagined and designed in a way that they had never come across. According to the owner of the blade, the weapon was called a sabre and was used against un-armoured opponents. Naturally, this had gained a scoff by those who had used swords their entire lives and against people in battle. They knew the type of blade that was needed to take the life of another individual. Not to mention, a sword designed for unarmoured opponents were of utterly no use as nearly all opponents were armoured unless they were mages. Therefore they had come to the conclusion that this new sabre was a poor excuse of a weapon and nothing but some fad. That was until they saw the owner fight with it. They were faster agiler then most swordsmen were. The sabre's design enabled the user to parry and evade faster than with another type of sword. This was made readily apparent as the attacker was faster in their movements than the defender, constantly moving back and forth and side to side all in some effort to find a weak point in the defender's guard and take advantage.

Unfortunately for the one wielding this new weapon, the person utilising the one-handed sword had actual combat experience using a sword whereas the sabre user had only trained with it. And it showed. While the sabre user was making repeated attacks, constantly pressing the defender in some hope of landing a decisive strike; the lack of any combat experience very showed to those observing. As the battle wore on, the sabre user was relying more and more intently on the advantages of the sabre which was its lighter weight, speed and control of the blade but it was never enough to break through the experienced warrior's guard who fended them off with ease and a smile on their face. Every strike was blocked and parried until eventually, the sabre user made a slash which the one-handed sword user evaded and then promptly brought the tip of his blade a few centimetres away from the sabre users stomach. Had it been a real fight, then the sabre user would have been dead. Accepting the outcome of the match, the sabre user gave a nod of his head in respect before the weapon just disappeared entirely.

"Well, that's 89 to you, 0 to me. I think I might need a bit more practice" Nat joked as he approached Cullen. They had been training for quite a while, ever since Valeyna and the other's had left two weeks ago, he had stepped up his swordplay. While he was certainly no master of the weapon, having only a small amount of training and a few practise fight's with magical dummies, he still knew how to handle the weapon that his ancestor had used two hundred years ago. Of course, knowing how to handle a sabre and not make easy mistakes did not translate to as being a top quality badass swordsman who could cut down all who opposed him like a hot knife through butter.

No, a sword had always been a sidearm on earth and it was his sidearm here in Thedas. In contrast, it appeared that in Theda, the sword was very much considered the main weapon of armies resulting in individuals being far better at them than average and especially the general of the Inquisitions armies who kept a good-natured smile on his face.

"You'll get better at it I assure you. You have already become a better fighter then when you first started" That was a polite way of saying things Nat thought. When he had asked the man to spar with him so he could practise his skills, he had never once expected who win or to stand a chance against a man of his calibre. Cullen was a veteran of many battles and a harsh brutal training regime in his childhood for the skills he now possessed and wielded with great efficiency and deadliness. What he had not been expecting in the first fight was for him to be on his ass in three seconds. Nat had his ass handed to him every single fight he had with the man and even by other Templars who had been willing to help. Although Nat was pretty sure that the Templars had just done it so they had an excuse to beat up a mage at their own game.

"Perhaps," Nat said. "But not against you, the sabre is designed for fast attacks against un-armoured opponents and I've never once used it in an actual fight for my life. Still though, at least I can beat the other soldiers" Cullen chuckled at that as he remembered the memories. Before he had let the kid fight him, he had wanted to see how well he could fight against an average soldier. A fight against a Templar or veteran soldier had been unfair, the skill gap would have been massive and made it harder for the kid to show what he could really do. So a random soldier had been chosen.

"I still remember the first time you showed us that sword, it is unique in its design" The moment the fight had started between the soldier and Nat had gone differently to what he had expected. Instead of Nat using a one-handed sword like everyone else did in the Inquisitions army, the kid had simply created a strange foreign curved sword out of nowhere formed of high-quality steel and then proceeded to fight the poor soldier in an unknown fashion.

Having only been recently trained and to fight against his opponents would likely use a one-handed sword as well, the poor soldier had no chance against the far quicker movements against the kid as he slashed and parried attacks with far more speed then the soldier did. Thankfully the summoned blade had been blunt, but a strike to the exposed chess area and on the shoulder had ended the fight rather quickly. This had both impressed and intrigued Cullen.

First, he was impressed as the kid had managed to not get his ass handed to him as had he first would have thought due to him being a mage and intrigued because of the sword and style the kid used. When he had asked to look at the sword in more detail, a few things drew his attention immediately. First was the rather obvious curve to the blade. It wasn't a ridiculous curve, but the curve that was there did lend the blade far more to slashes then it did to the thrusts; like the opposite of a rapier he had summarised. This was also emphasised by the fact that the sabre had a blade as wide as a rapier and also a proper guard around the hand to protect from strikes. However unlike the rapier who's moved were far more about lunges and thrusts, trying to stab the enemy as quickly as they could. Nat's movements were all about slashing and seemingly built to strike an enemies blade far more than a rapier was. Despite this though, he would say that the rapier was a better weapon than this sabre for the reasons of that most enemies wore armour and rapiers were designed to penetrate the thinner parts with precision whereas a sabre was not. Then again, with the shape of the blade he would say that if the blade had a bit more of a curve on it, the blade would be more appropriate for an Olresian Chevalier where the power and speed of a horse could give the necessary strength and power to the blade to cut through armour. Finally, he would say that for an un-armoured mage who had never undergone strength or sword training, the sabre would be best.

"Yes well since us mages very rarely wear armour even among my people, the need for a heavy duty sword like your own was no longer needed. Not to mention, sabres just look smarter than one-handed swords. Thanks again for your time though Cullen, I know that you have a lot on your plate whilst you train the new guy's, but even still I do appreciate you taking the time to bring me back up to speed. I haven't given a sword a good swing in years" Walking forward towards the man, Nat gripped the arm of the man giving it a good shake as was the tradition that Cullen had imposed on his recruits to foster a sense of respect among his men as they trained for the inevitable battles ahead against the hordes of demons that lurked over the lands of southern Thedas.

"I enjoy our spars," Cullen replied as the handshake came to an end. Nat stepped back, the two of them turning their gaze onto the group of soldiers who were now going back to their positions and began hacking and slashing mixed in with the occasional thrust at the straw dummies that had been set up. "Most of my fellow Templar's are apparently intimidated by my new status and the others are too busy so I'm only left with recruits." Nat nodded.

"Ah I know that feeling, nobody to train against, so you keep panicking internally that as time drags on that your skills deteriorate. Don't worry Cullen, I'll give you as many practise duels as you want. So long as they are convenient, I do have other things to do then just keep losing." Cullen chuckled and then sighed as one of his recruits began showing problems with the grip of his blade and another had nearly just cut their hand off. Why did recruits have to be so bad?.

"Thank you, now if you excuse me, some of my men require my assistance" Despite not needing it, Nat noticed that the man was seemingly waiting for him to give the man a leave of absence. Most likely to Nat, it was something g ingrained into him since he was a Templar. Having lived the majority of his life essentially as a soldier, things became more strict and organised. Whereas a Soldier would ask for permission to do such a thing less it is seen as disrespectful and punished if they were a lower rank, a civilian like himself had very little care for authority and just did something when they desired too. In fact, Nat was half tempted not to let the man go just so see how red his face would colour when he was not allowed to get on with his duty. However he didn't, instead, he sensed sensing the presence of one of the runners approaching. Giving the slight nod of his head to the leader of the Inquisition armies, Cullen walked up to the recruit with problems and was soon having to explain the motions and how to fight with a sword more effectively. His attention was then focused on the young man who had rushed towards him. Quickly the man addressed him.

"Miss Leliana wishes to speak with you" Multiple reasons quickly flashed into Nat's head as he considered the many reasons as to why the spymaster desired to speak with him. The first was that the woman wanted to interview him more and learn as much as she could about his people or in other words complete more backgrounds checks on him. The other main reason was that perhaps she desired to send him somewhere for the Inquisition. Over the last two weeks, Valeyna had been gone, a flood of new people had arrived flocking in droves to announce their loyalty to the Inquisition and its cause of restoring order. While brilliant, the rise in manpower was not so useful as of yet due to the fact that most who arrived were civilians not trained in the art of combat. This had led to Cullen being far busier with his training troops and why he had the time to spend practising against a mage with a different type of blade. Cullen was simply showcasing what could happen in a battle. Leliana on the other hand also likely had her work cut out for her as she had new agents joining her cause giving her more information. But they were mostly informants from what he could realise likely asking for his assistance in some type of scheme she had worked up. Likely though, it wasn't anything major.

Even with his showcase of ability in the Hinterlands, it appeared that Leliana was still apprehensive about getting him involved in anything until she had some grasp of what he could do herself rather than second-hand accounts. That or she wanted to watch him more, see what he would be best at if she sent him on operations. Not that he wouldn't mind a change of pace, it had been two weeks since Valeyna had left for Orlais and he had been left here doing nothing then reading through every single book there was and pestering Cullen, Leliana and Josephine for lessons.

Cullen and Josephine were willing to accommodate him when they could. Thanks to Cullen, he had brought his rusty sword skills back up to scratch that he could use them effectively. Well not against a well-trained swordsman like a Templar or Orlesian Chevalier, they had years of training and years more of combat experience. Despite this, his sabre could prove useful if the situation called for it. Josephine, on the other hand, had been very generous in teaching him not only French well Orlesian technically but they were the exact same languages, but also in politics. Politics here were different from what he was used to, but he had expected that. For one, execution was far more common for a person who fucked up majorly. Back home, it could be life imprisonment. Other than that though, it was somewhat interesting to hear Josephine explain the different nations political situations with one another. Finally, when he spoke to Leliana about how she ran her bunch of agents, he had got her to smile somewhat amused by his interest in her line of work.

Spying wasn't that interesting in truth, most of the time it was just people who watched other people do things and then report on those things to people higher up. That didn't mean it wasn't useless, spying often gave very useful reports to those who planned the actual battlefield strategies and counter-espionage. The latter one was actually the more fascinating one, in the Second World War his people the British had made extensive use of counter espionage to fool the axis and gain the advantage. Whether it was Operation Mincemeat that fooled the Germans into believing that the next place the allied forces would assault in the Africa campaign was Greece rather than the actual target of Sicily, or the extensive amount of counter espionage that went into Operation Overlord which included entire fake armies and equipment located in a position that would mean that any observer would think they were planning to attack Calais rather than Normandy. Counter-espionage was far more thrilling to read than convential types of spying.

However, despite this, Nat knew there wasn't a chance that he would be able to pull off anything like that or even be able to give advice to Leliana. While being considered a child in her eyes was a reason, the other part why he couldn't really tell her about such tactics if she didn't know about them, was because it would raise too many questions. If he just came out with all these ideas, then Leliana would very probably put pieces together and realise that these methods were only pieced together because of wartime experience. That itself wasn't the problem, what was would be when Leliana works out that for all the apparent wars his people had waged between them, that there was a serious lack of any type of evidence for his people to try anything. In that case, Leliana would search all the harder for anything else on him and the less she found the fare more suspicious she would be until more than likely she eventually confronted him.

"Did she say why she wanted me?" Nat asked politely as the boy waited for a response. The boy shook his head telling him that he didn't. That was to be expected Nat guessed, Leliana most assuredly did not want rumours spreading around the camp and especially if they were sensitive. Should the wrong rumour break out, it could devastate morale and hinder the Inquisition dramatically.

"No sir"

"Very well, I'll be there immediately" Nat walked past the boy leaving the training area his eyes regularly checking on the Templar's who were stationed in the camp. Things may have calmed down a bit since the disaster, but there was still that tension. As he walked through the Templar's, only a few people actually bothered to look up at him recognising him as one of the Heralds companions but other than that, most simply ignored him or glared at him if they were the type who despised magic.

Upon walking up the stairs and turning into the tent that Leliana had put up to act as the little workstation, he saw that the woman was leaning heavily over a map of Thedas her sharp blue eyes analysing it jumping from one place to another occasionally giving one area more work than any other.

"Leliana" He spoke approaching the woman his own eyes darting towards the man in hopes of trying to work out what the woman was looking at. There weren't any clues, however, no pins or circles around areas or extra words written on the map, only the map itself. Besides that, there were spy reports that had been set down alerting the woman to one thing or another, however, one look and he realised that they were in some type of code that he wasn't aware of yet.

"Good you're here, I have something for you" Gesturing towards her, she directed Nat towards the map once again and started speaking only this time it was in a concerned tone. That wasn't good. Nodding at her to continue, the red-haired woman took the opportunity to fill him in. "Ever since the Conclave, I have been attempting to get into contact with the Grey Wardens. However, they've gone missing and nobody can seem to find any of them." That really wasn't good. If the Grey Wardens were nowhere to be found during this time of utter chaos, it was disastrous especially when one considered the red lyrium that had been involved in the conclave explosion.

"None of them, I assume you already asked King Alistair for assistance and that you also aren't able to contact the Hero of Ferelden?" Leliana gave a disappointed look, the light breeze that wafted in gently brushing her hair into her face forcing her to quickly move one of her fingers to put it right. With his attention back onto the map, Nat focused on the Hinterlands as that was apparently where Leliana was concentrating her attention on. "I take it you have some kind of lead you want me to follow?"

"Yes. One of my agents reported that a lone Warden by the name of Blackwall has been spotted in the Hinterlands. With the Herald gone, you are the best person to send as the only other member of the inner council." Nat could understand that, the Grey Wardens were highly respected and while Leliana was sure to have a number of other agents who could make contact with them, the wiser option would be to send someone who held a somewhat higher position of power as a mark of respect to that person. With Leliana, Cullen and Josephine nearly constantly busy, that did leave him essential as the last member of the inner council who could do anything making him the highest representative until Valeyna returned.

"Is there anything else, you're eyes are focusing on the Storm coast." True enough, Leliana had been occasionally looking at Fereldan's northern shore occasionally albeit with nowhere near the amount of concern she had over the Wardens disappearance.

"A mercenary group sent us a letter, informing us that their skills were available. After a bit of digging, their group has a high reputation." Leliana spoke normally, yet Nat could tell that there was something about this particular group that had the Spymaster concerned about the possible recruitment of these people.

"What can you tell me about them?" Nat asked reading the references as Leliana handed them over for him to look at and judge for himself. The references were fine he guessed, all of them spoke of high-quality work and professionalism however one or two gave off some very important pieces of information that when he saw, he instantly understood why the attractive woman was so cautious.

The Iron Bull, the leader of the Mercenary group known as the Bull's chargers was a Qunari. Now he didn't mean the national type of Qunari, like a Human and Elf, could both be Fereldan and be referred to as such. Iron Bull was Qunari as in the actual race of Qunari. The man had grey skin, horns and towered over all the other races and on average was stronger than any other race because of their build. Now being from a different race wasn't the problem, rather it was the fact that nearly all members of the Qunari race (Dear Merlin that was annoying) were all part of the Qun which the best allegory he had was the Soviet Union. There were all types of heavy restriction in their community that he wouldn't get into now, but in short, all of their people were brainwashed and the vast majority of members of the Qunari race in Thedas itself, were bound to be spies or soldiers.

Reading the reports, however, there was not one mention of the man being from the Qun, but Nat didn't want to take to many chances and neither did Leliana. There was a high chance, that with what was going on, that this individual could be some type of Qun observer and had been specifically ordered to assist the Inquisition on behalf of his commanding officers to ensure that the damage didn't get out of hand and hit home. If this was the case, then the Qun likely wanted to try and get some control of the Inquisition or at least try to steer it away or perhaps make sure it did not become too powerful to challenge them.

"I can see your concerns for this and while I get your reasoning for speaking to the Grey Wardens and observing this mercenary group, I do not when it comes to you wanting me to make the final call when it comes to their recruitment. That sort of thing would be best left to you, Valeyna or Cassandra." Nat stopped before then locking his eyes onto her. "Unless of course you have already made your decision and that decision is that you want to keep the Qun's spies exactly where you want and can observe them. All I'll say Leliana is just make sure he's not a double or triple agent." Liliana gave him a small challenging smile as he worked out exactly what she had planned for this leader of soldiers. It was actually a decision he entirely agreed on, the Qun was bound to send in a great many spies into the Inquisition for the exact reason of knowing what the Inquisition was doing, what political sides and religious arguments it supported and to identify its inner circle and most powerful members. No doubt, the Qun was going to sit back at Par Vollen and wait to see what way the winds blew before making any decision on invasion as well as most vitally, to get a foothold while they can.

Thedas was in Chaos and the Qun very likely had some invasion plan in the works which had just been put on hold. Yet it wouldn't be all bad news, this calamity would most assuredly weaken the kingdoms and especially armies of Thedas. While the Inquisition worked to restore the order for the world, the Qun would take this moment to recruit more people to its side and to assassinate others who would stand against them. Even better for them but terrible for people who actually cared about whatever was the equivalent to Earths Western values; this gave the Qun the perfect excuse as to why they might send soldiers and more spies and agents to the continent than they already had. So long as they just say that they are there to keep the peace and didn't act too aggressively, then the group would be able to secretly set up forward outposts where they could land their soldiers for straight after the war.

"This Iron Bull isn't the main spy we're fearing, he's actually been sent as a diplomat. Most likely if he is working for the Qun, its an attempt to divert attention and make it harder for the Inquisition to take direct moves against the Qun as doing so would be seen as screwing over a member of the inner circle of the Inquisition. We need to concentrate on the real spies while acting like we're more concerned over Bull. It's a cute little ploy and is only likely the beginning of the Qun's tactics. But all the same, we cannot allow the Qun to establish a presence on Thedas. I'll recruit him, but we need to do our best to destroy any and all Qun efforts to establish a beachhead."

"Good, you have understood your lessons. I must admit I am slightly jealous" With a small jealous but generally good in nature look at the kid, Leliana spoke in a slightly proud tone almost as if she was a teacher with children. "To be a quick learner, that is a useful skill to have. Now though we must concentrate on the task at hand. You should leave as soon as you are able. " Smiling coyly, Leliana gave an approving look at Nat. When he had first asked for lessons in spying, she hadn't thought that would take to it very well. Most if not nearly all spymasters generally start at a young age and have years of experience in being a spy themselves before they got to her stage. He past as a bard gave her the necessary background to get into this kind of work. She knew how people thought how they moved how coin was exchanged, how to gather valuable information or how to spy on people, how to use her body to seduce others when needed and far more other skills.

Still, she had humoured him, having a person reportedly as powerful as he was, could prove useful when it came to missions. So far with him being stuck at Haven while the others got to venture off, the kid had simply taken to learning everything he could and occasionally when she had the moment, she observed him as he wielded that strange design of sword around. Of course, she hadn't given him anything big, just starting lessons in how to observe people more and how to move more quietly. He was certainly no agent like those others she had trained, but with more lessons and combined with his training with Josephine and Cullen not to mention his seeming interest in the other cultures as he read about them. With time, perhaps he could work as a leader for another group, acting almost like the Herald did in dealing with smaller minute problems. Of course, for larger more complex problems that needed a higher ranking member, the Herald would have to be the one sent.

"I have an amazing beautiful teacher" Nat replied giving a slight fake happy tone in response. In truth, most of Leliana's lessons so far had been stuff he had already known or taught. However, he endured the pointless lessons to further his goals and aims. Out of all the three advisors to Valeyna, Leliana single handily was the one he had to impress and gain the trust off. Sure she acted friendly and loving and treated him with kindness and while part of that he knew was true, he also knew that Leliana also wanted to earn his trust in matters. Unlike the other's where all he had to do was give a slight pull of the heartstrings of Cullen and Josephine to get his training via the mention of his dead people and the fact that he had no future after the Inquisition, Leliana likely knew that he had other goals in mind.

Leliana was most assuredly still looking for information out on him. Information that she would never get from sending spies into the countryside and this was most likely one of the reasons she was so accepting of him and all the questions she asked. With the private time he spent alone with her listening intently to her as she spoke and explained the situation of things and how to deal with problems, she got to see just how quickly he picked things up and how his mind worked. In return he got to do the exact same thing, he could ask her questions on her past especially during the Fifth Blight and as she answered, he worked out what had happened. It was almost like a fun little game they were playing. Both of them knew each other were playing such a game, and that was some of the fun of it, trying to hide information as much as possible yet also giving things away. Of course what Leliana was assigning him this time was different.

"Flatterer" The woman replied turning back to her head shaking at the compliment. Nat had indeed been paying attention to her classes as she taught him how to best get information out of people. One of those way's was to give the occasional compliment, the mention of how a certain type of shirt made a man looks stronger or how a certain type of hairstyle brought out the colour in a person's eyes. In this case, he was obviously going for her look in general. Most women started to worry about their looks as they got older. How she remembered when she was younger about all the types of ointments and creams on sale that some of the Noble Ladies would purchase so they could continue to feel beautiful, when combined with makeup, it did become apparent that complimenting a woman as they got older certainly made them feel better about themselves and therefore more amicable in conversation.

"It's true though," Nat responded. "Back home you would have been quite the catch. But back to topic. Would you prefer me to go for this Grey Warden or for this Mercenary first.?" Leliana gave turned away from him, instead walking towards the entrance of the tent where another runner had appeared with a different note very likely with some important piece of information on something that she was gathering information on. Reading it quickly, she placed the not on the table but out of sight for Nat and gave a slight nod of her head gesturing towards the entrance to the tent

"I will leave that up to you." It was indeed a test just as Nat had thought. Should he succeed, then he would surely boost his reputation with the woman. A higher reputation would with any luck leave him as one of the Inquisitions more trusted agents and if he was a more trusted agent, he would have more power. And most importantly, with more power he had access to more recourses that would then enable him to locate more elven ruins that he could investigate when he had the spare time.

"Is there anything else you want whilst I'm gone, milk, cookies, flowers, Darkspawn" Shaking her head in amusement she gave him the order for him to go. So he did, quickly leaving the tent to his complete his mission which while useful for climbing the ranks was going to be a lot harder than he had made it out to be purely on one important little fact. But he'd get to that little detail after he had spoken to Josephine.

With a quick right turn, he headed directly into the old stone building and straight into the Madame Ambassadors office giving a swift knock on the door to alert the woman to his presence. As soon as he heard the woman call gently for him to call in, he unlocked the iron latch that helped keep the door shut and walked in coming face to face with Josephine again.

"Nat," Josephine started confused. "Your next lesson is not for several days? Is there something you need" Looking over at the woman's desk, Nat was glad to see that the equipment he had given to the woman weeks before was being put to good use. Already Josephine had entirely stopped using the paper of this world and had gone entirely over to his white paper. While not present now, however, he had seen the dark-haired woman use the highlighters to select very specific sentences of letters and other things for her to memorise and locate later. She had also started to organise all her files into the files he had given to her, using the hole punch that she had also received to place them in. All of these files had then been placed on a recently installed set of shelves line in alphabetical order. Suffice to say, the woman had a far tidier study room that he had heard that she occasionally liked to show off when the occasional foreign signatory arrived. Still, the most present device that was with her at all times besides her new pens, was the calculator that was always by her side ready to be used whenever she had to deal with a problem with sums.

"It's fine Josephine, I just thought that I'd alert you that I'm going to be away for a few days. Leliana has a few people she wants me to meet with and get answers from". Instantly the woman nodded her head knowing exactly what he was talking about. Leliana hadn't been the only one gathering information on the Wardens and she also wasn't the only one looking for people to help the Inquisitions cause.

"I assume she has sent you to speak to Warden Blackwall and this Iron Bull?" She leant back in her chair, placing her pen down as she took the moment to relax. Seeing this, Nat took the opportunity to walk towards her and after drawing his wand, he conjured her a cup of tea and a glass of water depending on whatever she was feeling. "Thank you, it is most appreciated" Accepting the cup, she brought it close to her lips gently blowing it to lower the temperature before then taking a few sips and placing it back on the conjured plate that it had appeared on. With a content smile on her face, she stretched her arms out slightly getting rid of that feeling in her arms before then refocusing her attention on the young man. "You know you are very good at knowing exactly what a person needs, I wish I had all these little things years ago. Especially that calculator, it saves so much time, truly a wonder for the modern age." Then she turned sombre stopping just before she was about to carry on and say that it was a shame that his people had met their end in such a horrific way rather than being able to speak and associate with the rest of the world and share what other things that they may have created.

"Don't mention it, Josephine. I just wanted to ask you if there was anything you perhaps might want me to pick up whilst I'm gone since you're stuck here. I don't mind going out of my way to Denerim to pick you up some chocolates from the port if you want." Josephine's face started to light up as she thought of a few things that she could possibly want from the markets in Denerim. While it was certainly not Orlais and didn't have the same grandeur or fancy items that the kingdom of lions had, that didn't mean that Denerim didn't have a few things she could want. Chocolate would be nice, as would perhaps a few new books for the library. She stopped and smiled as she remembered something important.

"Yes, I just remembered. There's a seamstress in Denerim that I wanted to get a letter too, she returned from Orlais a few weeks ago and I have been meaning to speak to her again about the uniform of the Inquisition. If you wouldn't mind, could you give it to her once I write it" Speaking quickly, the woman snatched a piece of paper an envelope and then one of her rulers and quickly began on writing a letter far faster than Nat had seen anyone else write one with handwriting. As she did, he stayed quiet allowing her to write in peace and quiet so she didn't make any mistake. Finally, when she was finished, she signed the letter and then promptly placed the letter alongside a few sketches of what appeared to be clothing in. Licking the sticky bit, she folded it over and then for good measure sealed it with the inquisition mark. Then she handed it to Nat a small guilty look on her face. "Please allow me to excuse myself for taking up your time.

"It's fine Josephine, I've been stuck here the last two weeks. All I've seen so far of Thedas is Haven and the Hinterlands it can't hurt to get to see the nation's capital". Not wanting to make the poor woman panic, Nat did his best to make sure that the woman got back to normal and didn't feel guilty about asking him to do a small favour of taking a letter to the capital of Denerim. If anything, it gave him the excuse to stay out of Haven for a little while longer, and in that time, he could check out some of the magic stores that were in the city. He'd heard, that Thedas's capital nations had a small magic store where mages who had gone through the right of tranquillity made and sold items like enchantments or books on magic in general. Why they would be allowed to sell books on the use of magic to the general populace where any random mage could get them he didn't know. However, if he were to guess, it was probably some type of ploy by the Templar's to trap apostates. Most assuredly, there was some type of Templar spy who looked out for people who regularly bought books on magical use and would then follow them back to see if they were secretly using magic. The other guess he had, was that the Templars were so arrogant that a mage would never be able to enter the city, that they would let anyone just read books on magic. Now while this sounded absurd, the fact of the matter was that every single mage had a staff on them making them easily identifiable. And since it seemed that most mages relied more on their staff for combat then their actual magic themselves, it was unlikely that mages would willingly want to give up their means of self-defence should they get caught. Pushing those thoughts aside, he spoke again to the beautiful ambassador.

"I do have to ask you however for a favour, nothing serious mind you, but still a favour all the same." Now he had her attention, Josephine was looking at him curiously as to what type of favour he could want from her. As he had been learning politics, she likely expected that he wanted to get into contact with a particular Lord or Lady perhaps, in fact, it was the Trevelyan family.

"Oh, and what could you want my help for?" Josephine joked as she waited for a response from the young serious child.

"Leliana seems a little depressed. I thought I might get her something to cheer her up but wouldn't be too time-consuming. I know nothing when it comes to buying presents and considering who Leliana is I really have no idea If she were like most of the women I knew, I'd just get her some flowers but I have heard she likes shoes. Then again, with the type of woman she was, I don't know if getting her flowers would be some sort of insult to her." Nat suppressed his groan when he saw the familiar look of a smirking woman when they believed that they had just come across some type of interesting story that they wanted to gossip about. He had faith in Josephine's ability to keep quiet about his request, yet he couldn't help but feel that Josephine was going to see these actions as some type of hapless romantic gesture.

"I did not realise you held such feeling for her" This was exactly why Nat didn't have friends. You say one thing and they take the complete opposite approach to what you are proposing and then try to tease you about it. In this case, Josephine was under the impression that he was buying a gift for Leliana because he held some foolish belief in romance or love. Rather he was doing it to showcase to the woman that not only was he listening to her attention, but because he wanted to have better relations with the woman who controlled an expansive network of spies and agents. In Earth term's it was like him building up a good relationship with MI6 for the benefits' and opportunities that it would likely bring.

"It's not what you think, Leliana is the most important part of the Inquisition and the more stress she feels, the more likely she is going to make a mistake. If she does make a mistake, and it's a major one then she is likely going to put even more stress on herself. On the other hand, if I get her something to try and relax her, I can keep her morale up which she's likely to be far less stressed and make a mistake reducing the possibility of her having a personal crisis. Well that and the fact, She's been exceptionally nice to me in trying to find any remains of my people. So with the death of her friend, I might as well try to return the favour."

If the look Josephine was anything to go by, it would appear that he had done his job correctly and played on the heartstrings of the woman. As Leliana was her friend, Josephine had very likely noticed any changes before he did and genuinely did worry about her friend. Only because she was her friend, Leliana likely didn't want to panic Josephine so she didn't worry about her leaving the ambassador even more distraught about the state of her friend. Therefore, a proposal made by him a person that Leliana would be less concerned about ensuring that she didn't make worry, was far more likely to succeed. Besides, when it came to it, he could just use the excuse that he was testing out a more advanced way of getting into someone's good graces as Leliana had taught him. On the plus side, if Josephine did agree to his plan, he could potentially find a weakness in the woman known as Leliana, and in time he could exploit if needed.

"Well if you're going to get Leliana a present, there are certain things that she would appreciate. I would recommend some shoes, but with your limited budget, I would go for something cheaper. Andraste's Grace would be your best choice. It is a small white wildflower that can often be seen in Ferelden but not in Orlais. I know that she would appreciate such a gift" A flower? Nat thought Leliana hadn't exactly struck him as the type of woman who would like flowers as gifts. Rather for a woman of her calibre, he would have believed that she might prefer something like a well-honed dagger. He didn't say anything, however, instead just following Josephine's advice. The ambassador had known the spymaster for far longer and likely knew far deeper and darker secrets then he did unless he used the power of legimency to wander into the spymaster's mind.

On the topic of Legimency, he was tempted so heavily tempted now that Solas was gone to start using legimency to accomplish his goals yet he restrained. Solas may have gone for a while leaving everyone here exposed, but that did not mean that using such magic might not be discovered. Solas was old, powerful and wise. Who the man actually has he had no idea and it was for that very reason why he still restrained himself. He could use mind magic and hide it to a certain degree, but there was no way of knowing that even if he did hide Legimency, that the man might not sense that something was wrong with those left behind. For all Nat knew, he could look into Leliana's mind and discover all her darkest thoughts hopes and dreams and most personal memories if he so wished and then hit it. But when Solas returned, the man may instantly recognise that some type of foreign mind magic was gone and considering that Nat was the only mage that was ever in a position to get close to her, he would soon be the victim of a massive mage hunt.

Solas was the very reason he was here. That man was thousands of years old and had very likely accumulated a set of knowledge that he could never hope to achieve cursed as he was with a mortal body. It was Solas he was desperate to learn and gather information from. It was for these reasons why he spent so much time learning an ancient forgotten dead language, why he took the lessons that the man had about magic seriously and listened intently showing the man his respect. Until he could find someone else who might have either a connection to Ancient Elf cross-dimensional portals or was just an ancient elf in general, he would not risk losing Solas. The man was valuable but also to be treated with suspicion and caution. All ready Nat could tell that Solas himself was manipulating the Inquisition quietly for his own purposes. Solas had already started to do so nearly immediately after the Conclave explosion. Solas wanted to hunt down some object that he thought might be involved even if he said he didn't know what it was.

If the roles were reversed where he placed in Solas's shoes and he discovered that somehow a young boy from an unfamiliar group of mages could read the minds of others at will, he would be concerned very concerned. In fact, depending on what his plans were, he might even try to kill the one with such powers to prevent the real him from discovering what he had in mind or to defend precious knowledge. Combined with the fact that he had already demonstrated his skill with magic, should he be placed in Solas's position, he would desire to take immediate action.

As such, as annoying and irritating it was placing him at a disadvantage, the risk of Solas discovering what he can do and the reaction he would give was far riskier. He needed Solas's help if he ever was to return home and how could Solas ever trust him if the man knew that at any time his most private thoughts could be exposed to a complete outsider. No, he would not use his magic so carelessly here, especially when the fact that while mind reading was possible here for magic, it required powerful blood magic and that was a stain he could not afford to get on his reputation here.

"Thank you for the assistance Josephine" Turning back to the task, he made his thank you to the woman for her unknowing but willing participation in his plans. "I just hope the flower cheer's her up a bit" With a hopeful smile Josephine agreed and Nat took no more chance to delay himself from getting to his task. Hastening his footsteps, he rushed down the stairs and towards the outside of the village where he finally met the stable boy.

"I need to borrow a horse if you don't mind, Leliana's orders "Almost panicking, the boy went nearly as white as a sheet when he heard on whose orders he was acting under. It was to be expected, while Leliana was a beautiful and attractive woman on the outside, she was a brilliant spy on the inside and it was the inside which seemed to show off more than the outside did leave her with a rather noticeable lack of suitors. Soon enough the boy came forward with a saddled horse and handed Nat the reigns.

Nat hid his uncertain look internally not allowing anyone to see weakness as he looked at the animal. He didn't know how to judge the horse, he'd never seen one in person before a few weeks ago with Valeyna when they had been given a few by Master Dennet. Because of this, he had nothing to compare it to. Shaking his head as he gave it an emotionless look in the eye inspecting it before giving up. At most, Nat could say was that the horse was brown and that was all. He couldn't tell if the animal was a strong one or a fast one or a well-kept animal, it was a horse and very few people in the modern day either owned or went on the back of one. This had the small little effect on Nat that he had to sort out as he looked at the stable boy.

"Thank you" With a small amount of effort, he managed to pull himself back onto the saddle of the animal. It wasn't exactly easy, however, something that Valeyna and the others had taken great joy in mocking him when they had first received the blasted creatures. They had all mounted their horses with a casual skill that came from having ridden animals before for whatever purpose. He, on the other hand, had never even seen one of the creatures in real life let alone got onto the back one. It had been so funny for them, watching with amusement for about ten minutes as he repeatedly trained and failed to get onto the back of the horse. It wasn't until Cassandra took pity on him that he finally got onto the stupid animal.

This time though, he had managed to get on the back of the thing only to realise that he was facing the wrong direction much to the astonishment of the stable boy who believed him to be some kind of young lord. And while that was technically true, that didn't mean he knew how to ride a four-legged creature that could throw you of their back. World War One had made very swift and good work of making cavalry in their entirety redundant which was good for them since after the horrors of that war it meant they were never going to be forced to fight another now that tanks and trucks were present.

"Hey wait, stay still" Unfortunately for Nat, the stable boy wasn't quick enough to grab the reins before the horse started to walk away at a speed faster than the young boy could catch up to. "Thank Merlin there aren't any cameras". Truly it was a good thing that Nat had ended up in a world where people did not have the ability to take a single moment in time and freeze it for others to see. If they had, the soldiers of the Inquisition would laugh at his severely lacking horse skills not that he doubted they weren't already. Had it not been for the hastily applied sticking charm, he would have fallen off the animal already. Turning around, he just sighed as the horse kept walking down the dirt road. It was going to be a ride to the Hinterlands for a person who knew next to nothing about riding other than which way to face.

The Next day

The Hinterlands

With the sun shining brightly above him, Nat steadily moved the horse to one of the Inquisition soldiers in the refugee camp. It had changed since he had last been here. For one, the camp had been seriously expanded with all sizes and shapes of tents going spreading around the camp with all types of civilians moving back and forth between them. The old buildings that had been damaged when he and Valeyna had first arrived weeks ago had been repaired and were back into action likely housing a large population of people keeping them out of the cold and rain. Children were still playing merrily constantly rushing around the adults pretending that they were knights or soldiers.

As he and his horse moved forward into the camp, Nat received a few curious looks from some of the people as they took in his odd set of clothing. A few whispered among themselves, but other than that no other action was being taken leaving him to advance forward in peace and move to one of the higher ranking soldiers. Upon seeing him, the soldier saluted instantly. While he didn't show it, Nat was somewhat astonished by the reaction. If the man was saluting him, then that could only mean that he held some type of official rank in the Inquisition. What it was or when he had even been given the rank he would have to find out when he returned to Haven, for now, though he simply carried on with what he had been doing.

"Soldier have you heard any news about a Grey Warden called Blackwall" Nat didn't bother to get off his horse, he wasn't planning on staying in the village for very long and with the way that some of the villagers were looking at him. With questions in their eyes and a deep sense of curiosity in one young man's eyes as his hazel eyes seemed to gleam as he caught the sight of the sabre attached to the saddle, it was quite clear that should he give them chance to, then he would be flooded with pointless questions.

"Some of the refugees were talking about him earlier, they said they were heading to Redcliffe to sell some of their wares" Nat nodded as he looked at the road that led to the what was likely considered by his country as the Second city of the nation. Considering that in the medieval period that nearly all people worked the land, the refugees were more than likely trying to sell their wares for a bit of coin so they could rebuild when things were safe.

"Thank you," Nat said. Just before he turned away, he did something he never thought he ever would. Bringing his right hand to over his head, he directed his open palm facing outwards to the man and kept his fingers together, after a few seconds, he brought his hand down and retook the reigns and then carried on. He didn't really know if he had done the salute correctly, Ant his half-sister's boyfriend had shown him how it was done in Britain and so he had sought to emulate it. If he did hold some form of rank, then he would do the same as well back even if he didn't have the first clue about military protocol.

Back onto the main position, he quickly rode out of the village ignoring the looks that his strange clothing and oddly shaped blade drew from them. Summoning a sabre was a simple matter yet precautionary matter. As he was on his own, there were bound to be a few people who would gaze at him and perhaps see a vulnerable target to attack and steal from. With a sabre at his side, the weapon would hopefully reduce the risk of having to fight anyone more then what was needed. With news that bandit attacks had become far more common because of the chaos, just giving off the impression that he could fight worked to his advantage.

Later

It wasn't a long trip to Redcliffe, but that hadn't meant he had felt safe on the way there. The presence of the mage and Templar conflict showed as he approached the area. There were a number of corpses littering the ground like ragdolls who had their strings cut early and the stench was revolting. He had noted a number of groups who distanced themselves from the roads fighting and slaughtering others or watching his presence. One idiot had attacked him believing he was a lord of some kind, foolishly he had rushed forward with a pike believing that he could be dismounted killed and then looted. Suffice to say the attacker's buddies retreated soon after they watched their friend turn into a shower of red gore.

He hadn't pursued them after though, he was here for Blackwall and without knowing what the man looked like, he couldn't cast a point me spell to reduce the time he now had to spend asking villagers about the mysterious Warden. And while Leliana hadn't said it, there was the very prominent risk that if he did not speak to Blackwall soon, then the man may also disappear leaving the Inquisition with a rather serious lack of information on the organisation. Besides, if he did want to go hunting bandits and other groups, he could do so later with Valeyna once she returned from Val Royeux to meet with the Clerics.

Unfortunately, for now, Nat didn't relay have the time to savour the architecture of Redcliff castle or the village that lay nearby. Instead, he merely stopped his horse when he saw a group of haggard men pushing a cart with some crops forward towards the villagers. Going by the state of their clothes, Nat would say that they had been forced to leave in a hurried fashion so they could escape with their lives. This was good, with any luck these might be the refugees that the soldier had informed him about earlier. Quickly he rode up.

"Excuse me." Nat began grabbing the attention of the man down below who stopped pulling his cart as he saw what he assumed to be a young lord. Bowing his head in respect, the man refused to meet Nat's eyes less the young lord take offence. What they got wasn't what they were expecting. "I'm not a lord. I'm with the Inquisition; I'm looking for a Grey Warden by the name of Blackwall. Do you know where I could perhaps find him?" Relieved that he was no longer in any type of danger, the farmer let out a small sigh of relief. Soon after at hearing the fact that the person that this child was after was the Grey Warden who had saved their lives and the person who was asking was a part of the group that was now helping normal everyday people, the man happily spoke.

"He's down the road down there. He's a good man Blackwall, he saved us when the demons attacked. Cut through demon after the demon to get us to safety, we took what we could from our farms and then ran away before the bandits attacked. After that Blackwall was so mad he conscripted the other farmers and headed off after the bandits. He said it was his duty to fight things like this, didn't ask for pay even though Grey Wardens can take whatever we want. Some people say that's a bad thing, but after seeing him fight it's well deserved not to mention without the Wardens we would have all been killed in the last blight"

"Thank you" Looking into the man's cart, Nat saw that the man was hoping to sell some apples. While not hungry, he took out his wallet and handed over a few copper pieces to the man in an exchange for the apple. It wasn't much, but it could help the man and also cement the position of the Inquisition as a fair organisation. Once that was complete he then headed down the road the man had directed him too and carefully started to listen out for anything that could be linked to the Warden he was searching for.

"All right we go around the flank and take out that dam Warden first. Once that fuckers dead we kill the farmers" Swivelling his head round to the location that his enhanced hearing had detected talk about fighting the Warden, Nat gripped the blade of sabre making a show to anyone who may have seen him already and were planning a sneak attack that he was armed. Carefully, he applied some magic to quite all sound he made so he could advance on the supposed bandits position more stealthily. With the sound of his horse gone, he was free to listen to the bandits at a closer distance.

"We attack now". With a loud below, the bandits sprinted up the as fast as they possible hill that they had just previously been hiding at the bottom of. Shaking his head, Nat drew his wand and dismounted the horse. He wasn't going to attack the bandits now for one reason. That particular reason was purely political. If he fought the bandits where the Grey Warden could see him, then it would work to his advantage as a man that was described as honourable would perhaps want to thank him for any assistance that he may provide. If he slaughtered the bandits now, then there was the chance that he would have to come all the way back down this hill to show this Grey Warden the corpses. Something that was more of a hassle than it was worth.

So thanks to his use of magic, he proceeded followed the group of bandits from behind all the way up the muddy hill. Halfway up, one of the bandits slipped on the muddy surface and fell on his back. Because the rest of the bandits were so caught up in their attack though, Nat took this chance to bring the poor bastard out of his misery by firing of a cutting curse at the man decapitating him.

"Here they come, defend yourselves" Warden Blackwall glared at the bandits as they rushed towards him and the farmers that he had conscripted. It was despicable, the Demons had already killed a great many people after the Breach had opened up and now these thieves were planning on taking everything else they owned and killing the previous owners. With his sword drawn and his shield placed in front of him, he braced for the first bandit to attack him. It wouldn't be difficult, the bandits he had seen weren't proper fighters and could easily be beaten with some decent training.

Rocketing upwards, Blackwall didn't hide his surprise as a cacophony of blood, guts and all other types of body parts catapulted in all directions soaking the area in a gory blood shower. A splatter of something warm and wet smacked against his pale face just on his nose, before he even had time to react, horror encroached on his face as he realised that only one type of thing could so much damage. He looked at the farmers and saw that they had taken the majority of the sudden explosion. Unlike him who only had some small splattering of blood on his face, the farmers were seemingly caked head to toe in the blood of those who had sought to kill them. One of the poor buggers collapsed to the floor choking as a finger had gone down his throat. Blackwall grimaced at the sight but still prepared himself for what he assumed to be one of the many rebel mages that were running around the Hinterland's causing trouble.

As soon as the first head of hair came up, Blackwall gripped his sword even tighter rushing forward so as to take the mage by surprise. Racing over the edge of the hill his sword read to slash on what he assumed to be the mages light robes, he was prepared to be burned alive so long as the farmers were safe. Then he froze. Not a single part of his body could move, his arm was still high in the air and his shield was still in front of him waiting to be smacked by a spell and his feet were still in a position of half a run. Yet he could see the identity of the attacker he wondered why at first he could still see until he breathed in again and realised that all his motion had been stopped beside his lips and eyes. He went to glare as he realised this mage had him trapped until he blinked as he noted the age of the mage.

He was a boy, far younger than the farmers and dressed in the single handily most bizarre getup he had ever laid eyes on. The style of clothing that this young man wore was like nothing he had ever come across. He might have said that it could be Tevinter in Origin due to the heavy use of black, and the skill that this young mage had, yet he had a feeling at the bottom of his stomach that the kid was not from that land of Magisters.

"Warden Blackwall I assume" Blackwall knew instantly just by hearing the boy talk, that this kid was not some urgent street rat or a rebel mage. The boy's accent was odd, it sounded so refined educated and intelligent. It was the type of accent that he was sure that some Orlesian's would love as it made the boy sound such a way that he seemed to place himself higher than anyone else. Blackwall groaned it seemed that the maybe some sought of Noble. Still, he had to think about the farmers, if he could delay this mage long enough for them to escape, then they would be safe.

"Yes I'm Warden Blackwall and who are you" He narrowed his eyes at the boy's hand. He like all mages he had seen carried a staff, only unlike every other mage he had laid eyes upon, his staff was absolutely tiny more of a twig then those long heavy clumps of wood and stone that other mages preferred.

"Nathanael Tempest, I'm an agent for the Inquisition. I have no ill will towards yourself or those you wish to protect. I only wish to talk to you. So long as you do not attack me, I will unfreeze you. Do you agree to those terms" That was not what Blackwall had been expecting, he was not highly informed on the subject of the Inquisition, however, he did know they acted for the good of common people? He had checked the refugee camp out himself and it was there that some of the previous owners of the homes told him of what was happening to their land. It was also the only group working to seal the Breach. If the kid was part of that group he would let him speak, yet on the other hand, he still had to be careful to make sure that this wasn't a trap. Then again if the boy wanted him dead, he would have done so already.

"I agree" Upon speaking those words, Blackwall found his ability to move again. Wanting to make sure that his body as still in good shape, Blackwall stretched his arms before then placing the sword that had been in his hand moments previous back in its sheath as he noticed that the boy had also withdrawn his staff. Danger seemingly not present, Blackwall approached the young boy curious as to why exactly the Inquisition would send a lone mage child out to find and speak to him. "What is this all about, what do you want to know?"

"It pertains to the matter of your Order." Ever so slightly, Nat noticed that Blackwall's eyes widened, there was something that this man was hiding and considering the fact that Grey Wardens are supposedly connected to the Darkspawn, a blight Nat couldn't detect in any form on the man, then it was suspicious. He wouldn't make accusations however until he met another Grey Warden or Darkspawn, he did not know if this was normal.

Even so, he was sure that the man would have some type of blight presence on him. "Ever since the explosion at the Conclave resulting in the death of Divine Justinia, and the opening of the Breach, your Order has seemingly gone underground Warden Blackwall. Nobody knows where they or can even contact one of your order." Nat watched the man intently, allowing the man to pale as he read between the lines and the unspoken accusations that were being levelled against his order. As Blackwall paled, Nat saw what he assumed were suppose to be the refugees that Blackwall had conscripted only they hadn't had to fight as one blasting curse and all the bandits were dead and there was a crater in the ground. Nat loved magic.

"Makers balls, the Wardens and the Divine?. That can't- No, you're asking, You don't really know. First off, I didn't know they disappeared. But we do that, right? No more Blight, job done, Wardens are the first thing forgotten. But one thing I'll tell you; No Warden killed the Divine. Our purpose isn't political." That man was sure of that Nat concluded. The way the man became more defensive as hs stated the goals of the Wardens indicated that he had a very strong respect for the organisation that he was in. Even still, it was suspicious.

"I wasn't lying about the rest of your order Warden Blackwall. You are the only Grey Warden that has been seen in the entirety of Southern Thedas since the incident at the Conclave. So I find it hard to believe that if the Grey Wardens are being this meticulous in hiding themselves, that you would be left out. That is unless of course, you've fucked up in some major way and really pissed off whoever's in charge. And even then, if that was the case then one would assume you've been cut off from the Order, exiled or something similar". Blackwall gulped his stance faltering ever so slightly as he crossed his arms. His eyes were directed at the kid while he tried to hide the panic. Did the kid know? Just how powerful was the Inquisition?. Rapidly he realised if he wanted to escape this scenario he had to speak quickly.

"I haven't seen any Wardens for months. I travel alone recruiting. Not much interest because the Archdemon is a decade dead, and no need to conscript because there's no blight coming. Treaties give Wardens the right to take what we need, who we need. These idiots forced this fight so I "conscripted" their victims. They had to what I said so I told them to stand. Next time they won't need me." Blackwall motioned towards the farmers who were now walking away from the scene still likely afraid that Nat had killed the Grey Warden. It was understandable, fighting a bandit was one thing, attacking a mage would bend the elements to their will was another. If the Grey Warden couldn't defeat the mage, then what hope did they have.

Even still, Nat wasn't finding the man's argument too convincing. Blackwall was hiding something and his apparent lack of knowledge of what was going when every other Warden had vanished in their entirety was very suspicious. Considering the reputation of their illustrious order was one of competence strength and honour, Nat was pretty sure that the Grey Wardens would have a list of every single Grey Warden and an idea of where they could be. After all, if a blight was to start, there had to be some way of contacting the group, perhaps by dead drop. Only converging on a possible blight when the news had spread out through an entire country was just not feasible for their job. Combined with the lacking presence of the blight from this man, and Nat was sure more and more that Blackwall was not who he said he was.

"I see, carry on" Nat responded watching the man's face intently behind his black glasses.

"Grey Wardens can inspire, make you better than you think you are. My plan was to recruit on my own. Planned to stay that way for months, years." There that was it. Nat saw it, the sentimentality that the man saw, the tone of his voice as he referred to the Order like he wasn't a part of it. Blackwall had closed his eyes slowly and then opened them, he had just had some sought of brief flashback to before. And the respect that was shown to the organisation, it made sense to Nat why this man didn't know anything about the Grey Wardens. Blackwall wasn't a Grey Warden. He was an impostor, why he didn't know exactly, however, going by his way of speech; it appeared that the man did have a genuine high respect for the order limiting the possible reason as to why the man was impersonating him. Back home Ant had informed him that people liked to dress as soldiers and pass themselves off as one for a number of reasons such as discounts, to pick updates or to gain automatic respect and popularity. None of that seemed apparent in Blackwall if anything it was more like the fact that the man truly wanted to be a Grey Warden and had been inspired at some point or other.

"Thank you for your support Warden Blackwall. I'm just sorry to waste your valuable time on such matters." With that stated, Nat turned on his heel and began to continue down the hill where the horse was waiting for him. Blackwall was a dead end, and Leliana would most certainly desire to know that the lone Warden was indeed not a Warden. As he carried on, he could hear the man fidgeting behind him as Blackwall was seemingly trying to work out what he had to accomplish.

"Inquisition... agent, did you say? Hold a moment" Nat stopped he didn't have to read the man's mind to know what he wanted. Blackwall approached. "The Divine is dead and the sky is torn. Event's like these, thinking we're absent is almost as bad as thinking we're involved. If you're trying to make things right, maybe you need a warden. Maybe you need me". So it seemed that the man actually wanted to do more than just play at being a pretend Warden gallivanting across the country using the name of a group of people he was not a part of and actually wanted to do some good. He could also tell that by gazing into the man's eyes, that he felt extremely guilty over something, the haunting look in his eyes was very familiar. Perhaps the man even hoped that by joining the Inquisition, that he would perhaps get to meet the people he idolised so much and by showing his involvement with the Inquisition, that he truly did desire to become a Warden. Of course, there were significant advantages to recruiting this man to the Inquisition.

A fake Blackwall he may be, but ultimately he was a convincing fake and as the man implied, the Grey Wardens held an awful lot of prestige. If the news that even a lone Grey Warden was assisting the Inquisition, it would likely further legitimise the Inquisition. With more legitimacy came more power, prestige, recourses money and manpower. All of these things would provide usefully, ultimately though, the biggest advantage came personally. He was rather sure that Leliana would be somewhat pleased by his performance if he came back having recruited a Grey Warden. And the more he impressed the spymaster, the better chance he had at returning home once he had the recourses and contacts he required.

"Welcome to the Inquisition Warden Blackwall, with your help we're a little less fucked"

"Ha" Blackwall laughed as he heard that for a few moments a look of respect appearing on his grizzled face as he saw that this apparent young Tevinter mage was willing to say something crude. "Good to hear. We both need to know what's going on, and perhaps I've been keeping to myself for too long. This Warden walks with the Inquisition."

"In that case, make your way to Haven near the Frostback Mountains. Also if you don't mind, I have other places I need to visit so if you could just hang on for me to write a letter to one of our people, then I would be very grateful". Blackwall didn't object instead just standing there as Nat brought out a pen a piece of paper and then an envelope, then he found the nearest tree and started writing. Ensuring that Blackwall didn't eavesdrop on what he was writing, he wrote a quick summary of what had happened to Leliana as well as writing down the fact that Blackwall wasn't a warden and adding the possible evidence he had for that theory. Once done, he sealed the letter then using magic added the equivalent of a stamp in the shape of the UK flag so Leliana would know who it was from and then used magic to make sure that nobody bar her opened it before then adding the address. "Thank you for this, I'll see you at Haven." With the letter handed over, Blackwall quickly pocketed the letter and then proceeded to leave his way headed for Haven.

Two days later

Storm Coast

"Woah steady there" Riling up on its back legs, Nat was quickly forced to grab onto the reigns to ensure he was thrown off the saddle as his horse started to flip out and become highly nervous. While not an expert on animals, Nat was pretty sure that horses were rather skittish creatures and generally had to have some very in-depth training to make sure that they were capable of being used in a combat scenario. In this case, the biggest problem he was suffering from now, was the constant blasts and echoes of thunder that reached the horse.

When people called this place the storm coast, they hadn't been joking. Dark gloomy clouds rolled over ahead threatening to unleash the massive storage of water they had up there on the poor mortals below. Flashes of thunder accompanied by the sound of thunder constantly crashed harshly in the instance constantly frightening the horse as it wanted to bolt and get away from danger. As for the actual terrain itself, one could easily see that this place was certainly not conducive to sea travel. Jagged sharp rocks littered the entire beach not a single bit of sand was preset instead there was only shingle. Multiple barren dead trees littered the ground the result of having been blasted with lightning uprooting it or one of its branches. Waves constantly crashed powerfully against the coast almost like Poseidon was threatening to envelop the whole land into his kingdom.

Despite all this, it reminded him of home. Okay, it was only one part of the environment, he had lived in London his entire life, but there was one thing here on the storm coast that to his knowledge could only be seen in one part of the world and that thing was in Northern Ireland. Somehow, he had come across none other than the Giants Causeway in Ferelden. The shape of the stone was exactly the same as it was in Northern Ireland, a strange natural phenomenon not seen anywhere else. And here it was, in Ferelden. He gave a small smile at the sight, it wasn't much, but it was a nice reminder of a place he may never see again.

Unfortunately, his attention was instantly shifted as he felt something far more dangerous and menacing, something that felt very similar and in a different but still grotesque form. He drew his head preparing for battle, he could already sense the blight approaching on his position, and if he sensed the blight, that meant that Darkspawn were approaching. He Rapidly he dismounted from his horse quickly conjuring a stake in the ground tying the horse to it before then conjuring some grass in front of the horse followed by some stone rock walls which he then camouflaged with a spell. Annoying as the horse may be, it was still his ride without having to demonstrate a car to the Inquisition not to mention the poor creature didn't deserve to die if he stayed on top of it. With his wand drawn and horse firmly safe and secure, he moved forward to meet the sworn enemies of the Grey Wardens.

Creatures of nightmare was the first thing Nat thought as he took in the appearance of the first Darkspawn he saw. Darkspawn were ugly fuckers that was sure, pale green sick skin with bulging veins all over their bodies constantly pumping up and down as the blood flowing through their veins. Their eyes were milky white that seemed to melt into their eyes in contrast to that of humans where the area around the eye was obviously laid over it. Sharp incisor teeth a dark revolting yellow mixed with black in colour almost Nat cringe as he could only imagine the terrible hygiene these creatures would have. Most likely, they could kill a person simply by bad breath. In fact, hygiene was not an important thing at all to these creatures of darkness, their fingernails were long yellow and pointed so they could probably essay tear skin out, they had no lips apparently having no need of them and blood covered their bodies from head to toe.

The creatures also seemed to have some mediocre intelligence as they wore crudely crafted poor quality and now utterly rusted armour that coated their torsos and shoulders. Weapon wise, it was exactly the same as the swords that the creatures carried reminded Nat of weapons that one was more likely to find in some kind of modern fantasy book where orcs or goblins were the main bad guys to be slaughtered in droves. In fact, as he briefly looked into the eyes of the Darkspawn seeing only a lust for all cruel things whether it was murder, rape, destruction or other brands of cruelty, Nat couldn't help but mentally equate them to orcs from the lord of the rings.

Raising his wand, he fired off his first series of spells. Before the Darkspawn had even known what had occurred, several of their numbers were already dead corpses on the ground their blood pooling around them. Straight afterwards the Darkspawn realised they were under attack and charged where the lights of magic emanated from. Rusty weapons and armour, however, weren't a challenge providing no more armour to the spells that were chucked their way then they would a 16inch naval shell from the USS Iowa. Suffice to say one or two blasting curses and Darkspawn were quickly learning to multi-task. The first was how to fly and the second was how to stitch their bodies back together again as they were turned into paste or balloons that had all their helium let out.

Further back one Hurlock emissary fired of a magic bolt from his staff only for it to clash against a causally raised shield. In response, Nat fired off a cannonball promptly bursting through the emissaries head decapitating it in a single strike. Upon seeing this blatant use of power, a few of the gunlocks froze in place their attention diverting away to their blown away comrade. One more blasting curse and they joined the ranks of many dead creatures. Then they ran, scattering quickly as they seemingly faced a powerful mage of untold power. Only it didn't work.

One moment they had turned around and had taken the first leg of their retreat. The next a force forcefully latched onto them yanking them back with tremendous speed flinging them haphazardly through the air as if their weight meant nothing to the magic. Down below them, Bored Nat raised his wand but instead of deciding to impale them with spears or arrows or just blow them to smithereens as was his preferred choice, he instead decided to have a little fun with the fuckers.

Emanating from his wand a stream of blazing hot red fire stretched on and on in a line coalescing and threatening to engulf the shingle around it as it lay on the floor. Burning bright and blazing hot, the string of fire launched itself into the air with an ear-shattering crack crashing into the goblins one by one as it moved left to right in rapid speed. Screams escaped the Darkspawn mouth as the whip of fire struck their body as they were killed horrifically. Nat had thought that the way the goblins would have died would be different, only rather than dying one may have thought i.e like a lightsabre going straight through the skin and using heat, the Darkspawn were killed by far more entertaining physics.

It was at times like this, why Nat adored the modern world. Because of the invention of things like youtube where random people could create random stuff like videos of cats or people complaining or talking about politics, he could gain some very entertaining and brilliant ideas for magic. In this case, science was a bitch for Darkspawn. While he wasn't going to explain how the science or man worked, what he did know was the expected results and dear Merlin was they spectacular. Because how liquid reacted when exposed to heat, it meant that instead of the fiery whip slicing Darkspawn up like a sword, it instead meant that Darkspawn exploded. Literally, the Darkspawn quite literally exploded.

Nat didn't mean the previous type of explosion with a blasting curse which essentially worked like a bomb where the shockwaves, flying debris and force did the killing. No, what he meant was that as soon as the fire whip passed through them, the Darkspawn popped like a balloon too full of some substance. If the bloody results of the blasting curse could be deadly, then the sight of a humanoid figure was something else that was both so utterly fascinating and amusing at the same time.

"Huh should do that more often" Nat muttered as he undid the fire whip and brought his wand upwards casting an umbrella allowing a vampires paradise to rain all around him. In the meantime, after creating a cup of tea in his left hand and began sipping at it. He approached carefully one of the only Darkspawn that had not been turned into a fine pedigree of paint.

Not getting to close as he remembered what he had read in the library, he inspected the corpses wanting to see if there was anything special about the blight and how it acted with well Darkspawn. Unfortunately, without some type of special degree in forensics or experience as an Auror he didn't really have the damdest idea on what on Earth he was searching for. Failing that, he had a different idea which was instead to conjure a bunch of test tubes and syringes. Casually swishing his wand, he commanded them to begin their work of extracting blood from all the semi-intact remaining Darkspawn. Minutes later he had multiple vials in one of his many pockets that he could look as should he get bored.

Then it rained, a lot. So much rain poured from the grey murky heavens above where likely one imaginary god resided that the bastard or bitch (he wasn't sexist) if they existed, was laughing at them. Nat rolled his eyes in sympathy for the poor buggers who didn't have the protection of magic as they were bound to catch a cold. Then he sighed, the Bull's Chargers were out in this weather and he had to find them over wet slippery shingle nearly ice freeing harsh water that wanted to gobble everyone up and drown them.

Later

"All right lads here they come, prepare yourse-"

Thump

Thwick

Boom

Splat.

They blinked, their eyes watching with astonishment as over thirty men who just charged them were swiftly cut down to ribbons, well some were cut down to ribbons others had large silver metal spears hanging out their chest like some new type of fashion while others he ceased to become humans in their entirety instead apparently preferring to be a red paste merging with their enemies to get closer to them.

"Eww" A sudden cry of disgust emanated from one of the mercenaries as they realised what the red liquid substance was. Soon after other looks and disgruntled grunts also filled the air as the mercenaries grossly tried to remove the blood that covered them from head to toe. They weren't strangers to blood and gore, but the sheer amount that was staining the bodies was unexpected.

"Nice" Diverting his attention, Nat was able to see the legendary Iron Bull for himself. For once, Nat found that the rumours were actually true, Iron Bull definitely lived up to his name. Iron Bull was a hulking giant brute of a man. Towering over Nat by several feet, the young wizard was forced to crank his head up significantly as the Qunari ordered his troops to stand down and then walked closer to him. Other than being tall, Nat could easily tell this man was a warrior, the large muscles that the man had indicated his obvious immense strength yet the muscles were not like the ridiculous type one would see on a bodybuilder at home. And those powerful muscles Nat was pretty sure could easily pulverise his head into a mushy mess should Iron Bull ever get the chance to force his thumbs down his eye sockets and squeeze.

The man was handsome or was at least by earth standards since this man was the very first Qunari he had ever laid eyes upon, he didn't know how they compared. Yet if he went by what he had read, the Iron Bull was a fine specimen or raw strength. With his light grey skin and mostly exposed chest covered by a few scars most likely caused by some type of fight, he was pretty sure that as soon as Valeyna saw him, the man would be jumped or would Valeyna be the one who was "taking it". A quick look at the man's head revealed his very large very pointy horns that like the man's namesake did appear like they belonged on a Bull and he was also sure that should someone piss the man off, that those horns could easily be used to skewer a man alive. Another key distinctive mark about the man's appearance was the eye patch covering his left eye and going by the symmetrically distanced slashes directly above it was likely from some creature.

As for clothing, the man wore only a set of what appeared to be thin breaches combined with some thicker boots and a very thin looking piece of leather that wrapped around the man's left shoulder. Suffice to say, the books were correct again. They had mentioned that the more north one went the hotter it became, in his spare time, Nat had managed to get view a full map of the known world and beyond the borders of the Anderfells was a jungle. Nat felt sorry for the poor man, having to live in a part of the world where the average temperature was above 10°Celsius. If it wasn't for magic, Nat was sure he would never be able to cope in hot conditions. Cold blizzard weather where a person could catch frostbite and die and when the fuel in cars froze up and the entire country went into mass hysteria because of an inch of snowfall he liked. But not hot weather, he despised hot weather in its entirety and that included summer. Oh, how he fucking hated summer and its atrocious hot weather, he had planned to go to somewhere like Canada when the summer came. In Canada, they had decent weather, not the shit vile stuff that places like Spain, Italy and Greece had. In his "hibernation" he would then find the most northern place in Canada he could and reside there until summer ended and things went back to normal. But that was not important right now.

"I assume you must be the man called Iron Bull," Nat asked the man politely but all the same it must have been a funny picture for people watching. Nat wasn't small by any means, he was of average height, but that was average for a fourteen-year-old, not an adult. With such a massive difference in height and well width as despite the man being in a fit condition and didn't have a single bit of fat on him, Nat was sure that it would require two of him standing next to each other to match the man's width if perhaps not a third. Suffice to say, in his mental picture of the scenario he was facing, he looked like a little kid who could be bounced on an adults lap should they get amused.

"So you're with the Inquisition, Glad you could make it. Come on, have a seat. Drinks are coming" This supposed brute was far more intelligent than the reports had made out to be. As of currently, Nat didn't wear a single thing that denoted him as an agent of the Inquisition, in fact with his dark unusual clothing and mask most people who met him at first likely presumed him to be some type of oddball Tevinter. Yet this Iron Bull had seen straight through him the moment he laid eyes upon him, it was both an impressive testament to the training of the man Nat presumed to be a spy and yet slightly concerning that Iron Bull was so quick in his deductions.

"Thank you for the offer, although I must decline. I don't drink "With a flick of his wrist, Nat noticed that Bull didn't even blink albeit the man was looking at him curiously and that was how Nat realised Iron Bull recognised him. "It's the sunglasses, isn't it? How you knew I was part of the Inquisition?" Rumours were bound to have spread around by now about each member of the Inquisition. What they looked like what they were dressed in how they fought, It was not a surprise that if this man was a spy, that the Iron Bull would be able to identify him due to his unique appearance.

"You're sharper then you look." Iron Bull replied walking slowly until he found a nice piece of driftwood that he could park his ass on and sit down. "Tell you the truth when I sent my lieutenant I was expecting the Herald to meet met. But I guess she's busy in Orlais speaking to the Clerics. Still, at least I get one of her inner circle, the mysterious prodigy mage child" Shaking his hand at the last bit in a mocking way, Nat could tell that the man was not so much as insulting him but rather the ones who had started the rumours.

"And you're Ben Hassrath, most assumedly here on Orders of the Qun to prevent the Demons from fucking up the place. Going by what Varric has written about your lot if the Qunari was truly worried that it would send its soldiers. Instead, they send you, which undoubtedly means the Qun is offering reports to the Inquisition through you. Am I correct?" Bull Gave the kid a curious look a respectful look on his face. While Bull had his reports on all the major members of the Inquisition, he hadn't been expecting that. Then again, he was dealing with a child from an unknown hidden but now dead nation of mages rather than the apparent naive Herald of Andraste.

"Good guess. I'll give credit to your spymaster, she seems to know her job quite well" Nat made no attempt the divert that line of thinking from the Qunari. While it was easy for him to work out exactly why the man was here by deducing things and thinking about them in a logical manner, revealing that ability too much would work to his disadvantage.

"Yes well, she's very adept at her job. Even scary at times. She only sent me because she wanted the highest ranking available person to meet you". While Nat did value his own deducing skills and intelligence, he also knew that revealing them could be devastating especially now that he was dealing with the Qun. From what he had gathered the Qun was highly effective at what they did, whether it was deception, war or creating new technology, they were world class leaders as they hoped to bring a dystopian future. Already they knew that Leliana was the apparent Spymaster who with any luck, Nat had given off the impression that it was purely her that had figured out what the Qunari wanted. If that was the case, the Qun would consider her a larger threat then he was should things ever come to hostilities between the Inquisition and the Qun. In that case, it left him more defended against any Qun attacks as he would simply be considered one of many mages rather than a person who could deduce a great many things significantly raising his threat factor.

"I can imagine." Bull then smirked as he turned to his fellow soldiers and saw the condition that they were in. Unlike his soldiers, who were doing they best top try and rid themselves of their new red style, Bull only laughed amused by one of the most entertaining things he had seen in a while. "All right Chargers strip down and jump into the sea." With an incredulous look, some of Bulls soldiers hook their heads as they saw the crashing waves that were bound to snatch them from their feet and drag them under so the water could then bash their skulls in because of the harsh rapid energy.

"Really boss?" One of the soldiers a woman Nat identified with short hair and wearing heavy plate armour shook her head at the bosses command. "You want us to jump into the sea."

"Well Krem it's that or we're going to have to our next place of work complete soaked in blood." Rounding his attention onto the young mage, Iron Bull gave an appreciative look at the young mage who had effortlessly slaughtered an entire bunch of Tevinter soldiers and a few of their mages with seemingly no trouble in the slightest. "I like your style kid. Most mages go with fire, ice or lightning, but you just make them blow up like a barrel of Gatlok turning them into a fucking Orlesian meat puree. That's fucking hot" Okay Nat thought, he took a step back revealing to Bull in that instant that he was highly uncomfortable with anything when it came to a sexual nature. Bull only laughed more. "Don't worry about me kid, I prefer people who are actually a bit older" That was slightly comforting for the Wizard but he still kept his distance simply so he wouldn't have to strain his neck as much.

"Besides your reports from the Qun and your bunch of soldiers. Sorry about the mess, by the way, let me clear that up". Taking out his wand Nat gave it a very quick swish vanishing all the blood that had coated the soldiers leaving them how they were before, uncoated in blood but slightly bored.

"Much obliged" Krem nodded her head.

"Basic manner's, I was the one who created that sticky situation, so it was only fair that I deal with it. Anyway, other than your soldiers, and the reports from the Qun, what are you offering?" Bull it appeared to Nat was seemingly a little put out by the affair of current events, however, it was relatively easy to figure out why.

"Well I can't speak of my men because you kind of just stole all our kills, but you would get me as a bodyguard for the Herald. You need a frontline bodyguard, I'm your man. Whatever it is-Demons, Dragons? The bigger the better." At the very mention of the word dragon, the man grinned from ear to ear and his eyes became highly excited like adrenaline had just kicked in and he was enjoying the drug. It appeared to the young wizard, that this Qunari got drunk from combat.

"Darkspawn? There's a whole bunch over that way if you want to show off not to mention Left my horse there. As for payment though, I can recommend you but you'd have to speak with our ambassador, she handles the finances"

"Whatever you want kid. "Charger's" Bull cried out loudly alerting the men and women of his group to prepare for battle. "Move your asses we got Darkspawn to kill" Without a single grumble, the soldiers got off their asses and began to follow their leader and their potential new employer further along the coast. After only about ten minutes of walking, they came across the group of Darkspawn. Hearing the group approach, the Darkspawn growled before leaping forward charging the group of soldiers with the intention of slaughtering them.

After Battle

"So kid are we good enough for your inquisition" The field was a war zone, corpses of dead corrupt Darkspawn piled the ground cut into tiny chunks with their blood having stained the entire area with their filth. Having no desire to see that type of filth spread and infect other living beings Nat proceeded to set the corpses ablaze before then returning his focus onto the large tall Qunari spy. Iron Bull and his chargers were certainly competent, none of them had any injuries and the battle had been a one-sided matchup with the group easily pushing and decimating their way through the Darkspawn ranks.

The Iron Bull was highly impressive. The large axe he wielded was taller and likely heavier then he was yet the Iron Bull swung it around like it was just a small toy chopping up Darkspawn after Darkspawn as if they were nothing but vegetables and him a knife. However, Iron Bull was less accurate than the knife and took great pleasure every time he as able to land a spectacular messy blow. Nat could still remember the happy yell the man gave when he cleaved one Darkspawn Hurlock though the skull downwards.

"As the representative of Inquisition, I welcome you to the ranks of the Inquisition. I'll see you there in time." After a firm handshake where Nat thought his entire hand was going to pop, the wizard began to walk away to his hidden yet still safe horse before then freezing in place and then turning to Iron Bull. "One more thing, a warning if you will" Iron Bull intrigued looked at the kid he was likely going to fight next o in the future.

"And what's that?"

"The Herald is very... promiscuous. Expect the moment she meets you to jump you" Bull laughed cheerfully, it seemed that working with the Inquisition could be some fun indeed. On the other hand, he would have to keep an eye on that kid,. For a young mage to so easily rip apart trained Tevinter soldiers like they were nothing meant he had a lot of training and was quite powerful. Not to mention, if the rumours about him were true, then the kid's people might have secret knowledge of magic that could be a serious threat to his bosses.

"I look forward to it kid, see you at Haven"


	9. Chapter 9 City Problems

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 9 City Problems**

9:41 Dragon

Denerim

Finally, Nat had arrived. It was a relatively pleasant day, the skies were blue with nice white clouds rolling above him, the temperature wasn't too warm and birds were chirping merrily as they flew from rooftop to rooftop frolicking as much as they desired to. It was a nice surprise Nat first thought when he saw Denerim for the first time, the stone walls circled the entire city giving it a form of defence and Fort Drakon a large tower where the Archdemon had been killed a decade ago stood high and mightily looking down on everything else in the city with an intimidating aura. That pleasantness soon evaporated as he got closer and the reminder that he was in the medieval period became more prevalent.

Wafting out of the city and into the nearby countryside was the waft of piss, shit, mud and disease and likely death. On the way into the city, the creators of this stench couldn't be seen, but Nat assumed this was to give those traders and foreign dignitaries a clean walkway to reach the more affluent neighbourhoods. Upon reaching the front gates of the city, he was quickly told that he had to dismount his horse and leave it outside if he desired to carry on into the city. Not wanting to get into a fight and because he had magic to protect his horse from getting stolen, he obliged and walked in.

"Who is he, a Tevinter Magister" Resisting the urge to sigh, Nat ignored the people of the city as they whispered incessantly about him as they took in his unique clothing. The most noticeable one's who apparently had a problem with his outfit, were the guards as they took it upon themselves to follow his every action as he advanced to the market district of the city. Luckily, they didn't actually interrupt him as a stern gaze from the man who seemed to be in charge of the guards kept them in line and prevented a possible incident.

When he stepped into the market for the first time, Nat couldn't help but once again feel like he was home. Denerim market wasn't as tight and it held more stores than Diagon Alley ever did, but the environment was very similar. People rushed from stall to stall purchasing all that they needed whether it was food, clothing, alcohol, wool, candles and matches or all sorts of other things. The market was loud as people shouted or spoke raising the ambient noise of the place yet if he tried, he could eavesdrop on particular conversations.

All of them, however, was boring casual conversation that the usual person would have with one another. Things like children and how they were progressing or about a food harvest or about some toy they had bought, it was all rather dull and boring. Nat was about to stop eavesdropping when he heard a whisper. It was barely audible, if not for how close he was to this person and his while not superhuman, his better level of hearing, then he would not have caught the slightest whisper.

"Have you heard, one of the palace guards said that the King's been having nightmares." Subtly, Nat moved out of the way of other people who were passing by and leant against a wall out of sight of the talking peasants.

"So everyone gets them." The other peasant replied not really interested in the conversation.

"I'm not talking about normal nightmares you daft twat. Apparently, these are warden nightmares. According to one of the guards, the king is struggling to sleep and has even been known to scream at night. He also said that the King has been far more distracted ever since what happened at Haven like something's pressing against him constantly that he can't hide." That piece of info was certainly interesting to Nat. King Alistair had once been a Grey Warden before he had been put on the throne by the Hero of Ferelden. Nat wasn't an expert, but from the books he had read, it was stated that once one became a Grey Warden, they would forever always be a member of the grey gaining their powers and abilities' for eternity.

Alistair may be the king currently, but undoubtedly he was still a Grey Warden and had a connection to that order. With all the Grey Wardens seemingly disappeared at the exact same time, it was incredibly suspicious, especially as not even Leliana had a clue what was happening to them or where they had gone. On the other hand, if King Alistair a previous Grey Warden was having nightmares and acting strangely ever since the Conclave, then it could potentially help solve one of the mysteries. Of course, going by rumour would never be enough, they had a tendency to get skewed and something this vital to the Inquisition was far too delicate to risk on info gathered from anyone bar the king. If he wanted to learn more, then he would have to speak with the king himself.

It wouldn't be difficult, while Nat was concerned with how some of his magic in the case that Solas should discover what he can do, that was more around things like mind magic. In this case, any magic that he would cast to hide his presence would remain here in Denerim and would dissipate quite quickly, also it was far less noticeable then entering the mind of a person. The latter of which he wouldn't do on the king as not only for the possible reprimand that it would earn him should he be caught, the consequences of such an act on none other than the leader of a nation would not end well for him.

For now, though, he had to deliver this letter to this seamstress that Josephine wanted as well as pick up that flower for Leliana and finally also check out some of the shops that were in this market. Patting his jacket for confirmation, he brought up how much money he had. It wasn't much, and probably less than that Iron Bull would get, but it was still something he could use and in all honesty, he already had a few plans for what he desired to purchase when he felt comfortable.

One of the many items he desired to own, was an actual sabre. Not the sabre he could currently owned conjured out of nothing, that weapon was good and it acted perfectly fine as a weapon. However, after looking in the library, he was aware of several other metals that were used which were stronger than the steel he used when conjuring weapons, not to mention the higher quality blades had sections for runes of this world that could be used to enhance the weapons more than they already were. In contrast, because he had already conjured the sabre, it was less effective than a properly built one not to mention less flashy. He generally wasn't one for flashiness besides when called upon, but he couldn't help but think that if he was starting to be considered a higher ranking member in the inquisition, then he needed a weapon that would reflect that. Then again, would it be so difficult t create one on his own?.

He wasn't a blacksmith, but he did have magic. If back home he could quickly create entire houses by a few waves of his wand and command each part of a house where to go and what to do, then it was bound to be around the same difficulty with a weapon. In fact, after a few practise attempts, he could likely create a decent quality sword with very minimal effort. With the advantage of his magic and knowledge on modern technology and access to over thousands of books on his kindle on a whole variety of topics, then he was bound to find more effective blacksmith techniques that the dwarves could only dream off. Bringing his mind back to attention, he walked to one of the guardsmen who was patrolling the area.

"Excuse me could you tell me where I would find a seamstress named Amelia Wool" At the mention of the name, the guard grimaces before roughly pointing his thumb behind himself pointing to a slightly larger shack that was off in the distance away from the rest of the other market stalls. Then the man asked Nat a question

"What's a Tevinter doing here, aren't you all supposed to be fighting those Qunari brutes" It was good to know what he was believed to be on the first encounter Nat thought. He had never intended to give himself off as Tevinter, but it certainly did play to his advantage if he took the image of a person who was from that land. His clothing, any use of magic, strange accent and other odd features about him could instantly be explained away by simply stating that he was a person from Tevinter and the other's would likely give him no more trouble after that.

"I'm afraid not" Nat replied in a fake pleasant manner, catching the man asking questions off guard. "As you can tell I'm here to see the seamstress, I'm in need of some more clothing and the one I usually speak to has caught the plague." Paling at the very mention of that affliction, the man was seeming of the belief that Nat also carried a deadly virus on him which could or could not be true and quickly said farewell before getting away from him as fast as possible.

On his own, Nat made his way towards the house of the seamstress although not a second went past before he was caught up in his own thoughts again as he so often did. Unlike the last time, this topic was more serious than wanting to create a sword with magic, it actually concerned the safety of this world. That concern was him, however, he soon quashed it and returned back to the matter at hand. Quickly he pushed open the door to the seamstress and walked inside.

Internally, the building wasn't anything special. Like most medieval domestic construction, the house was only one floor high and made mostly with a mix of wood and white plaster. A few candles were scattered around the shop, however, the majority of the light emanated from the windows that had been left open to allow not only light in, but also to allow fresh air to come in and get rid of any smells in the area. Nat's attention was more caught on the clothing that had been left for a person to view and admire.

A great deal of different style's of dresses, breaches, shirts and boots were apparent to the eye and as was the multiple colours that they consisted off. It was rather obvious to Nat, that this place was not for the average peasant, but rather for people of nobility or traders who had a decent amount of money. Nat wasn't sure if he could afford anything in this store, as he gave a quick look at what he assumed to be a man's jacket. It was a dark red in colour with a bit of yellow on it other than that, he wouldn't know how to describe it, clothing wasn't his thing.

"Hello, what can I-" Stepping through the entrance way, the woman known as Amelia made herself a cheerful smile on her face dressed in a red form of flowing dress. The very moment her eyes locked onto this young stranger her face changed from a smiling one to satisfy customers to one of utter wonderment racing towards this strange child as fast as she could her eyes darting all over the boy. "Who designed this, and this?. Oh, I never would have imagined that you could put pouches on breaches. This stitching, I've never seen such immaculate stitching before, oh and this, is this leather? It's unlike anything I've seen before. Oh and your shirt."

Dancing around as fast as she could, Amelia constantly moved from area to area of Nat's body inspecting as intently as she could the strange clothing he wore all the while firing off questions at a rapid pace. She was definitely curious Nat would give her that, but she was getting too close to comfort, he went to raise his arm to stop her from touching, but she then zipped away to look at another piece of his outfit seemingly memorizing it. Then she lunged her hand towards his legs which he caught. Only it wasn't done as she then took a greater look at his jacket and began hammering more questions about why he had strange metal teeth on his outfit and how they worked or how much it had to cost. Then it was questioned about the Union Flag on his arms or about his boots.

"Come on you have to tell me, where are you from because you're not Tevinter. This is a casual outfit right" Amelia leaned up after taking the time to admire the flap that went over his lower zip area. Not wanting to get lost in a game of twenty questions, he pulled out the letter Josephine had given him and presented it to Amelia. Not caring in the slightest about a piece of flimsy paper the woman yanked the piece of paper from his hand and threw it over her shoulder and returned to peering as close as she could to the young mage. "The letter can wait I want to know who designed these clothes?"

"That letter is from Lady Josephine Montilyet Ambassador of the Inquisition. I suggest you read it." Staring into the woman's eyes through his glasses, he was forced to hide a sigh as the woman then focused on his head and tied to use his sunglasses as a type of mirror like a little child.

"This mask" Amelia gasped. "So simple yet so mysterious. I wonder what it's made from, glass no. Glass is too brittle and would smash if hit. If you're from the inquisition, then you must be that strange mage. The one who came from a strange place with other mages. Tell me everything you know about clothing." Amelia attempted to pin him down against the wall so Nat couldn't escape. At thirty-five the woman still had her looks and had very much kept her fiery passion and desire to know things about clothing. Desiring to get this over without the fuss Nat gave the bare minimum.

"It's black, yes its casual clothing and no this stuff was rather cheap to buy. Also no you cannot strip me down and steal my clothes and no you cannot sell me any clothes in exchange for my clothes or in general." Amelia tutted as she heard that.

"Of all the ones who survived, it had to be the one who knew nothing about his own people's clothing. What use are you anyway?." Waiting for a response, Amelia wanted to see how the kid would react to her insult only she couldn't see how he reacted because that damned mask prevented her from seeing his eyes. Still, he gave off so many ideas if only she could borrow his clothing for a few days and discover the secrets that his people had concocted in fashion.

"The type who doesn't waste money on trivial items such as clothes or shoes" Scorned didn't even explain the anger that she felt towards this boy for insulting Amelia. She glared angrily getting right in his face hoping to make him flinch.

"Trivial, Trivial". Amelia began her tirade shouting directly into the boys face. "I'll have you know that I am one of the most respected seamstresses in all of Ferelden. I studied at the University of Orlais, I have travelled to every single nation there is. I know how fashion is done and how it is important, vital even to a people. Yet you dare to call my work trivial. " Amelia turned a dark shade of red as she ranted off about different sets of colour combinations and stitches while Nat didn't even bother to listen. "There do you understand, why my work is important to the future of Ferelden."She exclaimed loudly.

"Sorry I wasn't listening, I had a banshee screaming down my face"

"Oh that is it" Leaning back, Amelia went to grab something, it was a stick used for the length of fabric. Her breath escaped her stomach and her back smashed against something hard all the while she was then forcefully rolled onto her stomach where her arms were held behind her back in a very painful manner and she felt a boot on the back of her neck.

"On behalf of the Inquisition, please read the letter. If you have any complaints about my service, please feel free to call up out customer helpline where they will give you swift and helpful instructions on how to chuck yourself off a cliff. Thank you for your time and we hope to see you using Inquisitions services again" With that stated Nat left the woman and headed outside back into the lovely Denerim market.

"Let me guess the bitch tried to attack you two" After only about ten steps, Nat was confronted by a different guard only this one was wearing purple over his chainmail. "Don't worry about it kid, that bitch is known for attacking anyone who doesn't know stuff about clothes. If it weren't for her patron, we would have locked her up by now." The man blinked before shaking his head extending his hand outwards as he did so. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Agent, I've heard good things about the Inquisition. I'm Sergeant Kylon, I patrol the Denerim market. Your spymaster sent a note saying that you would be arriving and it would be appreciated if I could keep you out of trouble whilst you're here." Nat shook the man's hand.

"A pleasure and thanks for not throwing me in jail. "The man laughed as he looked at the house.

"Don't worry about it, the woman's crazy but she is a talented seamstress. It's better if she works alone. Anyway Agent how can I assist you today". Grateful for the lack of bureaucratic crap he was going to have to endure while he was here, Nat reminded himself to thank Leliana when he returned to Haven.

"I'm fine mostly, although you wouldn't perhaps know where I could purchase a flower known as Andrastes Grace would you. It's for a friend." Kylon smiled seemingly relieved that for once after a long while he got a nice pleasant person to speak to him rather than some bastard who was screaming at him or some other bastard that he had to kill for going around threatening people. A nice quiet day giving directions was appreciated.

"No stalls sell's it, however, there are a few in the alienage if you want to go get one. Be warned, while the elves are generally passive there was an incident with Tevinter slavers during the Blight. They may mistake you as one.

"I appreciate the warning and the assistance, have a pleasant day" Kylon blinked somewhat in surprise at the way the agent said farewell to him. Most of the time, he was dealing with drunks or criminals or people yelling at him about something or other. Kylon smiled in return at the kid and returned the good-natured farewell and made a note to help the boy whilst he was in Denerim.

Alienage

As he walked into the alienage, Nat could instantly feel the difference in tone between the market and this place. Unlike the market which had a somewhat happy feeling to it, this place held a strong feeling of depression all around it. He brought a hand up to the collars of his leather jacket gently caressing the small metal badges that he had summoned and put in. If he was a member of the Inquisition and was henceforth doing jobs for them, then he had come to the conclusion that having some form of ID on him could work to his advantage. He had a few options to really chose from that he could think of to show that he was a member of such an organisation, the first was one of those giant badges that Leliana wore, then there was the option of adding the symbol of the Inquisition to his own clothing, then there was the final option of wearing something new that would denote his allegiance to the Inquisition. Briefly, he had pondered the idea of wearing some kind of armband but quickly squashed and pulverised that idea.

While the people of Thedas would not know the connotations of wearing an armband of a powerful military order, he did. That left instead, something like a scarf but he also didn't like that idea which was how he came to the idea of the two small badges of the Inquisition on his jackets collars. It was military in style, which was what the Inquisition was and since he apparently had some form of rank as evidenced by soldiers giving him the equivalent of a salute, then the small badges would likely make his jacket seem far smarter in appearance despite it only being causal.

Eyes flickering as always left to right, Nat kept his hand gripped to his conjured sabre. He was entering a dangerous area, he could just sense it. Advancing forwards into the alienage, all eyes seemed to follow his every movement taking in his appearance and trying to work out exactly who he was. A little further back, Nat eyes a set of sneaky looking elves, pickpockets most likely yet they didn't dare advance forwards. Looks of confusion were evident on a few of the elf children who saw him stopping what they were doing to look at the strange human child who wore funny clothing. Others however rushed away to find their parents. Then it started to happen, a yell and fearful look mixed in with anger from one of the older elves who seemingly believed he was from "that" nation.

"Tevinter" The man cried out loud a panic-stricken look scarring his face. "What is a Tevinter doing here". The man's eyes went down to the curved blade in its sheath and panicked some more. Elves were forbidden from owning any weapon whatsoever, a few of the elves desired to attack scared of this Magister and what he was going to do.

"Fuck off back to your own home you Tevinter scum, the Hero of Ferelden slaughtered you bastards years ago and we will do the same to you" If it was a rallying cry, it wasn't a very good one. A few elves cheered in what they believed to be defiance, the majority though were petrified of the powers of a mage and what it could do to them.

"Quiet" One hissed loudly looking at their fellow angry and petrified elves. "Do you want him to burn you alive" That shut up a few of the elves.

"I'm from the Inquisition, I was perhaps wondering if anyone could tell me where to find a flower known as Andraste's Grace. I was told I could find one here in the alienage." Bored and slightly irritated at the rumour's Nat announced the reason he was here and as he had expected from these people, they were taken by surprise not entirely believing his story. More rumours began to stir and accusations of that he was lying came to bear against him, but Nat didn't care. He was here to pick a flower as a present and that was it.

"Halt stranger" A red-haired woman stern of face likely only in her early thirties approached him. She didn't glare like the others did, yet her eyes did linger towards the sabre that was attached to his waist and then to the strange black clothing that he wore. "You dress in the same colours as the Tevinter Slavers did. Tell me your true purpose for coming here."

"The flower," Nat said. "All I want is a flower," Nat repeated again speaking gently so as not to try and raise the anger and possible outbreak of combat. "It's for a potion, one of my comrades in arms got hurt fighting a pride demon and the potions master needs Andraste's Grace to heal them. The alienage was the closest place that I could go." At the mention of the Inquisition, the woman's face went from stern and suspicious to one of a more amicable one although she definitely was not smiling at him like an old friend. Looking at his collar, the red-haired woman inspected the two badges that were placed into the strange material.

"These are certainly high quality, you couldn't have just created these." Muttering to herself, the woman nodded her head as she saw what she believed to be confirmation of the boy's identity. "I've heard good things about the Inquisition, we've had reports that you treat elves as equal and that they are free to fight. Is this true?" Subtly Nat glanced around at the group of collected elves, all of them were watching with fear, yet they seemed to treat this woman with a high degree of respect and trust, She was the leader of this group, the one entrusted with their safety and management, if she deemed that he was safe to talk to, the elves were bound to be far more courteous.

"That's true, and it's also true that the Herald is an elf-like yourself albeit she is Dalish. Personally, I don't fight alongside the other soldier's, as you can see I'm more of an errand boy, however, I have witnessed a number of humans who have treated elves with disrespect because of their race be discipline quite harshly by Commander Cullen. As I mentioned before, I'm only here for a flower known as Andraste's Grace, and a box to put it in. Would that be fine with you Miss..."

"Shianni." She declared proudly, she looked over at her people silently asking them whether they would allow this human to take a flower from their place or not. Not one of them said something, but she could determine the mood. "You may take your flower but do not trouble the people here. As for your box, you can purchase one at our store", She pointed towards one of the main ran down huts and sewers that made up the alienage. It was a far cry from the nice clean marketplace that he had come from.

"My thanks, I'll leave as soon as I am able." With a nod, Shianni turned away to go speak with some of the other elves leaving Nat to visit the store and get the box for the flower.

Flower now in a box, Nat quickly began to head towards the entrance of the alienage. Even with his magic allowing him to slaughter any attack that the elves could possibly throw against him, he did not like being in an area of the city where the houses were so clumped together hiding a great many possible attackers or onlookers. When people lived in terrible conditions and struggled to feed themselves day after day, thievery became a very real and genuine type of work simply to keep a person's family alive. Nat knew that while he did not appear to be rich at least compared to the nobles who visited the alienage, he was certainly richer than the elves were and was bound to be considered a target for one group or another.

"Psst Agent, psst over here" Hiding in a thin alley between two houses that looked like they were about to collapse at any moment, was an elf who was looking at him curiously. Now normally Nat wouldn't approach a person in such a place, it was bound to be a trap or some stupid attempt to sell him drugs. This time though out of sight he cast a presence revealing spell showing that there was nobody anywhere near enough for this to be an ambush. The elf was also not carrying any form of weapon leaving him defenceless. In fact, after testing all those he had felt with the presence detector charm with a weapon detector charm, there was nobody at all who had any weapons in the vicinity. Even so, he turned away so nobody could observe and conjured a dagger and hid it with magic. Should a fight actually break out, then he could engage anyone with a weapon more suited to narrow alleyways?

"Yes, what do you want?" Dear Merlin did Nat miss the liberty to use magic on whoever he wanted and read the minds of anyone he wanted to. Not only would it save time, but he could tell any danger much quicker than he already did. If it wasn't for how easy it was to detect, then he would have ended this conversation already.

"I'll keep things quick, make sure no one hears us. " Paranoid, the man looked at the roof above double checking that there was nobody who might be trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. Once he was happy, he returned to the conversation. "I'm Faldor." The man introduced himself. "As far as I understand it, the Inquisition could do with some allies, spies if you want. I can give them to you, but you need to help me get into power." Going by the way the man was saying thing's, it became rather evident to Nat that this wouldn't be a simple assassination job rather it was bound to be part of some larger plan to get rid of the red-headed woman by some form of blackmail or anything like that.

"I'm interested, I assume if you get put in power, then you will send me all sorts of reports that the Inquisition can use". Faldor nodded seemingly glad that this young Agent of the Inquisition could understand his plot so quickly. "What are you trying to accomplish, some type of uprising or riot or just a simple strategy of denouncing her. Not to mention, why would I work with you when if I tell the woman, she could give me access to the same group of spies. The people do respect her." Faldor looked anxious, most likely Nat knew that if he did mention this type of betrayal, then Faldor and his likely accomplices would soon find themselves killed or something worse.

"Shianni will never give you what you want. She's just playing nice because she thinks you're a Tevinter mage. The truth is, she's been going nuts ever since she and her cousin were raped over a decade ago. After that, her cousin got sick and was taken to Tevinter by those slaver bastards and she was put in charge. Over the years she hoped to build the reputation of the elves and get more rights for them, but while the King does feel kind towards the elves, a lot of his lords don't; and if he was to do something like abolishing the alienages, he could start another civil war. Shianni's been going made, I've heard she's secretly been training some elves how to kill people so she can lead a revolt. If she does that, then the guards will be sent in and kill everyone."

It was rather clear what the problem was, it was practically the exact same thing with the mages and Templars. This Shianni wanted to lead a revolt in hopes of getting better rights for the elves, while it certainly wouldn't end discrimination, it would help the lives of the poor. It was a cause he sided with and he even agreed with the methods that she was going to take, he like other's preferred to allow time and negotiation to work problems out, but there was a point where peaceful actions were no longer viable.

Peaceful actions could work to a certain extent, but in an authoritarian regime where any type of peaceful action could be brutally punished, that left only violence as the solution. It was the same thing back home, he and many others would accept the democratic process as it was the way things were done and they had no desire for an authoritarian regime but even still, there were lines that if the government dared to cross, he saw no other reason than to use force to deal with the situation.

Personally, he could understand Faldors point on the matter, but he didn't agree with him. Equal rights were going to be several centuries away if he went by Earths timeframe on social issues. Therefore while it would keep the elves alive, they would forever be second-class citizens and easily allowed to be abused by others. In fact, Nat actually saw Faldor as a collaborator to those who would oppress him. That wasn't to say that the man wasn't wise, in fact out of the two options, Faldor was clearly the wise option as it meant that fewer people would be killed. There wasn't a chance in hell that the elves would be able to sustain the rebellion, they'd easily be cut down and it would force King Alistair to take a harsher approach towards the elves because of this rebellion. Whereas in contrast, no rebellion meant no deaths and life wouldn't get worse then it was. Even so, if he was part of the revolution he would be happy in the knowledge that if he was to die then it was better to die as a free man than as a slave. Plus in the chance that those who had tasted freedom be put into worse conditions once captured, those who were free would forever remember that taste of freedom and pass it onto their children who in time may start a new revolution. It was the right choice siding with Shianni, the elves even if they were going to lose and face harsher punishment would get a chance at freedom rather than staying in this city their entire lives. It was what he would choose, freedom, equality a chance to get back at the bastards who had done him wrong. So he made his decision.

"I accept. What do you want me to do?" Nat turned on his own position on the matter, betraying what he would do in the position of those elves and joined their enemy. Not for the fact that he hated the elves or that he wanted to save lives, but rather because of the larger picture. And it was the larger picture that had to be given priority.

The Divine was dead, crime, banditry and pirates had skyrocketed, Orlais was in the middle of a civil war, Mages and Templar's were trying to slaughter each other, The Grey Wardens had vanished, the King of Fereldan was apparently having serious nightmares, the Qun was eying up Thedas for another go, The Free Marches were also nearly at full-scale war as the Prince of Starkhaven had declared war on Kirkwall which could pull in alliances, Tevinter was very likely involved in some way with the death of the Divine alongside a renewed push into Seheron, general stability of the continent was breaking down over the known world. And most importantly, there was a giant as Fucking Glowing green Laser in the sky snapping it in two and threatening to swallow the whole world whilst other little holes between two entirely different dimensions were shitting out demons left right and centre. It was quite apparent already that the world was set ablaze and the bloody thing it needed was for someone to chuck bloody petrol on top of it with an elf rebellion. Something which would only make the demon problem worse as death had a tendency to rip holes in the veil faster than a fat kid with cake.

Yes, he agreed with freedom and what the revolutionaries wanted to achieve, but not right now. The Inquisition was likely going to have to stitch the world back together piece by piece. An elf rebellion didn't sound much on the surface, but it was a nightmare economically and politically. These elves didn't have money, something that the Inquisition desperately needed if it was going to operate. This money came from donations of all kinds, but a lot from nobility and this was because their land was probably safe besides the demons which could be dealt with. An elf rebellion, on the other hand, would mean nobles having to create armies to fight them and wars were expensive, very, very expensive and also left people paranoid. If nobles have to make armies they don't send money to the inquisition and without that money bye bye go world. And that was only on the economic front.

Politically, if there was a revolution than those who were backing the Inquisition would demand that the Inquisition use its power to help suppress the rebellion. This would be a disaster for the Inquisition itself as one of the main goals of the organisation was to create equality between the different races. There was also no chance of helping the rebellion because the elves had nothing to offer the Inquisition in return. Any help sent to the rebellion would be a smack in the face of the lord and ladies of Thedas which inevitably would lead to a lack of not only respect but also political power and verify likely be considered a terrorist organisation.

Even if it was the right thing to do, helping Shianni and her rebellion was a major mistake and one Nat was glad that he was given the responsibility rather than Valeyna. Valeyna was a bit naive, originally planning on just charging the entire Templar base on the premise that they were easily strong enough to cut their way through was one of her major flaws. He was already dreading what might happen when she met with the mysterious Madame De Fer when she reached Val Royeux, While he had never met her, going by reputation the woman was bound to be competent in the realm of politics; A realm that Valeyna was very uneducated and inexperienced in. If Valeyna were in the position he was in now, with the offer to increase the strength of the Inquisition in return for dealing with a well-respected woman of the alienage community and utterly crushing a possible elven revolution in the hopes of gaining a fairer and better form of life. Valeyna would choose the latter and probably hope that things would sort themselves out magically or perhaps tell the woman to hold her rebellion until the Breach situation was solved.

Faldor seeing that he had the alliance of the Inquisition drew Nat closer into the alley making sure yet again that he was not being listened to less his plan get discovered.

"Shianni, She's been smuggling weapons from one of the nobles barracks through mercenaries. There have been investigations, but she's managed to buy one of the guards investigating things. If you can get that guard caught breaking the law, then Shianni will have to go through less discreet means" Nat listened carefully to what the man was saying doing his absolute best to think of possible ways he could show of this guards supposed corruption to their contemporaries. His best chance would be to get the man caught in the middle of what he was doing with other guards near him.

"I'll need a name and the area he's located in" Faldor nodded leaning in closer, as he did so Nat very subtly brought the conjured dagger close to the man's stomach ready to punch through if necessary. Faldor revealed the name of this guard and where he operated to Nat whispering it in his ear his tone seemed more terrified as the realisation that he could be betrayed at any moment came to mind.

"Also one last thing". Nat spoke gently pulling back from the close position he had been with the man until he had enough space. Much to the elf's confusion, Nat brought out a piece of paper and then a small staff. Fear gripped Faldor even more, the others had been right, he was dealing with a mage not a normal agent of the Inquisition. As a small amount of fear took him, he watched as the small staff was brought to the pure white paper that had emerged from the mages pocket. Suddenly words emerged on the paper, pure black words wrote in common tongue. After a few brief seconds, the paper was finished and then promptly handed over to him.

"This is our agreement that in exchange for my help in making you the leader of the Alienage elves, you will give me reports and other important details." A strange type of quill made of an unknown material and metal head was handed over to Faldor dubiously he accepted it and looked at the paper he was asked to sign with trepidation.

"Why should I sign this.?" Faldor asked nervously his head blazing through all sorts of ways that this document could be used against him if discovered. Nat gave a false comforting smile.

"It's protection for yourself. If things go to shit and something like the alienage gets purged because of Shianni, then all I would have to do is show this document to any guard that you tried your hardest to prevent this and your life would be spared. Think of it as insurance" Faldor sighed relieved to hear that. With the purpose of the document explained, he happily signed the document. Before he handed it back, however, a small enthusiastic smiled appeared on his face.

"You Inquisition people certainly look after people, it will be brilliant to work with you" Handing his presumed lifeline back to the Inquisition agent, Falodr hissed. "Ow" Bringing his left hand up to his face, Faldor blinked as he saw pooling on the surface. Nat looked at the man noticing the cut on his hand. Shaking his head in a reassuring way, he explained the situation.

"It's a paper cut, happens sometimes. If you want I can heal it" Faldor refused instead opting to place the cut to his lips and start sucking. Seeing that the conversation was over, Nat left the man alone ensuring that he did not dawdle in this area for too long and headed back to the Market.

Denerim Market

"For the maker's sake, does everything have to go wrong today" Sergeant Kylon groaned loudly swinging his arms out in front of him in utter annoyance his face showing one of utter annoyance as one of the guards informed him of the current situation. He then started to pace back a few steps forward and back as his mind ran thought about the situation, with a sigh he stopped. "We can't do anything, at the moment we're already stretched too thin, if we send any more guards out then they'll just get slaughtered". Nodding the other guard walked off leaving Sergeant Kylon alone to stew uncomfortably as silently as he could while trying to keep a mask of calm on to not worry the citizens.

"Having trouble Sergeant" Whipping around instantly his hand on his sword ready to strike at the one who had somehow managed to sneak up behind him, Kylon was then faced with none other than the Inquisition agent. He rolled his eyes, he had to be going paranoid, he nearly just killed a kid.

"You wouldn't know the half of it." Seeing that the kid was actually willing to listen to his problems, Kylon allowed himself to the opportunity to try and let down some of the pressure he was feeling. "Ever since what happened at Haven, the entire city's been in a mess. The Chantry has been complaining loudly nonstop about the problem with mages and that the Templars had gone on a holy mission which requires sacrifices from the citizens of Denerim. Thugs have been terrorising the city demanding large payments for "protection" money, some of the brothels have been threatened by other groups demanding that all the whores be killed. The alienage has been suffering harsher punishments from the lord in charge and there are also thieves stealing weapons but nobody knows who. And that's just the beginning of things. Most of my boys are from noble families and if they even see a weapon in a criminals hand I have their rich fathers moaning at me and I then have to waste my time telling them that being a guard is actually dangerous. It's been nonstop chaos." Kylon cupped his hand over his face breathing into it as he hid his every growing frustration at the turn of events he was facing. Being a guardsman was tough, but it appeared that it was going to be just like it was during the fifth blight only he had no Grey Warden.

"Give me the names and more details and I'll handle it for you" Kylon blinked his hand shooting down as he stared at the fourteen-year-old child before him. Had the boy seriously just offered him help.

"I'm sorry, but you're a bit young to be dealing with this. Not to mention the Inquisition has far more to worry about than just some petty thugs and criminals." Despite Kylons rejection, Nat could easily tell that with the man's tone that he actually did want some help and most likely he was rejecting him to make it seem that if his superiors asked, then he could say that he had rejected the offer from a kid.

"It is of the utmost importance that Thedas remains safe in these times Sergeant Kylon. I can assure that with the Breach, more and more demons will take advantage to cross over the veil to cause chaos wherever they are able. To combat this threat, it is of vital importance that the Inquisition prevents or lessens the problems over the continent to prevent the demons and their allies from getting a foothold in this world and taking the lives of more importance."

"Very well then Agent, as I said before the name of the whole house is the Pearl. The smuggles meet at night at the docks and the guard base is near Fort Drakon. I wish you luck agent." While he didn't show it less one of the other guards overhear what he was saying to the Inquisition agent, Kylon was extremely happy that the kid was taking on these tasks and even more so by the little speech he had given considering the Inquisition. It was politics he realised, the kid was using the name of the Inquisition to push what he wanted to do in order to assist him. As a boy, Kylon knew under most circumstances that he would be under massive pressure from his superiors if they discovered what assistance he had given. Yet with the agent's declaration of the Inquisition, it essentially meant that the agent could deal with any situation under the guise of preventing chaos to stop demons from interfering with Denerim. With the loss of the Templar's, Denerim had no real way to defend against mages or demons so if his superiors deemed to prevent the Inquisition from helping, it would look very bad on them with the citizens.

"To you as well Sergeant" And like that, Nat left the sergeant to deal with his troubles of dealing with his apparent lacklustre guards while in the meantime Nat could grow and gain more influence. He wasn't helping the man out of the goodness of his heart, no he was doing it to build influence and power. Should he be capable of creating a strong relationship with the guards of Denerim, then he would be able to not only gain more information on Denerim itself. Perhaps reports of who came in and out through the docks and what exactly was traded, maybe what was happening military wise or even better information on royal proceedings. Also, a happy set of guards would perhaps ignore any other actions he did so long as they weren't criminal. And all of that was just to start off with, there were likely other advantages that he could gain if he was considered a friend of the guards.

The Pearl

Sex fumigated the air, the smells of all sorts of sexual liquids both male and female had been spilt here more time than Nat wanted to know and he wanted to know none of them. Compared to the other buildings he had walked past on the way to here, the Pearl was nicer than any of them well at least on the outside. Inside it was even more... Nat didn't exactly know how to describe it. Had he been in some type of place of nobles room then he would say refined elegant even, on the other hand, those were not the words he would use on a whore house. The oak beams and walls were given a scarlet appearance by the way the candles light burned onto them alongside seemingly making the rather risqué paintings on the wall move and almost come alive. One of these paintings that he quickly looked at and then turned away was of a woman with multiple men who had all taken the time to. Nat turned away not allowing his eyes to linger any more on these paintings. Only his ears were then subjected to the building.

"Ugh, ugh, oh yeah, deeper, faster"

Moans echoed from the place loud and clear for all to hear and imagine what people were up to in the establishment. Nat tried to block it out. Only he failed as there was a serious lack of any other background noise other than wails, pleasurable noises, screams and was that a slap. All kinds of noises he would associate with sex were present and one of the groups he was sure by the sound were right in the middle of it going by the constant quick sound of two soft things slapping against each other rapidly. A loud grunt emanated from a different area. Nat shook his head incredibly glad that his sunglasses protected his identity. Nat focused on the task, he needed to talk to the owner of this establishment and get out faster than the US could invade a country after the discovery of oil.

Only that wasn't easy to do. A soon as he had left the little lobby area he was met with a sight he had never wanted to see. Dressed in very little to nothing at all, men and women lounged casually all over the main waiting area. There was at least a member of every race in Thedas, humans, elves, dwarves and even a Qunari woman. He averted his eyes from them, in his mind allowing them decency. He didn't blush, however, while he was extremely uncomfortable in the area especially as the Qunari woman gave him a glance and then started to give him the "fuck me" eyes. A few of them he could feel their eyes on him most assumedly making some type of sexual activity in hopes of gaining his attention. He ignored them easily. In truth any action that they were trying to perform was not because they were actually interested, it was because they likely sensed that he had some money he could spend and they wanted that money from him and so likely tried to arouse him until he couldn't resist.

"Well, that's the first time I've seen that" Working at the counter of the brothel was a woman, who she was Nat didn't particularly care as he was only here for answers, but he had certainly caught her amused interest. "I've seen boys half your age staring at the tits of one of my girls unable to take them and I've also seen men ready to die of old age who can't keep their hands away from their cunts wanting to get one last fuck in. But I've never seen a boy enter this place and not even seem the least bit interested. Even the pure Templars devour my girls with their eyes every opportunity they get, their dicks hard with them desperately wanting to fuck someone and blow their seed. You just ignored them like they don't even matter." The woman leaned forward trying to peer into the sunglasses. "So tell me, boy, did you come here to insult my girls or to show off your pathetic self."

"Neither" Nat responded calmly not affected in the slightest by the woman's insult. "Sergeant Kylon asked me to help deal with these thugs you've been dealing with. And before you insult me, look at my collars" Narrowing her eyes, the woman doubted that Kylon would send some useless kid to her brothel to deal with the situation. Even so, she looked where the boy was pointing her eyes widening as she recognised the symbol that the metal badges on the boy's collars showcased.

"You're with the" Nat raised a finger to his lips quietly shushing the woman before then giving a gentle nod to continue. Understanding why this boy seemingly wanted silence, she quietened her voice and carried on talking. "Their brute thugs came bursting through the door several weeks ago demanding to use my employees for free. I refused and they pulled a knife, killed one of my best girls as recompense and threatened to kill the others if they didn't submit. Since then they've come in whenever they want and done the same thing. One of my boys was killed days later when he tried to go away, found impaled on a spike. I alerted Sergeant Kylon and he investigated, even sent some guards round and killed a few of the fuckers. The next day, the guards were hanging over the market square and no other guard has visited. Had their fucking balls yanked out from them" Despite the woman's explanation of previous event's, the information was practically useless other then the fact that it alerted the blonde haired wizard that these thugs were more brutal than others and also had some type of spy system if they knew who to target.

"Any idea where they head off to, who they are?" The woman shook her head. Nat nodded as he came up with a plan. "Would any of your employees be willing to work with me". What they would be doing exactly was left out, but he did have a plan.

"You'd have to ask them and pay them. If they're not working during their shift, then their losing pay." That wasn't much of a problem, Nat didn't have much money in the traditional sense, but he was a wizard and could easily duplicate any coins that he so desired. They'd be fakes of course, easily recognisable to a goblin if they saw them, but here in Denerim, he didn't think he'd have much of a problem so long as he kept to only small amounts. One of the worst possible things he could do was to flood Thedas with fake gold. The utter chaos and economic chaos it would unfurl would be horrendous especially since the medieval period was unused to modern terms of dealing with economics.

"Anyone, in particular, you'd recommend, one of the favourites." Subtly the woman directed her head towards a pair of elves who were keeling on the floor opposite one another a fake smile on their faces as they proceeded to lick –well he didn't have to explain it. Nat hid a groan, of all the places he had to visit and sort the problems off, it had to be a fucking whore house. He was never going to tell anyone let alone Valeyna about this, if that elf got word that he visited a whore house, he would never get an end to the jokes or constant questions of a sexual nature.

"I'll wait" And so he did, sitting on one of the chairs isolated from everybody else his head tilted low so nobody could see his face. Upon noticing what they hoped to be a potential customer free, a few of the whores approached him with a certain intent. Before they even got close, Nat gave a different kind of pulse of magic. Instead of the usual one acting like a radar, this one was used as a very subtle warning. As soon as the invisible energy stuck the whores, the individuals desiring money of him soon turned of their own volition not quite understanding why but knowing that the young kid didn't want to be disturbed. Unfortunately for him, the pair of elves that he wanted to speak with was then paid more by the fat merchant they had been playing with and were soon ushered into a private abode to carry on with their craft.

He waited patiently, cautiously and spent the majority of his time contemplating the possible future acts of the Inquisition until finally after about half an hour, the man waddled out of the hallways and back into the main lobby area a satisfied look on their face. Of course, Nat then had to wait even more time for the girls to come back out again after a wash so they could start working again. Finally, he approached.

"Yes, what do you want" Faking a smile at the potential new customer, the twins went back into a business mood. Gesturing back towards the hall, the twins followed well used to nervous first-timers who blushed from their head to toes.

"I desire your help in tracking down these thugs that have been frequenting this establishment." Their faces drained, and eyes dilated with fear. Whatever had been done to these girls, Nat knew that the girls were petrified of the possible consequences of what they were asking. Shaking their heads they said nothing instead rushing past him eager to return to their normal work so long as it took their minds off a more depressing matter. Not that it was a problem, he had gone for the two favourite, the others were likely desired by the others, in fact, the Qunari woman might have a better chance.

A loud slam broke the sound of moaning and was instead replaced with that of heavy shoes stepping quickly over a wooden floor alongside the sound of metal sliding against leather. Considering the type of place this was i.e., that there was no point in the slightest for weapons to be drawn, that left the conclusion as to what was occurring as easy to decipher leaving the wizard with a few options. He could go out and confront the thugs likely leading to some kind of confrontation where he killed a few of the thugs and got a place name and headed there. He could also act and pretend that he wanted to desperately join the guys and pretend he was poor. One of these choices could save the women from what was about to happen, but that was the point, could. If he dared confront them, then there was always the possibility that one of the thugs would simply kill one of the whores or make him kill one of the whores as some kind of initiation. Worse, if there was a spy for the thugs here, then should he intervene then the thug might report back to their commander and the brothel would be hit worse.

Nat knew he had kept his voice down so nobody would have heard what he spoke off, and his badges of being part of the inquisition were in a place that they weren't so obvious. As such he should still be able to give off the appearance as some kind of Tevinter visiting Fereldan's whore house. Either of these options might help to save the women from the inevitable action that was about to be taken against them. But there was another option, the far more logical one in his mind that cared not for the emotional well being of these women and would instead allow them to be subjected to such harsh treatment. Besides confronting them, he could simply not take action. If that was the case, all he had to do was remember the face for a few of the thugs and leave like it was nobody's business and then the next day simply cast a point me charm that may take him to their base.

Problems arose from that as well. He couldn't exactly imagine that his and the reputation of the Inquisition would be held as high should rumours be allowed to leave that he had willingly stood by and allowed men and women to be raped. There was also the other solution, he could instead still confront them and use legimency on these thugs to discover everything he desired to know and then kill them. After which he could then erase the memories of everyone present so they did not know that he was a mage.

That final option sounded the greatest one on paper and it even got Nat thinking on whether his actions on not using Legimency up to date were correct or not. He was worried about Solas, that was the only reason he didn't use it. Not because of moral grounds or any other mage, just Solas. While being able to read the mind of others was possible with blood magic, it was still blood magic which was easy to detect. As for his fears about Solas detecting any mind magic he may perform, it was because it was easy to detect when it was being used. But that was only by people who could detect magic like him and others back home. Otherwise detecting magic was not a common skill in the slightest, it required years of training and very few Aurors could even do it. He was only capable of doing so because of the training he had received ever since he was a child. Not that it mattered presently.

So far Nat knew he possessed no evidence either way if Solas was able to sense his type of magic. Without a doubt the man could detect magic, he had spoken on many occasions when in the hinterlands about how the veil had felt strange in some form or other. Valeyna had been quick to agree, and so had he, even if he had been lying. It was ridiculously difficult for him to detect the veil something that had proven one of his theories. He had no connection to the Fade in the slightest. Other mages could easily feel it and pull forth their power from it, but he, on the other hand, was only able to sense the veil when he felt a rift. His best analogy would be like peering through glass. Most of the time you didn't even know there was glass as it was so clear that it looked real, yet once the first crack was seen it became noticeable but once it was sealed, once again he could not detect the veil.

Why this was he wasn't entirely too sure, but he was certain that going in a world where there weren't two different dimensions had shattered his ability to sense them here. It was like being colour blind to a brand new colour he had never been introduced to before.

For this reason, he couldn't help but wonder if Solas was secretly having as such a hard time as he was when it came to determining his own magic. Because it was so foreign, perhaps Solas could sense when he cast a spell yet was not able to know what it was almost as if he was speaking an entirely different language. Of course, should he use it on the man or if Solas did regularly check people he came into contact with, then while he may not be able to determine what had been used on the individuals, he may know that it affected the mind? In which case, time would be the enemy. Should Nat use more legimency, than Solas would have more time to study his magic and start to decipher it spell by spell until he could instantly tell what was coming at him?

Of course, it was still all a theory. His mind turned back to the situation brewing in the lobby area the other side of the wall he was leaning on. Should he use legimency? The likelihood of Solas every waltzing into a whore house were slim at best significantly reducing the chance of the man ever detecting what had magic had been used. Not to mention, while magic did leave traces, it didn't last for long unless it was exceptionally powerful. Any legimency he did use would have no trace left by the time Solas would arrive at the whore house anyway. On the other hand, this was a several-thousand-year-old powerful mage who had most likely educated himself on all kinds of magic before the fall of Arlathan. He still didn't know who Solas was, or what he could do and being cautious around Solas was the best Nat could do until her determined more about what the man was capable off.

Finally, was it even worth breaking his caution for a set of whores?

Rape was evil he'd agree with that, but personally, did he believe that these whores were more important to him than his own magic and life. No. Did he even care what happened to these women, no it was the same answer? These women were strangers and quite frankly he couldn't care less if they were killed or raped even still, he could think of certain advantages that would come from them should he help them. Other than perhaps gaining their good will, he may in the future be able to use them as agents. With his decision made, he left his position of hiding behind the wall and stepped into the main lobby of the whore house.

"Now get on your knees bitch, good now suck my cock" Obeying the orders of one of the thugs, the elf's who had only recently finished with a client got to work servicing their new one.

Gurk

With horror struck eyes, the thug collapsed to the ground gripping his chest as he saw a spear thrust through it. None of the thug's companions had the ability to even comprehend what had even happened as they two were promptly dealt with in the same way. The magic was too fast for them to even see leaving all but one answered kebabs with the final bound tightly by metal chains that were wrappedyoung around their body like a python threatening to kill them via suffocation. Their face turning a quick shade of dark blue the last thug felt his whole body shiver as he saw the strangely dressed Tevinter approach him the eyes shrouded by some strange Orlesian mask.

"Take me to your base, or I will make you suffer in ways that you cannot possibly imagine" Shivers like spiders ran up the young man's spine. The tone of the boy was calm emotionless, he would have imagined that such a thing would not be intimidating in the slightest. He was wrong. The way this boy spoke, it wasn't human like he was some kind of monster. He breathed in desperate for another breath of fresh air only to then feel the chains wrap even closer to him, he suffocated his brain losing oxygen and his vision blurring to the point that he could not even identify the boy only a black blob. As his body began to shut down, he felt something sharp below him, if it had been possible his eyes would have widened with shock as he felt that sharp piece of metal start to dig into his crotch. "I'd start singing if I was you little bird. Otherwise, the guards are going to have the mystery on their hands as they discover your body parts all over the city. Perhaps the children can put them to use, make toys out of your bones and little drums out of your skin. You would enjoy that right, I mean you were so willing to do something similar to these girls so fair is fair."

"Ah- a-" The thug struggled to breath the chains wrapping around so tightly now, that he swear that with any more pressure his bones would snap. As for his voice, the thug struggled so much that he couldn't be understood. "Shhh" He was so weak the thug couldn't even move his arms and his vision was turning entirely black.

"I couldn't quite hear you" Nat gave the thug a bored expression. "Did you were going to show me"

"Shhh" The thug repeated the last vestiges of his life leaving his soon to be corpse unless he was given back the vital lifeblood of humanity. Just as his last supply left him, his bones about snap into twigs, the chains vanished. Air rushed back into the thug's mouth as collapsed onto the floor fighting as much as he could to take up the air. Then a hard boot pressed his head into the wooden floor smashing it hard enough that some blood splashed out.

"You are going to apologise to these good people" Nat's voice rang out above him, roughly he gripped the thug's throat yanking it up to see the still scared looks on the faces of the men and women that he and his companions had just shown earlier. "You are going to stay here on your stomach like the pathetic little creature that you are and beg for their forgiveness." Fear seeped through the thug's body, with the sudden surprise now over, he could view upon the lifeless sacks of meat blood and bone that his companions had been. Not a single thought of rebellion coursed through him, should he even try to resist then he would be killed the same way. Instead, he simply bowed his head in subservience to the mage who was continuing to crush his head against the floor.

"Yes, master" The thug begged all fight lost from him. Nat looked up at the men and women who had been accosted just moments before. Without even saying a word, the whores knew what to do walking forward towards the man with hatred in the eyes. Petrified out of his mind the thug apologised nonstop as he was continuously attacked with punches, scratches kicks and other forms of attack as the whores worked off the stress in vengeance. Only when the man had been beaten up to an inch of his life did Nat stop the torment picking him up from the floor by the scruff of his hair healing his body just enough so that he could be usable and walked out.

Back alley warehouse

Bodies slammed onto the floor the heads of their previous owners still flying as the decapitated corpses body-slammed onto the floor spurting their own blood like a water fountain that had the plumbing burst. If one was to look, they would see an entire line of dead corpses all of whom had been slain in such a cold efficient manner. If that person looking had been trained in forensics, then they would have seen that despite the amount of bloodshed and bodies, then they would know that not a single fight had taken place and all those dead hadn't even been aware of what just happened.

"Amateurs" Not even bothering to place his wand back in its wrist holster, with another flick of the wand, the corpses of the now dead men and women who had been guarding this ran shack warehouse were soon stolen of everything they had owned on their corpses as it flew through the air and shrunk at the same time before landing in one of the many jacket pockets the wizard had. With that done he had one final task last to do before he attacked the home of these thugs once and for all.

Turning on his heel, he walked slowly in full sight of the thug who had not only led him here but also told him about the location of every other base. It had been a rather easy thing to get out of the coward when he threatened to cut off his family jewels. It had actually been a somewhat amusing sight to see the man collapse to his knees tears streaming out of his eyes as he begged time and time again spouting that he had only been a poor orphan boy that wanted to help his sister and that he had no intention of ever getting caught up in this mess. Oh, how he had begged and begged for his life stating that he had only accompanied the others to the whore house as part of his job and that he had no intention of doing anything to the woman.

The Thug had pleaded and pleaded to be let go so that he could take his sister away from Denerim and have a decent life. The reward the man was given for the information he had given was no reward. Nat had lied when he said that he wouldn't cut the man's jewels off if he was told information. He'd still done it only he had shown mercy, he did it in a quick singular blow rather than taking the time to it slice by slice. Nat cared not for the whores, but the man was with the same group that had planned to rape the men and women of the rose. Therefore by the Law of the United Kingdom, the man was guilty by association and would also receive the same punishment that was given to the others.

"Please, as you can see I didn't lie. Please my sister I beg you sir my sister needs me if she doesn't she'll die or have to become a whore. I just wanted to keep her safe after our parents died of plague. Please sir, I beg you without me she can't live on her own, she'll be raped tortured. Please, Please, By the Maker please sir have mercy. Show me mercy for my sister I beg you. She's young, about eight years old, lives under a bridge by the market to keep her safe from the others. Please sir by all the mercy of Andraste and the Maker I beg for another chance to do right by her so she does not have to suffer" By now the thugs face had been pure red from crying his voice gone hoarse from begging and his body also seemingly having gone weak and into degradation buy the sheer worry that they possessed for their sisters fate.

Nat didn't care, not in the slightest. Without breaking his step, he drew the sabre hilted at his side and brought it to his side not yet in a position to strike. He glanced at the tears the man held, they were genuine this man only sought to protect one he cared about willingly taking on hardship to assist one he cared about purely out of love so that others could hopefully live a better life. Even if that meant that in the future the girl would come to despise him for what he had done. It was admirable, something that Nat could very much understand. All the same, he brought his sabre up, the thug having lost all hope said only a single word as the blade swept through the air slashing towards his neck. The thug clenched his eyes.

A tiny whisper of air struck against the thug's neck and it was over.

"Open your eyes" Nat commanded. Reluctantly less his fate be sealed the thug followed that order and saw what had happened. The blade was so close to his neck yet it did not touch it, he could not feel the cold metal of the sword against his skin and he felt no pain but still, the blade was so close to his neck that had it moved anything at all, then it would slice his head off. A confused look blossomed on the thugs face at the same time he couldn't help but desire greatly to crush down the dreaded feeling of hope that was enveloping his hear. Terrified he gazed into that black mask only to see his own face gaze back at him as if he was staring into his own soul.

"Why?" He asked, there wasn't a chance that the boy would have missed, the blade was so close to his skin that it should have been an easy job of decapitating him.

"I will give you one chance." Nat's tone as ever was calm and emotionless, yet also giving odd an edge harder and sharper than any blade digging directly into the thugs entire being like if he had indeed allowed that blade in his hand to carry on. "You will join the Inquisition and work for me personally. You will be one of my soldiers, training and be taking my orders. You will do as I tell you, use the weapons I demand you use and follow every instruction I give to the letter. Should you refuse or fail your life is forfeit. In return, I will see to it that your sister shall also join whether as a runner or scribe or as a servant, your sister will be looked after and protected. What do you say"

The thug looked up an unfathomable amount of expressions on his face as he heard that news. He was being allowed to live?. It was unimaginable, the guards would have executed him for sure. Not to mention had this kid just offered him a job, as in he could get away from Denerim and the crime to a place he could do something good and keep his sister away from the crime here. Also, had he just stated that his sister would also get a job. His face elated, the sheer weight of the fear and panic that had been crashing down on him for so long seemingly vanishing as he looked at this boy. He was being offered everything he had ever wanted, if he joined the Inquisition then he would be trained to be a soldier and would fight the evils of the world and his sister would not only be safe but would be given a job to support herself in case anything ever happened to him as he so often feared. If she could get a job as a servant, then she would never be a whore or tossed out onto the streets if she did a good job. As for serving a boy like him and being trained however this boy wanted, then why not. This boy was offering him all the dreams he had ever had to take away the burden of the life he had before. Why wouldn't he accept?

"Thank the Maker and Andraste" The sabre was brought away from his neck and placed back in its sheath. "Yes I do, thank you, sir, thank you. You are a kind and wonderful and truly great person, I owe not only my life but also that of my sisters, I can't thank you enough for this chance." Unexpectedly for the thug, the boy who had threatened to take his life mere moments before offered him a hand, tentatively he accepted and soon found himself brought up.

"I have business in the city, for now, take your sister and get some beds at a tavern." As he spoke, Nat pulled out his wallet and took out some coins. Most had been looted from their former owners the thug's previous compatriots. Placing them in the thug's hand, Nat made sure that there would be enough coins for all possible needs. He didn't know how long he would be in Denerim, but it was faster to let this thug pay for it then having to go out of his way in purchasing a room. "Don't worry about trying to find me, I'll know where you are." Seeing the relieved and joyful expression on the thugs face, Nat leaned in closely invading the man's personal space forcing him to walk backwards until his back hit a wall and had nowhere to escape. "Also should you even think about running away or betraying me, I'll capture both you and your sister alive and force you to watch day after day as men use her for their own pleasure. Understand" Nodding vigorously, the thug with permission from his new employer rushed away to tell his sister the good news. Finally, they would have a chance for a better life, he could already see her smiling face.

In contrast, Nat said nothing instead choosing to head back in the direction of the warehouse his wand still clutched in his hand and his sabre in his pocket. Kindness was not the reason why he had spared the young man, he cared not for him nor his sister, instead, he had done so to build up power. Day after day the Inquisition was flooded with new soldiers who wanted to fight and were trained by Cullen and the others in typical medieval tactics. These soldiers would be the grunts doing whatever Leliana or Cullen commanded them to do so. They weren't the flashiest of people and regularly got sidelined for people like himself, Valeyna and Leliana, but they were still a useful asset; which was why he wanted his own set of soldiers who would be personally loyal to him.

If he was stuck here and went with his plan of creating a business in the future, then he would need guards, soldiers to protect what he desired. If he created a useful machine that others would want to copy, then they could guard such areas or in contrast, if he needed certain supplies secured because bandits were attacking, he could then send them. But more importantly for the present, once the soldiers were trained up, he could then send them on personal missions to secure information or deal with annoying enemies. Very importantly though, if he should become enemies with somebody powerful then these soldiers would be his small army ready to defend his interests. However, these soldiers would also benefit the inquisition with the type of training he intended to put them through.

He had no interest in creating a small medieval attack force, to make it effective would require a lot of armour and years of extensive training that he was never going to get from anybody he recruited. Rather what he desired was a modern force to work under him. When he meant modern though, he didn't mean 21st century modern but more around, 19th century modern, muskets, cannon, rifles, gunpowder. Those would be the weapons he would train the soldiers under him with and how to fight and decimate enemy combatants with them.

Getting ahold of such weapons would be incredibly easy. Just like how he could create a sword without ever being a blacksmith by essentially using his magic like a machine would, so each individual process to make a weapon was still undertaken only magic was the muscle used rather than the hands and feet; creating weapons of the 19th century would also be easy. For the most case, firearms of the early 19th century were very simple, they were a metal tube with a few holes in them at certain points inlaid onto a wooden stock with a few other metal pieces added on.

Getting the specifics on the weapon was easy considering that he had not only trained with Napoleonic weapons as was the Tempest family tradition but also because he knew he had books on the subject on his kindle and distinctly remembered seeing diagrams of it. Gunpowder was the same, he had books on the subject which could be used as a reference. Of course, he'd prefer something a bit more modern than that, while the Qunari had only been seen using cannons as firearms, it was a prelude to what was going to come and he'd prefer to have something more advanced than a flintlock. However that would have to wait, if he did in time decide to swap all weapons from muskets and rifles to something of the Victorian age, then he'd prefer something which would not require so many parts. Not to mention ammunition, muskets and the equivalent rifles fired a ball of metal, something that was easy to either summon or just produce normally. On the other hand, if he instead went for something like the Martini-Henry rifle, then the process became far harder. As for something like a Lee Enfield rifle, then was completely out of scope unless he had a lot more experience with magical forging.

Considering the history of Earth, firearms would take some time to be adopted, but once they were it would scare the shit out of Templars and knights. This was another reason for his desire to equip his soldiers with firearms, the heavy armour that knights and templar's wore allowed them to dominate the battle against nearly all opponents, but against bullets they were useless. And when they started to commission bullet resistant armour, they would see the costs of armour skyrocket allowing only a very few select number of rich people to wear it.

Pushing his thoughts on the weapons aside, he allowed himself a few more minutes before entering the building to reflect on his actions with the thug. He had lied to the thug that he would sell his sister as a prostitute, in fact, while he would never have said it, he had already come to the conclusion that if he had of killed the thug, that he would have taken the sister to Haven and get her a job. He may not have cared for the thug, but the thug had been generous and the sister didn't deserve the fate that would have awaited her. As for the thug himself, the thug got lucky. Nat had originally planned on executing the thug but decided against it for his own goals.

He got a new soldier who with the opportunities given to him, would hopefully become loyal and grateful to him. Nat certainly didn't trust mercenaries in contrast, the thug knew that if he stepped out of line that his sister would not only be punished but would also lose her job. Which Nat wouldn't do, but he still had to make sure that he didn't come across as too weak to anyone who might view the thug as an example of his state of mind. Should he act all friendly towards the man, others would take it that he was a person to be pushed around and wasn't a strict person. On the other side, he would gain far more respect from others if they were under the belief that the thug was under a very tight watch and that he had something precious to him that could be attacked or taken away. Not that the thug would be a problem, the thug was too naive not even bothering to lie so when he stated that he was excited to become a member of the Inquisition, he was serious. There wasn't a chance the kid would jeopardise his dream of becoming a soldier when it had just been handed to him on a platter. The kid was also naive, he'd been an offer that others in his position would have believed too good to be true. Of course, it wasn't, Nat very much indeed intended to ensure that his soldier's sister got a job and could take care of herself, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to use the two of them to his own advantage.

Warehouse

Back to the matter at hand, he infiltrated the main building that this gang of thugs was using to further the operation and got to work. Over the next twenty minutes, had anyone been in the vicinity of this warehouse, then they would have heard a chorus of explosions, loud thumps and yelling. After that, however, they would have heard nothing and instead would have likely begun to smell the warehouse as the corpses of quite a few dead men and women decorated the floor of the warehouse helpfully painting the walls of the dilapidated structure with a new coat of red paint.

"All right you lobotomised shitlark, you are going to tell me everything I want to know. If you refuse to so, then I will dress you in a pink tutu and make you dance like a ballerina in front of every single noble in Ferelden before then feeding you to the crocodiles. Just like with the thug he had hired earlier, Nat found his boot on the back of some assholes head pressing it down to the floor with the intention of fracturing it. The man under him was the previous head of this group of thugs, although previous was the world because, against his magic, the thugs hadn't stood a fucking chance before they had their limbs transformed into bleeding stumps.

"Go to the void you Vint magister shit bag" Nat rolled his eyes at the response the man was giving him.

"Real imaginative" Nat quipped. He was getting rather tired of listening to the nasal tone this guy had to his voice and he'd already looted the contents of this warehouse discovering some very important information about a certain guard he was looking in to. "I'm terribly sorry" Nat spoke with an obvious mock kindness raising his foot of the man's skull enough so he could raise it and see what was about to come. "I forgot that you wouldn't have any idea about what I'm talking about. here let me show you what a saltwater crocodile looks like" With a flick of his wrist, the head thug paled so quickly, that it was almost as if the entirety of his blood had just evacuated his body as he stared at what was ahead of him.

He had never seen one before in his life, but a primal fear coursed through the leader of this thug groups veins as he saw some type of large scaly monster with a big mouth filled to the brim with large sharp teeth and evil looking eyes. Slowly the thing that the attacker had called a crocodile locked its yellow slitted eyes on him and then moved forward.

Tic Toc

Tic Toc

Tic Toc

Suddenly out of nowhere as the thug struggled in vain to break free of the chains binding his arms behind his back tied to the floor, the sound of a continuous ticking sound emerge matching perfectly with every single step that the large beast took. A look of utter distraught was the man's expression as he fought and fought and fought the chains his lips and tongue flapping continuously as he prayed to the maker and Andraste or for the wizard to stop this torture.

"What do you want to know" Screaming at the top of his voice, the head thug was treated to the wonderful sight of staring down the gullet of a crocodile all its teeth bared read to lath into his naked frame. Bringing his head up to try and stare at his captor, much to the thug's shock, he could only watch incredulously as this Tevinter child watched a few metres away by a large fashionable table and started drinking some type of hot drink all the while lounging back without a care in the world.

"Would you like some tea?" Nat asked politely pouring himself a cup all the while he then began to take out a pack of biscuits and began dunking them all with a straight emotionless face. "Oh I'm terribly sorry, I didn't mean you, I meant the crocodile. It's not exactly healthy for them, but tea is such a wonderful drink that I think a crocodile wouldn't mind." Had the kid gone out of his fucking mind the thug wondered. Unfortunately, his attention was soon diverted back to the crocodile who was getting closer and closer to him.

Tic Toc

Tic Toc

Tic Toc

"You're a fucking cock sucking buggering loving whore's bastard just like those other Vint cunts." Hopelessly showing defiance, the leader of this group of thugs spat on the ground yet despite this, the man was petrified his eyes pleading for everything not to be killed or in the very least not to become some animals lunch. Nat, on the other hand, didn't even bother to even flicker his eyes in the man's directions instead just crossing his legs and started reading a book all the while the creature approached ever closer.

"I'm afraid you're a little bit off the mark there old chap. Not that it really matters, I was sent here to clear up any loose ends. You see my boss got rumours that you were causing too much chaos, being to inconspicuous with your attacks." Glaring with as much hatred as he could muster, the leader of the thug seemingly attempted to burn a hole through the book the kid was reading.

"Inconspicuous. You backwards magic loving whore. It was your boss who specifically wanted the chaos to be created so that you Venatori cunts could move in without hassle and set up a base. And it was also you fuckers who promised us a place in this shit pile of a country once that fool king was dead. I'll bury you for this, I'll escape and then I'll capture you. Once I do I'll rip your balls off and shove them down your throat while I feed you to a set of pigs. And when I do, I'll take your mother and mistress and any other women you care about and rape them to the point that they can't live without my cock making them my slaves. And you'll be forced to watch day in and day out. How do you like that you shit" Spitting once more the thug laid out all the insults he could with as much bard as he could alongside threatening everything he could entirely ignoring the ticking sound. Finally, after a while, Nat put his book down and gave him a friendly smile that shot untold horrors down the thug's spine as the ticking became so loud that it was almost deafening.

"Thank you for your cooperation, it's been most helpful. " Nat stood up vanished the table and chair and then turned around no longer facing the man instead starting a slow walk towards the way he had come in. "On behalf of the Inquisition, I do hope that you enjoy the rest of your day sir"

Tic Toc

Tic Toc

TIC TOC

The next day

Market

"Sergeant, I've dealt with both the thugs and the smugglers. It turned out that they were the same group" If Kylon said he was surprised by the speedy actions of the Inquisition agent, he would be severely understating it. When he had allowed the agent to handle the situation, he had been expecting it to require several days of work. Instead, the kid had left yesterday and had now bright and early was informing him that both groups of highly dangerous criminals had been dispatched. It was hard to believe, he'd have to send some of his better guards to confirm the story, yet he didn't think that the Agent was lying to him. Rather he desperately hoped that the kid has in fact dealt with two of the major headaches he had been dealing with.

"Really, you handled it? That was faster than I had expected, but then again you're part of the Inquisition. Very well, here's a reward for your hard efforts" Out of his pocket Kylon handed over a bag with fifteen gold coins in total, gratefully Nat accepted the pouch and placed the coins into his own wallet before then handing the pouch back to the man who could use it better than he ever could. "Is there anything else?" Kylon was soon met by a letter, accepting it, the man read through it. As he did so, his eyes widened in anger and shock, when he was finished he folded the letter up and placed it in his pocket. "You did well bringing me this, the commander's been going nuts over who's been stealing weapons. With this, we can bring this problem to an end". Kylon hesitated after he said this, his relief turned to worry as he thought about the actions that would be needed to deal with the guard who had been stealing weapons.

"Is there something wrong sergeant" Kylon shook his head slowly he began to focus his attention squarely onto the one who had overnight apparently managed to wipe out not only his smuggler problem but also his thug problem.

"It isn't my place to ask Agent, but with the work you did last night, I don't suppose you could assist me and the rest of the boys in taking down the traitor. In return, I can offer you another reward and I would personally be grateful. In fact, with the work that you've done, I'm sure that the Inquisition would like to know what's going on in the city. Yes, you help me and the boys, and you'll know everything that happens in this city."

"It would be my pleasure sergeant, tell me when and where you plan on striking the individual" Kylon began pacing his mind going through the most subtle way of dealing with this traitor in the capital. They weren't the highest ranking guard, but they were well connected and he couldn't just storm in without some form of proof meaning that they had to get them when they were in the middle of a large stealing operation. Thankfully for him, the piece of paper that the Inquisition agent had found did indeed have a time of where to meet.

"Half an hour before midnight tonight, meet me and the lads outside the Rose. Once you arrive we'll head to the rendezvous point." Relaxing now that he had a plan thought up, Kylon nodded to himself already picturing the route in his hand and how the operation would go down. Of course, he now had to decide which men he was going to take with him. The guard in question was liked by others so Kylon knew he had to get the more loyal guards on his side if he desired to take this individual in for questioning.

"I'll be there sergeant until then have a good day"

"And to you as well Agent" With a slight bow of his head to the kid, Kylon got back to work. Even if the smugglers and thugs had been dealt with by the agent, he still had a job to do.

Denerim Palace

"By Andraste, I never thought that woman was going to shut up." Rubbing his eyes tiredly, King Alistar Therin of Fereldan made his way into his study and promptly collapsed onto the first chair he saw. Feeling his body ache from all the boredom he had endured, the man looked around the room when he finally found the strength to do so and sighed. "And I'm talking to myself, they do say that speaking to oneself is a sign of madness. That must be it. I really do wish at times I hadn't taken the job and let Anora rule the kingdom, but no I had to be a hero and take my rightful place as heir." Groaning, Alistair managed to pull himself up on the chair so that he was sitting somewhat straight albeit with his hand unbuttoning his embroidered brown and gold shirt revealing a part of his still muscled chess, the man was certainly not in an appearance to be seen by others.

"King Alistair" Whipping his head around left and right, Alistair searched rigorously for the source of the voice that had just spoken. Only there was nobody there.

"Great and now the walls are talking to me. Hello Mr Wall, I would very much appreciate it if you didn't inform anyone of that incident a few days ago, you know with the bananas I think they're called. Yeah, I'd appreciate that." Silently Alistair begged for the walls not to speak back again, if they did, then he was bound to be carted off somewhere preferably back with the wardens not that it would be exactly possible seeing as they had all gotten up and left all of a sudden.

"You're not speaking to the wall, I'm a member of the Inquisition and I was wondering if you would be willing to answer some questions". Whoever was talking to him Alistair knew had to be well trained, if they were able to somehow able to stay out of his sight and make their voice echo around him, then they had to be trained exceptionally well. Alistair smiled as he came to the conclusion as to who was likely the one behind this interrogation.

"Sure I can answer some questions. First, that new cook we got is terrible, seems to burn everything they touch. I won't have to worry about an Orlesian invasion, the moment they try they'll drop dead of food poisoning. Then we could invade them, make all the Orlesian's own a marbari hound and laugh at their faces when they have to take care of it". If Alistair could see the one who was speaking to him, then he could tell that they hadn't found that joke too funny I fact, he was certain he could feel eyes rolling.

"I'll keep things brief then King Alistair. Rumours in the market say you're going mad, hearing voices, screaming, nightmares." Alistair's face hardened. "What I'm here to ask you, is since the conclave explosion, have you been feeling anything because of your connection to the Blight" It was rather ominously said Alistair thought. His interrogator hadn't stated that he had been a grey warden, yet was almost implying that he was some type of disease that was allowed to wander around with other people.

"And why are you so curious about the blight, asking for tips on how to become a grey warden. I'll tell you, the nightmares are annoying and so are the long walks over mountains just to fight Darkspawn" Seeing that the owner of the voice had not decided to reveal itself and also because they hadn't taken any sort of move to attack his person, Alistair decided not to call his guards. Whoever this person was, more than likely worked for Leliana and if she was the one who had sent him, then there was no ill intent.

"No" The reply was short. "However every single warden in southern Thedas has disappeared overnight. When I heard the news that the king was suffering, I wanted to know that if your connection to the blight could possibly explain why they had all gone. With very few books on the Grey Wardens, in general, let alone knowledge of how they operate, it was decided that you were the only chance of learning anything useful in our search." Shock and understanding gripped Alistair, if this agent of the Inquisition was telling him that every single Grey Warden had also felt it, then there was no chance it could be fake, rather the opposite. He nodded instantly understanding why Leliana would want to speak with him, if all the wardens had felt it at the exact time and now there was a hole in the sky threatening demon invasion, then the lack of wardens were very suspicious.

"Right Leliana sent you which means the situation is way worse. Just great. Anyway, yeah ever since the conclave went boom and doomed the peace talks, I've been feeling the blight constantly pulling at me, affecting me in a way that I've never felt before. It's the calling, I'm sure of it. All Wardens go through it at some point or other, but it's usually thirty years after initiation, the only reason I didn't go is that I don't have an heir to take over not that there have been attempts. I tried to contact the wardens myself, see if they knew anything about what was happening but like your Inquisition, nobody could be found. If you're saying that the other wardens have vanished, then that is what they must be feeling too, the call of the blight demanding us to make one final sacrifice."

It was quiet for a little bit afterwards, the person who was interrogating Alistair obviously taking the time to consider his words and therefore what had to be done with such knowledge. On the other hand, Alistair made sure to speak to his uncle the moment he was able. If all the Grey Wardens were experiencing the calling at the exact same time, then something major was going. Unfortunately for the kid, he could only think of one scenario that would be this bad. There had to be another blight coming.

"Thank you, King Alistair, for this information, I am sorry to have bothered you" Alistair shook his head collapsing back even further into his seat pinching his forehead. A dark look emanated from the man as flashbacks to a decade previous ravaged his mind made even worse as he felt the call of the Darkspawn.

"Inquisition, person," Alistair called out not quite sure if the intruder had already managed to escape yet. "Tell Leliana that she'll have my full support. With demons coming over to have tea parties, and the Orlesians fighting over which ones looks prettiest covered head to toe in gold, the world has a few problems. If there's another blight, however, then we are going to need to stand together especially if the Grey Wardens are experiencing the calling. I'll do my best to raise some troops in preparation, but I'm afraid that you lot will have to do the majority of the work. Still, it will be good to talk to Leliana again, she always was quite funny with her innocence at times." Alistair smiled at the memories of travelling with the red-headed woman; if there was a blight coming, then his kingdom had to be prepared to stand against the tide of darkness. Then he shivered, his mind racing back to that time he had been cast into the fade with the Hero of Fereldan when they visited the Circle of Magi. If only a few demos and managed to do that, then he could only wonder what they could do with the veil torn.

"She will be glad to hear it, King Alistair. In the meantime, you should know that Darkspawn has been attacking people around the Storm coast. Until then King Alistair, I bid you good fortunes with the days to come" And like that, King Alistair knew that whoever this mysterious agent of the Inquisition was, they had vanished leaving the room entirely and was now going to leave the palace sneaking past his soldiers to do so.

With him gone, Alistair swore loudly. Everything at this moment in time was a fucking shambles. Not only was the continent in complete and utter chaos, but the divine was dead, the Wardens were now experiencing the calling which was a likely prelude to another blight, demons were invading, Darkspawn attacks were on the rise, the mages and Templars were all gone content to kill each other and if Gaspard won the Orlesian civil war, then the man would march on Fereldan . Was there not a single ally that Fereldan could call upon.

The treaties he and his friend had used were for the Wardens, something that he wasn't and he doubted that this he had called upon a decade ago would be willing to fight once again. The Chantry also couldn't be relied upon as they had squarely taken the side of the Orleisans during the occupation, neither could the Free Marches be counted upon and every other nation were either enemy, couldn't be trusted or didn't have a strong bond with Ferelden. That left only one group that he could ask for assistance, he'd have to rely upon Leliana and her Inquisition.

With a sigh, he leaned forward and picked up his quill and began to write.

The Rose

"Okay men we'll wait here until our backup arrives" Speaking to his men soft, Kylons years of experience in his work showed as he naturally went to speak with a louder tone in the day to a quiet but still audible one in the dark. His men didn't debate though, rather taking the time to lean against the wall as they got ready for the supposed back up that their commander had managed to get them. "Maker it's cold" Hugging his arms to his chest, Kylon watched in an uninterested manner as his breath leaving his lips changing colour becoming visible for all those around to view. He rubbed his hands together desperate in hopes of warming his fingers up through the gloves he was wearing.

Before he could carry on complaining, a rush of pure warm coursed through his entire body like he had just stepped inside a building with a nice cosy fire. A sigh of relief coming from one of his men alerted Kylon that he was not the only one who had felt this sudden strange sensation. Not that he'd complain.

"Do you need it any warmer" Switching his eyes from the dark alley to the dark blue sky, Kylon glimpsed on the individual agent that had offered to solve some of the problems he had been dealing with. In the boy's hand was a small staff confirming that he was a mage. Under most circumstances he would be afraid, the power that mages wielded were powerful and utterly terrifying. However, he was certainly glad to have a mage on his side if there was to be a fight.

"No, but thank you. All right, lads, we have a traitor to catch" With no other words said, Kylon proceeded to lead the group of guards and the inquisition member through winding back alleys, slippery bridges and unknown passageways until finally, they arrived at their destination. Without a single word having to be said all the guards showed their professionalism by taking up positions all around the meeting point ready to charge in and deal with the attackers should they attempt anything. In the meantime, they watched from a safe distance.

Out of one the many old ran down deserted buildings, came a hooded figure followed by several others all armed to the teeth. From their stance, Kylon could easily determine that they were not ones accustomed to holding weapons yet alone knowing other tactics. A few of the cloaked figures made a token effort to look around the area, but it was of a rather poor quality and most people so long as they were quiet and wore dark enough apparel could easily hide from these fools.

Unfortunately for Kylon, the hoods that this group of mysterious people were wearing didn't really help much in identifying who exactly was purchasing the stolen weapons. It could have been a man or woman or an elf or human, the figures were too tall to be dwarves and vice versa to be Qunari. Even so, the individuals were light on their feet indicating that they were used to moving around on an often basis making them agiler then one might think.

In terms of weaponry, the figures were decently armed, but not to the state of a guardsman, swords and bows were the main weapons with the occasional dagger and axe. One, however, was dressed in armour which appeared strange at first, no armour had been stolen from the armoury, it was far too obvious and heavy to escape with. Then again, Kylon had no idea who they were dealing with.

Eventually, after a small amount of waiting, their contact arrived pulling a rather large cart of what appeared to be hay for horses. Most likely though, the hay hid the weapons and due to just how large the bushel was, it was likely that if anyone did try to inspect it, that they might miss any shipment of weapons. Some talking began to start, it was too quiet for the guardsman to hear.

"This isn't good unless we know the identities we can't-" Almost if on cue, a powerful gust of freezing icy wind swept through the alleyway and struck the bargaining individuals. No physical harm had been done to the mysterious people, however, the powerful gust had knocked them back and hit and ripped the hoods off their heads revealing who they were. Kylon's eyes widened on seeing the individual who was in charge of purchasing the weapons.

"It was none other than Shianni, the leader of the alienage elves. He didn't often visit the alienage, but Kylon had always remembered the elf woman as a strong woman willing to defend her people. She had shown that strength when she had led the elves to defend the alienage during the battle of Denerim. Then he remembered the rumours, talk about some type of elf rebellion inspired by the mages. He had cast it off as fantasy, but it seemed to be quite the opposite.

Sighing in a defeated manner, Kylon prepared his sword. If there was going to be a fight, then Shianni would have to be captured alive rather than dead. The moment she was skilled she would become a martyr and could very likely kick off the very rebellion he was hoping to prevent. As for the guard, he didn't care, they had been lazy and weren't exactly good at their job. He wouldn't miss the man once he was cut down like the traitor he was.

Kylon waited for a few more moments, enabling his men to get into more advantageous positions. There was bound to be a fight, and he would prefer not for his men to get killed, then again he had the agent of the Inquisition with him. An agent who after checking what the boy had said, had very much indeed handle the problems he had struggled with. Kylon could still remember the gory sight; it was like he had travelled back in time to when the Darkspawn had attacked Denerim a decade ago.

"I'm ready to go when you are sergeant" With a quiet whisper from the agent, Kylon nodded his weapons and then advanced doing his best to remain as silent as he could. It went well for a while, the movements of not only him but his other guards allowed them to get close and for the few archers they had to line up their targets. With one final look towards the agent, for confirmation, he charged forward rushing the unsuspecting group catching them by surprise.

"Run" Yelling at the top of her lungs, Shianni went to dash away from the scene of the crime. However, it was too late as heavy metal chains coiled around her body knocking her to the ground taking her out of the fight. From her position unable to move, the red-headed woman could only watch in horror as her fellow elves were cut down one by one in quick succession. It was over so quickly, at first she thought they may stand a chance but those thoughts were smashed harshly as her eyes saw the glowing fast moving lights of magic crash into one of her friend's body and blow an entire chunk out of it. After only a minute or two, the entire fight was over every single one of them bar her dead.

Tears streamed down her eyes as the faces of beloved friends that had once been abused by an evil human lord and had escaped were not red with their own blood. Finally, her eyes narrowed glaring hatefully at the mage who had done such a horrendous act. It was a fucking Tevinter slaver scum, that bastard was responsible for killing not only her friends but would likely take the other elves into slavery. It had all been for nothing.

"Shianni, why did you do this" Stepping in front of her, Shianni with her mouth gagged stared up at Seargent Kylon. He was a sad man his eyes showing a betrayed look by her actions. "I sought to help you, and you planned on murdering innocent civilians" Kylons response was an even angrier glare telling him just how little this elf thought about his precious feelings.

As far as she was concerned, the man had done nothing for her or her people, all he had done was carry on with his safe human job while she and the other elves were kept in the alienage to suffer day after day. What did it matter to her if one human died, after all the things their race had done to her people, it was the least that their filth deserved. It was only a shame that her entire plan had failed. With no answer given not that she would have been able to thanks to a silencing charm from the wizard, Kylon drew his blade once more and brought it up staring into the eyes of the elf.

Gazing deeply into the eyes of a woman who had once saved his life, Kylon wondered how it had come to this. The world had gone insane, friends were turning against friends in this brand new age. Even so, he had a job to do. Had it not been for her goal of revolution, then she would have been left alive, but the actions she had performed had only one punishment. Then he hesitated.

Tired of this Nat dealt the deed himself drawing his sabre and thrusting it into the woman's throat in one single moved before then sheathing it. Then without a care, he placed his blade back where it belonged and turned to face Kylon who with closed eyes was breathing slowly as he dealt with the death of somebody who had likely been close to him at one point or another. At the same time the guards started to look around for some method of disposing of the bodies, soon enough they found an empty cart and began hoisting them up.

"Sergeant, it's been a pleasure working with you, I hope to do it again someday. Also congratulations on your promotion, something this good can't go unrewarded. If however in the future you get bored of here, the Inquisition could always use some highly skilled and talented men. Come to Haven if you desire" Not saying another word Nat departed the group, he just had a few things to handle and then he had to head back to Haven himself. He'd been gone longer than he initially planned and got caught up in more stuff than he thought off, but it was certainly worthwhile.

Leliana would be pleased when he arrived back, in the time that he had been gone he had recruited two members to the inquisition, got a whole bunch of spies, increased the reputation of the Inquisition, learned the name of their enemy, discovered the probable cause of why all the Wardens are gone and gained the support of the of Fereldan. As for him, he had his first man to train. He could smell the gunpowder already.


	10. Chapter 10 Battle Lines

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 10 Battle Lines**

9:41 Dragon

Haven

"Wow it's so beautiful" Breaking what had been a relative nice silence, the girl on the horse had an awestruck expression as she saw the sight of Haven. With snow-topped mountains towering over the Inquisition base camp and tall trees looming ahead occasionally allowing snow to drop from their leaves and onto the floor, mixed with an incredibly green atmosphere because of all the grass, and other types of natural sights, the former thug and his sister loved the place at first sight.

As they continued up the toughened dirt path, the two of them became the cause of a few amused looks among the local garrison of soldiers as they saw they saw the reaction that they gave off. When they recognised the one leading them, however, on the ground with his hand on the reins escorting the horse whilst his other kept firmly on the hilt of that blade, the soldiers became a bit confused but said nothing of it for fear of reprimand. Unlike the common soldier of the Inquisition, Nat was one of the members of the inner circle and so it wasn't the place of the common soldier to question him. Therefore they averted their eyes and returned back to the task that they had been assigned to.

"Don't fall in love yet, the nights are cold and there aren't any beds so you'll be in a tent". Hearing the words of her older brother, the sister crossed her arms and pouted at him hoping to get her brother to change her mind. Even still, her brother knew that she was terribly excited about coming to Haven. She had been told by her brother days ago that for the first time in a long time, they would have a relatively safe place and all they had to do was move from the city and come with this strange older boy. She hadn't doubted it for a second, instead entrusting her brother with her complete faith that he had done the right thing.

"It'll be nicer than sleeping under a bridge" The sister replied back her eyes sparkling with ever more excitement as she saw soldier after soldier walk past her. A few gave her cheerful looks and gave a wave of her hand while another actually walked up to her and gave her a small cookie to munch from. Already she could tell she was going to love this place.

"I can assure you that there will be no more sleeping under bridges," Nat stated. As his eyes revolved around the camp, a few things had become very noticeable. One of these things was the very large and obvious presence of The Iron Bull. With his large height, grey skin and oversized axe, it wasn't very difficult to miss, next to him and crossing weapons in a mock duel was the fake Grey warden he had recruited earlier Blackwall. So far the match was very much in favour of Bull who was easily managing to get Blackwall to take steps back in order to avoid the heavy but accurate swings that the Qunari gave. Not that it was a bad idea, with Bull's strength, Nat would guess the man would easily chop through any shield Blackwall could throw up in defence.

To the side of them stood Cullen but going by the way his sword was out and slowly being pointed towards the two men in combat, it became apparent that the man was in the middle of a class. Gerald the thug that Nat had recruited back in Denerim never allowed for a single moment his eyes to stray away from the fight rather watching it as intently as he could trying to work out why which moves were made. Seeing this, Nat gestured towards Gerald grabbing his attention.

"I'll speak to Cullen about getting you lessons to train you. Generally, I have a lot to do so when I don't personally train you, I'll leave you to him to carry on anything else. However remember what I said, anything I teach you remains a secret." Gerald quickly nodded still remembering what his new employer had told him about what they were facing and why they had to keep any secrets he was entrusted with. If he didn't, then the demons would kidnap his sister in order to get to him.

"Yes sir, I'll do as you say" In respect, Gerald crossed his arms and went to bow in respect but was quickly snapped out of his action when his employer gave him that blank look yet Gerald seemingly knew that it meant not to embarrass himself.

"Good now here we are, it's time for you to get down" Ending the horse ride just outside of the stable, they were soon quickly approached by the stable boys who helped Gerald's sister out of the saddle before then taking the horse back into its pen where it could be fed and watered. In the meantime, Nat escorted Gerald and his sister behind him as he approached the battle giving a nod to Bull and Blackwall that was returned back before rounding on Cullen.

"Cullen" Hearing the familiar voice, the blonde haired commander of the Inquisition forces turned to face the mysterious mage as well as a young girl and another young man around two to three years older than Nat was himself. Now that Nat had the attention of the man, he carried on with what he was saying. "Good to see you're still safe. This here is Gerald and his sister Marie." Gesturing towards the two young people, Cullen instantly locked onto the boys form analysing it and quickly came to the conclusion that not only was the boy experienced in battle, but he had also killed a man at one point or another. As for the girl, however, she was young and certainly didn't come from any sort of privileged upbringing, if Cullen were to guess, he'd say that the boy had been part of some sort of mercenary group in hopes of looking after what he assumed to be his sister.

"It's a pleasure to meet you" Reaching out, Gerald was taken aback by the offer of a handshake, but soon accepted nervously and shook it albeit weakly. Cullen frowned, the boy it seemed was very unused to any sort of social interaction perhaps making him some sort of thug. Cullen perished the thought, Nat didn't seem the type to pick up random criminals off the floor and bring them to the Inquisition.

"Uhm you too" Gerald replied nervously.

"You're really cute, you're like one of those knights that Mummy used to tell us about" Cullen blushed, a light red hue dusted his cheeks as he heard the compliment before gently placing his hand on her head and patting it gently like a father would do to their child. Around him, the other soldiers looked incredulous and one was even about to make a joke but a single harsh look from the commander shut that man up for good.

"Why thank you, young lady, it's always nice to hear a compliment" Marie smiled happily and very much to the shock of those watching walked up to the man and hugged his leg. A bus of laughter sounded out so loud that even Blackwall and Bull stopped their fight to see what the commotion was about. When they saw it, they too joined in the mocking of their commander much to Cullens embarrassment.

"Anyway," Nat interrupted getting Cullen's focus back on to him. "Gerald wants to join the Inquisition and I figured that if Leliana is going to start sending me on jobs all over the place, having some back up would be rather useful. I'm going to handle his training as much as I can, but I was hoping that in the meantime you could give him a few classes while I sort things out. You wouldn't mind would you Cullen" Cullen gave Gerald another look, going by the way the man stood, he seemed to be more accustomed to a sword than any other type of weapon which was good. Gerald was also in physical shape most likely from all the time he spent as a mercenary. In fact, despite his young age, Cullen would say that the kid had a few years of constant fighting for his life on his back. That was something he really missed in nearly all the recruits he had so far, they were all willing but very few were experienced.

"I'm sure I can find something to do for him." Gerald's face lit up like a firework with excitement, here it was, his chance to be an actual soldier. He couldn't wait, all the training and the fighting and knowing that it was all for a good cause, he was absolutely ready. "Take this sword, I want you to show me what you have" Without hesitation, Gerald caught the thrown sword in his hand before then giving it a quick twirl as he felt where the balance of the sword was and then promptly readjusted it. "Well it seems that you've got some reflexes" Cullen muttered seemingly glad that he had one of those recruits that he didn't have to teach them the basics. "I'll keep him busy whilst you're gone"

"Thank you, Cullen" Once said, Nat left the training area giving a quick hello to both Blackwall and Bull before entering the wooden palisade walls of Haven and marched up the stairs. His first destination was to be Josephine, he didn't know how each of the servants worked or when they worked or even who to speak to directly about getting Marie a job. As a result of this, he would simply speak to the one individual that he did know regularly talked to all sorts of dignitaries and other servants to prepare for meetings with nobles. If anyone could find Marie a job, then it would be Josephine.

Once he made the small climb with Marie tagging on behind him, he easily entered the building that had now been flanked by two guards. Unlike the other soldiers of the Inquisition, these two soldiers looked hardened and trained as if they had seen several battles and were, therefore, veterans of war. Unfortunately, for them to be there when they weren't when he left, that meant that some incident had occurred when he had been gone. What it was he'd have to find out. In the meantime, as he opened the door to Josephine's office, he was met with a different sight to what he was used to.

Instead of the typical Josephine all locked up in this room by her own constantly scribbling down things as fast as she could, Josephine was taking the time to have a calm conversation. Her companion was also rather known to him and as soon as he entered and they turned around to look at the new entries to the room, their face lit up with happiness.

"Nat" Josephine's lips curled into a happy smile as she saw that the youngest member of the Inquisition had managed to survive his own mission alone "It is good to see you again, I rather missed our lessons. And may I ask whom your companion is" Seeing the strange two women, Marie hid around Nat hoping that his larger frame would conceal him. She had been ecstatic at first when she saw all the soldiers with their swords moving around and doing things, but this was different. She wasn't facing the handsome knight that she had met just previous, she was meeting a noble lady who dressed all fancy and was really beautiful. What was it that her mother had told her when it came to meeting people of higher standing? was she supposed to hide and make sure that they never saw her or to bow her head in respect? Scared of what to do, she preferred to hide behind the big strong mage hoping that he would protect her.

"The same to you Josephine "Nat replied the sentiment with a fake smile then he turned his attention to the person that Josephine had been conversing with beforehand. "Good day to you Miss Trevelyan, I hope you have been enjoying the hospitality of the Inquisition." Immediately upon hearing his words, Elyria seemed relieved her eyes brimming with questions while ever so subtly she moved her chair backwards. As she did so, Elyria put on a stronger more refined face like she had been taught by her parents when she had still been with them rather than being taken by the Templars to the tower at Ostiwck.

Despite her best tries, Nat could see straight through the act the girl tried to pull instead seeing the scared and still traumatised girl he had saved several weeks ago. With the way that she was trying to move her chair closer to him, it was obvious that she wanted to get closer to the one that she felt safe around. It would appear then that once he was done with Leliana, that he would spend some time with her and try to solve the problem.

"This here is Marie, she's the sister of a young man I recruited to the Inquisition, I was wondering if you might perhaps know anyone who would be willing to take her on to teach her the roles of a servant. Her brother won't have the spare time to raise her so I thought that with her young age, she could get some useful skills and secure her a job for the future" Nat pushed Marie from behind his legs and into the forefront where Josephine could see the girl. If there was any chance of securing the girl some type of job while she was here at the Inquisition, then she would have to be seen by the one he entrusted to find her a job.

"Well, aren't you just adorable" Sighing happily, Josephine took the time to admire the sight of the young girl in her office. Compared with the normal drudgery of work that she was forced to confront day after day alongside all the doom and gloom as a tear in the sky pulsed, a young girl was a nice change. Going by her looks, however, it was rather obvious to Josephine that the girl was a commoner which was likely a reason for both her fear and awe. In Marie's eyes, Josephine could see the utter look of wonderment as she took in the sight of her more expensive frilly clothing and necklaces yet at the same time began to fear that she may be cruel to her. "What of her parents?".

"Plague, several years ago, but she has the basic knowledge on how to read and write, her mother was a servant herself" Flinching from the bad news, Josephine found herself pitying the poor girl feeling sorry for her predicament. She knew she couldn't say that she had felt anything like this girl had, after all, she was from a noble trading house while this girl was the child of a servant who had died in the plague. Yet despite all that, she could feel her heart melt with a strong desire to help this girl who had lost so much. Turning her gaze onto the girl, she smiled and then withdrew one of the sweets she had nearby.

"Marie would you like a sweet" Unlike what one may have suspected, where Marie rushed eagerly towards Josephine in hopes of devouring the offered food, Marie instead started to cry loudly. With a shocked expression, Josephine rushed out of her seat and grabbed the girl tightly pulling her from the floor before then pulling her into her dress holding her tightly. Then she started rocking her gently as if she was a baby.

"Mummy used to bring me, sweets, occasionally" Now understanding the predicament, Josephine brought the sweet away placing it on her table and then took her seat again only this time with the girl in her lap still sobbing her eyes out as she talked about how much she missed her mummy and the sweeties she would bring back home. It wasn't quite how Nat had expected things to go, but judging by how fast Josephine's maternal instincts had kicked in, he was willing to bet that he wouldn't have anything to worry about when it came to Marie getting a job. Poor Elyria, on the other hand, looked at the girl who had now interrupted her meeting with Josephine and wasn't quite sure of what to do.

"Miss Trevelyan, I have a few things that I need to report to Leliana, however, that should only be a brief time. Once I am finished, however, I would be free for a considerable amount of time. As such if you would be willing, I could spend that time with you, so long as you accept of course. Blushing was one way to describe the reaction that Elyria had, however, a more accurate description was that her entire body showed elation. Jumping out of her seat as fast as she could, Elyria dashed towards the young wizard revelling in how close she was and immediately felt all her troubles pass.

"Yes, yes, yes" She blushed again, quickly hoping to regain her composure as a noblewoman, her change in attitude failed but she didn't care. Instead, she went to reach for Nat's arm in a bid to entangle it in her own only for the attempt to fail and for Nat to take a step back. Panicking that she might have done something wrong, Marie stepped closer again wanting to feel him near her rather than just see him except yet again he resisted her.

"Sorry about this Josephine, please believe me when I say that this wasn't at all part of my request" Referencing the girl sat in Josephine's lap, the dark-skinned woman seemingly had not one ill thought rather she lovingly rubbed the head of Marie getting her to stop her crying. Almost instantly, the girl relaxed into the arms of the older woman content in the warm and comforting embrace that was given to her all the while soft words were gifted to the girl.

"Do not worry, Nat I would be glad to help her. I'll find her something to do, don't you worry about it." Bowing his head in respect, Josephine with an apologetic look smile turned to Elyria gave the female mage a politer apology about having Their meeting cut off and then stating that she had to find something for Marie to do. Thankfully for the woman, Elyria was seemingly glad of a reason to leave this little meeting if it got her the chance to be with her protector so there wasn't a single piece of ill will against her. With that said, Nat alongside Elyria left the room curtly with them both heading towards Leliana's tent although Elryia stood outside under the careful scrutiny of some guards.

"Leliana, I got you a present" Averting her eyes from the note report that she was holding, Blue eyes locked onto the familiar face of the one she had been sent to recruit Bull and Blackwall. Once she heard the word present, her eyes lit up as soon as they took in the sight of a pot full of dirt with a very familiar flower in them. Not wasting any time, Nat resented the plant pot to the woman watching amusedly as the cold harsh look that Leliana typically carried with her was exchanged for one or remembrance as she eagerly yet calmly accepted them.

"For me, that is very sweet of you" Bringing the flowers close to her nose, Leliana allowed the fragrant smell to enter her nose and remind her of her younger days before everything had happened to her. Even with all her travelling, she never got to visit anywhere which sold the flower not to mention she would never have been given a chance to bring one with her less it wither and die. However things were different now she supposed, with her stuck at this camp, she had the ability to look after such a small and delicate thing. As thoughts of her mother came back to her and her heart warmed considerably even with the cold mountain weather she hadn't realised that she had revealed her soft side to the one who had gifted her flowers.

"I know it's not much, but I thought that you might appreciate having even a small thing that will keep your mind off everything even if only for a small time. Besides, a stunning angelic girl like you deserves to have nice things." Despite herself, Leliana couldn't help the slight smirk that appeared on her face as she heard the compliment. Quickly she turned away to hide it not showing the young teenager that he had managed to make her blush. Even so, gently she placed one of her fingers on one of the delicate petals and rubbed it in a comforting motion a small smile on her face. It was hard to believe, something so small and delicate yet it was so beautiful even with all that was wrong with the world and all the challenges that were thrown against her, there was still beauty in the world.

"I don't know what to say" Taken aback by the action, Leliana knew that she was going to have to speak to Josephine later about this. There were very few people who knew about her past and the only person within the vicinity that could have told Nathanael about her love for Andrastes grace was that woman. Leliana shook her head enjoying the flower for a few moments before placing it on a table nearby. Once she turned around to face Nat, her more serious expression came back. "Thank you. Anyway, I got your not from Blackwall do you have any proof that he is not who he says to be"

"Don't mention it Leliana and besides you deserve it." While Nat held no interest in Leliana other than building the amount of trust she had in him, it was still fun to watch as the infamous spymaster briefly turned into a blushing woman once presented with flowers. Should he manage to crack open that exterior and worm himself inside, then he might gain even more favour with her and with more favour came more power. Even so, it was a long waiting game ahead of him, and if he wasn't careful with the woman he could be the one paying with his life. "As for your question, I have acquired more information than you might think while I was in Denerim. For instance, the reason why all the Wardens have vanished so suddenly is that they are all going through what is called the Calling. If Blackwall was a Grey Warden then he would have felt it and joined up with his other fellow Wardens. Also, I learned the possible name's of the ones who could responsible for everything, The Venatori".

For a brief few moments, Leliana stood still processing the name Venatori of everything she knew. They sounded Tevinter in origin, which only gave more evidence to Nat's theory that whoever was behind this had connections to Tevinter in some way or another. Before she could comment on either the name provided to her or the information about the Calling, Nat took the chance to relay the rest of the information that he had gathered when he had been in Denerim. Quickly Nat explained to Leliana about how the leader of the group of thugs had stated under the false pretence that Nat was part of the Venatori, how the group had stated that once they were finished, the thugs would a chunk of land. The other crucial part given was that the Venatori had wanted the thugs to cause major trouble in Denerim, this would have stirred up trouble and when combined with an Elf rebellion that nearly occurred as Nat had discovered the plot alongside the Sergeant. Other important news was that of the smuggling ring that had been going on consisting primarily of weapons. Once that was done, Nat then told her about how he had spoken to King Alistair where he informed him that he was feeling the Calling which was driving him crazy confirming the rumours that some of Leliana's spies had sent her.

"It's all connected," Leliana said in an eerie fashion. Racing to her map, the Spymaster closely began to not everything that could have happened. "If the Venatori had managed to create such a large chaos that the King would have had to send more soldiers, then it would have exposed him more. If an Elf rebellion had also taken place, then there could have been an outright war which would have forced King Alistair to choose between different groups of people. With reports of Darkspawn back on the Stormcoast and the Breach, his competency would have been in jeopardy and would risk a-"

"Civil War" Nat interjected. Understanding that he had also long since known what was potentially at stake, Leliana felt the pressure on her shoulders both lighten in slight relief as well as then crush her down so more that it almost felt like that she was being crushed down against the floor.

"Whoever is responsible has been planning this for a long time, years in fact and has also gone through a large amount of trouble to make sure that they would face as little opposition as possible. On the other hand, so many things give all the more clues as to what these people want" Remembering Nat's correct guess weeks ago that Tevinter was somehow involved in the whole event, Leliana decided that she would allow him to give his guess, even if he proved wrong in the future, she could always dispatch agents in hopes of gaining an advantage.

"What do you believe they desire?" Narrowing her eyes, Leliana felt a small amount of rage burn up in her, this Venatori had killed the Most Holy her friend so they could accomplish their goals. As far as she was concerned, she didn't just want to kill those responsible, no she wanted to humiliate them and make them live their worst nightmares. To achieve that, she would first have to devastate every single one of their plans and showcase to the world that the Inquisition was not a force to be trifled with.

"Put simply, the Venatori want to make Tevinter Great Again. However, instead of going through the "Build a giant wall and get the elves to pay for it" routine, it seems that they are going more for the "Conquer everything in sight" method. All their methods and actions so far point to one single goal and who they are trying to emulate, in short, the Venatori want to return Tevinter to a state back to before the Blights began." Horrified yet stony-faced, Leliana grabbed one of her daggers and began to play with it believing the tension as she gently brushed he gloved covered thumb against the blade.

"What evidence do you have for such a plan" Stepping forward into the base, Nat moved past Leliana so that he could also look at the map of Thedas as it was known. He'd already seen this map countless times, some had physical borders of the nations marked out where on the map they were located while others only had the names of nations displayed showing a rather annoying lack of borders. Not that it mattered to the Venatori, if his theory was correct, then Nat knew the Venatori would prefer to see only one name located on their map and that was the Tevinter Imperium.

"The attack on the Conclave, was for multiple reasons, that much is obvious now. Firstly by decapitating the head of the Chantry, it has caused infighting amongst it spiralling it into chaos and paralysing the group preventing any sort of calls for an Exalted March. Also by killing the Mage and Templar negotiators, it carries on the war between them. Without a doubt, as time wears on the Mages will be forced to call for aid in order to keep their rebellion alive and there is only one nation that is willing to do such a thing. Tensions will rise, and more exalted marches could be called by individual nations. Against Tevinter though, they'd be crushed and likely conquered expanding their territory."

Listening intently, Leliana was only slightly surprised when the map in front of her seemingly came alive, colour bloomed onto the page showcasing multiple things but large bold colours were used for the individual nations, at the exact same time, the images started moving of their own free will. It was incredibly beautiful to her eyes, to see such moving colourful images yet as she heard the boy speak, a fiery determination lit within her. At the mention of other countries declaring an exalted march, the nation of Antiva was seemingly used as an example. Symbols of men in armour appeared but they were quickly slaughtered by other images of mages. After a brief few seconds of fighting, the bright yellow that had been Antiva was then replaced by the black to represent Tevinter which rapidly spread into the borders of Antiva until it was completely covered. Straight afterwards, however, the image returned to normal with the borders were shown as if Tevinter had never charged ready to show another possible scenario.

"Ultimately, however, while the Venatori did strike a deadly blow against us, their true objective was foiled by the Herald" All of a sudden Leliana felt like a pit had opened up in her stomach that was now threatening to suck her in and swallow her hole. If the destruction of the peace accords to devastate the Chantry and prevent mages and Templars from solving their differences wasn't the main objective, what had been. "If you're curious, the true objective of the Venatori and their leader was to rip a hole in the Veil so they could enter the Fade physically. Once enacted, the Venatori likely would have moved to the Black City in order to bring full the power of the blight in order to use it against us. It would explain why the Divine had been the supposed sacrifice, perhaps the Venatori believed that the head of the enemy religion would have made an even more powerful sacrifice. In the end, with such a gathering of not only magical blood but also other blood from Templars and other species alongside some of the most powerful individuals that could have opposed the Venatori, the leader had done enough damage to achieve what they wanted"

Time slowed down for Leliana, her mind processing the information as fast as possible questioning every detail given to her, wondering if there could have been a better opportunity to strike, why Tevinter would want to go down such a road. Countless possible excuses for such actions evaded her entirely, Nathanael's theory made even more sense as the pieces fit together. Thinking ahead of what he said into future plans, she saw what he had seen, what they intended to do, the cause of the Orlesian Civil War why there had nearly been a Fereldan Civil War and why the Wardens had vanished because of the Calling.

"They are weakening every single power there is to prevent any group from countering them. Orlais and Fereldan were the only two countries that could have mustered a strong enough force to halt their process. Why anger the Qunari however?" Nat looked up, having only arrived minutes ago, he was unaware of any action that could involve the Qunari yet the source of such news was obvious, Bull had given precious information to Leliana. Seeing his lack of knowledge, Leliana informed him of the scenario. "The Iron Bull has said that the Qun had been attacked far more frequently by Tevinter since before the attack on the Conclave. It doesn't make sense if the Venatori plans to conquer all of Thedas, why also attack the Qun at the same time, why not wait until later or concentrate their forces on their northern flank first."

"Because it's logical in a way" Not believing such a line for a second, Leliana pointed towards the map and made a gesture towards all the countries on the continent of Thedas and then onto Par Vollen almost as if saying that fighting a war against so many nations itself was illogical and that he was crazy. Nat decided to explain his thoughts. "Military wise fighting on multiple fronts is extremely unwise, yet the Venatori aren't looking from the military approach, but rather a cultural one". If the looks Leliana had given before indicated that she thought he was being crazy, then the ones she was giving now were almost insulting and even slightly disappointed as if she held him to better ability.

"No it isn't, Tevinter wouldn't just have to deal with Ben Hassrath spying on them, but also the bards of Orlais and anyone else watching their every movement. I don't see how culture would come into play."

"It's not a choice between Orlesian culture or Tevinter Culture, it's a choice of being Andrastian or a slave to the Qun. The Venatori wants the Qun to send soldiers to Thedas, it wants an invasion of the mainland. Very few people are willing to join the Qun. As time goes on and Tevinter and the Qun start's vying for dominance over the continent, the people of Thedas will be far more likely to side with Tevinter then the Qun. Even though they know that they will be subjugated their people enslaved and culture destroyed, they will see Tevinter as the less of the two evils. In fact if the Venatori play their cards right, they would be seen as the protector of the Faith of the Chantry, but also of all humans and elves".

"That's just ridiculous, there is not a chance that the Chantry would allow Tevinter to become the defender of the Andrastian faith. The people are taught that Tevinter is the one who killed Andraste, that they allow magic to be openly practised there, that they were the ones who started the blights when the Magisters entered the Fade and walked into the golden city." Even though her words were sharp, rejecting the very concept of Tevinter willingly be embraced by the average person in any of the kingdoms of Thedas, Nat could tell that Leliana meant no ill will to Tevinter, only that she was finding his train of thought impossible to follow.

"But it's still better than the Qun," Nat replied in a calm but strong manner. "If Thedas was to fall to Tevinter and the Qun, with one being destined to rule the continent for an unknown amount of time, then more people will support Tevinter. First, Tevinter would be run by humans, yes they would be mages, and anyone who wasn't a mage would be near the bottom of society, but for the majority of people that really wouldn't change. In contrast, while the Qun does allow any race to become the main part of its government, the top positions are always controlled by the Qunari. Second, while the Venatori likely would only allow those who held strong faith in the old ways to be at the top of the government, the vast majority would still likely be Andrastian. Compare that to the Qun, where they will be forced to convert or be killed. Thirdly, without a doubt, the Mages of Thedas will support Tevinter over the Qun. To them, it's a choice between being slaves or people with actual rights. Fourth there is a similarity in culture between Tevinter and the other nations. While there are massive differences, there is a similarity between all the human nations that the Qun does not have. Therefore if it's a choice between a foreign slave nation that is from this continent and a foreign slave nation from another continent that is also a different race, then most people will choose the former."

As he stared Leliana in the eye, Nat couldn't help but think of home. The scenario that Thedas was facing was similar to that of a lot of social issues back home. Countless communities had been torn apart and entire nations divided along political lines. A refusal to listen to ones opposing side was the norm and even when one did take the time, nothing changed. Compromise and negotiation were long gone as was the middle ground. Tribalism had grown in such a factor that people didn't care about others anymore. In fact, it was rather the opposite, if the opposing side was dealt a blow from an outside source then there was cause for celebration. It was only becoming worse as the years go on with every single tragedy just emphasising the division as one side would call for one matter and the other would call for another. In the end, everybody lost. As people refused to talk about their beliefs on one subject in fear of alienating friends or being kicked out of a group of people, the division only grew and the hatred for one another rising substantially with it.

In this chaos, strongmen always took over. It would be the same here, if the nations of Thedas proved to be either too corrupt, incompetent or weak to face down the challenge of either the Qun or Tevinter, then they would be forced to choose a side. It was a very desperate gamble for Tevinter to make though, one that could horribly backfire. Had it been Orlais that was the one threatening the entire continent with conquest, then they would have had an easier time as they controlled the Chantry and was not ostracised as much because of that influence. Tevinter on the other hand was. Opposing them, however, was a group just as bad which would force people to ask a question. Would they rather be ruled by Tevinter or the Qun?

If he was back home, it would be like having to choose to want in Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. Neither was particularly appealing choices. Both were murderous regimes responsible for the death of countless millions, both were corrupt, both had very strict laws on what a person could or could not do, freedom of speech was illegal. Both pushed around weaker countries invading them taking their land, both were responsible for countless other atrocities. Finally, both nations had a certain political ideology at the core of their core of their governments dictating what could or couldn't be done with often brutal and harsh punishments' to those who disobeyed or fucked up. Nat wanted to live in neither of them and from what he had learned of them, would love to see them collapse to the ground and tumble into dust never to be seen again.

In the end, the people here could be subjected to a decision of where they are forced to choose one over the other. It was going to be a war od ideologies not that it was going to be the only thing that counted. In fact, one of the most important facts would be based down to race, humans would be far more likely to support Tevinter whereas elves would go for the Qun. As far as most humans would be concerned, it was a choice between being ruled by other humans or being ruled by foreign ox-men. If he were an average human peasant, he'd support Tevinter. Even so, Nat wasn't confident that this plan could succeed in fact it was far too risky for his tastes. Ultimately though, this plan held more dangerous than just imagined.

Should this strategy be allowed to carry on, to antagonise the Qun into invading so as to divide the populace and make the Venatori seem as valiant protectors who only ask for sacrifices against a hoard of brutal monsters; then the Inquisition could find itself having to engage against two powerful opponents rather than multiple weaker ones.

"The nations of Thedas would never submit to foreign rule" Leliana counter-argued yet her voice showed concern as she gazed at the nations of Thedas. With so many threats popping out of nowhere, it was highly likely that nations may concentrate on themselves leaving them exposed to either the Qun or Tevinter. "Ferelden showed what they were willing to do when a tyrant occupies their land. And Orlais is too proud to allow Tevinter or the Qun to take their pretty dresses and satin shoes away from them. Not to mention the Chantry would rise up calling for all followers of the Maker to take arms against the invaders". Nat shook his head showing his utter disbelief in Leliana's belief that such action would be useful.

"Tevinter has been outcast out of the main Chantry faith for long enough now that it doesn't care what the rest of Thedas thinks. And be serious, out of all the exalted marches to have been called before now how many have actually been successful?. Exactly none. Now contemplate the fact that every single one of these Marches had Orlais as the main power in each of these marches, this time they won't be helping as their in the middle of a civil war. Any exalted march called or just general call to arms will be met with a massacre. Compare that to what the Qun will do. A person defeated by the Qun will be met with one of two ends, either they are butchered or enslaved. At least with Tevinter the people no matter how oppressed will still have their thoughts and most will likely see very little difference in their daily lives. The Qun on the other hand, families will be split up. A mother will never get to know her daughter, love, the thing that in your own words is the best gift that your God has given to you will no longer apply. Instead, Love will be a strange outdated concept. Do you see where I am going Leliana, the choices that people will be forced to make."

The more Nat hammered home about what he believed was the Tevinter plan, the stranger it actually sounded. It was so alien, to be in a war. By now he had killed at least over a hundred people and was likely to kill far greater numbers in the months ahead. All the same, it hadn't felt like a war until just now as he thought about his unspoken consequences of either a Tevinter or Qun victory. It didn't matter who won, he would be killed if the Inquisition lost. He had come to terms with the fact that he may never return home again and would have to create a new life for himself her in Thedas. Nevertheless, that view had always been predicated on the belief that the status quo would be maintained. If that weren't the case, should the Inquisition lose then everything he had done would be for nothing?

The Venatori had made their decision to throw this continent into war, to sacrifice the lives of everyone there was to get there way. Fires already burned and people like always were being screwed over by those in power. Nothing had changed on that front. Nat could perfectly understand that, if the Venatori wanted to wage war then that was fine with him, he would oblige them. In contrast, he would bring down what little power and knowledge he could, and obliterate them turning them into ash which was his decision. If the Venatori wanted to fuck over the continent with demons and a potential new blight, then they fucked with his chances of going home. It wasn't something he was just going to accept lying down. If the wankers wanted a fucking war, he'd give them a bloody war.

"Both are nightmares that should never come to pass" Leliana could only imagine the untold horror and cruelty that would befall the common people if either the Qun or Tevinter were able to take power. For Tevinter to actually want to tear the continent up between them and the Qunari was horrifying even more so when she realised Nat was right. Most people would choose Tevinter over the Qun as it was the most culturally similar. If they could not rule themselves then Fereldan's and Orlesian's will choose a human as their masters than any grey giant. Resolution burned in her eyes as she looked the boy squarely in that black mask of his.

"What should we do?" Seeing where this was going, Nat allowed himself to grin internally. It seemed that Leliana was starting to see what he could see. Without Valeyna nearby and an unknown amount of days away, it was up to Leliana to command their next action, she was the leader now yet, all the same, she sought advice. Subconsciously, Leliana needed spoken support, to know that any action she might make with this much responsibility saddled onto her shoulders even if only temporary was the correct one. So she had turned to him, for his advice as he was the one who had assisted Valeyna when she needed it.

Nat was more than happy to provide it.

"The Venatori plan depends upon pulling in the Qun, Bull's presence confirms it. The very fact that they haven't already sent an army means they are observing how the Inquisition reacts. Should we prove to be powerful enough and act decisively, then they will not bother the continent until after the crisis. They are likely more then aware of the cost if they were to invade now, every other nation would happily allow them to take the brunt in order to weaken them. A full-scale war now would likely leave them in a bad position so they'll wait until Thedas is kneeling before they strike. Counter to that, should they see that Thedas is being taken over by Tevinter, then they will invade while they could still gain allies and are permanently barred from landing ships. Therefore our actions have to first be fully directed not at the Venatori, but rather at the mess they thrive upon."

"The Mage-Templar war, the Orlesian civil and the Kirkwall-Starkhaven war, I will dispatch the majority of my agents to help us in that front. For now who do we side with, the Mages or Templars, Celene or Gaspard, Kirkwall and Starkhaven. It should not be up to us to decide, this action should be taken by the Herald" Nat disagreed but kept that to himself. Should he try and make the decision himself, it would be seen by Leliana that he was far more willing to take action on his own raising his personal threat level.

Recognising the dangers the Inquisition faced was incredibly useful to her, however, him attempting to make a more obvious ploy for power would be taken negatively. Him taking that step only had negative effects, he was too young to be considered a credible leader, he was also too suspicious due to his mysterious background and people. It also had the incredibly disastrous effect of placing a target on his back forcing him to work under constant surveillance. His time would be taken away more than it already was with him having to learn about this world, train new soldiers, learn customs and languages as well as improve his social standing. Finally he hated fame, he had enough of the bloody toxic stuff back home and for now, he preferred being the shadow behind the power rather than the power itself.

"We can only hope she arrives quickly. Every moment we wait allows our enemies to grow and use their strength. As for the calling, it is likely involved in some way. My best opinion is that it's fake, luring the Grey Wardens into some kind of trap. Most Importantly, it's also vital to the Venatori's plans which gives further evidence to another Blight." In all honesty, it sounded ludicrous to Leliana, the very idea of another blight so soon just after the last one didn't seem possible.

"That can't be possible. There have always been at least two ages between every single blight. The Darkspawn should still be recovering and producing more offspring, there shouldn't be any chance of another blight" Nat shook his head, while what Leliana said was true with there being around two centuries between every blight and the last one having started and ended a decade ago, too many signs pointed to the opposite argument. Only things were now worse as what was being shown wasn't just the start of a new blight, but that whoever was in control of the Venatori was exceptionally powerful and held a vast knowledge of the blight if they were able to create a false calling.

"There is only one reason why to get rid of the Grey Wardens. Despite their reputation, Grey Wardens only have one single thing going for them. That is their ability to kill an Archdemon and end the blight itself. Anyone can kill a Darkspawn, whether it's the king of a nation, the lowliest patient or Chuck the annoying Redneck from Texas with his Ford Pickup and his M16. No one's special there, what sets the Grey Wardens apart is their ability to kill the Arch Demon. Wardens aren't stronger, quicker, more intelligent then other people, they have one purpose and one purpose alone. If all the Wardens are dead, the blight is unstoppable. The problem is trying to hunt them all down". Leliana's face gave off a myriad of expressions as she hard that one of the most prominent had been when he had mentioned so may new words. Finally, she gave the "oh shit were really and utterly fucked" look as she came to the same conclusion that Nat had figured out.

"The only purpose to eliminate the Grey Wardens would be to stop them from killing an Archdemon. And Archdemon's only arise when there is a blight. We need to find where they are now and save a couple of wardens" If Leliana had been worried before about the current events that the Inquisition was facing, then she was even more concerned now. The threats seemed only to get bigger and bigger alongside the need to expand bigger and bigger. Already she was thinking about which agent to assign to which new mission. A lot of the information Nathanael had relayed to her needed to be confirmed. For now, though it seemed to be pretty solid and best of all it was a huge break in the investigation.

With a name, motive and possible plan of attack, the Inquisition could start forming a counter-attack alongside the best way to use its members most effectively. Leliana didn't smile at the news, but she did feel more at peace now that she knew who was responsible for the death of her friend. The Venatori bastards had thought they had gotten away with what they had done, but they had made a mistake one which had been seized by their youngest member. Nevertheless, she still held doubt.

All the information handed to her and the entire plan all seemed to be known in too much detail. Was it even possible for somebody with such a small amount of information to figure out the entire enemy plan?. It was farfetched incredibly so. Even as she wanted to pursue these ends, Leliana couldn't help but increase her suspicion of the boy. Was he actually a spy, sent to work the way into the Inquisition and move against it from the highest level of its echelons. A lot of things didn't add up with him.

For instance, he had just appeared out of nowhere when he first introduced himself. One moment the Herald had been fighting the next he was there as if he had been hiding. Then there was the fact that none of her spies could find anything about his people in any book or any search. Then there were other more important factors at play. Nat had never once stated what he had been among his people, with his combat skills it was clear to her that he was no farmer or a person who worked with their hands. If anything he appeared to have been higher up in society. His ability to read, comprehend modern politics and piece together information all pointed towards having some kind of military type of education.

Such a thing wouldn't be out of the ordinary, nearly all nobles were taught military topics as they were raised so it made perfect sense as to why he could notice such things. Then there was his accent, he didn't speak like the other nobles, preferring to use terms that commoners would use. The very fact that he sounded educated and serious but in a calm and intelligent way made anything he said seem both serious and believable. He was also trained how to use that more fancy looking sword of his called a sabre, a sword specifically designed to attack un-armoured opponents pointing towards possible non-lethal confrontations allowing for skill to show who was victorious. That was something that only those of noble blood did. In contrast to that theory though, Nat also acted like a commoner far more than he did a noble. While his walk was straight, it was geared more towards combat, looking through the corner of one's eyes for a new enemy then it ever was to impress. His speed was also too fast for a noble, there wasn't a single effort taken towards showing off. Nat certainly didn't scream nobility like most others did, but he also didn't scream that he was military or a commoner, in fact, it was quite difficult to pin him down.

Could he be a noble Leliana wondered silently to herself? If he was, then he wasn't a very high ranking one. Leliana shook her head, despite Nat's abilities he didn't come off to her as a noble, he just didn't act the part. On the other hand, she would likely say that he came from a background where he had the opportunity to train with swords and magic as well as have the money to purchase the books. Very likely, he was the child of some type of wealthy merchant among his people. It would explain his more common tongue as he was likely to have spoken far more with commoners than nobles as well as his combat skills to defend from possible attackers. Finally, she had gotten wind before the Herald went off to Orlais that Nat and Varrick had been casually talking about business. In that conversation according to her agent, Nat had understood what Varrick had been talking about lending further proof to her theory on the mages background.

For now, it was all speculation. However, it was still a lead she could work on and discover more about their mysterious companion. As Spymaster to the Inquisition, it was her role to prevent anyone who would seek to damage the Inquisition identity. With how close Nat and the Herald supposedly were, who knew what he could do with such a position of power. It was for this reason why she had already assigned extra agents to him. Combined with the new information that he had now given to her, it made her all the more suspicious about who he really was and why he was truly here.

"Exactly, everything points towards another blight coming. Even if it isn't a blight and my theory is wrong, then the blight is still inevitably involved in some way. We have to do our best to find out what the exact plan is and strike. However I have troubled you enough with this, I'll leave it in your hands to do as you wish. Goodbye" Nat could see the suspicion growing in Lelianas, eyes, the way they had ever so slightly squinted the more she heard his theory on what could be happening. Not because it sounded illogical or out of this world, but rather because it seemed perhaps too in-depth something that was made prevalent with the lack of information they had on the subject.

It was a sacrifice he was willing to take or at least for now. His own theory was of great concern and had to be addressed quickly. If the Venatori was planning on taking over Tevinter and then make their move to conquer the continent, then it had to be stopped. Even should they fail then the damage done could be irreparable? Not to the people or cities or the morality. People being enslaved and used as sacrifices was an abhorrent practice, but what he cared about is what Tevinter might do to the ruins of Arlathan. Every single destroyed artefact potentially limited his options to the point that should the Venatori destroy the wrong target, Nat may never be able to discover a way home.

According to the legend, the Tevinter Imperium had used incredibly powerful magic to sink Arlathan into the ground and since then it had never been seen again. While such force being used against the ruins of an old temple or shrine was highly doubtful, the threat still remained. It only hastened his need to learn the elfish language from Solas and to identify as many old elfish sites that still remained before they were lost to time.

As far as he was concerned, for the current moment of time, his efforts' had to be focused on stopping the Venatori. In the short term that meant ending several wars and restoring the stability of the continent while dealing the least amount of damage to the continent so it could be prepared for the inevitable invasion by the Qun. By preventing the Venatori's plan of dividing the population between the Qun and Tevinter, he could take on the two enemies separately lowering the personal risk to himself.

Thinking about it, Nat found it bizarre to even himself just how quickly he had found enemies. First, there was the Venatori, then there was Tevinter and now he had also set his sights on the Qun the enemy on foreign shores. He wasn't planning on staying here in this world, yet already he was finding that he needed to protect the land he stood on from what he viewed as evil regimes that needed to be decimated. It was very much a fantasy he realised, the idea of a lone person taking on a corrupt evil government to restore or put in place a more kind government. Mostly it was bullshit, but he was starting to enjoy the idea of taking on an entire government.

It sounded fun, with the power at his hand and the power he could wield there were so many things he could do if he desired. With the right book and some experience in magical forging, he might catapult modern weaponry to the point that he could have machine guns. Perhaps after that even vehicles, with magic and knowledge at his hand, he felt far more powerful than he ever had before and with only a few things holding him back.

He took in a deep breath. No, he needed to quash those feeling and he had to quash them now. The more and more he became content with his own power with the things he could do, with the societal changes he could inflict or enforce the more he sounded something he despised. There were many he hated at home for their views on society and what had to be done and that hate was only escalated when they used violence for a pointless reason or because in their view it was the most effective way.

Here and now he didn't have concerns with using his power on the Venatori, they were enemies and were threatening this very moment to stop him from ever returning home or to screw up his new life. Using the magic at his disposal currently was satisfied seeing as he was at war. Planning an active offensive war, on the other hand, was another thing entirely and it scared him. He initially wanted to go to war with the Qun and Tevinter to stop what was essentially slavery on both counts. He saw such a thing as a fair and just policy that benefited not only himself in making him feel secure by destroying the nearby threats but also the common people by preventing such actions.

On the other hand, how many would die if he walked that path? If in his own selfish desire for security he decimated the lives of thousands butchered them purely because they were an enemy, how many people who didn't want this would be killed by his hand or worse. In fact, as much as he hated the status of things, it was perhaps best if he left the status quo as it was.

He knew the story, it was the same one every damn time. Voldemort, Grindelwald, Dumbledore, Morgana, all of them had walked down the same road he was contemplating and they all ended the same way. They wanted to take actions to correct what they saw as an injustice to right the wrongs of the world and to bring it into a brighter time. At first, they think they can make changes peacefully, but time destroyed those theories and as injustice continued violence became the only option available. With violence came war, and large a body count that always followed, eventually the person who thought they were the good guys and doing what was right would be defeated. From then they would be rejected as villains only known for their corrupt tyranny and the endless corpses that they had created in their effort to "correct" society. As the old phrase went, one either died a hero or lived long enough to see themselves become the villain.

It made him ponder, should he take action against the two nations. He could quite easily devastate entire areas, his knowledge of what modern weapons could do combined with the possible ability to craft them would turn him into a devastating force if he knew how to use them correctly. But it rose the casualty list and most importantly, if he did go to war without any justified pretence such as himself being threatened then he would be nothing more than one of those extremist thugs back home. Whether they were on the right or left politics meant nothing, they were still thugs and he took great joy when he saw them knocked down a peg or two.

In contrast that raised only more points, he had to think about. For those he called thugs in their eyes, violence was the only option. They had likely tried or just realised that peaceful means had no little effect and that force was the only way to get what they want. Most importantly they believed they were in the right, like all others they were so convinced in their beliefs that they were the good guys that their actions were justified; That whatever they did, was the right course to take. It was the exact same thing he faced now, his desire to end the threat that Tevinter and the Qun posed to him was what coloured his viewpoint on them.

Strangely but not unsurprisingly, this answer did not come easily. On one side, with the power he could wield, he could force changes that he desired, to shape the world how he thought it should be. On the other, this was not his world, he did not have the right to claim what was and wasn't just. Not that it mattered anyway. Morals changed from person to person and from society to society. One of the most notable forms of this was the idea of East and West with what they valued. The West valued Individualism, that a person should be as free as possible so they can do whatever they desired so long as it was not extreme. Whereas the East valued Collectivism, the group had to be put first and the rights and desires of the individual were nothing if it threatened the group. While it wasn't 100% accurate as there were elements from both, it was roughly the way things were and was likely one of the reasons he despised the Qun.

Coming from a society that valued individualism, that a person could choose to do what they wished and it was up to them to put the effort in, the very idea of the Qun and its teachings were Evil in his eyes and one that reminded him too much of Communism with its false promises. In that society, a person did not choose to become what they wished to be but was forced. If a person proved to have a good physical shape and could follow out instructions then they would be thrown into the army, conscripted.

"Nat" Hearing his name, Nat stopped his mental thought process and focused his attention on the dark haired mage. She was looking at him intently with worry in her eyes. He knew why it wasn't uncommon for him to lose track of things around him to spend time in his head contemplating things. It was thinking of things whether large or small that helped him to gather his thoughts in order. For Elyria on the other hand, it must have seemed that he was staring into space.

"I'm fine Elyria. I was only thinking about previous events nothing to worry about." Planting her hand on her chest, Elyria sighed out slowly in relief. Then she blushed once she realised that Nat hadn't taken his eyes off her watching her take such an un-ladylike action. Straightening her back up, Elyria regained her composure. "It's fine Elyria. I assured you that I would spend time with you and I am going to do so." Gesturing towards the camp, Elyria looked over at the base of the mountain.

It had certainly grown since she had first arrived, more servants rushed around with tasks of delivering notes, moving boxes and crates or cooking food for the growing number of soldiers. Clangs of metal were also louder as more men and women were kitted up and thrown against the practise dummies all the while the new arrivals of blacksmiths worked day and night to repair and create their equipment. All in all, it was very different environment to the Circle. When she was there she had been used to a masked air of oppression as the Templars kept their stern gazes on her at all times their arms occasionally moving towards the hilt of their swords as a warning. That action had only increased after the events at Kirkwall, eventually, in the last few months, the atmosphere had been so crushingly horrible that she joined the others in their chance for freedom.

Here things were different. It was constantly tense, an air of uncertainty was constantly drifting around especially among the new recruits. Constant comments of when are they going to see action or about an incident with the Herald was the norm as they tried to deal with the boredom. In hopes to combat this, Commander Cullen she believed his name was had started to send more troops away to not only gain proper experience but also to make sure that the camp didn't get too overcrowded.

"I'm sorry, it's just been" She paused her eyes flashing with the memories of what had happened. Her friend had been and she had nearly. Her face quickly grew pale her breathing intensified and she took a step backwards as if to get away from the one who's arm was outstretched ready to grab her and rape her. "No please"

Out of nowhere, Elyria felt an arm gently grasp her shoulder. Softly, Nat stroked her relieving the girls stress and anxiety throwing her out of that memory. In response, Elyria leaned back to the point that her back was pushing against his chess and that her bum was brushing against his leg. Quickly she became aware of this but instead of moving away she instead stayed there with him enjoying the feeling of protection he gave her.

"Here Elyria how about you follow me and I'll introduce you to a game I know. That is if you're willing" Not a single amount of hesitation struck Elyria as she happily accepted the invitation to enjoy time with her saviour. Not wanting any prying eyes as Nat could see that Elyria did feel quite uncomfortable as evidenced with how often her eyes locked onto the Templar's in the camp, he led her out the camp.

"Nat, I' I didn't get to say thank you did I for what you and the Herald did" Slowly the two of them walked across the side of the frozen lake and frozen rocks. Now alone Elyria had strayed a little bit from Nat so that she was no longer directly touching him but even then she was closer then a normal set of people would be.

"You did, quite profusely in fact."

"I'm sorry" She pointed her head to the floor not wanting him to see her face and the shame she believed it showed. Seeing the reaction, ever so gently Nat took hold of the bottom of her chin and brought it up so that she could look into his sunglasses. Then he offered her a fake smile that made the inside of her stomach feel warm.

"Don't thank me Elyria, If anything, others need to be thanking you. Your actions in swearing loyalty to the Inquisition gave us a large amount of help and not only that you took action to help others." Astonished Elryia wondered what he meant by that. "I know you've been studying elemental magic with one of your teachers, I assume it's because you desire to be stronger, to never allow anyone to do that to anyone else". Elyria didn't say anything even if she was surprised that he seemingly knew why she wanted to learn such magic. Quickly that passed, Nat was from a different set of magical people, he had never lived in a circle and had the chance to be free and as such knew things she didn't and had experienced things she didn't.

"I, thank you. I don't want any mage to be hurt the same way they did my friend" Nat nodded in fake sympathy. Giving a quick look around at the scenery, Nat was quite content that with the distance they now were from the main encampment, they were not going to be spied on or have rumours floating about them. With this in mind, he took out his wand and conjured the device he wanted to teach Elyria.

"What, what is it?" Right in front of her, Nat had created some type of strange rectangular table that she had never seen before. It was green, with raised sides all around and deep holes, one in each corner and on in the middle of the longer sides. On top of the table lay a set of multiple coloured balls that had been arranged in a triangle with its point facing towards one end of the table. Next to those triangles were two long polished wooden sticks. Finally next to them were small cubes of some blue item that she thought maybe chalk.

"Here take this" Without delay, Elyria accepted the thin staff that Nat had offered her. Looking up to Nat for advice, she simply saw that he had taken one of the blue squared and had started rubbing it onto the tip of his staff. Elyria followed suit. "This game is called pool, the object is quite simple. Using your cue, you hit the white ball so that it will then strike another ball and force it down into one of the holes. We take turns hitting the white ball, but depending on what happens will force you to either gain another turn, lose a turn, lose the game entirely or continue. Now I'll go first to show you the basic technique so just follow what I do".

Elryia accepted the proposition and stepped back away from Nat but watching his movements closely. Once he had made sure she was clear, he took the stick he called a cue and leaned forward. Gently he then lowered the cue onto his left thumb lifting it above the ground where he then slowly started to push the cue forward and then backwards. Once he was happy, he thrust the cue forwards smacking the white ball sending it forwards with a good amount of speed where it then crashed loudly into the assorted triangle of multicoloured balls and broke them apart. Interested Elyria watched as each of the balls moved quickly at first now that their formation had been broken in all different directions, however, none of them went into any of the said holes. His turn now complete, Na stepped back and gestured for Elyria to have her turn.

"Okay, the first colour you pot is your colour. That means if you pot a red first then that's your colour and it's your objective to pot each of your reds. Once all of your colours are potted, you then and only then have to pot the black, once that's complete. However, if you pot the black before all of your colour's, then you lose the game. If you pot the white you lose a turn, if you hit the white but it doesn't hit your colour then you lose a turn. If you accidentally miss the white entirely then you miss a turn. However, you gain a turn every time you pot your colour so when you pot your red you get another turn and if you pot that one then you get another turn and it carries on. Do you understand?"

"Yes, it looks quite fun". Confirming to her teacher that she understood the rules of the game, Elyria took her time to look at the way that the balls were now in after Nats first shot. They had been broken up a decent amount but there was still a cluster in the centre where she was thinking about hitting.

"Well don't let me stop you then "Gesturing towards the balls on the table, Nat stepped back and allowed his eyes to focus on Elyria's eyes working out what she was going to hit. It didn't take long for her work out a target, she was going for one of the red balls in the centre of the table. It was a fair shot he supposed, as she had never played a game before, she likely wanted to get a feeling for the cue and was going to go for an easier shot until she became more familiar with it.

Approaching the table, Elyria at first attempted to hit the white ball standing up but soon learned that she did actually need to bend her body in order to line up the shot. The cue wasn't heavy, but with how the weight was distributed she soon realised why Nat used his other finger to take the weight at the end. Again she followed his example and found the most comfortable position that she could. As she chose her target, she could still feel the cue wobbling a bit but she guessed there wasn't much to do, she wasn't the strongest girl in the world, very few mages had much physical strength less it prove a danger to the Templars.

As she leant down, Elyria realised just what shape her body was in. Blushing at the thought of somebody seeing her in such a position, she stumbled through her shot hitting the white at the edge rather than the centre. Spinning away, she gave a sigh as the ball dodged past one of the blue balls and struck the edge of the table bouncing off until it finally slowed to a halt. Stepping back, from the table Nat approached her and gently laid a hand on her shoulder tapping her gently as if she was a pet.

"Don't worry about it, the weather isn't the greatest so a shiver or two is fine" He took his hand off her shoulder and then bent over lining his shot. While he did so, he noticed the pink that appeared on Elryias cheeks.

"Yes, it's cold. I'll do better next time" Yes the cold Nat thought obviously that was what had made her first shot a mistake rather than the fact that she had stuck her ass so far into the air for anyone to admire. He wouldn't mention it, he was trying to help relieve the problems that Elyria was dealing with not escalate them. While he certainly wasn't a psychiatrist not by any means, he would assume that the logical position would be that referencing a girls body in anything that could be considered as sexual when said girl was recovering from an incident that could have been quite traumatic as not a good thing to do.

"Well it's your first game, can't expect you to be perfect" Hitting the white, Elyria was stunned as Nat potted two blue balls at once both going into the same hole in quick succession of one another. "Anyway, how were things with you in general, you said that you were learning combat magic any specific elemental branch?" Elyria smiled at the question, she hadn't been expecting it."

"Oh Ice. It's so pretty at times, have you seen the way the sun glints of it.?"

"Definitely, but I personally find the chaos it causes to be more entertaining. Back home if we saw even one snowflake it was a cause for celebration as well as send the entire place into pandemonium. People would ask for time off work, the roads and pavement were more dangerous, school shut and everyone started stocking up on everything they could get their hands on. You should see them when it came to getting dressed, one shirt multiple jumpers, a jacket or two with a coat for good measure, oh and also hiking boots, scarves, gloves. Some people would even carry around salt with them to make sure that their road was safe."

"All of that over one snowflake?" Elryia asked as if Nat was a lunatic. "Do you not have snow where you come from?" Nat stayed silent a few moments before he attacked the white ball, he hit a blue ball getting it close to the edge only for it to stop before it fell in.

"No we get it, but it's rare. Most of the time it never sticks and even when it does stick it's very thin and is gone by morning. The powdery white stuff that Ferelden gets is ridiculously rare. We used to get a lot more, entire rivers would be frozen over and people would go ice skating. Those days are long gone though, besides the health and safety and how cold it can get, the likelihood of the rivers freezing over are slim" That was certainly interesting to Elyria, she remembered the snow that fell every year and how heavy it could get. She never got to touch the stuff, but she had seen it and it reminded her remembered how many times she had wanted to leave the tower and explore.

"I only got to touch snow after I left the tower. It's strange being out here where I can touch it whenever I want"

"Yes well just wrap up warm. The last thing you want to catch is hypothermia" Situated at the base of some tall mountains, the temperature was inevitably far cooler then what Nat was used to, the same he assumed would be for Elyria. Both of them had spent the majority of their lives in warmer places than here but it was her that was more prone to being killed by the cold.

"What's hypothermia? Some kind of disease" While she did ask curiously, Nat detected a small amount of concern in her voice about the prospect of catching some kind of disease. It was a fair concern, back in these days a simple paper cut could mean death if it got infected so for him to comment about her catching hypothermia likely sent her into a small panic.

"It's when your body has an abnormally low temperature and freezes to death. Generally, if not treated quickly it's lethal." Concerned by his response, Elyria couldn't help but look at the apparel she was currently attired in. Whereas back in Ostwick she would have worn lighter thinner robes, here in cold Fereldan she found herself wearing the warmer thicker robes create with fur. It wasn't perfect and when the wind blew she couldn't stop the shivering, but it was certainly better than wearing the lighter clothes that she was used to.

"How can you wear so little, everyone not from Fereldan wears thicker coats and jackets and shirts but you and the Fereldan's are perfectly fine with this weather and wear lighter things then we do." Elyria shivered as a gust of wind blew across her already freezing face. It was horrible, she had been feeling her ears freeze constantly ever since arriving in her mountains. What was worse was when one of her fellow mages had playfully flicked her ears causing her to hiss loudly as she gripped her ear and rubbed it to make it feel better.

"It's all about climate" Nat responded as he took the position away from Elyria and prepared his next shot working out which ball and hole he wanted to go for. He found it quickly and took a position. "You grew up in Ostwick. While it certainly isn't as warm as Tevinter, it is definitely warmer than Ferelden. Therefore the temperatures of Ostwick is what you have been acclimatised too. It's normal like a first language is to a person it's all you've known or you've known it long enough that it's what you expect. So when you came to Fereldan which is colder then Ostwick, you feel the change and are therefore uncomfortable. However should you stay long enough, you'll acclimatise to the temperature and won't find as many problems.

"I didn't know that, they didn't teach that at the school" Nat hid his chuckle. With them being in the later medieval era, the nations of Thedas had embraced the scientific method yet so he wasn't expecting Elyria to know everything he spouted. "You look fine, did you grow up somewhere cold as well?" Elyria's eyes locked onto the young wizard as he took another position. This time with the ball where it was, Nat had to place himself into a position where to balance his weight he had to raise his bottom end up. Taking the opportunity, Elyria ogled the sight before her committing it to memory. It was a good job as well since mere months later Nat was out of that position his turn ended.

"I adapt far easier to colder climates then I do warmer ones, it's just the way I am" Moving back from the table, Nat out of the corner of his eyes observed the little ways that Elyria face as she heard that information. As far as he knew, she could be a spy working for Leliana or somebody else hoping to gain any valuable blackmail or any other type of information that could be used against him. In this case, Elryia asking him if he was used to colder climates could be used by Leliana to try and narrow where his people had "resided". If he came from a colder climate or one similar to Ferelden then the spymaster could concentrate her spies there whereas if he came from a warmer one, then she would likely send them north. Not wishing to give his position away, he partly answered the question.

"Oh" Elyria sighed softly. She had been hoping to hear more about this mysterious mage's home. Everything he did was so different from the mages that she had grown up with. His home sounded strange to her ears and she desired to know more. After all, he had stated that just one snowflake could throw his entire nation into chaos. As absurd as it sounded, however, it did point that wherever he was from, Nat's people could have been centred in the north of Thedas hanging out as one of many clans in one of many nations. "I always read about Tevinter how it was so warm and that the clothes were thin at times. Apparently, during the summer, a few even go swimming nude where anyone can see them."

"It's probably common to them, with how hot Tevinter is there's bound to be some people who want to cool off during the day. And that's on the light end, have you seen how the Iron Bull doesn't wear a shirt, it means that he feels too hot where he comes from." Thinking about the northern territories on the map, Nat was very glad that he had ended up here in Fereldan, he liked the cooler climate even if it didn't affect him due to the enchantments on his clothing regulating his temperature. He'd visited a few countries around the world for duelling, Italy, Greece, France, Germany, the United States, Australia, Japan, China, Norway, Canada and Brazil.

Personally, in terms of temperature, he had despised Brazil. It was so hot, in complete contrast he had adored the heavy snow of Canada. Other countries fell in a line from his favourite to least favourite depending on what was their temperature. Hot countries like Brazil and Australia were at the bottom whereas colder climates were at the top of the list. All of those visits had only been for a short while, a few days generally a week at the most, but her in Thedas he had been stuck in one country for over a month.

He was glad that the country was Fereldan, while he would have been fine with Orlais's temperature, he did enjoy the nice cool chills and especially at night. It was rather beautiful at times to wake up and as he went on his morning run admire the patterns that the frost had formed. Had the Inquisition been stuck on something like a tropical island, however, he would have despised it.

"Still, to swim in the sea naked with stranger's, it sounds rather..." Elyria couldn't find the word. "Anyway, it doesn't sit right with me, to look and find someone that's hot and want to spend time with that's ok. But to show a stranger your body of your not going to do anything sounds so-" That was something Nat could certainly agree with. He hadn't ever found anyone attractive and the only times clothing had ever gained his attention was when it was bizarre such as that time a man had put on a tutu, painted himself green and humped the statue of some dog or other on live TV. Yeah, London was a strange place at times.

"I completely understand you. I mean I get wearing something provocative if you want to look good or you're looking for some fun with somebody else. I even get having sex with random strangers, but if you're not going to have sex with the stranger, then at least cover yourself up. Personally, I don't even let anyone see me without a full set of clothes on. I mean even if I was from Par Vollen or in a jungle I would always wear a t-shirt, the idea of letting anyone see me without one feels wrong and a breach of privacy. In fact, I don't even let anyone watch me swim. What about you" Elyria shook her head at the thought of that Qunari man who had arrived a few days ago.

"Yeah. I mean don't get me wrong, if a person looks hot like that Iron Bull does, then it's more ok but even so, I find it uncomfortable around him." Elyria paused frowning. She was thinking about the way that large tall man with his bare chest presented walked around. She knew the man wasn't going to do anything, but still seeing a bare chest like that made her think about only one thing. She shuddered and dropped her cue as the memories replayed. Before it got too far she was once again brought back to reality as a familiar hand held her shoulder. "I'm sorry"

"It's all right, you're safe now" Elryia nodded slowly at the words however that didn't stop her from enjoying the feeling of his hand on her shoulder even if it was covered in gloves. "Now where were we? Oh yes, we were discussing the Iron Bull. Speaking of which, I bet the day Valeyna returns she's going to jump him." Nat joked as he gently pushed Elyria back into position if playing this game kept her mind of what had occurred, then he had to keep her playing.

"Valeyna?" Elryia asked confused.

"You might know her as the Herald of Andraste." Elyria's eyes widened had he just made a joke about one of the holiest people there were in the world, the one sent by Andraste. "She's definitely into "improving relations" between her and others." Elyria took a step back her mouth gaping, quickly she shut it covering it with her hand and blushing as she tried to act like a noble but it didn't work.

"Is that even allowed?" Nat shrugged his shoulders in response all the while he started to twirl his cue as he waited for Elyria to finish her turn.

"I doubt that would stop her" Nat replied smoothly shaking his head as he remembered how Valeyna had a somewhat strange fascination when it came to intimate personal relations. "When we were coming back from the Hinterlands after we rescued you, Varrick asked her a question about what her life was like before. The next hour we were subjected to all the various men and women she had been with as she described it with enough detail that it would put authors to shame". Elryia paused, that sounded utterly unbelievable. The Herald of Andraste, the one destined to save Thedas from the Breach was a slut.

"The way she speaks, you'd think she sleeps with everyone she sees" Scandalised Elyria couldn't help but wonder what the Chantry must have thought about the elf woman. Suddenly her face lit up happily. The Herald had left with the others for Val Royeux several weeks ago, by now they must have arrived at the city and she could only imagine the reaction of the Chantry when they saw that their beloved hero was a fornicating Dalish elf mage.

"Yes, well so long as people remember to lock their doors at night, leave a cross out and place some pleasure toys on the door, then the Succubus should leave us perfectly alone." She blinked, her head swivelling round from the white ball she had just hit to the mage.

"What?" She asked astonished.

"It's an old saying among my people. It's false of course, no amount of locked doors and crosses are going to affect a Succubus in any way and quite frankly the creature is more likely to make the owner of the toys experience them. It's just an old legend no idea where it came from"

Unbeknownst to Elyria, Nat watched her closely. After all that had happened to her by the Templar's, he had been expecting her to be incredibly uncomfortable on such subjects. In fact, he had thought he was right when the girl had gone into a brief panic when she likely imagined the bull, yet now things seemed fine. It was odd, he hadn't used any spells to comfort her and while he accepted that he wasn't the best person to handle this, he was sure he shouldn't have seen anything like this. She was happily talking and joking with him as if nothing had ever occurred, perhaps it was selective and something specific was needed or it could be him.

He had noticed the way she always wanted to get close to him. When he had first met she had actively wanted to hold his hand. Naturally, he'd refused, the idea of sharing something like that with her was not an idea he like the sound off. However, it wasn't just that. Something so little and insignificant as him placing a hand on her shoulder instantly calmed her down to the point that she leaned back into it like she was comfortable.

He decided that for now, he would carry on observing her, something as simple as playing a game and having casual conversation had taken her mind off the topic. He'd also keep the topic up, it appeared that discussing sex, in general, was fine with her which he didn't know was what was normal or not. Then again he was trying to concentrate the discussion on the sexual activities of others rather than on herself.

"I've not heard that one before. Anyway, what is a succubus? Is it a type of demon" Nat responded with his normally calm face directed at the table as he picked his shot before answering.

"Sex demons, specifically a succubus is female and an incubus is a male. They differ from desire demons in the fact that they only trade with sex and at least according to modern perceptions and culture among my people, they're not that bad." Horrified was one way to describe Elryias reaction. She took a step back in the snow only to lose balance and fall backwards landing in the powdery white stuff and leaving a small crater to where she was. Rolling his eyes, Nat placed his cue down and offered her his hand. When she accepted it, he yanked her up through the air where she only stopped suddenly when her chest pressed against his.

"How can you're people view demons as good things, after all, that they've done why would people not consider demons evil". Now that she was up, Nat much to the unspoken displeasure of Elryia pushed her away removing her from the source of his warmth.

"Culture changes" Nat replied calmly returning back to the table and taking his turn this time without interruption. "From what I know, Succubus need to take in life energy to survive. It's like what food and drink are for us, without it we die. Only thing is, they don't produce it themselves so they have to harvest it. Now to my knowledge, there are a few things that count as life energy that other species can take from humans and elves. Vampires, for instance, drink blood, their bodies have been adapted for that blood, it's the most efficient way. Succubus gets their energy through sex, an awful lot of sex. It's got to be something like three times a day or something." A light flashed inside Elyria's brain as she quickly sorted out what he was saying.

"Oh I get it, where we hunt animals for food they hunt humans for sex" Nat acknowledged her theory and stayed quiet waiting to see just how far on this path she could walk figuring out things. "You said that their bodies had adapted to help them live, that must mean that they've become very beautiful and alluring just like desire demons."

"It's more a case of a desire demon would be jealous of a Succubus. Physically there isn't anything wrong with them. Think of the most beautiful elf you could think off and think of them wearing very thin clothing over their intimate areas. Once you have that exemplify it by a thousand, add in ridiculous stamina and strength alongside bat wings and a tail. I've seen the drawings of some of the desire demons, they have nothing on succubus. Desire demons do all kind of things Succubus focus on only sex.

Following his advice, Elyria imagined such a creature. She was doing fine at first, she took the image of the most beautiful elf that she had ever seen which was, in fact, the Herald of Andraste. When she followed the next step and removed the majority of her clothing, she felt the image change as the supple elegant body of the Herald was instead replaced with the muscular structure of a man. She backed away, a hand reached out to her wanting to grab her as she saw the rest of the man appear without his clothes on looking at her as if she was worth nothing.

"Elyria focus" Nat's voice penetrated her thoughts, at first it did nothing and Elyria felt her heart beat faster and faster as she felt the Templar slap her to the ground. Her breathing increased as she tried to fight back fire ice none of it did anything and all she could feel was that clammy hand of the man roughly grab her clothing pushing her on the wall with that look on his face. Powerless, that was how she felt, by this point, the other templar arrived in the same condition, roughly he grabbed her by the throat and forced her to look at that thing between his legs.

Tears streamed from her face as she felt the man push it towards her mouth at the same time the other had ripped of her clothes leaving them in tatters. She shivered as she felt one of them knead her breast roughly laughing as she tried to fight back.

"No please don't" She begged but it was all for nought. The other guard gripped her chin harshly and kept her steady aiming that thing towards her jaw. Blood erupted out of the men's bodies as something struck them killing them instantly dropping like flies. In shock, Elyria did nothing to cover herself only closing her eyes.

"Elyria you're safe" She knew that voice, it belonged to. Opening her eyes she saw him there. Only he wasn't in the tower he was outside with snow falling around her gently landing on her delicate face. A look of concern was on her face before she could even speak her embraced her. His arms wrapped around her pressing her body to his warming her as her head was placed on his shoulders next to his. Gently he whispered into her ear. "Shh, you're safe Elyria. I'm here" A hand touched her back rubbing it in a comforting manner reminding her that she actually did have clothes on. It all came back to her, she wasn't with the Templar's, she was in Haven with the inquisition. She had escaped when she had been saved by a mage with long blonde hair who had butchered his way through Templar after Templar leaving no survivors and only a trail of corpses.

"Please..." She spoke softly her voice sounding damaged. "Stay with me" Fearing what would happen if she let go, her legs gave way, forcing her to collapse into the embrace of the one holding her. Nat caught her with no trouble. Wanting to make sure that he had a good grip on her, he moved his hands so he was soon bridal carrying her in his arms her head pressed against his chest as tears streamed down her eyes all the while her arms locked around his neck. He was confused, what was he supposed to do now?

Should he walk her back to the rest of her fellow mages and allow them to handle the situation? No his intentions of her while not cruel in his eyes, were certainly not kind. He wanted her to believe that he was her friend so that he could gain her loyalty, trust and help. With her connections to the nobility of Ostiwck, he could use her to his own gain whether to secure things like alliances or for other purposes he didn't know yet. All the same, having the daughter of the nobility trust him in such a manner was useful to his goals.

Instead, with her still in his arms snuggling her head close to his chest, he scanned the local horizon until he found something that could be useful. It didn't take long. The area around Haven had a number of small cave systems and mines all of which had been abandoned and none bar the upper-level ones were used by the Inquisition. A quick look to the sky indicated that he had to move quickly. It was getting heavier the snow, as was it getting colder and bit by bit he started to see what was likely going to become a hail storm forming.

"Put me down" Elyria complained meekly as she felt her entire body weight lift off the ground. Her face blushed at how close he was holding her yet at the same time she felt a deep amount of shame rock her body.

"I've got you" She wasn't in any condition to move. Even with her feeble protests, it was quite clear that the girl was still hurt by the memory of what had nearly happened. In response, she moved one of her hands from around her neck and weakly pushed his chest to no avail.

"Put me down" She repeated.

"No. Why would I ever want to put a girl as beautiful as you down when I have you in my arms" Her hand stilled her face a full blush as blood directed to her cheeks warming them considerably. All protest against him halted as her eyes widened. Elyria didn't know where to look, quickly she averted her gaze from that black mask but not for long as she soon sent them back to look at him again. Had he called her beautiful? Something she didn't know what hammered in her heart fluttering around.

Nat moved quickly, the weight of the girl in his hands making his sounds in the snow far louder than they normally would be as they crushed down. After a little while, it became obvious that he had been too late to dodge the hail as it soon battered the area hurtling frozen chunks of ice everywhere like pebbles falling from the sky. Seeing that Elyria was still in shock, he did his best to cover her even going so far as to take off his jacket and hand it to her wrapping her up warmly. It was all an act, with his power he could have easily avoided the hail shower or cast a spell to negate it around him and Elyria but he didn't.

He knew Elyria was seeing him as her saviour, the one who protected her time and time again, the one she wanted to be like. If he gave off the appearance that he was going out of his way to assist the girl, then she was far more likely to increase those feelings. With any luck she might feel guilty about what he did and when he gave the response that he was fine, her opinion of him would raise as would her opinion of the debt that she believed she owed him.

Soon enough with her in his arms, he entered one of the many caves that littered the area. Dark and damp it wasn't anything special. After checking that the area was safe with a quick spell, Nat laid the girl down on the floor summoning a sofa before then creating a fire a little distance away. As he sat down, Elyria slowly made her way off of him and slid her bum into the middle section next to him.

Fire cackled loudly from in front of her illuminating the dark cave. Through it, she could see the entrance. The snow and hail that had been falling had accelerated turning into an outright blizzard, if anyone went out there now without the help of magic they would be killed of cold. Averting her gaze back to the fire, she focused on it as there was nothing other to focus on other than the person in the cave with her.

"Looks like it's a little chilly out there don't you think" Now alone with the girl, Nat deftly moved his right hand into the pocket of his jacket. Much to Elyria's surprise, he brought out a few books. She blinked, she hadn't felt those when she had worn his jacket but there they were all the same. "I bought these while I was at Denerim. With a blizzard, there's nothing much else to do. Which one would you prefer? Before she knew it, Elyria had the small group of books given to her.

Truthfully Elyria wasn't in the mood for reading. She didn't feel cold, the heat of the fire in front of her kept that from happening to her but all she could find herself was focusing on what he had said. Beautiful that was what he had called her, instantly she felt her heart beat faster even though she was sitting down on a strange type of extended seat.

It wasn't the first time she had heard the word be used to describe her. While she had never liked the Templars, they had been intelligent enough to allow the residents of the Circle to have something that was akin to romance. They weren't allowed to get married or to have children, but using magical methods of contraception protection, mages were indeed allowed to have sex with each other. She had wondered about it one day and had promptly asked her tutor. According to her tutor, circles which didn't allow the mages any sort of sexual activity saw a massive amount of violent incidents. Those which did allow sex though found that the mages weren't so angry and cranked up all the time as they had to resist their urges. It was then that her tutor had said that now that she was that age she was, it was expected that she would also start to feel attraction to others and want to partake in such activities if she so desired.

It was at this time where she found herself being complimented on a daily basis. She remembered the constant sultry looks from both men and women alike whether they were Templar or Mage it didn't matter, they called her beautiful and made their desires clear. It was that word that she was called before those bastards had nearly raped her. She knew it should upset her, instead, she found her heart beating. Why did it sound so nice when he said it, every other time people had called her beautiful they had other intentions. In contrast, when he said it, she couldn't detect a single hint of sexual intention on his words and it made her upset.

Did his words mean nothing, the way he complimented her so easily and with no sexual intention as others had? Was it only some kind of greeting? Some way to cheer her up?. She wanted to ask but as she went to her doubt and worried overtook her. He was the first one not to see her as others had. She didn't want to lose that. Keeping quiet she simply laid her head on his shoulder staring into the fire as it danced in front of them.

It was far easier than Nat had expected. Elyria Trevelyan the daughter of one of the more important nobility families on Ostwick had practically attached herself to him. He didn't attempt to move the head on his shoulder, it was uncomfortable certainly but the reward he would gain by staying still in the form of the girl's trust and loyalty was more important. Putting aside her families influence in politics aside, the wealth and contacts her family had was something he wished to get on his side.

Once this was all finished, sealing the Breach dealing with whoever had led their attack on Thedas, he would return to his original goal. There was no way of knowing how long it would take him to return home, but he did know that he needed ancient elf knowledge and the only places to find those were ruins that had been left behind. The average person wouldn't have a clue where to find old ruins and any attempts to ask the Dalish for help would end up in a fight resulting in the quick death of their clan. That left maps and books that might mark down their positions where he could then investigate.

While nobility, he didn't expect the Trevelyan family to hold books about the location of elf ruins. However what he did expect was that they may know people who may know other people who might have an idea of what he was searching for. Finding that information was going to be easy on his own, it was the equivalent of him being home and just looking at random people and unless they were in specific clothing like uniforms, trying to find who worked in a library. It would be a pointless endeavour that would waste valuable time.

Speaking of home, he wondered how in Merlin's name he was going to explain this to the muggle government when he got back. Everything that had happened everything that was bound to happen whilst he was here., it was going to be one hell of a story. In fact, I'd likely make a brilliant novel if he managed to survive this place long enough to publish a book.

Even so, he found himself missing home. With him stuck here on this planet, there were so many creature comforts that he was not able to access and use. The internet was by far the thing he was missing the most, without access to it he was unable to purchase new books or look online for other information on a variety of topics. He was still yet to look, but he did fear that his kindle may not have books on topics that could assist in his future.

For instance, while he believed that crafting a musket was a simple thing because of its basic design, that did not mean however that he knew the temperature the fire had had to be or how many times the metal needed to be struck. He knew the length of the barrel, but he didn't know the length of the trigger or the hole that was in the rube to allow for the powder in the pan to spark through and unleash the object. And that was for a basic firearm, if he did ever want to create a more modern weapon which wouldn't require dressing his soldiers up in nice bright uniforms, then there were a lot more parts involved.

With the danger of both a Venatori Tevinter and a possible Qunari invasion, then he wanted the best possible firearm he could get. Only while he knew that while he did have books that mentioned more modern firearms such as the L85A2, MI6 and AK 47, he was damn sure that he had schematics for none of them meaning any sort of assault rifle was out. That left in his mind that the ultimate firearm he might have schematics for was something like the Short Magazine Lee Enfield mk3 or the Lee Enfield No 4 mk1*.

Exempt more problems arose, he was not a firearms expert, not in any shape or form. The only reason he knew about the names of the Lee Enfield rifles were that of a brief few mentions in books and popular culture when occasionally he would watch his sister's boyfriend play one of those video games of his. Never in his life had he fired any type of modern firearm, the only ones he had experience with were the Brown Bess Musket and the Baker Rifle.

Both of which alongside his knowledge of swordplay with a sabre was because of family tradition and not given much time. They were the weapons which had won his house their position in magical parliament and as consequence, each member was given practice with them as a sign of respect and tradition. Other families had their own unique traditions albeit they didn't speak about them.

Were he to face one of those American gun owners who held the same rifle, he'd surely lose in a competition. In the six years he'd had to fire both guns, between them he would have shot around 40 bullets and that was it. Guns weren't something that typically interested him and he was off the general agreement alongside most people in his country that there was no need what so ever for any civilian to own a gun in the first place. The only reason he had fired the guns was that of family obligation and that was it. Quite frankly, he wouldn't care if there was a law for the British magical population outlawing firearms. All he would want to do in that case would have them deactivated and put them on display, that was it.

The irony was strong with the situation he was going to put his soldiers through. Their commander was going to be a person training them who had A. No military experience whatsoever and would never volunteer for the armed services B. Didn't care about and was not an expert in the weapons they would be taught with C. Didn't have a clue how on earth he was going to teach soldiers.

Great Nat realised, out of all the things he had set up for himself to do, this one was going to be one of the easiest. Then again, he had a feeling that he was likely going to be soft on his recruits especially compared to what actual military people underwent. For one he wasn't going to be an asshole and make everyone shave their head lime some militaries unless they were a female in which case sexist policies allowed them to keep it. Secondly, he wasn't going to wake them up at Merlin know what time in the stupid morning. When he got up he'd get them up and they could go on a run with him. Thirdly he wasn't going to shout at them and get red-faced. Quite frankly when Ant (his sister's boyfriend) had tried to convince him to join the military and deemed to show him pictures of what they could expect of not only British training but also of the US training where he had a friend. Nat had laughed at the drill instructors because they looked so stupid with their bald heads and red face not to mention their stupid pointy hats.

Staring into the fire, he realised that he had a lot of work ahead of him to get his own little unit of soldiers into a decent fighting shape. There would be diets he would have to put them through, mandatory education to make sure that they could read and write, uniform design and create weapons and ammunition. A whole new military speak and code, as well as hand signals and he himself, would likely have to learn the N.A.T.O terms. Then there was also horse riding as he would want to make sure that they could move from place to place. He also needed to speak to Josephine about pay for any soldier that joined him. After that he also would then be required to speak to Cullen about having them separate from the main army and if not, then how best to use them. There was so much for him to do in the future days and it was drastically going to lower the amount of time at least in the short term that he could spend on other projects.

Other issues needed to be dealt with as well. As soon as Valeyna returned, he needed to start to convince her in agreeing with him on certain topics. Those topics were on who's side to pick in the many political nightmares that were ravaging the continent. While these weren't set in stone as he would prefer to learn more about the sides he would be convincing Valeyna to pick, he had already chosen his side in the current conflicts.

Supporting the mages was a simple one, as a wizard there wasn't a chance he was going to let Valeyna pick a group of tyrannical assholes who slaughtered mages for fun. Not to mention they were essentially the Chantry's soldiers an organisation he despised, fucking them over would be another victory against the faithful. When it came to Orlais, he sided with Empress Celene.

Orlais as of currently was a mess and with the danger, the continent was facing, the last thing it needed was a militaristic leader such as Gaspard. That man had openly spouted that he wanted to go to war with Fereldan again to conquer it again, not only would that cause a huge tension in allies when they were facing a horde of demons and Tevinter extremists, but it would also mean the invasion of Fereldan. He didn't have an emotional attachment to this place, and he also didn't want to gain one as it could limit his ability to return home, however that didn't mean he didn't like the nation.

Fereldan was similar to England back in the medieval times and Orlais was France. While they weren't his countries, as an Englishmen he had a preference and that preference was for Ferelden. Empress Celene could do the renaissance all she wanted, but she was keeping the peace which meant that Ferelden was safe and had the chance to catch up. England had been one of the last to have the renaissance in Europe and it took a great deal of time for it to become the first Superpower of the world, but it did happen. Should the Orlesian's conquer Fereldan however, then a possible powerful Fereldan would never happen to allow for an Orlesian/French victory.

It was an awful thought, the very idea of the French having victory against the English left a sour flavour in his mouth. Whilst he was here, he considered it a sense of national pride to screw the French(Technically Orlesian) Bastards over as much as possible. It wasn't a hatred of the French, more of a sort of an unhealthy rivalry where if they tried anything, he would turn the entire country of Orlesian into a wasteland and forcibly split it up never to recover.

Coming back to the subject at hand, that left the point of supporting Kirkwall or Starkhaven in their miniature war. Naturally, he would support Kirkwall, from Varrick's books Sebastian came off as an asshole and while his family was a supporter of the Inquisition, it was mainly so that they could go on with the typical stuff of locking up mages. Nat hadn't met the man, but he had met Varrick and he liked Varrick. So fuck Sebastian, the best thing to do would be to ask Leliana to send one of her agents to finish of that family for good.

Out of all these issues, the civil war in Orlais was the most prominent and had to be dealt with first lest it spell disaster for the Inquisition. Personally, if it were him in charge, all he'd do would find Gaspard when he's in the middle of the battle and kill him in, it sorting out the whole problem. No having to wait on political meddling or annoying nobles, no risk of pissing off the most powerful nation in Orlais. No all that needed to be done is enchant a single arrow and then fling it into Gaspard's eyes socket and hey civil war ended.

Dealing with the Templar order would also be easy, they disband or are executed. Negotiation could be used to handle all sorts of small things and he did agree that there was a small use for them, just not as a religious order and with nowhere near the power that they currently hold. Were he to conduct the negotiations, their job would be more like policemen. Their numbers would be lowered and could only interfere with mages if they committed an illegal type of magic such as blood magic, or committed a crime. That was it, they would not be allowed to trouble mages or take them from their homes to gilded prisons, only when a crime had been committed by a mage would they be allowed to interfere. Should they refuse such a generous offer, then they died all of them.

He would give no mercy to that scum if they thought they had a better plan. Oh, he knew he could be fairer, but he didn't care for fairness, in fact, he saw it as revenge. For so long his people wizards and witches had been oppressed because they were born different than they were evil for having magic, it was all bullshit as was all religion. Words he could deal with, they were simply sounds and dealt no damage, however attempting to burn people at the stake, kill them and destroy their knowledge out of petty revenge was different. The Templar's may not have been the ones who attacked his people directly, all the same, though mages were almost like him. He wouldn't stand for it, the mages were like his people only helpless against the powers that the Templars held.

So if he was the one to make the terms for the negotiation between mages and Templar's, then his terms were simple. Templar's laid down their arms abandoned the Chantry and disbanded their order for all eternity. If not, then in his eyes, it was perfectly acceptable terms to commit Genocide on those people. Should he be stuck here, then he would one by one on his own if he had to wipe the pathetic cruel race of Templar's off the face of the planet once and for all.

He turned his face towards the weight on his shoulder. Already he could feel his blood boiling in his veins as he thought about what had nearly happened to Elyria what had happened to her friend and to all those that had come before. He didn't know them, he didn't have any sort of feelings for them, but even so, he wanted vengeance on those Templar bastards.

Already he knew what would happen should Valeyna try to go to the Templars for help instead of the mages. He would sabotage her efforts, go to the great fortress of their mighty order and wipe all of the Templars out forcing Valeyna to go to the mages or to some other group. Nat breathed outwards staring into the hailing blizzard as the layer of snow built up.

From this day, the Battle Lines had been drawn.


	11. Chapter 11 Furthering Relations

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 11 Furthering Relations**

9:41 Dragon

Haven

He watched intensely as the hammer was brought down to strike hard against the glowing red piece of hot metal sending of small sparks outwards as it did so. Strike after strike repeated with a fast but continuous pace as one would expect from an individual who had been working in this craft for the years that the blacksmith had done. As the hammer clanged loudly against the metal moulding it into a different shape, Nat observed carefully the process as he had been doing so for the last few hours ever since the Blacksmith had woken up.

His eyes still hidden as ever behind the sunglasses hiding part of his identity mentally noted how hot the temperature had to be, how many time it needed to be struck, how hard that had to be. Already he had watched after politely asking to do so, as the blacksmith and his apprentices went about their daily routine of crafting weapons for the forces of the Inquisition. It was quite a strenuous type of work, and it was no wonder that those who did work at the forge had large powerful muscles with how often they raised them and then slammed them down. It was an interesting process to watch, especially when he considered that in the modern day, blacksmiths would have a great many deal of tools to help in their work. Tools he was aware that the Blacksmith would love should he make them.

That was one of the first things he would have to create when he did get around to creating weapons for his one soldier. He needed to look at the normal process and when he saw it, point out to himself that a certain type of tool could help fasten the process. Already he had multiple spells in mind that could deal with the problems he was going to face. One of which would be the striking of the hammer. While individual strikes were useful, a spell that would deliver consistent hammering with the same amount strength and faster than a blacksmith could be used. Then there was physically cutting shapes out of metal and getting them ready. Earlier he had watched as the apprentice using black chalk draw a shape of something and then with a hammer and chisel slowly begun to chip it out bit by bit. Nat's solution to this would be to instead use a more modern tool via using a water spell. Instead of him having to chisel pieces by piece, all he would have to do would, was simply cast a very powerful water spell focusing on power rather than volume giving him a water cutter.

Another device he could already see was magical sanders that would smooth items down alongside magical whetstones to sharpen any blade that may be made. To further supplement him, he could use magic to do the work of robots where they quickly placed all of the pieces together and then drilled them in if possible. The power of magic was very useful and would easily help supplement his lack of physical ability to create anything he desired. Not that it stopped there, as they were using medieval technology that meant it was bound to be incredibly inferior to modern steel. With the use of modern technology, he could likely ensure that the quality of the metal was higher.

It was because of this, that as of currently he knew that the sooner he could build something like a Lee Enfield No4 that the harder it would be for any nation to match him. Those types of weapons needed a high amount of accuracy to ensure that things like the cases for bullets were the right size, shape and thickness. As good as the blacksmiths were, he doubted that they could get that type of accuracy time and time again. Things like that required machinery to ensure that the thickness of the metal was correct alongside that there was the right amount of charge in the case.

Undoubtedly he still for the moment anyway had his eyes set on muskets and rifles from the Napoleonic wars, however, that was to be as short-term as possible. The Qun could easily recreate muskets considering that they had cannons already, in theory, it would just be a case of reducing the size of the cannon and the balls that went into it. On the other hand, recreating something like a Lee Enfield was out of their reach.

Thedas wasn't exactly in one historical time era like home, rather they seemed to be in a few. On one hand, the prevalence of heavy nobility, castles and the politics suggested that they were in around the late medieval period early renaissance. Opposing this, was the inventions that a Dwarf named Bianca had created implying that it was early Industrial era so way into the period of colonisation where the nations of Thedas should have small colonies on the other side of the globe. By this point in Earth's history, the firearm had long been the weapon of the average soldier, in fact, firearms had been seen on European battlefields for over a century before the discovery of the Americas. Here though, all anyone used was swords and crossbows well other than the Qun which had cannons.

It was a worry the Qun having cannons, but not a major one as of yet. The Qun had not yet realised that they could take a cannon off a ship and transport it inland nor had they learned about different kind of shots that could be used instead only having normal round shot. When they discovered the previously mentioned things, however, the chances of conquering Thedas grew higher. Although that could take more time than he might think.

Par Vollen possessed a tropical climate including things like rainforest meaning things like parasites were far more dangerous. Perhaps that was that was one of the saving graces that Thedas had, the sheer amount of disease may help to keep the Qun in check a bit as it killed them one by one. Europeans had only been able to colonise deep stretches of inland Sub-Saharan Africa because the industrial age had brought forth new medical technology allowing them to go that far in. Perhaps for the Qun, the diseases ramp in Thedas were like Africa as they may not have a resistance to them reducing their efforts to coastal areas. Then again, it could be far worse if his analogies of each of Thedas's nations to Earth ones held any clout.

If the Qun was the equivalent of the Ottoman Empire, then that meant there was the very real possibility of some kind of great nation on the other side of the Qun; A nation which worryingly, could bring something like the Black Death upon the land of Thedas. The Black Death was never an intentional thing with something like China wanting to bring down an old Roman Empire. (It was truly amazing sometimes what people believed when you searched the internet) Rather it was accidental, yet all the same, the Qun could use a disaster like that to their advantage.

If the Qun was to say that they would deliver a cure in return for the people of Thedas submitting to them, it was very possible that rebellions could pop up in nations just so the average person could get that cure. Not that it would be needed, if there was a Black Death, then the Qun could simply invade and win as Thedas's armies withered and died.

All of this again forced him to pursue the most dangerous technology that he could realistically build in the time he was here. While it wasn't a major concern, not until he knew he could reliably create normal guns, he was aware that he would need advanced technology to counter the Qun's cannons. Considering that cannons were a form of artillery, one could guess where he had to go from there.

If he thought trying to create bolt action rifles from over eighty years ago was going to be hard, then creating something like an Anti-Tank gun or an Anti-Air gun not to mention standard artillery was going to be hell. Aside from having to work with more metal, it created more questions such as how was he going to reliably move such powerful devices. Questions that led him to answers, which led only to more frustration.

If he wanted to move modern artillery, then he needed vehicles. Vehicles required oil, combustion engines, rubber, steel, and a whole host of other things. Thankfully on that front, it would be easier. His range Rover was more modern, but he could easily take it apart if he needed to get inspiration for vehicles and with an infinite amount of oil, he didn't have to worry about fuel either. The same could be said for wheels, all he would have to do is duplicate the wheels he had currently alongside the glass and mirrors. Still creating such a thing would raise suspicion more than he already had. Anything he created would be attributed back to his "dead" people rather than him.

He wouldn't put aside such thoughts of that kind of weaponry, but they were not going to be the priority. He knew that if he was going to struggle when it came to creating a bolt action rifle, then crafting a breach loading modern artillery piece was dependant on a lot of experience. Not to mention the fact that such heavy ordinance was just impractical anyway. Artillery was something that was used to target locations and certain enemies and most importantly on frontlines or defensive battles. It was not, however, something which something that could just be used casually whenever they wished. The amount of preparation work needed in things like setting up a gun only to fire one or two shells was simply impractical and there were far better lightweight options. Although that could certainly change, he wasn't a soldier and was aware of the exact tactics that were used.

His best bet for giving any soldiers under him a set of artillery would be best if it was a mortar. They were portable and easily be used in a small place. A heavy artillery piece would require several men to fire it whereas a mortar required far less and it would even have its own small protection detail in case the enemy attacked. Again though, this was all in theory and he wouldn't seriously consider crafting mortars until he had actually created firearms that could be used by his soldiers.

So he watched closely as the Blacksmiths got to work analysing what they did and making notes of what he could do better or how he might go about doing something on a particular part. At the same time, he considered what other weapons would he want to bring to force against the enemies of the Inquisition.

"Oi you" Turning his head to his right, Nat took in the sight of a rather peculiar looking elf. Whoever she was, she was certainly no servant with the way she dressed and then there was the matter of the bow on her back. "Yeah you, the boy trying to pretend he's got a cunt with that stupid long hair of yours" She was Fereldan that was for sure, in fact having only come back from Denerim, he recognised that accent instantly. As for her manners, however, well it seemed that was something left to be desired. "Yeah you, you stupid long haired twat, can you tell me where Miss Shivy Knife Dark is" Oh Nat thought, she meant Leliana.

"Please state your name and purpose" He looked her in the eye only to see the woman roll her eyes as demanded that she inform him who she was. This woman whoever she was, hadn't come to deliver a cake like one of the other ones. He made no effort to go for the hilt of his sword, going by her stance she was used to combatting from a range, and while he could have gone for his wand, not revealing what type of fighter he was, gave him an advantage.

"Nah, don't think I will. I don't take orders from anyone especially pompous little shit kids like you. Blah, Blah, Blah look at me I was popped out of my mom's special cunt and now I'm a lord so you have to do what I want." Definitely not a servant. Following her arm movements, Nat subtly positioned himself so that he was facing her by his side minimizing the area for an arrow to strike. The woman, on the other hand, kept speaking loudly in that incredibly irritating fucking cockney accent of hers not noticing what he was doing only frowning as she saw no reaction from him.

"Please, state your name and purpose" He repeated his eyes locked onto her ready to take action if this woman had come to take force against the Inquisition. This type of woman would never have passed by the guards in such a manner without a good excuse implying that she had snuck past them or done something worse. The woman, however, gave a disgusted look as the question was repeated to her.

"Well you can fuck right off," The girl replied waving her hand away "Just tell me where the spymaster woman is." Nat made no movement only repeating what he had asked twice before only this time with more force and a noticeable movement of his left hand to his sword. The woman also reacted, only she very quickly realised that a fight here in front of the Inquisition would mean fighting all of the soldiers here and unlike back home, she didn't have her hidy holes. So with a very prominent sigh and the disgusted look she gave her response.

"Look it's like this you long haired twat. That Elf woman, the one with the glowing hand thingy, the Herald, she recruited me into the Inquisition and I told her that I would help your spymaster Lilly, no that's not it, Lali, LooLoo. Bah whatever it is, it doesn't matter. So are you going to let me in now yeah? Cuz I got stuff to do other than shoving my nose up some spymasters but" The woman giggled as those final words came out of her mouth as if it was some kind of funny joke. Meanwhile, Nat couldn't help but mentally ask the question of what the ever loving fuck had happened in Val Royeux if this woman, had been recruited into the Inquisition.

"Do you have any proof of your claims" Now he could see that this woman was pissed off, her foot began tapping the snow up and down while her mouth made all sorts of shapes showing just how disgruntled she had become with the situation.

"No of course not, the names Sera not that you need it you daft twat." Sera as she revealed herself smirked as she reached into her pocket and grabbed something pulling it out slowly so as to try and inconvenience the human that was standing before her and the wooden walls of the Inquisition's headquarters. What she brought out, a small tube of paint and popped it. Her smirk enlarged as she placed one of her fingers in the paint straining it red where she then got closer her eyes darting to the strange black clothing that this kid wore. "So it's like this like you let me in the base to meet miss Shiv or I ruin those fancy looking clothes you have there"

"Miss Sera, I will politely give you one warning, either show me proof of your employment by the Herald of Andraste or I will be forced to evict you from the premises. In the unfortunate case that you refuse, then I will be forced to arrest you" Looking at the way she moved slowly from left to right, tight controlled movements indicative or more graceful energetic fighting, Nat easily chose the spell he would use to subdue her. At the same time, he could sense a powerful mage also approaching. Perhaps it was back up for this Sera as whomever that mage was, they weren't Valeyna and the others.

"Alright piss boy, fine have it your way. The Herald didn't give me anything, she just kinda said I had a job when we met. When she gets back she'll confirm it and then you'll be sorry." Oh, dear Merlin, this sounded like a disaster to Nat. This woman by the sound of it was going to be part of Valeyna's inner circle, the ones she took along with her for different missions and held a rank of some kind because of that connection. This woman was the best that Valeyna could find in the middle of knock-off Paris. "Happy now" While this was the middle ages, so modern things like records of employment weren't as common or easy to access as they were back home, that didn't mean that he was just going to allow this odd elf to waltz straight in.

Sera was too bizarre, and with the knowledge that they were fighting the Venatori, then he could see that this woman may be some type of elaborate rouse to infiltrate the higher rankings. For now, without evidence that Valeyna had hired this woman, he would keep her away from Leliana, and the other important members. If she was a spy, then he'd kill her quickly and if not then he wouldn't apologise either.

"Put your weapons on the ground and keep your hands in the air above your head. Sera you are under arrest should you fail to comply with these orders and attempt to attack me, then consider your life forfeit" Sera promptly burst out laughing covering her gut with her hand as she showed her feelings of what he had just said.

"Seriously," she said. "You're joking right" And why would I listen to the words of some shit for brains who can't even fuck straight. I bet your dicks so small-" Before she could carry on, Sera was forced to the ground as chains covered her entire body wrapping all over her limbs tightening like a snake ready to eat her alive. "What the fuck" She glared at the now revealed mage who looked at her unimpressed with her language. "Hey get your shitty chains off me you stupid mage. Didn't you hear me the first time, the Herald of Andraste ask me to join. When she gets back you'll be in big trouble" Not desiring to hear her threats or profanity as she started swearing loudly, Nat cast another spell at the woman instantly shutting her up.

Much to Seras horror, she could no longer hear a word she yelled. She opened her mouth and moved it correctly, but no sound came out like it was the opposite of being blind or something. Angry, she continued to swear as loudly as she could at the idiot mage only then to feel herself lift off the ground against her will. Unable to look down, the blonde elf was in a position where she was lying on her back hovering midair as the kid called for a set of soldiers. What was even worse for the elf woman, was that these chains that he had created were so tight she couldn't move a single muscle.

"Yes, sir what can we do for you" Hearing his yell, a group of four soldiers rushed towards him their faces ready for anything. When Nat pointed to the now contained elf woman, who was currently in the middle of screaming silently the guards looked at each other in a confused way. Not desiring however to endanger the lives of these soldiers against what may be a powerful enemy mage, he quickly gave the soldiers the order to strip the woman of all her belongings and throw her in a holding cell to await further questioning. "Very well sir, you two pick take her front end, we'll take the other"

Understanding their orders, the group of four soldiers approached the scorned elf as her lips kept flapping only with no words came out and took their respective positions. All of them took their positions ensuring that they had their arms in the right place. When Nat saw that they were ready, he undid the charm and allowed the weight to drop into the arms of the soldiers who's arms swiftly went down for a brief moment before then rising again. Now that they had the elf woman secure, they then promptly carried her off into the cells located within the main building blissfully unaware of what the elf was stating as she called them all sorts of names that had one of them been a noble, would have resulted in the woman's death.

"I'll have to speak to Valeyna when she comes back Seriously who in Merlin's name would recruit a woman like her." He hadn't arrested her because she was an elf, rather it was because she seemed too shifty if anything. She should have reported who she was the moment he asked her to do so, the fact that she responded to a stranger whom she had never met before with insults only further increased his suspicion.

Had she stated her name and purpose from the start, then things would have ended differently. However her choice to answer back with insults and refusing to answer the question even when repeated again said that Sera had either very little care about how things were run in this sort of environment, or that she was hiding something major and was hoping that by distracting him from the question and getting him angry, that she would slip away into the camp. Then there was the case of her story, it was very possible that Valeyna had recruited the elf to bring some more spies into the Inquisition, but he needed proof and a lie of that type of magnitude was not one to overlook.

He needn't have to worry about her escaping from the cells, the chains wrapped around her were unbreakable and prevented her from moving. Should she have a hidden lockpick, then she would never access it. Her arms and legs had been restrained and weighed down by heavy chains that if he needed to, could send an electric shock through if the woman tried anything. However that was for later, currently, his focus was on the powerful mage approaching. Like with Sera, he had his wand hidden ready to go as he waited for this individual.

It didn't take long for him to catch sight of her, this woman was rather... noticeable to put it one way. This woman was wearing bright red silk in a most elaborate dress that had a low cut to expose part of her breasts. All the while, some ridiculous hat/helmet thing was planted on her back. Behind her, were several servants right currently pulling a wagon up the rock hilly terrain. Obviously, this mage had to be the one he had been informed about days ago by Leliana, the infamous Madame Vivienne. This was only confirmed when he caught sight of the elaborate looking staff on her back. Quickly the woman turned around to one of her subordinates and spoke something. Whatever it had been, it wasn't good. Now gripped with a look of fear, the servants started to push harder and harder until he went red in the face puffing angrily as he advanced.

A dress, the woman had decided to wear a bloody silk dress to the base of a freezing mountain where blizzards occasionally hit. He had heard of people who believed that fashion was far more important than practicality, but this was taking it to the extreme. This mage woman didn't look like Bull who had clearly seen harsh conditions and through his training was able to deal with colder environments. No, this mage looked like the type of woman who rocked up to an area in clothes unsuitable and would start complaining that it was cold. What was she going to expect, for the climate of Ferelden to warm up all of a sudden just so she could wear bright red silk dresses?

Already he could feel that he was not going to like this woman. Her opinions on magic and related subjects aside, he could already feel the haughtiness emanating from this woman as if she was some type of amazing Orlesian candle that had come to dispose of cold Fereldan snow. He made a mental note to keep an eye on her epically if she tried to contact the mages that had already joined the Inquisition. Things were bound to get ugly if the two opposing sides of a war were to meet up. Letting out a silent sigh, he made sure to straighten his posture slightly and place his hand on the hilt of the sword making him appear slightly more refined.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Miss, I assume you are Lady Vivienne the court mage of Orlais" Dark eyes clashed against his sunglasses, a brief moment inspected them and then a flash of recognition of the type of device that he wore and then some derision. Straight after, the woman allowed her eyes to inspect his body piece by piece as she graded the way he stood, the clothes he wore, the very pigmentation of his skin in contrast to those clothes as well as the hilt of his conjured sword.

"And you must be the infamous Nathanael Tempest, I've heard a great many things about you my dear" He gave a slight nod of his head in confirmation, but even then he could feel the woman's gaze linger over his posture looking for weakness. Not the physical type of weakness he gathered quickly, but the political type. He was the one to great the woman and therefore she was going to use his introduction to judge the Inquisition and it's members as well as to judge him personally and mock him when she had the spare time.

"I would respectfully ask you to avoid using rumours to form an opinion of a stranger Lady Vivienne, the truth has an awful tendency to get misshaped the more people repeat it" A slight smile was the response he was given, a slight sign of both her respects her negating it. Obviously, she had not been expecting him to reply in such a manner, rather she had believed that he would introduce himself in a more Fereldan manner. He could have, but such an action would have proven detrimental. Vivienne was going off rumours of things until she learned more, and one of those rumours were bound to be that he was close to the Herald in some form or another.

With others, he would introduce himself more casually, but this woman he could already sense would pounce on any weakness he may show. Should he give off the impression that he was incompetent then she would set things into motion to derail his position of power by emphasising events and stating things that due to his young age and lack of experience that he was not a wise choice to advise the defender of the world and should have his place taken away.

"Truer words were never spoken my dear" She chuckled lightly her eyes continuing to rake up and down his body once more checking for the slightest amount of body movement before she carried on. "However one can always find a certain amount of amusement in the grandiose stories that others tell. For example, the rumours surrounding yourself point you as some kind uncultured barbarian who had taken some of the most beautiful girls into your bed and never let them go" Nat gave a fake smile as he heard the story, turning his head to the side, he gestured the woman to walk alongside him. Vivienne gladly did so her fancy straight postured strutting in contrast to his more cautious approach.

"I can assure you Lady Vivienne that I present no danger to you or any of the other women that congregate here" A raised eyebrow and a mocking smile was all he got from Vivienne, he knew exactly where this kind of talk was going to lead and the rumours that it was going to create.

"Oh, then it is instead the men who draw your gaze? Don't worry darling I won't judge" It was a rather interesting set of first questions that Vivienne wanted to be answered, most people he met didn't generally ask that type of question considering that it was a rather rude thing to do unless one person had indicated towards something of that level. Then again, he was dealing with a woman where such questions were common in the name of creating scandals purely to pass the time.

"I'm afraid to disappoint you Lady Vivienne, I hold no such tastes." He said nothing after, this wasn't a casual conversation where a person may carry onto explain what the actual situation of the matter was, this was a conversation where the woman was trying to glean as much information as he wanted to. Should he state how he felt towards such things then it would be a victory for the woman who would then file it away and use it later against him.

"A pity, but that leads me onto other matters. I had heard that your people were made up entirely of mages, is that true?" They walked slowly through the snow as they did so, Nat eyes one of the mages that they had rescued weeks ago stop where they were their face turning pale as they caught sight of the one walking next to him. A moment later the man rushed off in the opposite direction a fearful look present. Nat didn't even have to see to know that the woman by his side was responsible for such an act. With her power, it was rather easy to understand why a mage of lesser skill and quality would be concerned.

"It is, may I ask your level of curiosity" As they passed through the gates, Nat witnessed the reaction of the Templars. There were a few different ones, but the two most prominent were of high concern and one of high relief. Those who were concerned had moved their hand to their swords highly wary of the First Enchanter knowing that if there was to be a fight, then she would be a tough adversary. Opposite to those, were the more knowledgeable Templar's? These Templar's knew with whom the woman aside him had sided with and as a result collapsed and some even felt joy at the prospect of her taking over the situation as the head mage. Going back to the concerned group of Templars, it was obvious to them that there was a much higher risk of conflict now between the current mages and this woman.

As all the other mages had been ones who had rebelled, there was bound to be bad blood between them and Vivienne something that was orchestrated almost immediately. A few metres away one of the mages came out of their tent minding their own business upon seeing the First Enchanter, they turned their backs trying to hide hoping that Vivienne had not seen her. Unfortunately, she had and the woman's reaction was small but very noticeable.

Her eyes narrowed and a slight scowl appeared. She stared straight into the back of the young mage making the mage squirm uncomfortably before rushing off. As soon as the mage disappeared running behind the rows of tents, Vivienne gave a victorious smile as if she had worn some type of great victory. Once completed, the dark-skinned woman turned her gaze back onto him once more.

"Such a disappointment" She stated with a mock sense of pity. "For one so young to be turned away from common sense to pursue a false and selfish dream of a few mages who could not care less for the suffering of others? What do you say, Mr Tempest, as one who had lived outside of the Chantry and its Circles for his entire life what is your opinion on the matter?" He could feel her eyes start to glare into him, her entire opinion of him would rest solely on his answer. Just as he had expected, everything up to now had been a simple case of manners. Once he responded, her entire demeanour would change and instead or staying polite she would berate him.

"As you said Lady Vivienne I grew up outside of the Chantry and its circles, therefore I will be a biased participant in such an arrangement. After all, the entire situation that my people were in was quite different to the one that the mages of Thedas now face. Her response was a slight chuckle as well as a small look of respect that stated that while she didn't think highly of him, she could recognise that he knew politics as he went for the more diplomatic answer.

"All the better to hear it then Darling a new perspective could do the debate some good" He'd hardly call his views a new position, he had already made his mind up. As a mage, he was already considered an enemy of the Templar order and in the position that the order of things was returned to how it was before the Mage-Templar war, that he would then forever attend a circle of magic until he dropped dead of age.

"As I said before Lady Vivienne, my upbringing is different. My views on the state of the world differ quite greatly to others, my opinions on some matters would very likely disgust others and be considered by nearly all to be ridiculous. And besides, what would my words even do. If I should take a side then will it end the war?, will the world suddenly become how I believe it should be, would all people then be forced to follow my decision. We both know that actions speak louder than words, you could lie to me about your opinions on one matter but then take an entirely different course of action on the other. In the end, a person's words account for very little, rather if you want to gain perspective of another individual, that person must not only know the action they take but most importantly the reason behind that action."

"How very telling dear" Vivene smiled she was going to like this more then she thought. It would have been far duller if her opponent had been a uniformed idiot making mistake after mistake. While it was fun to occasionally destroy a new person to the game, she did actually prefer a challenge. "Though I will agree with you on such a thing, it seems that your people were not the barbarians that we all assumed you to be"

"It's to be expected, without evidence of something, one should not assume it to be true. Had the rumours stated that I was from some Great Kingdom, then I would have been required to show something from that kingdom. You can be assured however Lady Vivienne that I am not some mud monkey living away from civilized society for the entirety of my life." Once again it was the First Enchanter who made the obvious reaction as she gave him another look inspecting his clothes. She was determining the quality of his clothes, how long they had taken to make, how expensive the material must have been, what his size was. All in all, she was determining if he was telling the truth and was from a different hidden nation or if he was just some random peasant boy who was equipped in specifically made attire to sell a grand lie.

"That is good to know my dear, so many people do try to disguise themselves of nobles but they always fail so miserably. They can never follow the actions of a noble, their movements, for example, are always so ugly, far from the refined grace that is needed". Continuing their walk, Nat escorted the woman up the stairs of one of the levels gently gesturing towards some places as if he was showing the woman around getting her to catch her eyes on certain places that he wanted. For instance, a few of the mages had rushed out of their tents to see if the rumour was true that Vivienne had indeed arrived at the camp. By using gentle means of distractions, he was able to give those mages time to either prepare or run away to somewhere more comfortable.

"We had the same problem back home, identity theft was one of the crimes that people were more concerned about" Vivienne raised an eyebrow in return, not entirely sure why a group of hidden mages would be so concerned about somebody impersonating them in what she assumed to be a small place.

"I am surprised that your people were so concerned about such a trivial manner rather than the more important concerns such as allowing a demon into this world" She made a light jab at the competence of the mages that he had come from. If they had been so foolish as to kill one another in a war, then obviously they weren't responsible enough to keep demons out. It was for the best now, the Templars no longer needed to concern themselves with a mysterious group of mages now that they were all dead bar, one lone survivor, to carry that torch.

"We discovered long ago that with the correct training, demons no longer needed to considered a major concern."

"I can hardly believe that a group of unregulated mages did not suffer from such a lack guaranteed protection. Surely you must have had incidents with demons." Nat shook his head his thoughts rolling back to the last time demons or what was called demons had been a daily part of magical life. While there were a few species which had the name demon applied, very few races were at least considered by witches and wizards demons. Only two came to mind, Dementors and Lethifolds, the latter wasn't seen in Europe, however, the former was far more known at least in Britain.

Having fought for Voldermort as well as playing at times a significant opponent to when Harry Potter had been a child not to mention being the once infamous guardians of Azkaban, they were highly feared. With a floating black cloak in appearance, they would freeze everything around him all the happiness in the world simply vanishing. Personally, he'd never seen one most in part to the entirely idiotic policy of the Minister of Magic before Weasley.

Minster Kingsley had somehow come to the decision for some bizarre reason that they should let go of the Dementors, that they should no longer be allowed to torture the inmates of Azkaban. On paper, it sounded great and was a moral victory, in reality, it was proving a disaster. For some odd reason, releasing soul-sucking demons into the general public was not considered a good idea by some people such as himself. After all, what possible dangers could there be allowing the monsters to leave the place that they had congregated ever since they had been brought forth by some lunatic wizards centuries ago. It wasn't as if that at the end of a major war that the number of Aurors was low in general and that was without including the fact that even with the teaching of Mr Potter, the average witch or wizard was entirely incapable of casting a Patronus charm.

He could only imagine what the reaction would have been of the Prime Minister when he was informed that the magical government had gotten rid of the things allowing them to wander the world. Suffice to say, a few days after being released, the casualties started to come in and they kept growing and growing until finally, Minister Kingsley had realised the colossal fuck up he had made. Either way, a response was sent immediately to deal with the problem with the final result being that while a few Dementors were captured, the rest escaped and left the country alone leaving them to carry on somewhere in the world.

"No, we had plans in place to prevent such a thing from occurring and in the case that it should occur, then we had plans to deal with such an incursion. We hardly left things to chance." It was a complete and utter fucking lie considering the circumstance of the Dementor situation, but in general true. Consorting with demons or anything that really had to do with demons in the magical world was a big no-no, in fact, it had a tendency in a good deal of nations to result in execution. If un-killable soul-sucking creatures was what happened last time, then the world really didn't need another attempt.

"Oh and just what were these plans, my dear, try to capture them and turn them to your cause. Or perhaps you planned to use them like those Magisters in Tevinter with those spirits" Nat rolled his eyes internally. They hardly needed to bring forth demons from another realm to act as servants, if Solas and Valeyna despised the way elves were treated here, he wanted to have chocolate (He didn't like popcorn) ready when the shit hit the fan upon learning about house elves. He wondered if Solas's eyes would start glowing.

"You know the usual, any suspicious activity that anyone sees is typically reported where the Police then make a note of it. Depending on the severity they may start tailing them and investigate what the suspect is doing. If however, that fails, then more serious police action will be taken, warrants will be given for their arrest on charges relating to demons as well as to investigate any premises. Should they find anything, then relating to the severity of the situation, the Police will either take action themselves or call in backup".

Horrified didn't begin to explain the look on Vivienne's face as she heard the precautions that were in place. In her mind, these precautions were nothing but waiting for an incident to happen. By the Maker, this police who she assumed were some type of Templar's had to wait to be given some kind of permission before they could investigate a building for demons. It was a surprise that they seemingly had no demons problems at all, with such lax defences, his little group of homeless mages should all be abominations.

"That is all?" She sounded shocked. "Darling it's a miracle that nothing ever happened to your people with such lacking defences. In all honesty, this is why the Templar's are needed, to prevent us becoming dangers to the world outside. Whoever in their right mind would have agreed to such barbaric laws, risking the lives of ordinary people just so you can use magic. This is exactly the type of selfless nonsense that is responsible for the deaths of countless innocent people, all because a few mages did not consider the lives of others before their own"

As she spoke in that grating arrogant tone, Nat was reminded of home just not in a good way. Instead of thinking about things such as the beauty of nature a rich cultural past, he was rather thinking about the sheer toxic environment that surrounded politics in the modern day. He knew her type, she was one of those people that would have stated that Brexit was voted for unintelligent sexist, colonial missing little Englanders or in the case of America, she would have called Trump voters all racist, sexist, bastards. She was the type who couldn't look at the view of an opposing side and thus would insult everyone she disagreed with.

Oh, what joy this was going to be. When he found Valeyna he was going to have serious words.

"Lady Vivienne, my people believed in privacy. To burst into a person's house without authority is a breach of that privacy in its entirety. Should the Police want to investigate an area or to arrest a person then that is acceptable so long as they have the relevant authority to do so. Without such a thing, that makes them nothing but criminals themselves masquerading with the power they hold abusing it. Finally, as I stated before, we did not have a problem with demons."

"Surely you must understand my dear, to allow mages to just do whatever they wish without oversight is a dangerous practice. Children cannot be trusted to control their powers, especially if they have not been trained in a suitable environment with the right tutors" And now she was questioning his education, saying that he was immature that he was unable to be trusted purely because of his age and nothing else. Had he been home, then he would start counting down the seconds until the woman called him a Nazi.

"Like all things magic does need to be taught however that does not mean that it should be hidden away from the world. Once a person has shown themselves to be both mature and responsible enough to ensure that they won't do harm, then they should be allowed free. Even then, that does not mean in the slightest that they should be locked up, mages are sentient beings too and should, therefore, enjoy the same rights that others do" Vivienne scoffed as his response her once peaceful attitude not entirely gone instead replaced with one of derision.

"Magic is a very dangerous thing, my dear, your thoughts on the matter are foolish. Let the mages out of the circles and they will do as they always will. Look around you, ever since they mages escaped countless lives have been taken by the mages in their cry for freedom. Yet despite the casualties and the cost to the nations, the mages don't care for other people, quite happy to go about their business killing anyone who opposes them kicking them out of their very own homes. You cannot call that a good act, should crimes should be punished."

"Most of those killed were not on purpose. Yes while some have indeed committed tremendous acts and need to be brought to justice, it is the minority. Contrast that to Templar's who actively seek out anyone who may have even shared a conversation with a mage and execute them. Then there is the way they acted even before this who set of events unfurled. They treated mages as second class citizens, abusing them in any shape they could get away with. Tranquilly, for example, has been abused by that order. No crime has to be committed, all that is needed is the suspicion that they will fail and they have their very life stripped away from them. Worst still the Templar's call such a practise humane, it's the exact opposite, tranquilly is a sentence worse than death." By this point, they were staring into one another's eyes or attempting to on the First Enchanters part. In the background, a crowd slowly started to approach all curious as to hear the views of the two present mages. Part of this crowd was Templar's who afraid that tempers may flare steadily gripped the handle of their blades ready to pull them out and charge into action should it be required.

"Once again you show your own ignorance my darling. Templar's are necessary for the good of the people and all these injustices you spout are is nothing more than rebel propaganda. Do tell me, my dear, what would have occurred to the people of Ferelden if the Templar order was not present?" With a wave toward the people who had gathered, Nat could tell exactly what she was doing. She was currently attempting to lead him into a trap to deride the Templar's and cause a large amount of anger in the group.

Should be back down from any statements, then she would gain the upper hand in this debate whereas if he yelled or screamed she also won again. However, he wasn't going to scream or yell, years of experience back home and the utterly toxic environment there taught him a few lessons and one of the most important was never to be seen as trying to use force or belittle people. Time and time again had shown that when a film director or game maker or anyone else started to speak about how their subject was perfectly diverse, it gained incredible anger. Name calling followed as did insults, death threats and a host of other things that were hurled. Soon enough, that debate and a disagreement would like most other things to become so horrible and disgusting that you had to pull away or else be lost in a sea of hatred. Therefore he had to explain any point he made rationally, showing his side was perfectly reasonable but the second he called them names was when he had started the shit making him look bad.

"They would be alive" He responded calmly. Gasps emanated from some of those surroundings while a few of those members of the Templar Order began tightening their grips on their swords in anger. Vivienne, on the other hand, gave a false look of surprise but that turned into that arrogant smirk that she carried as she believed she was driving him exactly where she wanted.

"That is a very heavy accusation you are implying Mr Tempest. Levelling the blame of dead commoners at the feet of the soldiers of the Maker is a very serious accusation indeed. Tell me, do you have any proof to support such claims or only your anger towards good people" It was official now, Nat now hated the bitch with a burning passion. On a different note, coming into contact with this woman really made him understand why the Witch known as Delores Umbridge had been despised so much by students. If that woman was anything Vivienne, the was surprised that the woman hadn't ended up dead.

Serious problems arose from this woman, at the complete forefront was that he had to prevent Valeyna coming into her sphere of influence. With the power of the Inquisition, Vivienne could impose a lot of change on the world or keep it the way it was now. However to use that power she needed to influence the big movers in the higher up positions and that included Valeyna. If the Herald became wrapped up in the Grand Enchanters influence, then things would go down here from there.

"I've spoken with the populace about the attacks from Templar's and mages and what they say has a typical tendency to it. A mage will hide away in an area to escape the Templar order, depending on the individual they may ask for sanctuary in return for work or maybe a few little tricks for kids. When the Templar's arrive, the mage will then leave so as to get away. Now when the Templar's arrive, the common man is treated rather harshly. Often his door will be burst in and Templars with conscript his house food and whatever they want to aid in their investigation. At the same time, they will question the owner of the original belongings for any information on mages. When they are not given an answer they like, the Templar's will then take the time to torture an individual until they give up information whether it be truth or a lie."

Dark shaded looks were thrown at the wizard by the templar's as they figured out the accusations that were being made against them. People didn't like being called monsters, not in the slightest. For as long as they could remember, the average citizen held the Templars up on a pedestal believing them to be noble just warriors who kept them safe from the dangers of evil. Yet as time kept passing with this war, they were discovering that it was the Templars who were causing the most disruption. They stole food and other belongings, stayed in people's residences without permission, threatened the lives of others and often insulted the random person.

"So you would believe the words of a man who is unable to read or write yet alone have attended an honourable organisation over the word of a soldier of the Maker. Darling you need to get your head checked out, that war your people have made you lose any intelligence in that addled brain of yours you may have once possessed" Nat chuckled slightly giving off a fake grin as if he had enjoyed the insult hurtled his way.

"I do thank you for your concern over my health Lady Vivienne, however, I'm more personally concerned about your own health. While magic could deal with any injury I may receive, I'm afraid that it would do nothing to assist you. I'm so terribly sorry about what you yourself face, it makes me rather good about myself" Gripping her staff tightly, the woman started to snarl, just what was the little child saying to her,.

"And what possible affliction do you believe I possess my dear. If I should possess something then I can easily have it dealt with" With a fluttering of her eyed lids, she leaned on her staff, the snow beneath it sinking downwards under the pressure.

"I can assure it isn't possible, already you're showing fatal signs of it already. If I were to guess you don't have very long left before it gets even more serious" More fake smiles were sent by the two as they played their little game of cat and mouse. In the background, Nat focused his attention on none other than Elyria who had seemingly found the courage to approach a woman who would likely kill her if given the chance.

"Oh do tell" Vivienne spoke in a sultry tone hoping to throw him off balance unfortunately for her, her sudden change in tone had no effect at all. On the other hand, she could use that information, this boy was somewhat experienced if he didn't react to the rapid change, other lesser lords and ladies would blink a few times behind their masks not entirely sure as what to do.

"First a lesson in biology," Nat replied confusing Vivienne as well as gaining the interest of Elyria as she wondered what hidden knowledge his people may know about such a topic. "I'm sure that you're aware that as time passes, the human body begins to deteriorate. The longer we live the harder it is for our body to replace the cells in our body leading to our physical bodies ageing. However, this doesn't just affect things like the skin, but also bones and muscles as well as most importantly the brain. In the latter case, as the brain deteriorates and cells disappear, it hinders the brain and its functions. Naturally, as this occurs, people start to slow down and gradually begin to be unable to keep pace with those younger than they are. With this degradation of the cells, it can affect other things, make them think strange things as their mind isn't in such a good condition before eventually leaving it to make bad decisions while believing it is doing the opposite. Such a thing is only natural as one begins to age however and there is nothing that one can do to prevent such action. Therefore Lady Vivienne because with the lifestyle that people here live with and the mountain of experience you have behind you, it is only natural that the matters of your mind would have been affected to a certain degree. It seems that for you it has already set in early, probably just a case of bad genetics however you do have my condolences"

If there was one way to describe Vivienne, it would be pure outrage. Her once scornful look of him was now one of burning hatred her eyes attempting to burn Nat into nothing but ash as he gave a smirk. Her blood boiled at the very sight of this uneducated little brat that had the fucking nerve to call her the First Enchanter such a thing. She wasn't sure what he was on about with cells, but she got what he was calling her loud and clear. Gripping her staff tightly, the urge to freeze this boy with her magic so she could then dispose of such a rude little shit kept growing and growing. What she hadn't realised though, was that her now angry appearance had become loud and clear for everyone to see. At the very sight, a few of the young mages dashed away as fast as their legs would carry them through the light snow in an attempt to hide. One of the older mages grinned happily chuckling lightly at first before it then became an all-out belly laugh.

"Ah there is Lady Vivienne" Emerging out of the back of the crowd into the foreground, Josephine quickly stopped her approach to instead take a position next to Elyria. Leaning down, to the younger girl her curiosity piqued she spoke. "Oh my, what happened she seems like she wants to kill Nat" Elyria grinned maliciously at the First Enchanter, never had she thought anybody would have called her that out of pure fear as to what that woman would do yet alone to her face. Her opinion on Nat only rose far higher than it had been before, if only there had been a way to capture this and the next few moments in time for all eternity. Oh, she couldn't wait to show her teachers this.

"Nat just called her senile" Gasping, Josephine instantly covered her mouth at the shock of such an insult. Under normal circumstances, calling a person senile wasn't that much of an insult, yes it was rude and especially to do so in a person's face, however, most people would joke about someone in private company about how an individual was seemingly going senile. In contrast, that wasn't a normal situation. By calling her senile, Nat had essentially given two huge gut-punching insults to one of the most powerful people in the Orlesian Empire.

Senile had a tendency to be used on old people had gone a bit insane. Such a term being used on the First Enchanter was essentially Nat stating loud and clear that Vivienne was not only an old hag but also that she was an unintelligent, ignorant, dense, mindless, foolish, dull-witted, simple-minded, woman who deserved only to be laughed at by the common people. In other words, he had just insulted, her age, intelligence and beauty in one go. This was because as one usually assumed, that as a person got older the beauty they once retained turned them ugly alongside unskilled. Suffice to say, in a circumstance like this, it was not a polite thing to say.

Vivienne's eyes darted around her to the common people all of whom looked at her and the young boy in shock. Such impertinence this boy had demonstrated to her. Had he been at the imperial palace then his head would be on a spike for such an insult, however, she could tell he was going to walk free from this. What made it even worse, was the way the other commoners and especially the mages glanced at him, as if he was some type of great hero that had just bested her. Desperately she searched for an insult to reply back with however she was to slow.

"Having some trouble Lady Vivienne. Don't worry; it's perfectly natural I'm sure that your friends can find a perfectly suitable home to retire into. Yes, a place that people will make sure that you can still operate perfectly well as you get older; you know, make sure you can use the toilet alright and get in and out the bath. Perhaps with time, they could even get someone to chew your food for you, teeth do have an awful tendency to fall out at old age."

Her eyes twitched menacingly anger causing the muscles in her lips to spontaneously move of their own and her eyelids opened and shut so quickly that it appeared to outsiders that she was attempting to but ultimately failing to close them. As for her staff, the tip had been pushed several centimetres into the ground and then yanked out again before then being subtly pointed in the wizard's direction in an attempt to threaten him. Finally, she went to speak but a voice cried out.

"Lady Vivienne" Spinning on her heel glad of the ability to escape from the conversation before this rude little child spoke again, she happily approached the dark-haired woman.

"Ah, you must be Josephine" With a few words exchanged, the ambassador quickly escorted the mage away from the gathering and to her office where could then discuss the current affair of things. As for Nat, he walked slowly up to Elyria who was currently sporting a look of victory as if she had been the one to deliver the insult to the First Enchanter herself.

"Good Morning Elyria, how's your day been" Staring at the floor for a few seconds, Elyria tried to fight back the grin that was fighting to have a place on her face but ultimately she was unable to prevent its victory.

"Much better now, how about you" Nat motioned back to the stairs that he had climbed up. He would leave the Elf girl until later, let her stew in a cage and get a bit cranky before he spoke to her. For now, he wanted to get back to the topic of preparing his soldiers which meant staring at a blacksmith for a while.

"Okay, I guess. Just had a little bit of an incident with this odd woman, but nothing serious" Elyria smiled more happily joining him, as they walked at a quicker pace both desiring to get away from the eyes of the prying templars.

"Where are you going," She asked curiously, with all the responsibilities on his shoulders, Nat seemed to move around from place to place. When he could, he would exchange a few words with her but for now, it seemed those moments were disappearing, at the rate things were going she wondered if she would see him around the camp at all.

"The Blacksmith, I'm observing how they work. However more importantly don't you have lessons with your teacher right now" Elyria blushed at being caught out, she had hoped he wouldn't have remembered her timetable when he has asked those days ago it would have made it easier to convince him to allow her to stay with her.

"In that case return back to your teacher" Nat spoke firmly stopping where he was to ensure that she didn't follow him to the blacksmith. In all honesty, he didn't want her to follow him as doing so would raise more questions that he would have to reply to. Apparently, Elryia was also in no mood for returning back to her teacher, she attempted to stare him down her eyes both blinking as she did so as she bid for him to tell her to come with him again.

It was a rather unique difference compared to when he had first met the girl as she cowered in fear, back then she never would have stared him down. Now, however, he could see that as time passed on she was starting to recover from the incident. Not by much, it was still likely going to require years, however, piece by piece it looked her harsher more concerned exterior was cracking and was instead replaced by the person she had initially been before everything had happened.

"I can afford to lose some lessons, it's not like we're going anywhere" Elyria reprised tersely, lifting her head up so she could look at him closer she gave a hopeful look." Besides, you could be my teacher. All of my teachers don't have any real world experience, they don't know how to fight against armies or people, they're just like me. But you, you're constantly out there fighting demons and other people. You would make a far better teacher" A breeze of wind hit the camp gently rippling the surface of the tents in a sudden but somewhat beautiful notion. At the same time, Elyria's hair flapped all over the place before smashing into her face and staying there much to her annoyance.

"Elyria, I'm sorry but I don't have the time to teach you. With the responsibilities I already have it's going to be doubtful I'm going to see you much at all. " Elyria's face went gloomy hearing his words, once more he had rejected her. Puffing out slightly in amusement, her eyes darted around the camp looking for anything that she could use to impress the young wizard before she was able to, Nat intervened.

Gripping her outstretched arm, he brought it down shaking his head at the type of action that Elyria had just attempted. "Elyria combat isn't what you think it is. It's all well and good imagining yourself as some type of brave person who when evil attacks will defend the world without a moment's hesitation. You can train and train and train, fight in tournaments learn from every book and skilled person there is, but it won't prepare you for what's out there. Very few people are not affected the first time they take a life, and you are not one of them" A look of betrayal was what greeted Nat as he said those words, Elyria had taken it as an insult that he had called her weak. Unfortunately for her, that was exactly what he thought of her.

She was weak, not magically but emotionally. Only with attention and speaking to others had she started to recover to a state where she was not trying to bolt at the first sight of every Templar. He understood and even encouraged her when she had stated that she didn't want to be that weak again yet that didn't mean that all of a sudden she was now strong and could be thrown into a fight. For now, she was still quite emotionally dependant on him, she asked questions on all topics of things. He'd answer some and decline others after all he had a story to keep, but it was working, Elyria was starting to feel like things were normal as if he had just been another mage back at her circle.

"You're calling me weak aren't you" Angry, Elyria stomped her feet into the snow leaving a foot-sized hole where she had done so. Glaring, she tried to raise her height up to meet his but unable to do so, she looked somewhat ridiculous on tiptoes leaning into him. Seeing her anger, Nat decided not to go for the usual approach, but to ask her a more direct approach one she might stumble upon. OPf course he knew that whatever he said that Elryia would want him to teach her, using excuses such as that his experience would likely prevent her escape and other reasons.

"I have a test for you. If you pass I will consider teaching you and if you fail, then you will go back to your teacher an carry on your lessons" Elyria blinked, that was all she had to do to make him teach her, pass a test. Pride bloomed in her chest, she could easily complete such a thing, in fact, Nat was going to regret giving her such an easy test. With a cocky smirk, she gave him a short reply.

"I can beat any test you give me, just do it" She was looking forward to learning from him, all those spells he had at his disposal she couldn't wait until she was able to unleash them on Templars for the first time. Rage started to boil in her at the thought of those bastards, she swore that as soon as she gained the powers to destroy them she would. With her head hung proudly in the air, she gladly followed the young wizard back up through the camp as he led her to their destination.

Later

"It's cold in here" Shivering as they passed into the under levels of the main Inquisition building, Elryia was escorted through a confusing set of underground halls ways splitting off in multiple places. Spider webs were a common sight, nestled high in their corners as they waited for small insects to fly into their webs and be devoured. It was a rather eerie place, even if the sun had been shining at its brightest, then not a single one of its rays would have touched the contents of this area forever hiding away from the sun. A drop of cold water landed on her cheek, touching it, she then directed her torch upwards to see that there were many other forms of water in the form of small bubbles attached to the ceiling.

"Condensation, it's when water takes the form of droplets onto cold areas as humid air makes contact with it. It's also when a gas turns into a liquid if you're curious" Nat was certain he wasn't the only one who had felt it. As the days passed on, he became more and more aware of what time of year it was. Nights were turning colder, the air seemed more crisp and fresh with it while the amount of vegetation slowly started to deplete. Combined with the concerned looks of the average peasant and it became easier to notice that winter was on its way. At least this year he didn't have to deal with Christmas

"Oh, there's a word for that?". Nat nodded carrying on forward as he led Elyria deeper and deeper into the dungeon. He had never intended to do such a thing with the girl, but he needed to get her off his back for a while. He'd already tried the peaceful approach of getting her to attend her lessons or forcing her to confront why she needed lessons if she wanted to do what she stated. After all one couldn't face down an army if Templar's if they were nor an exceptionally trained mage with the power and skill to back it up. Instead, he was going to go for the rough approach. If the girl was able to pass his test, then she had recovered extremely quickly from her ordeal, or more realistically it was going to take time and a decision like the one he was about to thrust onto her would demonstrate why she would not be suitable for combat just yet.

"Believe me when I say that my peoples understanding severely outstripped the combined knowledge in Thedas. But we're getting closer so I would prepare yourself" That was interesting Elyria guessed, by how much did his people outstrip the knowledge of Thedas. On multiple occasions, he used strange foreign words that she had never heard before alongside entire phrases. The term condensation was just another one of the strange words that his people had created and known the name off. As she thought about the place where Nat grew up, she tried to imagine it in her mind.

For the most part, it took on the shape of a small town with a giant library in the centre. Within that library, mages would come and go as they wished to learn whatever they needed and adding to it. In this perceived society, mages were entirely free to practise their gifts so long as they did not abuse them and defile the sight of the maker or his bride. In such a society, she imagined all people would wear long throwing mage gowns adorned with fancy patterns of gilded flowers or other shapes. Bright colours would be common as the use of magic would enable all to easily afford such luxuries if they so desired. Would that be part of her test, to make sure she could wear the correct clothing of his people? She smiled her heart missing a beat. Perhaps he wanted to make her a part of his people, maybe once everything was done he would invite mages from all around the world to reconstruct it. If she were given such an offer, she would gladly accept.

"Like what?" Despite herself, Elyria couldn't help feel curiosity burning inside her. Just what type of secrets did his people know about the world, maybe he knew why there were waves on a beach or maybe why there were seasons. So many questions started to fill up the young girl and all she wanted was answers.

"How many elements are there" Elyria blinked and then frowned, this was an easy question. All mages were taught the basic elements in the world the moment they began their training. They were taught how fire, earth, water and air were part of every single object although it wasn't always easy to see. She knew for a fact that with water when it was heated it showed it's air form as it disappeared, whereas with its fire form it became hot and occasionally transformed into steam. These were the types of questions more suited for a novice child just beginning then for a girl like her.

"Four, Fire, Air, Earth and Water," She said proudly waiting to see the reaction on his face. The moment she saw that smile or nod of acceptance that she was correct the faster she could ask her own questions. "Why are you asking me such questions any mage knows this" Seemingly proud of herself, Elyria tried to see what the reaction her friend had. She failed, however, the light from the torch in her hand instead either got in the way or cast shadows onto the boys face. With a sigh, she lowered the torch.

"False," Nat replied sharply ducking to the left narrowly avoiding one of the cobwebs that lined the dark damp stone hallways. "In total there are one hundred and eight elements consisting of but not limited to, Hydrogen, Helium, Gold, Silver, Uranium, Thallium, Bismuth, Sodium, Carbon, Oxygen and Nitrogen as well as many others. Of course, there are still those who believe that there are many more elements to be discovered. However, as of currently, we know for a fact that there are one hundred and eight" Elyria blinked utterly shocked and confused, how could he say that there were one hundred and eight elements it was entirely bizarre as well as point blank wrong. While she had only ever heard of two of these elements, those being gold and silver, she knew that those two elements were part of the Earth element. As such, these other elements had to be part of one of the proper elements.

Speaking of gold, just how fascinated by it were his people to call it an element in on itself. Had it been some type of holy object to them? It was possible she guessed, however not once had Nat ever came across as a greedy person asking for money even though he could have asked a reward from her hoping that her connection to the rest of the Trevelyan family would get him something. Had he been an outsider in his people?

"What's High Dragon" Nat rolled his eyes as he carried down the dark winding passages of the underground passages. After arriving at this location, Inquisition scouts had done a bit of digging and uncovered an interesting amount of history on Haven. Initially, before the nutcase dragon cultists began slaughtering anyone who dared to enter their village, they would instead hide underground hoping that nobody would notice them. As one could guess, it never worked but all the same, these deep hallways had continued to be used to hide corpses or other underground passageways.

"It's pronounced hi-dro-gen. Anyway, Hydrogen is the first element there is, it's the smallest and is bar far the most numerous in the world. In fact, that big yellow thing in the sky that you see during the day, the sun, that burns hydrogen as fuel. There's no air in space, it's a vacuum. However, the sun sustains all life on this planet by constantly burning hydrogen transforming it into helium" If Elyria had been confused before, now she was utterly flummoxed albeit somewhere a small light was going off in her head stating that she understood somewhat what the strange mage was telling her. Despite this, she could tell that there was so much information lacking that she needed more context.

"What's space?" Unlike usual where he might sigh, Nat actually smiled internally as he heard the curious tone of the girl beside him. He had offered a small glimpse of tantalising information that while she didn't exactly believe was true, had enraptured her to the point that she wanted to know more. She wanted to follow him down the hole and learn all he could teach her and more. As for himself, the idea of educating a person in modern science was an interesting one. He doubted there would be very many people who would want to listen to anything he had to say on the science of the world, most assuredly they would brand him even more of a heretic then they did now. As soon as he stated that this planet was not the centre of the universe, they would flip out in an anger so intense that if Earth was anything to go by, then he could expect bards coming his way.

Elyria, on the other hand, was a person he could teach, set apart the myth from reality and showcase a new world of truth that she could never have dreamed off. Yet with such a truth eventually comes the horror and uncomfortable questions. How would she react when he said that humans, nations, elves and everything else she knew were simply a small spec of insignificant space dust here mainly by chance. It would be interesting, and it could also destroy her. While she was still only a teenager, she was getting into the age where people became more rebellious and started to act out on their own. All the same, he would make sure to have his phone ready for that type of conversation.

"Space is actually difficult to describe, its one of those things that you know what it is but you can't really put it into words. It's just like describing what water tastes like however, I'll try." Oddly, the more he thought about the subject, the harder Nat found to put into words just exactly what space was. Nevertheless seeing the thoughtful expression on his student, he carried on anyway. "Do you know when you look at the sky at night and see that black stuff surrounding the stars that is space. It's a vacuum of an awful lot of things, mass, light, air, that doesn't mean it's empty. The sun in the sky is a giant burning ball of gas millions of times larger than this planet and millions of miles away from the planet situated in space. This planet is a large spherical object that maintains its shape due to its sheer mass as it creates gravity, that pulls itself together. The same thing with the moon, it is a large spherical object in space orbiting this planet at an insane speed that you never notice. Every single star in that sky, is another burning blazing sun kicking off so much light that it travels across space at the fastest possible speed there is to reach this planet many, many years later. It's like a black ocean only with no water at all, occasionally dotted by things like dust, planets and suns only this ocean doesn't have a surface or a bottom, it just goes on forever"

Nat knew it would be difficult to describe even with his best attempts, but the entirely blank stare on the girls face indicated that either he had done a very bad job of explaining what space was, or that she was struggling to comprehend the idea in its entirety. He didn't blame her, the human brain was just not capable of fully understanding scales that big. In fact, the human brain was pretty shit at scale in general. Just comprehending the true scale of something like a war with a hundred thousand people dead was difficult to understand. It was a lot of dead people, but not exactly imaginable. So informing her of something beyond Thedas upwards was an entirely new experience for her and one that she likely had never once expected to hear.

"Like the fade?" Elyria swivelled her head as she tried to imagine the situation that this strange mage had told her about. She gave him a look of wonder, her eyes sparkling as she digested the information. Nat nodded. "So what your saying is that the world, is a ball in a black ocean that has no water in it and all those stars are actually suns from a faraway place" Incredulously, she tilted her head alongside giving him a look that seemed to say "be serious" however nothing prevented him being so sure of his answer. "You're telling the truth" She quickly realised as she saw that he was being entirely serious, "the stars are beautiful lights placed in the sky by the Maker so that we could marvel at the beauty he has given us. What you say is simply impossible"

Shaking his head, Nat said nothing instead carrying on though the underground area. He was in no mood to debate the science behind the universe, at another point in time then perhaps. Right now though he was trying to make sure that the girl knew what she actually wanted to do with her insistence on training and subtle asking of other members of the Inquisition to drag her along with them.

Several metres underground in a dark smelly underground tunnel wasn't exactly the most optimum place to each the medieval mind about the vastness of space. Even then, he didn't work for bloody NASA nor have an interest in space. He had passes astronomy as he had all his other lessons but in no way had that meant he liked the lessons, in fact, he disliked a lot of the lessons he had to know. For instance, foreign languages, religion, art, potions as well as numerous other topics. Others had bored him transfiguration was such an example while other lessons he had enjoyed with some of the main ones being history, charms and defence against the dark arts.

If he was going to spend time and sit down with Elyria and explain to her the mechanics of the universe, he was first going to have to shatter any preconceived notions she may have. Uforntunetly, he had no idea how long it would take to remove the indoctrination of the Chantry. For most of her life, it had been the Chantry that had told her how everything worked so for him a random mage to appear and tell her differently was going to shake things up.

He expected it, of course, the medieval era was not exactly known for its time of enlightenment in Europe, there was an entire section of time dedicated to when the Europeans started to think about things again. He knew any kind of science he would put forth was going to place him into direct opposition with the Chantry and its teachings of the world. Then again, what could possibly go wrong with going against one of the most powerful originations in this world with an opinion that they would despise?. One look at Galileo and you knew perfectly that the Chantry was going to treat him with respect; even better, when he got onto the theory of evolution the people there would jump on the information and be dying to shake his hand in congratulations.

"Any more things your people knew, you mentioned something about cells back with that woman" Just when had Elyria became so dismissive of his knowledge, days ago she had been desperate to learn from his people, but now it seemed the opposite as he seemingly questioned her beliefs on how the world worked.

"It's a small biological structural part that when combined with a lot more create living beings. I'm not the best person to explain these types of things to you, science" Stopping where she had been standing, Elyria ignored the heat of the torch on her face as she heard her friend say yet another word. Why did he have so many of them and what did they all mean. And Nat's explanation on cells really didn't help her in any meaningful way, how did they work, why did they exist and just what are they in a bit more detail.

"Why not" Elyria questioned him.

"Because I'm not a scientist, I can't explain to you these concepts the way they should be taught. If anything, I'm more likely to confuse you then ensure you get anything right. All the stuff I know is basic knowledge, for me, knowing about space is just as common as the average commoner knowing that a blacksmith makes weapons out of metal. I am not qualified to really teach you what you might want to know. In fact, it would be exactly like me asking you how to create a timber house. You might say that I need trees and some saws but after that no idea. It's the same thing with me, I know the basics, common knowledge and a few meanings of things, but I'm not a qualified person."

With her head tilted low, Elyria hid both her disappointment at the reluctance that Nat was showing when it came to teaching her about the world. She frowned, it was natural she supposed that he didn't know everything about his own people, having specialised knowledge was something that all people had. A king would know how to rule, a member of the Chantry would know the Chant of Light and a soldier would know how to fight. He wasn't perfect she realised, despite all the answers he gave to her questions, there were still gaps in his knowledge that he didn't know.

A pit seemed to form in her stomach while a sad and guilty one became the one on her face. She felt sorry for him, his entire people were gone as was the knowledge they had believed in. Even if she hadn't agreed with what he had said so far, especially with that strange universe thing, ultimately that knowledge was going to vanish as time went on if it hadn't already. Nat, whoever he was, the last of his people and was entirely unable to bring them back.

Hoping to comfort him in what she assumed was some type of emotional breakdown, she extended her hand forward attempting to grip the shoulder of one of her friends. Seeing what she was doing, however, Nat said nothing instead of walking forwards leaving Elyria to catch up if she desired to carry on. Without a moment's hesitation, she did so although her face still looked to the one her age with worry.

Finally, they reached into the area that they had been heading too. It was the underground cells specifically, the more hidden ones most likely designed to prevent anyone who may have come looking for someone hidden. Elyria couldn't help the grimace that spread across her face as she saw just how small the cells were. There was no bed, only one lone bucket in every corner for the residents to fill up when they needed to go. As for the bars to the cells, their age was quite obvious as well. They had turned bronze with rust not a single piece of iron left remaining, whether it was due to negligence or not caring, it didn't matter, these cells looked rather flimsy enough that someone with enough strength could very likely bash the lockdown enabling them to escape.

"Shit" Only now noticing their arrival, Elyria held her shock as two guards stood up from a table they had been previously sitting at. In their rush to stand up and salute Nat who was apparently a higher ranking officer, the two guards had done a shoddy job of hiding the fact that they had been playing cards rather than standing at alert watching the prisoners. Panic began to set into their faces as they gazed at the child, both of them knew that the young mage could punish them quite harshly for neglect of their duties. "Reporting for duty sir" Nat didn't look impressed.

"Dead" A brief moment's confusion transformed into one of utter abject terror as Nat placed a hand on that curved sword of his drawing it slowly teasing the men with blind panic. All of them knew what was going to happen in that instant, and as none of them had not even a dagger between them, all of them pushed and shoved one another to the front so they could be the ones with their backs placed against the cold walls sending a shiver up their spines. "Had I been an enemy, all you would be dead and not one of you would be alive right now. Look at yourselves, forget the inquisition for a moment, you are the providers of your homes. You feed your wives, children, you pay for medicine, clothes, food. All of you work day after day so that the ones you care about can live. Tell me what would happen to those people should they be killed?"

At his words the guards couldn't even muster the strength to look the teenager back in the eyes, instead, they merely kept their heads down low in shame. A few shuffled their feet in nervousness, while another finally did manage to call forth the strength to look at the one who was telling them off in the face. He was about to yell back, likely complain about how they didn't need to listen to a thing that a mage boy said. The key word was try. Since the moment that guard opened his mouth, Nat turned his attention onto that guard shutting them up.

Elyria watched fascinated at the scene. Somehow Nat was able to convey emotion and seriousness without giving anything away. There was no anger in his voice, yet everybody seemed to know that he was not pleased with their performance and that should they be caught again, then they would be in major trouble. Quickly Nart then ended his tirade with a stern warning.

"I suggest you think strongly on your family next time you slack off. Had I been the commander then you would have had been given a harsh punishment. Should this type of behaviour carry on..." Nat let the threat hang in the air for a few moments allowing the soldiers to think what they could be facing if they fucked up again. "Dismissed" Shivering where they stood at the harsh warning, the soldiers made at the quickest pace they possibly could to leave the area leaving the cells to him and Elyria. With the two of them alone in a hidden place, Elyria first might have thought that perhaps Nat wanted her to himself for whatever reason. She was soon stripped out of that theory as he swiftly moved them towards one of the cages.

Peering inside, Elryia's eyes took in the form of a man. He wasn't young, most likely in his forties. His hair had already begun to go grey with the ravages of time, his body was strong from all the years of hard work he had endured most likely working on a farm something that showed with his callous hands. His eyes however shocked her, they were full of anger yet also a peaceful disposition as if he knew what he was in there for and had made his peace.

"Who is he?" Elyria inquired her mind thinking of as many reasons as to why Nat had taken her to view this man out of so many.

"He was a farmer, since then, however, he took up with the ones who killed the Divine. Ever since the Inquisition was founded he's been relaying information to those we suspect are behind the death of he Divine, telling them of plans who was a part of it what allies the Inquisition was making"

"How did you capture him?" All of a sudden, the man looked up his face no longer pointed to the floor staring in anguish. What he did now though, was gaze upon the new intruder next to the one who had captured him, doing his best, the man attempted to read the mage girl for any sort of information as to what was going to happen.

"I caught him sending messages with a false code I divided. What does matter is how this man is going to be sentenced. You will be the one to carry it out" Horrified as she recognised what he was stating, Elyria's head whipped so quickly back to the strange mage. He had to be joking right, she wasn't that well versed in laws, but even she knew that the punishment of traitors was, it was death. She stepped back shock on her face as she took in the sight of the lonely man once more sitting in his cramped cage with not even a plate of food left to him.

"You aren't being serious" Elryia started to feel sick, clutching her mouth, she fought to prevent anything from coming out.

"You've killed before, those Templars back in Ostwick" Nat countered not once bothering to look at the girl, instead he kept his eyes locked onto the man. In truth, the man hadn't been a spy at all but all the same, he had committed a tremendous crime. He'd been part of a recently created band of bandits that had been attacking refugees, killing them for everything they owned and then taking the women to use them however he wished until he and the rest of his group had gotten bored. He had only gotten the news last night from a young elf who had arrived all beaten up and bloody. He had just about given him the news story before dying of his wounds, in response, Nat had ensured he dealt with the problem killing all but one of them and taking this one alive to use as an example.

Originally he had planned on making a show of his death to the rest of the members of the inquisition, to send a warning to criminals and bandits alike that their kind would not be tolerated. Now though, with Elyria practising her magic so she could get stronger and help the fight against the Templars, he saw this as an opportunity to see just what she was willing to do. It was also why he had lied to her about the nature of the man's crimes.

Different crimes got different responses out of people, what he wanted to know, is at what point would Elyria believe it was right to take a life. If she wanted to go fight Templars as she had always claimed to do so, then she needed a tough stomach and the ability to kill an unarmed prisoner. Not only that, she would also need the ability to kill without rage or survival instincts kicking in. Therefore by stating that this man was part of a group who had delivered vital information to the enemy, who was no undefended and had not physically, attacked another individual, it left Elyria conflicted with how she would act.

To him, there was only one way to pass his test, and she had failed quite spectacularly.

"That was different, they attacked first, they tried to kill me." Elyria's voice cracked under the pressure as she heard Nat's mention of her actions previous. How could she tell him that she had never wanted to kill anyone, sure she despised the Templars and wanted to get revenge on them, but that had never meant she had wanted to kill people. She like most other mages had wanted a normal life, to do a normal job, meet a nice boy get married and settle down where they would then have a few children together. In her case, she might have wanted to inherit her families title and as such might marry a richer boy, but that was it. She hadn't ever wanted to go to war as she and the others were now in. Yet here she stood, asked to take the life of a man who had surrendered by the one who had saved her.

"This man's actions resulted in the deaths of the mages and Templars alongside the Divine and opened up a portal to the Fade allowing for demons to pass forth. Tell me Elyria, how many lives have been lost due to this man because of his actions, how many more will be lost? These demons are going to kill more mages, some of those may even be your friends. When that happens, are you going to be able to live with yourself knowing that you had a chance to avenge them but never did?"

Elryias eyes darted to the man who stared at her intently. What had once been understanding was now replaced entirely by fear as he realised what was about to happen. Rapidly the man then changed his attention to Nat pointing at his mouth his eyes begging to be released from the spell which had taken his voice so that he may spout the truth. As soon as he did so, he regretted it as he was met with that disturbing calm look that seemed to bury deep into his soul. Collapsing onto his knees, the man moved forward in the cage and reached out between the bars to try and grab at the girl. Not in any lustful move, if he had then Nat would have lopped his arm off but instead to ask for forgiveness from the young girl who may spare his life.

Inside her chest, Elryia could feel her heart pound faster and faster, her head started to feel funny like the blood was draining out of it or that she was starting to go dizzy. She hadn't thought of that time since she had killed her first Templar in her escape from Ostwick, it had all been in a rush back then, a sense of freedom, exhilaration and hope alongside so many other emotions. Yet this was different.

Unlike before when she had been fighting for her very life her instincts and adrenaline fuelling her actions, this time she had none of those things to cloud her judgement. This time she knew exactly what was being asked of her and what it would result in. She turned her attention back onto Nat an unbelieving look on her face. He had saved her all those weeks ago from a horrendous torment butchering the Templars like the animals that they were. She had felt joy and vengeance when she was those dead bodies and she still felt vengeance whenever she thought about it now, however this person was different.

This man whoever he was had never attacked her personally, he had never swung a sword at her or said that she should be killed simply because she was a mage. Instead, he had passed on information onto the enemy of the Inquisition and was now faced with the punishment. She pondered why he had done this, he didn't appear to be a man who had the same goals as whoever had created the Veil and brought forth demons, his face showed nothing but despair as he looked at her his eyes begging and pleading for his life. Then again, her mind went back to what could have been an end to the Mage Templar war.

She like others had friends that had been part of the group that attended the conclave in hopes of ending the war. She like others had then lost a friend in the explosion that had rocked the hole of Thedas resulting in the appearance of the Breach. This man had passed information to whoever had led the attack, was likely in part responsible for the deaths of Mages and the Divine herself. By laws, this man would be executed for his crimes, in fact, it would be made rather public and his head put on a spike. Yet all the same Elryia could not sense a single bit of maliciousness in those eyes, only fear and despair as the man waited for the judgement to be given.

Oddly, as she stared more and more into those brown eyes the man had, she couldn't help but feel pity worm inside her heart. Her thoughts focused on what might be related to the man, did he have a family? Wife children that he desired to protect? Was that why he had committed such a horrendous deed, to protect the ones he loved less they are taken from him. Again as she continued to stare, the flame of the torch flickering in the air casting shadows on the dark walls, she searched for anything that could cause her blood to boil for her anger to rise. Nothing worked.

Unsure of what to do, she glanced towards her saviour hoping that he might do something, perhaps even say what she had to do or understand why she was struggling. However, he did nothing bar stand like a statue all stiff lacking only a set of cobwebs hanging from between his ears his eyes still locked onto her unwavering. She let out a deep breath, there would be no assistance from him, she had to make a decision on her own whether she could take this man's life.

Hesitantly she raised her hand so that it was vertical with the man all that she needed to do now was simply to unleash a jet of flames and cook the man alive leaving nothing but a smouldering pile of ash and bone that would stink the entire area of cells up for days if not weeks. Solemnly, she prepared the spell by starting to summon forth the energies of the fade. Grimacing, she felt sick to her stomach, whatever Nat had said didn't matter, this man was unarmed and he was asking her to murder him in cold blood without any sort of trial from a higher authority as if he was a Templar.

Then again, was the murder of this man not just. His crimes had caused the deaths of many others as well as would likely be the deaths of more all over the continent. The Divine, mages all blown apart by some villain never to live another day. It had all been made possible by this man, a man that should face death for his sins, nevertheless the more she stared into his fearful eyes, the more she became more and more aware of what this was like, where she had seen this type of action before.

Templars did a similar thing; they would find a mage guilty in their eyes and then do with them as they will. Whether that action was to have them executed or turned tranquil, there was nothing the mages could do to stop a horrendous act not matter how many times a mage had begged, they were only ever met with stone cold silence. She wanted vengeance, to make those who had done such actions to feel what they had inflicted others with, however, that was with Templars. This man whoever he was, was not a Templar. Due to this, he did not earn her rage and her eagerness to kill.

Finally, her mind was drawn to another and more pressing point, the opinion of Nat. What would he think if she failed on such a simple task, she now knew why he had brought her here, to kill this man. Oh, how she wanted to be like him, to have the courage to fight Templars at their own game, to be strong magically and deal with any opponent that dare attack her, but it was far harder then she could have ever imagined. Was this what was required of her? Would he only accept her if she proved herself strong in his eyes? She could only imagine what would occur if she failed.

Would he stop speaking to her if she did not kill this man, she didn't want that. He made her feel safe, whenever she walked by with the Templars with him, she could see their nervous gestures as they despised the power he wielded. Who wouldn't, if the rumours were true, then he had easily bested a Pride demon the most powerful type there was in the Fade. She herself had watched him effortlessly decimate Templars when he had saved her life, even the spymaster Leliana seemed to trust him enough that she would send him on missions.

Gently she touched the palm of her hand and smiled lightly. She could still remember how he had enabled her to lay her head against his shoulder in the blizzard, how he had cared for and protected her. Unlike the other mages, not once did he ask if she was doing well and referred to that incident, instead he treated like she was fine and perfectly healthy. She had enjoyed playing that game with him, in fact, she enjoyed being around him more then she thought she should have. Where before she had merely felt safe in his presence, as the days went on she could feel her stomach feel strange around him. Day after day she found the desire to impress, him, to showcase that she was strong and intelligent, sometimes she would speak to him about a random subject and he would listen intently and give advice. It was very precious to her, but all the same what he was asking off her...

Once more she looked at the man her eyes hardening, she couldn't afford to show weakness in front of him. After all, how could she ever fight Templars if she couldn't even kill this one man, how would she ever be able to stand by his side if she wasn't strong? Her mind flashed back to rumours she had heard, the Herald of Andraste liked to enjoy herself with men and Nat had confirmed it. What did she have that compared to her? That elf woman was utterly beautiful, powerful, had a string libido and was not afraid to take what or who she wanted whenever she wanted.

She would take him she realised, all it would take would be for the Herald to take an interest in him and he would be lost to her forever. No longer would she spend time with him learning topics, no longer would he praise her ability, no longer would he treat time or spend time with her at all. Men were so easily controlled by their cocks, all a woman had to do what show a bit of skin here and there and men would do whatever they desired. She wanted to believe that Nat was different, that he would not fall for such a stupid thing, he had never shown any interest in any woman ever. But that could all change, what if he got drunk, the Herald could take the advantage.

Her blood boiled in her veins, the Herald could have anybody she wanted, the political power she held at her finger tips could be used to stop some of the worst calamities and get others to beg on their knees in hopes of carrying her favour. She knew the rumours about that woman, there was not one chance that she would allow that woman to steal the one person who made her feel safe. All she had to do to take what she wanted, was to take the life of this man in front of her. If she did that then surely she would impress Nat and therefore he would continue to speak to her, maybe he would even train her to the point that she could do what he did.

Reaffirming the position of her outstretched hand a lick of fire dancing in her palm ready to be unleashed and consume the terrified man. Before she unleashed her power, however, she gave one last look into the man's eyes. It was a mistake, subconsciously she lowered her hand as she only saw fear in those eyes. This man didn't want to die, and besides, why was it her that had to kill this man, wasn't that job left to the person who sentenced the man. So why did Nat want her to kill this man in cold blood without witnesses around? Of all the tests that he could have given her to perform, why did this one have to involve her being the one to hand out justice?

Desperately she fought against these feelings of guilt of sorrow, she trusted Nat, she knew that if he said this man was guilty of a crime, then the man without a doubt was guilty. After all, why would Nat lie to her, he was a deliverer of justice, a saviour of fair maidens from villainous Templar's holed up in long-dead towers. It made her sick to her stomach, the idea of killing this man in cold blood, why was she the one who had to do it. Her thoughts again pressed back again to what she could lose if she didn't do it, Nat might be lost to her forever snatched up by the Herald if she so desired. She couldn't afford to let him go. What was the life of one criminal compared to the one person who made her feel safe, who made her stomach feel strange when he was about, who made her want to accomplish more and push her goals further than anything she could have achieved. Closing her eyes, she made her final decision.

A blast of blazing red hot flames poured forth from her open palm illuminating the entire inside of the dungeon as it raced forward and consumed the man alive. Screams so loud and now audible echoed from the man as he ran around the small cell his skin rapidly melted off his very bones leaving what had once been a human being into nothing but a horrific sight. Then there was the smell, by the Maker did the smell of such a pungent odour waft through the area and up her nose forcing her to keel backwards ad she rapidly covered her nose in hopes of preventing anymore form coming through. As the smell hit her, it only made the condition of her stomach worse, vomit and bile climbed up her organs until it reached her mouth where she heaved forward spewing the con tents of her previously eaten stomach onto the floor in a yellow vile mess. So caught up in the action, she was unable to continue viewing the scene instead collapsing to her knees where she stood her head feeling light.

In contrast, Nat watched the man flail about wildly without a single care. Years fighting in the duelling ring had made him immune to such physical reactions. While death wasn't common, it wasn't unheard off and even those who weren't killed could often face cruel painful torments scarring them for life. However, what in his mind made him not care in the slightest as he watched the man die painfully, the screams bouncing and echoing off the walls likely terrifying the guards who should have watched the prisoners is that by this point he was used to death.

It didn't affect him not now and not weeks ago when he had taken his first life. Ever since he could understand the meaning of death, he had been bombarded with information from all sorts of people stating that death affected oneself and taking a life far more harshly than that. He had read up on the topic curious about it, different stories about different scenarios. Some were about those who had killed during a war, others in self-defence the results were nearly unanimous in stating that it haunted them to this day. Despite all this, he didn't feel a thing.

It was ever so easy to take a life. Living creatures were fundamentally weak, whether they be a dragon or human the result was that they would die if hit with the right things. When he had taken that first life, he had expected to be met by some kind of grave reaction from himself, like that he had lost his innocence or something similar. But nothing happened, as far as he cared the man had been alive then he was hit with a spell and then he was dead. No guilt, no sorrow, just a quick transition of an individual who had been alive was now dead and he felt nothing.

He didn't enjoy killing, but he couldn't say that he disliked it either. It was a simple act, as mundane to him as turning on the TV or boiling a kettle. It was done without a second thought and he lost no sleep over the action. Elyria on the other hand like most others seemed to feel entirely different on the subject.

Obviously, despite her lust of revenge against the Templars, she was unable to act unless her instincts screamed at her. He didn't need to read the girls mind to know why she had finally decided to go and kill the man. She had hesitated at first, her guilt weighing her down in an ocean. Fear had paralysed her as she likely considered how she would live with herself for such an action. Then it changed as she further went into her thoughts and consequences came to mind.

Despite her belief that she had paid careful attention to the rapist, he had rather easily noted as her eyes had never endingly moved onto him pleading for an answer at times and then change to panic. With enough years in Hogwarts and dealing with those who hadn't been trained to control their emotions, he recognised that panic as one who was afraid to lose something very dear to them. In her case, it meant it was him.

That was surprising in all honesty. He knew why she was so attached to him, yet he never would have imagined that the connection she desired to drive her to such an extreme action. Her panic was that he would abandon her, that her lack of action would force him to think that she was weak and undeserving of his attention. That should she fail to succeed, he would leave her alone back to the nightmares that haunted her night after night to the ever present paranoia she felt when she walked the camp alone that Templars would swoop in and finish the job that their former comrade had been unable to complete.

In all honesty, he had never once imagined that somebody would view him in such a way, that he would be such an important lifeline to an individual that they would do anything to keep it close to them. If he were to guess, that must be what drug users felt at times with the effect of withdrawal. That if they did not get another dose, then they would do whatever was necessary for them to get the object of their need.

He didn't know whether to feel honoured or disturbed at such a revelation. On one hand, it played up to his pride, it felt good to be needed, that another person relied on you yet at the exact same time, it meant that the girl was going to have a rather dark hunger to be around him as she looked for that dose. What made it even worse, was that going by the very fact that the girl had killed that man because he had asked her to show that she was heading more into a zealous attitude.

Such an attitude was both useful to him and also a hindrance. On one hand, she was likely going to be devoted to him and he could command her to do whatever he desired to the full extent that she could muster. On the other though, she would likely feel an ever deepening hunger that had to be fulfilled. Currently, it was to be in his presence, but what would that evolve into in time, a desire for love, physical contact, marriage?. These were all things he had no time or patience for but could prove detrimental to him if he did not provide.

In that case, would she betray him or would she strike out on her own doing actions in her quest to try and impress him? He could already see her fucking up a plan he might have as she believed she had a better one at the time taking action on it to get him a bigger prize. As for betrayal, if he kept rejecting any possible advances or gifts she might bring, would that not breed a bitter resentment in her. After all, it was only natural that if you kept working hard to impress a person and they never once acknowledged it, you would start to care less and less as you believed that nothing you ever did was good enough.

Oddly, this type of scenario reminded him of one person. Bellatrix Le strange had been one of the Voldemorts most ardent supporters. She was a mad bitch by the sound of it and entirely sadistic as well as doing anything that she could think of that may please Voldemort. If some rumours were true though, then Bellatrix had pined for Voldemort to love her and even bear his children. That was a creepy thought and something he would want to entirely avoid.

He would continue to manipulate Elyria to do as he desired, however, he had to ensure that he also worked on trying to recover her mental situation whilst also retaining her loyalty. On the other hand, he had to prepare the girl for what she was about to face on the path that she had elected to walk on. If she was going to fight the Templars, then she could not afford to rely purely on instinct and rage, rather she would have to be capable of carrying out any orders he might give to her straight away. If she hesitated in the field to kill an opponent, then it could cost her dearly.

Already she had shown that she was unable to see the danger that others possessed. Elyria had easily been taken in by the fake looks that the rapist had given her pleading for mercy and pretending that he was just a normal person. All of that had been in a safe environment where the individual was restrained and there was nothing that they could do to harm Elyria. Fighting in the field would be entirely different and there was no certain way of stating that he would be with her and any other soldiers he might have.

Even with his desire to have his own set of soldiers, there was no way of guaranteeing that they would always be used by him. Should they prove to be effective combat troops in the field, then Cullen my requisition them from time to time and send them away leaving him without a set of men and women who can help him accomplish his goals and objectives. It was then even worse if Cullen recognised just how powerful things like muskets and cannon could be. While he could likely escape any accusations of being a traitor by simply stating that he was trialling any weapons his soldiers would have, inevitably requests would be made from Cullen and others for such weapons.

That was going to lead into a larger conflict with the Templars and could potentially split the Inquisition in half. Those few Templars who remained would undoubtedly want weapons that could punch through armour and be as fast as muskets were in getting to a target. Artillery would be another thing, with enough range and cannonballs they could then start taking down the mages one by one. He wasn't naive enough to believe that the Templars would not use such weapons in their duties, evidence already showed that the tension between the Templars and mages were still incredibly high with a conflict very possible.

This led back to his need to ensure that Elyria was capable of killing others if she truly did desire to join him in the future. Even though he was a wizard, as a person who possessed the gift of magic, that classified him as a mage in the eyes of the Templars and therefore an enemy. It was one of the reasons he had no qualms of slaughtering all Templars and not allowing a single one to live. By all sense of the world, he was at war with the Templar order and if he was at war, then that meant he had no care for the opinions of his enemies.

Those in this base camp were not his allies, they were enemies who he only allowed to live because these one were in a truce with the Inquisition. Should they act against that truce, then he would end their pathetic existence and do this world some good. Elyria and others should not have to live in fear simply because they were born mages, they should enjoy the same rights as others, and those rights were restricted by the Templars. The Templars had started this war, and by their actions had showcased where the line of what was and what wasn't acceptable. As the Templars action involved the wholesale slaughter of all mages then it was only fair if the same occurred to them.

As far as he was concerned, fuck the Geneva Convention. If those bastards wanted a bloody war then he would showcase to them why you didn't fuck with magic. All soldiers of the Templars were enemy combatants and would be treated as such. Therefore not one would be given mercy, he would not allow their surrender and torture in his view was perfectly fair game.

If Elyria truly desired to gain her vengeance on those who had done her wrong, then she had to adopt the right attitude to so. A lack of empathy for her enemies, a ruthlessness to get what she desired, smart logical plans to minimize risk and maximise reward as well as devotion to her fellow mages in that she would give everything to protect them from harm's way and their enemy.

To kill this man was her first test and already she had failed. While he would never tell her what the criteria were, what he had desired from her in this instance was that she shows little to no hesitation, that she kill the man with only a few seconds of doubt. What she had shown was several minutes worth of doubt and guilt as well as a lack of ability to decide quickly in her actions. Every moment she hesitated on the field placed the lives of not only herself but also of her allies in danger and that was not something he could not allow.

He looked down back toward where Elyria was, she had made such a mess of the cells and was carrying on to do so as she was bent double vomiting profusely all the while swaying as her mind felt light and in need of oxygen. With only a gesture of his hand, he commanded her to return back upstairs and get some air with the promise that he would discuss this with her later. Once gone, he turned around to the other person who had watched the scene with a horrified look on her face.

Like a demon out of a child's nightmares, he stalked towards her his every move sending flashes of abject terror through her eyes. Still tied up in those chains he had conjured, she was entirely defenceless and she knew it as well. Had she been able to speak, then she would have sworn profusely at the scene. Not because that the man had been killed, he could see it in her eyes, Sera had killed countless others before, but rather because of the brutality of the death. The rapist had not been given a quick short death as this woman likely had, but rather he had been made to suffer screaming in pain as he was cooked alive his flesh melting of his very body and the flames licking his body turning muscle into burnt meat that covered the entire area in its stench forcing others to smell the pure horror alongside hearing it.

Taking a step further towards the tied woman, more fear sparked in the woman as she was now utterly terrified. Both knew he could end her this very moment is he so wished, and both knew that despite how hard this woman tried to get out of the chains, there was nothing she could do but wait in those chains. By this point, the amused and pissed of expression had disappeared off Seras face instead she was met by one where she diverted her eyes and looked for the nearest corner to hide in.

She couldn't help it Sera thought. No matter how much she wanted to yell and scream at this long haired twat, every single instinct of hers told her to run and hide. She was pleased to see the man die, the fucker deserved it going by what those useless sets of guards had said in their blind rambling.

Had she been a thief, then it would have been ridiculously easy to infiltrate this place and release a person or steal a certain piece of information and nobody would be wiser. Initially, she had planned to escape these stupid magical chains that the young fuck head had wrapped her in against her will after that then she would have spied around the little people and see what they knew before getting some revenge on the bastard. What she hadn't been expecting was for him to come to her nearly instantly.

At first, she had imagined that he was just some noble dickhead too big for his breaches and yelling at others to do whatever he desired, stupid rich prick. But then he had the girl execute the rapist, saying nothing in the slightest as his expression always stayed the same like a rock. She shivered, how did he do that? It was creepy as all fuck. She wondered if she might be one of these demon things she had heard about? According to rumours, they followed mages around like pissed shit heads to whores. Then without a single word spoken, he had turned to face her staring her in the eye not a single muscle on his body moving as he did so.

She wanted to shiver, but it was then when she saw her own reflection, in those black stupid mask things he wore, did she start to panic. Why the fuck she was acting such a way she didn't know, most likely fuck face here, was some type of mage who was using magic to scare her. Hoping for some kind of information she managed to direct her eyes from the intimidating presence of the child to around him searching for any clues of magic.

While she had no clue as to what she was searching for, maybe flashy lights, maybe his eyes would start to go all funny and glow either way whatever happened she was pretty certain she would find it. Yet nothing did, he simply stared her in her eyes and it petrified her. There was something in that blank emotionless look that screamed nothing but danger, that she had to get away for her own sake as well as others. Struggling she tried to look him in the eyes, to see past that stupid mask that he was wearing but all she saw was herself ever staring back at her.

Quickly she had managed to put up a threat against the feeling pushing down on her threatening to consume her hole and then spit her out as if she was a mere mouse and he was a lion. She tried to think of jokes and insults, but none came to her; so frightened was she of this stare, that very few things came to mind and none of them good. As odd as it sounded, the threat of her death hung heavily in the air pressing down on her like a mountain had been pressed placed on top of her. Nothing had to be said she realised, just his actions now told her loud and clear that if she was like this fuck face, a traitor, murderer, rapist or spy, then she would soon be finding herself in for a very painful punishment.

She knew that most mages were scary, less person and more weapon. Just being nearby them set her one edge as she contemplated just how quick she would have to be with her bow. This young mage shit was worse, far worse. Other mages were scary, when she had witnessed that man burn to cinders in front of her a lump had formed in her throat and her stomach felt like it was going to explode. This kid, on the other hand, did nothing, said nothing yet, all the same, this lack of action was far more intimidating than she had possibly imagined. It felt like she was an ant being inspected by a normal person before they decided to step on them. It was not a nice feeling.

It became too much for her, her desire to fight rapidly dissipating, and she herself was unconsciously moving away from the danger until she soon backed into a corner as out of the way as possible. Silently, as she had no ability to speak, the elf girl couldn't help but hope that the Herald thingy would come back soon. She had no desire to stay in these cells with that person, whoever he was, petrified her and held the allegiance of another mage. Another shiver ran down her back, she had no desire in the slightest to mess with magic. Rich cunts who took advantage of the little people she would happily hunt down and kill for their crimes, but mages were a whole other story.

Rich shits didn't have the power to turn you into some type of animal or turn you into nothing but ash and bone if you pissed them off. Mages, on the other hand, could decimate entire landscapes slaughtering whoever they wished and desired as well as screwing up the world by using their powers in unnatural ways. Scratch that, mages were unnatural monsters point blank. Mages should never be allowed to use their powers, It made her grateful for the Templar order, she could only imagine how much the little people would get screwed over cunts and mages just because they had the power.

Seriously how the fuck would it be fair for a normal person to go about their business in a city doing whatever they did when they knew that somewhere there could be a mage who could kill them all. Magic was far too dangerous to be let loose in the world and that girl had already proved that they couldn't be trusted in the slightest. Personally, she wished that magic never existed in the first place, it was far too dangerous and complicated however if they had to exist then the towers were the best things for it. Besides, didn't eh mages also benefit, they would no longer be bullied by others and were placed in a safe environment. Not to mention the fact, they got an education in that tower, regular meals, their own beds and they didn't have to do anything other than enjoy their free time, how was that not desirable for anyone.

That was how she believed she would retort in the presence of a mage, but now things were different. This blonde haired twat had taken her bow, tied her up and then chucked her in a cell before then scaring the shit out of her with a look. Tightening her fist, she promised that if she got out of this scenario, then she would get revenge, Maybe she should drop a bucket of water on his head or destroy all the books in the library, mages like those things right? Books. Oh perhaps she could make him break up with that girlfriend of his, that would be fun; then again why, not try and get him into trouble with the Templars. Mentally she snickered at the reaction of this pompous little shit when he was carted off by the mage hunters.

Unknown to her, Nat could already work out what she was thinking simply by carefully observing her face. As much as Sera wanted to hide what she was thinking, she did a pitiful job at it, her facial expressions changed constantly indicating when she felt fear, or anger, or a smug sense of superiority that would likely come from getting revenge. In the case of the latter, the obvious attempt would be to try and get him into trouble with the Templar. What exactly the plan would be and how she wanted to enact it he didn't know, but most likely it would be something in the mid level of seriousness. Nothing to get him killed, but certainly bad enough to get him into a lot of deep shit.

Of course, should the Templars try such a thing, well he was technically at war with them so all rules were off the table? He supposed some fancy Orlesian hunter would like the chance to hunt down a giraffe. They could pin it on their wall and boast to any visiting friends that the creature was truly dangerous and how it required great effort to kill. After that, his name may be given out to these other fancy shmucks who wanted to hunt down their own giraffes or other creatures as well. With a little bit of payment, everybody benefited. All the same, he'd keep an eye on Sera, make sure she didn't get up to too much trouble if her story about being recruited by Valeyna was indeed true.

The way she acted didn't quite remind him of a thief, thank Merlin the tea was safe. However, she did strike him as a troublemaker in the form of a petulant child. That was going to be... interesting. He just hoped that Valeyna knew what she was doing when she recruited this woman.

Vivienne, on the other hand, he perfectly agreed and understood with her recruitment. Don't get him wrong, if there weren't any consequences he'd put the woman into an early grave the first moment he had She was still the enemy after all. But her connections and political power would still ultimately prove useful not to mention with any luck, detrimental to her. With time he may be able to find weaknesses he could exploit until he could ruin her political career once and for all alongside crash all of her dreams into small tiny pieces of rubble.

With her being nearby, it made it easier for him to knock her down a few pegs whereas it was going to be quite a bit harder for Vivienne to do the same to him. Vivienne had political power, she was known throughout Orlais and had to regularly deal with the Game back in that country. Every rumour and scandal was going to be reported on and spoken about between the other players of the game, from there action could be taken against her. If he played his card right then he could send the opinion of the mage downhill. Of course, he was expecting a backlash from the woman as she tried and attempted to take his place as the advisor to the Herald.

In contrast, though, Vivienne was bound to struggle more against him. She was used to Orleisan politics of knowing how much they cared about their public perceptions as nobility and how to stir contempt for people. A possible rebellion by one's subjects looked bad for those nobles and could even be fuelled by enemies, a lack of fashion would be seen as a lack of intelligence and grace in Orlais. Every effort Vivienne had to ensure that she put up a good front was time wasted on attacking him as he could easily hide behind one excuse that the First Enchanter didn't have.

He could simply use the excuse that his culture did things differently. It wasn't always going to work; it wasn't as if he could just sprint through the halls of some nobles naked, however smaller things such as not eating a type of food or not wearing a certain type of address could all be explained away. If he said something inappropriate, he could back track and while there was no reason to believe that it would succeed every time, state that his mistake was the ways things were done back home. In that case, the First Enchanter would have a harder time tripping him up politically in any scheme she cooked up, yet that didn't mean he shouldn't be wary. If anything it was the exact opposite.

Every excuse he made and pinned it onto his culture gave the woman the ability to piece things to gather and create a mental image of what his culture was like. If he was so foolish as to keep changing the story, then the woman would detect and suspect something or embarrass him publically by stating that he had said something entirely different to another group of people in front of a possible audience he may have. Then there was the case that as he had previously recognised, Orlesian politics were far more deadly then what he was used to.

A scandal here or there would harm a politicians reputation back home, if it was bad enough perhaps even ruin it forever, however the likelihood of death was never in question. In the entirety of British politics, only one Prime Minister had ever been assassinated and that had been the act of one lone man with grievances. If anything, he would guess that if the Orlesians were to see the way that British Politicians acted and behaved, they would have considered them cowards. After all, it seemed that death was just one of the more entertaining parts of Orlesian politics if not one of the ultimate goals to achieve against an opponent. Barbarians all of them Nat thought about Orlesian politicians.

For now, he would have to also to insure that if he did desire Elyria to enter his service, then she needed to be able to defend herself in politics less she be eaten alive. Only thing was if she could handle such a task, you couldn't just kill or physically attack the person you despised beyond belief even if they had committed a grave injustice, rather one was subjected to having a battle of wits and words. The latter could easily be lost and even he had strong doubt that he would be able to keep up that type of argument against his opponents.

He imagined it as a constant hellish version of the Prime Ministers questions. Facts figures, arguments all had to be known to the last detail without a single mistake. The correct phrase had to be used, the ability to not alienate one's allies on issues and do not express strong issues on certain topics. If there was a problem within one's group it had to be dealt with quickly and efficiently however it wasn't so easy. There were bound to be people who supported him that he despised the opinions of yet all the same he needed their backing and wealth.

If he were back home and allegations were made that a certain party was particularly hostile against one particular religion when they hadn't been before, then the uproar would be huge. The leader of that party would then be given a rather harsh choice of either dealing with the problems and bias against this newly risen hatred or to do nothing at all. Should the leader do nothing, then they would likely be supporting powerful people in the background who may hold the current views that are being expressed and keep their support and likely vital monetary help. While on the other hand they could tackle the problems and keep members in their party happy and perhaps recover their image maybe even gain a new found respect from other voters.

It was most certainly a difficult decision to be made and had far-reaching consequences whatever decision was made. It was a catch 22, you couldn't make the correct decision. You could make the "morally right" decision and say fuck off to the large monetary donations but then perhaps be left in a crippled state or you could do the "monetary sound" decision and potentially split the party in two. In the latter of the two cases, you were sure to keep voters as well as if one was really lucky, get rid of all one's enemies in the party if they all decided to jump ship.

All the same, the result was the same. A politicians career could be forever devastated hated and despised by people maybe even forced to go onto some meaningless job in the ass end of nowhere getting told to do by those you had once tried to help in the land of politics. In a worst case scenario, they may be sent to jail for some type of crime. But that was it, there would be no death penalty awaiting the, no type of exile, they would be alive and irrelevant. Orlesian's without a doubt would look at such a scene and feel only disgust and haughty superiority as they sipped expensive wine from their chairs. To them, there was no fun in politics if death did not round every corner haunting them.

That was ultimately was what Vivienne was used to and why he knew he was at a disadvantage no matter how much he wanted to think otherwise with a difference in culture. Worse then even that, she was an experienced player of the game and had been for many decades turning what he had heard had been nothing but a mocking position into one of actual power. She was hardly incompetent and he could not afford in any way to doubt her or her abilities.

There was very little he knew he could combat that experience with.

Certainly, he couldn't combat it with his own experience. While Hogwarts was considered the beginning of the political game, he had never found the time to be playing such games and had concentrated all his effort into his education so that he could get out of there fast. He had known the moment he selected to concentrate fully on education that he would be sorely lacking in political talent the moment he left especially compared to those in Slytherin who were seemingly raised to play politics the moment they were born.

All he knew was from observations, education and thinking about it. At best he was swimming in the shallow end of a pool acting and boasting that he knew everything there was to swimming all the while Vivienne sat in the deep end staring him down daring him to swim over and show his talent. He could not afford to drown, one mistake, one wrong false move and it was over. For now, he needed Solas and he needed Valeyna both of them for what they possessed, the last thing he needed was to be taken away from them by some mage who had been so indoctrinated by religious bullshit that she started spouting off crap as if she was a Templar herself.

As he stared into the eyes of the terrified elf girl, he knew that if it was required of him and things were not going his way then more... permanent solutions would have to be found.

Silently without a word he turned his head and marched away from the woman leaving her to her own terrified nature as she hid pathetically in that corner. This Sera, was undoubtedly terrified of magic, what it could do, how many people it could harm alongside other key components of how magic worked. If anything he would guess that Sera likely believed it was unnatural and that the circles were a good thing as it kept freakish mages away from the good normal people. He could use that against her, if as he imagined her to be some kind of trouble maker, then threatening her with magic was one way to keep her in step and if not, there were other ways that could be used. Depending on his approach they could be more or less agreeable to her.

For now, it was a case of waiting and preparing for Valeyna to return. The First Enchanter had likely purchased a ship to cross the sea between Orlais and Fereldan, a luxury which Valeyna and the others did not have. In that case, they would likely arrive back here in a few days. He would give another day after their arrival for rest and revival after such a long walk, after that however he needed to start influencing Valeyna and the others again alongside getting his lessons from Solas.

The Venatori were not going to allow them to sit idly by and wait until they had made their decision. Every day they wasted sitting back in Haven was another day that the enemy gained strength that could be turned against them. Speaking of which, he had to speak to Cullen again.

He had voiced his complaints once before about their location at the foot of this mountain. But as the camp gre larger and larger with volunteers, that space rapidly began to be filled in with tents, supplies, weapons and other things. Already he had heard Josephine complain that if a noble was to visit them, then they would not be impressed especially if they were from the nation of golden lions. While a fair point, he like any Fereldan would saw things in a more practical sense.

With winter fast approaching, snowfall was increasing more and more, already he had been subjected to hiding in a cave with a girl sleeping on his shoulders. As temperatures plummeted with the freezing racing winds, the morale of the troops would decline greatly as they were still stuck in small tents forced to share small spaces and not able to really hold onto the smallest luxuries lest they are stolen. Houses had to be created, not thin hastily constructed ones, but strong houses that would keep the warmth inside them and not rip out of the ground and fly off in any which direction when a harsh wind blew against them. They would also need to be secure, from theft and large enough for people to hold some luxuries with them even if it was only a painting for a child. Access to things bathing would be greatly appreciated by the common soldier as would their own kitchens where food could be kept and room to actually breathe and live in.

While such a thing would take work, it would also prove useful in Josephine's department. Should a noble arrive to view the strength of the inquisition, then they would surely be impressed if they knew that the average commoner was given firm strong housing. Of course some would be entirely disgusted by the idea, but all the same such basic things by his world comparison would cement the Inquisition as a strong body. He guessed the equivalent back home would be showing a politician of a different nation that your country was so rich that they could afford to waste cash on giving soldiers five-star luxury accommodation. The politician might think it's excessive, but its a more subtle way of stating that not only was that nation richer than the politicians country but also that the showcasing nation's troops were far better quality if they needed such a thing. Then there was the outright fact that small tents flapping about in the wind were not going to survive the night. Wooden houses will.

Lastly came defensive reasons, but they were fairly obvious. Most people could look at Haven and it's measly defences and realise that it was not going to withstand an attack on it by a normal force let alone mages. The faster they moved out of this place the better, it was just a case of knowing where to retreat to, it was hardly likely that there was going to be a nice convenient castle laying in the mountains that had been abandoned for several centuries that the Inquisition could just take.

With a sigh, he realised that was the end of him watching the blacksmiths, he would have to find the time to do so later. For now, he needed to check that Elyria was okay.

Outside

It was easy to find Elyria, while she had made a token attempt to hide from the passing eyes of others, he had easily felt her presence. Another cold blast of wind slammed into the poor girl lifting her dark locks and making them dance merrily in the wind before being given to the grace of gravity as they just dropped down. Slowly so as not to accuse alarm he walked towards her slowly the snow beneath his feet ever crunching as he did so. Hearing his feet, Elyria only kept her eyes close to the floor in an attempt to state to anybody who may arrive that she was in no mood to talk.

Not that it dissuaded Nat. Refusing to accept such an act, he approached gently touching her right shoulder stopping right next to her. With no reaction from the girl, likely still in whatever type of trauma she was in from her actions, he moved that hand on her shoulder snaking it around her back until it reached the other one and then pulled her in tightly.

Taken by surprise, Elyria didn't once bother to fight back as Nat tipped her cheek so that she stared at him directly as a fake comforting warm smile graced his lips and directed it towards her. She had been crying Nat saw, red cheeks and eyes with obvious tears that had run down her face as she came to deal with what she had done.

Elyria blushed heavily her cheeks turning warm at the act. Bit by bit, Nat moved his face closer to hers, as he did so Elryia felt her heart hammering in her chest the beat getting faster and faster. At some point subconsciously she closed her eyes and moved her head in sync hoping that he was going for what she hoped he was. Closer and closer they got Elyria pursing her lips as she braced for what she came.

"I'm proud of you" Sweet words whispered into her ear as Nat brought his head onto her shoulder and began to praise her in a soft whispering tone that sent shivers down her back. She wouldn't give it up for anything. "Don't worry about the guilt, there's nothing to feel bad for. Death is only natural for a criminal like him. What you did was justice, and if your friends were still alive they would be smiling at you for what you did. Don't believe what anyone else says, I'm here for you. I will protect you from anyone who seeks to harm you, whether they are Templars, Seekers, other mages, it doesn't matter. If you feel afraid come to me and I will always protect you".

Nat's hold on her body tightened to the point that she could start to feel his heartbeat through her chest, helping his words to soothe her out of the guilt that she had been feeling. He was right, she sniffed, he had always been right. That man had been the one responsible for the death of some of her friends and she had struggled to kill him. What would have happened if she had allowed that man to live? She could see it now if she had then the man would have been able to enjoy life far more then he had ever been entitled too.

That man who had been a traitor and responsible for the deaths of hundreds if not thousands as demons came through into the world deserved such a fate and nothing less. And this guilt she felt trying to drown her in as if she was a ship in the middle of a storm that was pointless a hopeless attempt to try and prevent her from doing what had to be done. He was right, as always she now understood the meaning of this test and why it was so important. She could not fight Templar's if she could not kill them when they attacked, she could not help protect those who were innocent if she froze up every time she saw a person who attempted to kill her.

If she was going to survive in this world outside the safe confines of the circles of Magi, then she needed to get stronger, physically, magically and mentally. They were at war now with the Templars, there was no longer any time for her to play the role as a young child instead she had to become the adult, she was the one who would wield the power of magic to kill her enemies. Sniffling, she wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes over what had happened. Nat needed her now to be strong, and that was what she wanted also, to be strong. Determined, she was certain, from this day she would do whatever Nat told her to do, he had supported her from the moment he had met her and was making her into a better person.

If he asked her to kill his enemies then she would gladly do it, if he asked her to comfort him in whatever way then she would gladly do it and should it ever come down to such a thing, then she would give her life for his without a moment's hesitation. She needed him and he needed her. From this day she would be his loyal servant until the day she died.

Tentatively she relaxed into his arms following his movement with her arms so that they were wrapped around his neck until the point that they were both embracing tightly as if they were lovers.

"Don't you have lessons to attend to now" With a deeper blush, Elyria reluctantly let go before without another word followed his orders. If she was going to help him then she had to get stronger and that meant in the meantime taking whatever lessons her teacher had to offer her in the meantime.

"Yes, thank you for everything" Nat smile din return gently patting the top of he head as if she was some type of pet.

I meant every word of it, I'm here for you" Slowly that frown which she had sported transformed into a warm happy smile. Perhaps to her, Nat thought, it was like him offering to be her family. In her mind, it could be one of the greatest gifts he could have ever of given her. Most assumedly she would treasure it forever. However, all things had to end and so reluctantly Elryia departed from him without another word and headed back to her teacher.

Watching her go in a bored manner, Nat concentrated on where he felt Vivienne was in the camp. While she had not witnessed that scene, he knew that if she was to come to learn about it, then she would try to exploit it however she could. On his part he would have to ensure that nothing serious happened between him and Elyria, already he could hear the comments from Valeyna if she was to discover about this meeting between them. There was nothing he could do about it if it was to reach her ears, any moment she couldn't talk about it to him she would instead talk about it to Elyria. The last thing he needed was for a person to start thinking about him that way especially the person he was trying to manipulate.

On the Brightside however, he at least now seemed to have gained the loyalty of the girl and perhaps an able-bodied mage's to assist him in future plans. It was just slightly irritating that it had taken his time away from observing the blacksmiths and carrying on with other plans in store. Valeyna was bound to be back in a few days and once she did things could get down to business.


	12. Chapter 12 Theories, Problems, Concerns

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 12 Theories, Problems, Concerns**

9:41 Dragon

Haven

"Ahh here we are Seeker home sweet home" Gazing upwards along the dirt trail, Varrick swung his arms as he moved forward giving them some exercise.

"It has been some time hasn't it" Cassandra commented a small smile on her face as she took in the sight of the tents up ahead blowing in the wind.

"We've been gone a month" Valeyna replied to the Seeker. She too was also enjoying the fact that they were finally back. "Still it's gotten quite loud hasn't it" Cassandra chuckled as she heard that comment smiling towards the Herald as they advanced forward. As they did so, startled expressions appeared on some of the soldier's faces as they took their first look at the legendary woman who had shut the breach.

"This is the sound of a military encampment, it's good to know that Cullen and Leliana have managed to swell our ranks whilst we have been gone. With more troops by our side, we can accomplish more of our goals." Varrick smirked at Cassandra as he heard that, raising an eyebrow he sought for an opportunity to try and annoy the woman.

"Looking forward to training the new recruits Seeker, You're going to have to have early mornings now, no more waking up late." Cassandra groaned at the news her hand instinctively going to pinch her nose as she realised just what was going to be ahead of her.

"Don't remind me, training new recruits is always a challenge especially when they had no experience in holding a weapon." Varrick laughed at the upcoming coming misfortune of the Seeker.

"Just remind me when you start, I want to be there to watch the new blood get beaten up as they take on their "fearless commander" Cassandra rolled her eyes, she was about to reply when a cold breeze hit her suddenly. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around her moving them up and down to try and warm her up. Varrick chuckled once more seemingly fine with the cold winds blowing. "Cold Seeker"

"We are getting close to winter" Valeyna responded, despite the warmer coat and scarf wore; she could still feel the biting frost nip at her constantly. "Normally around now my Clan would head north, we can still hunt animals when it gets cold, but we get into more conflict with cities if we start taking what they consider theirs. Berries and fruit are far easier to find the more north you go in winter "Cassandra blinked at that news. Looking at the Herald in a questioning pose, she silently asked for her to continue explaining. "Berries and fruit are what we eat the most of, occasionally we may have a dear or whatever we can hunt to supplement it, but it isn't possible all the time. Although it is easier to make money during winter compared to the summer."

"How so," Cassandra asked curiously as to how the Herald had spent her days before joining the Inquisition.

"Well in Winter very few humans go hunting because it's so cold which leaves a shortage of fur. My clan would often take advantage of this and sell whatever spare fur we had to the markets. After a few trips, we normally have enough to last us through all of Winter and the beginning of spring if we're careful." Varrick was the first one to understand what she meant and could easily see past any small confusion she might have caused with the others. As a merchant, he was more used to than the others of how such things worked.

"Forgive me Herald, but I thought you said that your clan tried to stay away from animals because the humans considered them theirs" Valeyna sighed loudly as her feet crunched heavily in the snow, some of the white stuff had even stuck to the top of her boot nearly encasing her entire feet with the stuff. Another cold wind brushed past her sending her wind dancing in the air as it did so forcing her to shiver.

"Stupid Fereldan cold, couldn't we have had the Inquisition position itself somewhere warmer." Turning her eyes to Solas, she felt envy for the man who while seemingly dressed in a set of rags, looked unfazed by the windy chilly conditions of being at the base of a mountain. "The sooner we get inside the better" She muttered.

"I couldn't agree with you more, I just hope that Leliana has some warm food for us when we arrive. I've had enough rabbit for the last few days to last me quite a while" Solas smiled good-naturedly at the woman. If there was one thing that all of them had been sick and tired of during their trip, it was having rabbit for dinner.

"I'm sure there will be something for us once we return Seeker, I've got a good feeling that Leliana is not going to let anyone approach this camp without having a warning first. By now the cooks are probably running around in blind panic as they make some type of meal for us. Anyway, Herald you going to answer Chuckles question" Darting his eyes back to the unusually knowing elfish mage, Valeyna smiled doing he best to keep her face warm as she felt the chill once again press against it as if she was falling into a freezing lake. If they were still approaching winter when she was not looking forward to when it hit.

"Sorry, Solas. Anyway, it depended on the year and where we were. Some years we needed extra coin because a few of us got sick and our Keeper needed to purchase some supplies that we couldn't find in the forest. Other times there weren't enough berries so we had to buy some bread. Some places are better than others and would give us higher prices for Fur whereas other places were really protective of their animals. One time my clan was forced to defend itself from an attack by humans because we had killed a few bears and took their pelts to stay warm. Apparently, the humans were also hunting the bears and were angry that we got to them first so they weren't happy."

Moving her clothes to wrap herself up more warmly than she already was in a rather pitiful attempt to fight the cold, Valeyna did her best to resist the urge in her body to rush towards the blacksmith as they finally made it to the outside of the wooden palisades. From her new position, she nearly missed an amazing sight.

Past the wooden palisades were seemingly lines of never-ending white tents dancing left and right as a sudden powerful wind burst once more into the valley. There was an awful lot of them she noticed, far more than when she and the others had left for Val Royeux over a month ago. In the distance, a tent had even come out of the ground where she was then able to watched amusedly as a couple of soldiers began to rush after it in an attempt to try and catch their only shelter from the wind. In other places, she watched as glowing red and orange flames dotted occasionally different areas of this new enlarge encampment where smaller blacksmiths got to work creating and repairing armour. Centred in many different areas of this encampment where there were breaks in the rows of tents, were clearings that nearly of which were occupied as soldiers stood in a line and moved backwards and forwards with swords in their hands.

"Cassandra you weren't lying about stating that it was a military camp" Following the Herald, Cassandra marched up the hill and took in the sights of the banners of the inquisition twirling all over the place, horses and donkeys moved precious cargo of swords shield and armour alongside food and clothing. Further off in the distance of this line of tents she frowned as she saw a rather opulent looking tent far larger than the rest and not white as were the majority, but rather blue with patterns of gold where servants were currently racing around doing their best to serve what orders were given.

"Well, it looks like our Orlesian mage has arrived. Wish I had something like that when Hawke and I went to the deep roads. Its creepy down there makes it hard to sleep at night. You know now that I think about it, we could have used some horses in there. I recommended it to Bartrand but he was adamant that he didn't want to pay any extra for some stupid animals as he called them." Looking down, Cassandra didn't comment about how the man hadn't commented on the very rich chance for certain people to gain precious information or goods. The last thing she needed to do was put things in his mind.

"I hardly doubt that horses would do well in the Deep Roads Varrick" The dwarf shrugged his shoulders in return his eyes darting across all the rows of tents hoping to find something or someone that would catch his attention. Soon enough he found someone several tents away talking to a set of Templar's. He grinned.

"I simply told him that it could speed up transportation of any treasure we found. You know, make sure we carry enough with us on the way back to confirm that we did actually find something." Cassandra didn't but the excuse for a second instead she raised her eyebrow while her tone of voice changed.

"Yes because you wanted to showcase that you had actually found treasure, not because you wanted to keep as much of it to yourself and not pay anyone who had to do the hard work of carrying it up from the Deep Roads" In response Varrick smiled at the woman neither denying or agreeing to the accusation that she had just made about him and Hawke. Behind them, Solas shook his head not at the conversation itself, but rather at the lack of seriousness that Varrick had about such a conversation.

"I would suggest that we make our way back to Cullen and Lelliana, once that is complete we can then get to other concerns" At his words, Valeyna's stomach grumbled at the unspoken mention of food, with a grin she grabbed it and quickly led them from their position and into the main encampment itself.

"Is it just me or do the Templar's seem more... jumpy" Following Valeyna's words, the other members of the Inquisition took the time to start observing the Templar's in the local area to understand what she meant. Much to their surprise, they saw a very different set of attitudes with the Templar's compared to when they had left. All of them had their hands on their blades and all of them were more still, not moving their heads. It was very odd, it was almost as if something had happened.

"What do you suppose happened Chuckles" Stopping so he could lean against one of the still remaining buildings, Varrick gazed up and down one of the Templar's trying to work out what was wrong with them. Despite their more stiff posture, there was a sort of desperate feeling to them, as if they were battling themselves over something.

"I'm afraid that I have no more answers than you, perhaps something occurred with the mages" Taking a look at one of the Templars, Solas walked closer only a sudden jolt of movement occurred. The Templar took a shocked step back as if he hadn't been fully aware. Unbeknownst to them, at this movement, Cassandra's eyes widened as she realised what the situation was. Wanting to confirm it, she gently grabbed Varricks shoulder and moved him away so she was standing front and centre between herself and the Templar. With her dark eyes piercing through the small metal slits of his helmet and into the Templar's, she gave an order.

"Remove your helmet" There was a bit of reluctance at first Cassandra saw, most likely the man was concerned that he may be attacked by the two mages with her. If this Templar did have the affliction she believed he bared, then it was expected behaviour for him to be more paranoid.

"Templar I am Cassandra Penthagast a member of the Seekers and I order you to take your helmet off." Snapping into action immediately, the man removed his gauntlet covered hand from the hilt of his blade and instead combined it with his other hand to grip the bottom of his helmet and quickly lift it over his head revealing his face to her. Cassandra sighed her eyes closing briefly as she considered the situation that had befallen the organisation. Not desiring to showcase others what this man was going through she then ordered him to put the helmet back on. This time the man was far quicker in following out her orders.

"Cassandra, what's the problem?" Gently, Valeyna looked at the woman. Cassandra's face was one of slight distress, her eyes had bunched up and her face had become far more serious than it usually was. As she spoke, she inspected the Templar herself. As the others had noted they were more stiff than usual, but nothing else seemed to be wrong with them. Their legs and arms were straight, their uniform was polished or at least the best it could be, with what she assumed to be limited supplies and capital and finally, while she hadn't inspected it, as a Templar she would also assume that the man's sword was in a decent enough condition.

"This way" Rolling her eyes, the group followed so they were once again weaving in and out groups of servants and other soldiers, mages, blacksmiths, carpenters. There were far more people to try and get around and at one point, Valeyna was nearly smacked in the face as a rushing servant raced down the stairs tripped up and sent a number of swords flying through the air smacking into people's backs. Finally, once they were out of earshot, Cassandra began to explain what had her so concerned.

"Lyrium withdrawal? What's that?" Valeyna unlike the other two companions who's face also darkened slightly as they recognised what the term meant, asked for the meaning.

"Templars require large amounts of Lyrium to carry out their duties. By ingesting it, they are able to prevent a mage from using magic but it takes a toll on the body. After enough doses of Lyrium, the body starts to crave and need it on a regular basis, if it doesn't, then..." Valeyna nodded understanding now.

"Then they go through withdrawal. If that's the case, why are they standing outside then, aren't they a threat to the mages if they don't have enough Lyrium, couldn't they just snap". If there was one thing that Valeyna didn't like when she looked at Cassandra, it was the dark and unspoken nod of agreement with her own viewpoint on the matter.

"Cullen must have told the Templars to stay stiff to try and keep their mind off things, relax while standing on duty. If they were left to their own devices, then they may start fighting one another to take their minds off things" Solas nodded at the assessment of the situation. With his eyes still lingering on that Templar that Cassandra had inspected, he could understand why Cullen would leave them out to guard even with such a precautious situation.

"Perhaps the Commander believes that if they are kept in the cold, it will keep their mind of Lyrium. Even so, there must be problems for such an occurrence. Perhaps a problem with trade routes, shouldn't there be deliveries of Lyrium to fuel the potions for the Mages as well as to keep the sanity of the Templars" Ignoring the cold shiver that ran down her spine, the Seeker took another look at the camp, inspecting its numbers, the amount of soldiers and recourses they had.

"It can't be an attack on supply routes, Cullen would have sent people to deal with that." With the constant bustling of the people in the camp, it was almost like Valeyna was back in Orlais, only it was far less fancy and far colder. Still, it was a highly impressive sight, to see what had once been a small little encampment to now take on the appearance of an actual army encampment. It was just annoying that they had to be at the bottom of this stupid mountain, surely it would be better if they moved to the coast.

"My guess is less with the safety of routes, but more with the availability of Lyrium." Catching her off guard, Cassandra whirled around to face Varrick her eyes narrowing as he spoke with that dammed smile on his face.

"Explain Varrick"

"Relax Seeker" Varrick chided as his eyes went back to those interesting people he had seen before with a mark of respect. "Look Seeker basic economics is supply and demand. The more people want something and the less of it there is the more expensive that thing is. In the case of Lyrium, tell me how many people do you think to want to get their hands on it"

"The Templars and mages I would imagine, but I suppose there are two different groups of both mages and Templars, as well as Tevinter and whoever we are facing, the Chantry will also want supplies as would the Inquisition and Tevinter." Discerning potential buyers was easy for Solas, Lyrium was a very valuable thing desired by a great many people and there was only one source for that previous light blue magical lifeblood.

"See Chuckles gets it" Cassandra wasn't impressed. "Fine Seeker, let me put it this way. Most likely the Inquisition can't get Lyrium because everyone's buying it. As chuckles said, with everyone buying Lyrium Orzammar can charge whatever they want for it and anyone who can't pay will have to go without as everyone else will just buy their shares." Cassandra looked horrified, her face showing clear disbelief that the dwarves would take such action in a time like this.

"The dwarves would still sell Lyrium to other people in a time like this," Cassandra asked surprised, she turned her attention back onto the mountains that overlooked their base. While they weren't near Orrzamar, the mountains were where they made their home. "Don't they know what's at stake"

"Lyriums the main trade for Orzamar Seeker, all they care is that they are able to sell it. And when was the last time you heard a report that the demons were threatening Orzammar." Cassandra felt anger start to grow inside of her, how could the dwarves do so little when the entire world was threatened by an army of demons who wanted to take over the entire world. With their control of the Lyrium trade, they could easily strangle any opponent who may face them and require it to attack them. It would give the Inquisition an edge.

"But to not worry about what happens on the surface?" Varrick shook his head at Cassandra's naiveté, she meant well but she was directed too much by her human sense of nobility.

"And when was the last time you worried about the Deep Roads Seeker." Varrick countered as he began to stare her down. There was just something in that hard iron stare of hers that was both amusing and also slightly terrifying.

"I don't," Cassandra said confused, she didn't entirely get what Varrick was trying to get at. How did the Deep Roads relate to an army of invading demons that desired to do nothing other than ravaging the world and very likely enslave everything there was. "The Deep Roads only matter when there is a Blight, the Darkspawn use them to get to the surface and the Grey Wardens might follow them down after a Blight"

"Exactly Seeker, humans and elves only care about what happens with the Deep Roads and Dwarves when the Darkspawn come up for a Blight. I wouldn't be surprised if Orzamar doesn't care what happens up here, for them this Breach is like the Deep Roads for them. If they interfere, it will only be due to the demons threatening them." Gritting her teeth in frustration at the thought, worry settled in the woman's stomach as the consequences of these actions began to sit in. How many Templars were going to have to suffer because they couldn't get a hold of the Lyrium that was needed? She had seen Cullen before in moments of utter turmoil as he struggled to cope with the addiction that he faced.

"It would appear that unless we solve this problem, that our small supply of Templar's will be out of the fight. I heavily doubt that many of them will want to try and get rid of their dependency on the substance" Cassandra gritted her teeth even more at Solas's words, this had to be solved, it was too dangerous to leave Templar's in a state where they could not clear their minds.

"I'll speak to Cullen, see if we can spare any recourses to deal with this problem" Interjecting, Valeyna hoped to relive Cassandra of the concern she was showcasing. It was to be expected she guessed, she only had to think back to when she was younger to remember the harsh times that her own clan had faced. Even now she could still remember the face of one of those children who didn't survive the winter because he was so cold. Even if she didn't agree with the Templars, she would help them if she could.

"Thank you, Herald, however, I'm sure that Cullen has some sort of plan in place to try and deal with the situation"

"If you insist Cassandra, it really wouldn't be that much effort to go and see what the problem is, Orzamar is to the north after all. " Nodding in acceptance of the offer, Cassandra gave a light smile before then shivering in the cold again, now she knew why Orlesisans hated Ferelden, it was as cold as they said it was.

"Don't worry Seeker, if you need it I can always speak to my contacts, see if anyone's willing to sell Lyrium to us for a decent price." Even with his kind words, Cassandra shook her head. One of the last things he needed was for the Inquisition to be related to criminal activity, if Varrick started inviting members of the Coterie, then things would likely escalate. Still, she appreciated the gesture.

"I will consider it, thank you. For now, though, we need to speak with Lelliana, Josephine and Cullen, see what they have been up to in our absence"

"Some warm food wouldn't be amiss" No one disagreed with Solas on that point all of them hungrily looking forward to when the meeting was finished and they could fill their stomachs with warm hot food. With how cold this place was now compared to when they had left, it certainly felt as if they needed to pour boiling hot water down their throats. With all of then silently agreeing on the matter, they quickly marched up the rest of the hill until they came across the old stone building and made their way inside quickly brushing off whatever snow had landed on them as they did so.

"Lady Herald" A soldier approached the two, pleasantly, Cassandra was happy to see that unlike the majority of the other soldiers they had seen around the camp so far, this soldier was wearing thicker heavier plate armour. With the symbol of the Inquisition emblazoned on the front, it meant that either the blacksmiths were getting better at their job or they had managed to recruit someone with actual military training. At this point either one was welcome. "Lady Nightingale has arranged a meeting between you and the rest of your inner council, they await you in the war room." With a quick bow, the man then returned back to his post, standing vertically to one of the pillars with his head faced forward and hand kept on his hilt. So still was the templars movement's, that the man appeared to be a statue rather than a person, what didn't help with this was that the man had entirely covered himself in armour preventing a person from recognising him until he spoke giving his gender away with that deep baritone voice of his.

"It appears then that we were spotted on the road, at least this way we do not have to wait for everyone to be gathered"

"Good" Cassandra replied hastily to the elf's comment her steps quickening as she marched over the cold stone floor to the large room in the distance. "That proves that we will be alerted before a possible assault" Valeyna frowned at that, the idea of an enemy attacking them here at Haven seemed counter-intuitive, this was where their base was kept and their largest amount of forces as well as most powerful members. If they wanted to attack then wouldn't it be best to do so when they were out in the field?

"Come now Seeker, your scaring the poor Herald". Flushing at being caught, Valeyna averted her eyes from Varrick as he grinned up at her. In response, she gave him a playful glare. "Oh come on Herald you can do better than that. We're about to enter the war room you need to act all sharp and leader like" Before either Varrick could continue or Valeyna rebuff him, a loud bang echoed through the halls catching their attention focusing it forwards towards the now open doorway that Cassandra quickly rushed inside.

"Leliana, it is good to see you again" Like a beacon, Cassandra rushed to the side of her friend, wrapping her arms around her in a friendly greeting. Soon followed in by the rest of the group, Cassandra released the hug moments later and looked around to see who was there.

"Well this is unexpected" Varrick muttered his eyes widening as he took in the image of a large piece of hulking grey flesh and pure muscle towering above him with large thick horns. His eyes quickly darted towards the eye patch covering the Qunaris one eye and then to the scars surrounding it, whoever this man was, he had some very interesting stories. "So what's Tiny doing here" Bull chuckled at the nickname from the dwarf as did the older man with a full beard on his face,

Already Bull had observed each of the members of the Inquisition which had been present, the Redhead, the commander, the Ambassador with the nice ass. He'd gotten used to being around Vivienne who was currently stony-faced her eyes like that of the elf woman's occasionally moving over to the kid dressed in black who was situated beside the door.

"Tiny huh, that's an interesting name. You must be Varrick, Leliana told us about you" Making way for everybody else to come in, Varrick shuffled to the side looking at the man who was currently in thick steel armour with the symbol of none other than the legendary order that was the Grey Wardens on the front of his breastplate. As for the man wearing it, Varrick could definitely say he had seen others who looked more like a Grey Warden then this man did.

"Oh did she, and who would you be Hero"

"Warden Constable Blackwall at your service My Lady, I would offer to shake your hand but there's a table in the way" Valeyna blinked; there was a Grey Warden here in Haven. Quickly she looked the man up and down trying to work out as to why one of the members of such a respected order would join the Inquisition so willingly. What she didn't notice was the very brief but suspicious look Leliana gave the man as he gave the title or the slight narrowing of Solas's eyes.

"There's a Warden here" Valeyna spoke surprised but at the same time her eyes startled to sparkle with excitement, all kinds of questions came to mind. "It's an honour to meet you Blackwall, may I ask why you decided to join us" Blackwall nodded his head in respect to the comment, he too had been curious in the mysterious Herald of Andraste. Who this woman was, however, was not what he had been expecting.

"Your advisor came to ask me if I knew where the other Wardens might be found, unfortunately, I didn't but with their disappearance, it makes people wonder if the Grey Wardens had anything to do with the events at the Conclave. I desire to put an end to those rumours. What we face may not be a blight, but it is the duty of the Wardens to protect the world from danger and a giant hole shitting out demons certainly counts as a danger" By this point, everybody had managed to find a place around the table in the middle each occasionally sharing glances at one another as they introduced themselves.

"It will be a pleasure to have you with us Blackwall, my clan has heard the stories of the Grey Wardens and your accomplishments. I hope that you prove them true" Solemnly, Blackwall nodded his head but more slowly this time. Curiously, Valeyna noted that there was a pained look on the man's face, had she reminded him of a bad moment in his past. She would have to ask about it later, for now, she had other questions.

"You give me too much credit my lady"

"Please don't call me that, it feels weird" Bull chuckled as he saw the woman role his eyes at the title.

"Well it's good to know my new boss isn't going to be a stick in the mud" With her conversation with the Grey Warden over, Valeyna took this time to inspect the appearance of the other new arrival.

"Oh wow" Her breath escaped her as she saw the man in front of her, his size, those powerful muscles, those legs and those abs. This man could easily just pick her up and pin her down doing whatever he wanted to her leaving her an unintelligible mess. Then there was those long thick dragon looking horns, she didn't know why but those really excited her. Again her eyes danced all over the body of this giant hulking grey beast of a man. Where had he come from and who was the one who had gone to collect such a ... fine handsome specimen?.

"The name is The Iron Bull, leader of Bull's chargers. Like Blackwall here, I was recruited by your advisor" Bull grinned as he took in the young elf, it wasn't the first time he had seen a person look at him that way. When he spoke about her advisor, he made sure to gesture towards Nat who was currently leaning against a wall his head directed down towards the map. "I'll introduce you to the rest of the Chargers later, but for now you just need to know that I can handle myself in a fight"

"Of that Iron Bull I have no doubt." In a sultry tone promising more than just words Valeyna then redirected her attention back to the gathering of people all around the area. For a brief time, she locked onto the form of the young wizard who she had left all alone a month ago. He seemed fine, though he wasn't speaking at the moment and he had the elf girl Sera by him who... what was that black stuff on her mouth.

"Herald" Interrupting the conversation, Leliana grabbed her attention of the Herald and those who had accompanied with her to Val Royeux and then directed it towards Sera who now with a closer look was currently restrained by a strange set of handcuffs "Before we continue, I need you to confirm that this woman is who she says she is." In her eyes, Valeyna saw that Sera had a look of hope asking that she be let loose of her confinements.

"Yes, she's with me" Nodding, Leliana sent a look to Nat who uncharacteristically slowly began to undo the cuffs which had held her hands tightly in place. The moment the handcuffs were undone, Sera brought her first as quickly as she could towards the wizard. Nat caught it quickly and before anyone had a chance to blink had brought his wand out with it pointing directly at Sera.

"Stay still you magic bastard and let me hit you" Growling in frustration, the blonde elf went to slam her knee into the area between Nats to legs. Again it was too late as before she could, chains appeared out of nowhere and entangled her again before then locking her in place against the wall. "Not fair you magic git, let me go." Struggling desperately against her new set of constraints, Sera locked eyes with the Herald silently asking for silence. "Let me go fuck face, you heard the Herald I'm with her so you can't touch me" Sticking her tongue at disgust, Sera continued to wriggle futilely while Nat turned his attention back to the group who looked slightly amused.

"So how you been kid" Varrick interjected laughing at the way Nat simply ignored Sera.

"Fine, I'll tell you about it later, but for now we need to figure out how we're going to deal with little miss decorum here" Glaring at him from behind, Nat then gave a silent nod to the other members of the Inquisition who had returned, most likely he knew he was going to have to explain things later.

"I believe it's obvious, if members can't behave in a civilized manner, then they should not be allowed to attend. Therefore I suggest Herald that you expel these two troublemakers out of this room until they behave like grown adults" Smiling sweetly at the two people, Vivienne directed her gaze towards the Herald. Already a brilliant opportunity had presented itself to boost her standing with the woman.

"Nathanael can hardly be faulted for defending himself. If anything the girl should be sent out" Sera glared at the bald elf only much to her annoyance he simply grinned back in amusement taunting her with that smile of his.

"That's not true; this shit head put me in chains the moment we met. I've been in the dungeons ever since I arrived." Attention turned to Nat who continued to stand still quietly his eyes focusing on certain points of the map mentally ticking them off one by one.

"Did you wrap Sera in chains Nat" Sighing in annoyance, Valeyna looked at the two of them. It reminded her of a brother and a sister who didn't get along, always the two were either annoying one another or trying to get eachother in trouble.

"I politely asked her to state why she was here when she arrived; instead she insulted me and refused to answer the questions on multiple accounts. After the third transaction I took action to hold her in the cells in the case she was an enemy spy." The reaction from the elf woman was a roll of her eyes and to shake her head like she was a mother who was used to such antics with any such children she had.

"Either way, let her go. And Sera once he does, do not attack, understand"

"Perfectly"

"Not until he apologises for chaining me up" Valeyna turned her head towards Nat a silent pleading look on her face.

"No, she comes down and that's final"

"Well excuse me Mr I've got magic so that makes me all powerful, but I don't even understand why you're in this meeting in the first place. I mean like who even are you, the Heralds boy toy. So why don't you let go of these stupid chains and get out of here and I won't consider throwing a pie in your face, doesn't that sound fair" Scrunching her eyes up, Valeyna couldn't help but laugh at the very idea of Sera's comment on Nat being her little toy. Had she even seen how he behaved around women?

"Mr Tempest is a respected member of the Heralds inner council Sera. He has been helping us since the Breach opened, he can be trusted" Sera glared at Nat daring him to try and attack her and start some type of altercation however much to her annoyance and pride, Nat ignored her and focused on the rest of the group.

"With all respect" Nat intoned as he gave the people around him a stern look hoping to get them to focus on what was important right now. "We need to focus on the matters at hand, exchanging information and coming up with a plan, the longer we wait to strike the more we give the enemy time to hit us again" All bar, Leliana, Cullen and Josephine blinked at surprise, shocked looks were sent to Nat not entirely believing their ears however a small look of hope came about on Cassandra's face at the implication.

"You know who the enemy is?" Valeyna asked.

"They're called the Venatori, it's a group emanating from Tevinter with the goal of overthrowing the current regime and implementing the politics of the old Empire before the Magisters stepped into the Fade. They desire to take over the entire continent and while not yet confirmed, we believe that they created the Breach so that their leader could walk into the Fade". Valeyna's eyes widened, the implications instantly became aware top her what would happen should the enemy succeed in their plans. Her people like all other who lived on the surface of Thedas was well aware of the crimes of the Imperium.

"By the Maker" Swearing loudly as she pinched her nose, Cassandra turned her gaze to the one woman she trusted above all the others hoping for some kind of comment that would deny such a statement. Ultimately when Lelliana's face only remained hardened, a seep sinking feeling started to take place in her stomach. "The Imperium, they want to bring back the old Imperium. Are they mad?"

"Well, shit this just gets better and better. Next thing kid you'll be telling us that one of the Old Magisters is leading the army"

"Theoretically it's possible" Nat stated calmly. He didn't need to look around him to know what the expressions of his companions were. "According to what's known, Darkspawn regenerate quite quickly, therefore it may be possible that they do not age. If one includes the fact that nothing is known about what happened to the four Magisters infected with the Blight when they came back, then one can assume."

"You're telling us that we're going to be fighting one of the Magisters from old kid, as in like the big powerful type of magisters, not the modern day ones" Ignoring the part where Bull had also seemed to copy Varricks use of his nickname, Nat still concentrated on the map looking over the areas where the Venatori had put plans into action to destabilise areas. So far they had only concentrated on major areas, but that was bound to change especially if they were to head to Red Cliffe.

"It's doubtful such an individual would be our opponent. If such an indiviudal had managed to remain alive for so long, then their mind would likely have been lost. If not, then why attack now. They've had thousands of years to strike. Not to mention, when was the last time anyone would have seen such a Magister, by now there should have been a few reports of where they might have been holed up" Immediately both Varrick and Cassandra's faces went ashen their eyes flickering to one another having a silent conversation. Quickly Varrick's face went through a multitude of faces indicating that he was trying to confirm or deny that such a thing could have happened.

"Varrick you don't suppose"

"I hope not Seeker, Hawke killed him, I'm certain of it I was there after all."

"But remember what I told you, that the Grey Wardens were unaware of what had happened" At the mention of the order, Blackwall's interest was piqued as were the others, however, Vivienne had quite enough of the conversation.

"Would you two please care to elaborate to those of us who are not privy to this conversation please" With a quick glare directed to the woman, Cassandra and Varrick shared a few quick looks seemingly debating on who was going to have to tell the story before finally, Cassandra surrendered throwing her arms in the air with a loud ugh.

"Very well" Cassandra replied her face turning stony as she remembered the odd tale that Varrick had spoken of back when they were Kirkwall. "According to Varrick, during her journeys, Hawke travelled to an abandoned Grey Warden Fortress. Apparently, she then undid a barrier that surrounded a strange creature. If what that creature said to Hawke and Varrick was true, then it was one of the original Magisters that had violated the Golden City of the Maker".

"Impossible, such a creature could not exist. Your stories are more made up then they first appear dear Varrick" Chastising the dwarf, Vivienne gave the elf woman a look of disdain. Unlike her, Valeyna had taken the news very seriously, her head was now fully concentrated on the dwarf a small look of fear prevalent on it most assumedly due to the history that her barbaric peoples had with the Tevinter Empire.

"Varrick is it true, did you actually meet one of the original Magisters" Hesitantly Varrick nodded.

"We don't know, whatever the creature was it was certainly a Darkspawn. When it came to it spoke of us being slaves to the dwarves and that we should bow before it. It also made a rather large point that it had visited the golden city." Flashes of tales told to her by their story keeper went through Valeyna's mind, of what Tevinter had done to her people of how they had conquered Thedas and sacrificed countless elves so that they could open a breach to the Beyond. If such a man was back, then the danger to elves was beyond anything imaginable.

Interrupting the conversation, Nat focused his attention on Varrick but also insured that those who had been with him at the time were also on the same page "When we first arrived at the Breach, besides the ominous voice, there was a faint image of what had happened. I can clearly remember what the perpetrator looked like. Varrick if you could describe the appearance of this Magister, then we can confirm here and now what we're dealing with."

"Image" Valeyna blinked confused as to what Nat had meant. "There wasn't any image when we attended the Breach, there was just that voice and the divine" Solas shook his head in rebuttal.

"No he is correct, it was very faint but there was an image left behind at the Breach. I'm surprised you were able to catch it, I was barely able to catch it myself and only for a small amount of time" Nat doubted that knowing how familiar Solas with the Fade, he had likely seen the image in far better detail then he had. Most likely the elf wanted to try and make him feel good or was just generally surprised that he had been able to notice such a discrepancy when everyone else had been staring at the charred husks of dead people and rows of red lyrium lining everything.

"You can hardly forget a face that ugly."

"Varrick just explain"

"All right Seeker I'll tell you what the ugly man looked liked again. He was tall, several feet tall likely taller than tiny here except without the muscle. His skin looked like it had melted as if some type of dragon had set him alight leaving his chest to mould with this spiky black armour in the centre and those black shoulder capes that you mages like to wear."

"What about his face" Varrick rolled his eyes at the speed at which the other people wanted him to speak at.

"Calm down Seeker I'm going just give me a second alright. Anyway, his face was a mess, three chunks of metal on one side with more melted flesh covering it, half a black mouldy hood on the other, there were scars all over the place and his entire head looked deformed and his skin was a strange type of pale. Not normal pale, you look like fucking snow kid, I mean like it had gone grey in places. Is that enough for you"

Once more all eyes locked onto the form of the young kid who by this point had stopped moving from different locations and had now squarely focused on Redcliff city his finger tapping it as he started to think of multiple plans in how to deal with the situation. After letting things stew for a bit, he raised his head and looked back once again to who he believed the leader of the Inquisition was and answered the question that was on everyone's minds.

"Well, I have good news, better news, and more good news, and a lot more news. The good news is that we're fighting against a several-thousand-year-old Darkspawn Magister who wants to turn the world back to how it was "In the good old days"

"That's the good news," Blackwall asked incredulously. "what's the better news"

"He's likely immortal" A sudden bang erupted from their left, all eyes turned to Cullen who was currently beating a fist against his chest in an effort to clear his airways from whatever had been constricting it. Nat rolled his eyes and then turned back to Blackwall with a sarcastic grin.

"The news gets even better, we have no way to kill him"

"Uhm Nat, I think you don't understand the meaning of news, this isn't good news this is bad news" Hoping to explain to Nat that he shouldn't be speaking in such a peppy tone, Valeyna looked at the others to see the reactions so far as to the knowledge that had been given. Bull was mostly still in a good mood, he had a slight smile although about what she didn't know. Blackwall was frowning deeply his mind was likely buzzing around the very idea that the Grey Wardens had managed to capture one of the original Darkspawn before it released. The Grand Enchanter also held an annoyed look on her face obviously irritated by the fact that Nat was not seemingly shaken by the slightest by his own words. Solas for his part was staying quiet while Varrick and Cassandra constantly gazed at one another asking each other more questions silently. Sera for her part didn't seem to concerned, more along the lines that she was just finding it difficult to comprehend that this magister was immortal. As for Leliana, her face was also stern and she could see her eyes darting all over the map likely considering where she needed to send her agents next and where to strike. Cullen was doing something similar, he had gone straight into commander mode and was looking for the best paths and locations that could be taken and held.

"What do you mean we have no way to kill him?" Nat looked up and gave her a slight grin.

"Oh, it's quite simple, if Varrick said Hawke killed this Magister then I believe him. If that's the case then that implies that compared to the normal run of the mill Darkspawn, this one has extra powers. One of those extra powers allows him to survive after being killed. Now there is only one other type of Darkspawn that can do this little trick, can you guess which" Valeyna sighed it seemed that things were just getting harder and harder the more Nat spoke. Honestly, she was tempted to whack him so he would shut up, at least then she wouldn't have to hear him explain just how bad the situation was.

"Archdemon" Nat nodded.

"Yep, the only way an Arch Demon can be killed is if a Grey Warden does it due to their connection to the Blight. Otherwise when an Arch Demon is killed by anyone else, then their spirit just goes to the next Darkspawn and comes back. I assume that if this magister that Hawke killed is back, then that must mean that the Magister can hide in those corrupted with the blight even Grey Wardens. Combined with its life and knowledge of old Tevinter, it's likely got to be knowledgeable enough to know how to manipulate the Blight itself to some degree which explains the Calling all the Wardens have been hearing since the attack on the Conclave"

"Wait I thought Blackwall was a Warden" This time eyes were then directed to the lone Grey Warden whos posture had become very defensive. From his position, Bull easily saw that the man had just been called out when the man hadn't expected it and therefore had no way to defend himself. This was going to be fun to watch

"He's a fake, his true name is Thom Rainier but that isn't important right now" Nat carried on casually ignoring entirely the shameful look that appeared on the bearded man's face. "In that case, if this Magister acts like an Arch Demon, then we have the added little bonus of having to possibly face another blight and perhaps more of these ancient magisters and archdemons, another blight, and an army of demons". Nat stopped but didn't lose his smile "Well let's just say that we have a slight problem on our hands.

"Slight, slight. You're saying that all kinds of shit are about to happen and the normal people are going to die but it's only a slight problem. What wrong with you, and what are you even on about, there can't be another blight there was one a decade ago. Why don't we just put a whole lot of arrows into them" Odd Nat thought, Sera had actually managed to string a coherent sentence together, it must be the presence of Valeyna he thought.

"Just what exactly are we facing kid, an army of demons, an army of Darkspawn, an army of Tevinter mages"

"All of them. On the other hand, it could be worse"

"And how could an army of demons, Darkspawn, mages and other followers be worse then it is now" Cassandra inquired. By this point, she was attempting to stare holes into Nat most likely because unlike the others Nat had seemingly no care at all by the fact that they were facing some of the most dangerous enemies that Thedas had seen al at the exact same time as one another.

"They could be vegans" The group blinked, and then blinked again. Finally, Valeyna shook her head, it seemed that Nat hadn't changed in the slightest since she had been gone if he was still using strange terms from his home that they couldn't understand.

"I don't know what that is, but I'll assume it's bad" Nat nodded at bulls idea it was probably best if he didn't have to explain the concept of food Nazis.

"Unfortunately, we do have bad news" Oh dear Maker Cassandra thought if what Nat had stated before was the good news, what could possibly be taken as bad news. Maybe the Chantry had been destroyed or perhaps the Qun was going to invade the first moment they got.

"What is it, Nat?"

"We have to go house hunting, there isn't a chance that we can face against whatever army a Darkspawn Magister can throw against us now. That means we need to pack up quickly and find a defensible location, preferably away from one where the Venatori can drop an avalanche on our heads."

"He is correct Lady Herald if what we are facing is truly indeed an old Magister, then we are in a very exposed position here. We have neither the army nor enough mages or Templar's to stand against the Venatori or the number of Mages we suspect fill their ranks already. If possible, I would send scouts out to search for a suitable location however it might take time. I hardly doubt that any kingdom will just allow us to take over one of their castles." Having seen the situation that their growing army was in, Cullen had no desire to leave them in such an exposed position if they were going to fight an ancient magister. Nothing had to be said out loud about the power that such a creature would have at their command, far more powerful than any of the mages at their current disposal. According to the legends, Tevinter mages had sunk the elven city of Arlathan using blood magic. Haven wasn't a city and certainly didn't hold any of the defences that a city was bound to have.

"I will ask around on the political front, perhaps we can borrow a castle from either Ferelden or Orlais. I'm sure that if we explain the situation to them they may be willing to help. If not then we can always try to see if we can find the funds to purchase one ourselves or perhaps if are in real need of one, we could take some type of action to favour either Celene or Gaspard in return for such fortification. This won't come cheap, however, there is a very real chance we may be given a dilapidated old wreck if we are even given a castle at all."

Even if Josephine was volunteering her assistance to such an endeavour, Nat didn't think it would amount to much. Despite it being a fantasy medieval place, he doubted that there were going to be many spare castles just laying around for anyone to take whenever they wished. There was also the case that there had to be a decent amount of land nearby for the forces of the Inquisition itself.

"I will also send scouts out to look for a more suitable location. In the , however, we will have to fortify Haven in the case of an attack. I'll speak to the engineers and have some trebuchets created, it's not perfect, but it should help". Speaking quietly, Cullen began to think of other possible ways that could be used to fortify Have. Unfortunately, anyone with a decent amount of intelligence could look at Haven and see that the defences of the Inquisition were rather lacking.

"I would recommend that we don't go entirely down the theory that we're facing a dead Magister. For all, we know it may be an illusion and by focusing our efforts on such an enemy, we could give the advantage to the enemy." Speaking suddenly, Nat gestured towards Redcliff gathering the eyes of those in the room to focus on the small icon on the map. "All the same, that leads us to our next stage of action, we need to secure allies and remove the ability of the Venatori to gain them"

"What would you suggest Nat?" Out of the corner of her eye, Valeyna blinked confused as to why Vivienne scowled all of a sudden. She knew she had only just gotten back, but did she and Nat not get along well or was there something else at play.

"Winter's going to set in soon when that happens the continent is going to be in deadlock preventing any major action. However, that does not mean that the enemy will not try to gather forces in this time which is why we have to direct our focus on to Redcliff. With all the panic that the mages are under, I wouldn't be surprised if the Venatori didn't attempt to recruit them under false promises. This has to be prevented"

"Wait you want us to walk into the place where all the mages are hiding and stop other mages from using these mages to attack our mages here in Haven right" Blackwall blinked a few times as he tried to understand what Sera said, it wasn't so much as what she said as it was the thick accent and fast speed at which she conversed.

"If the Venatori gets their hands on the mages at Redcliff, it could prove disastrous. The troops here can barely fight as it is now, put them against mages and they'll be burnt to a crisp" Slightly offended by the comment, Cullen sent a light glare to the grey man with horns as if somehow that would get the infamous mercenary to suddenly apologise about the level that the current soldiers of the Inquisition were at.

"He's right, I saw a couple of mages fight whilst I was in the Hinterlands. The soldiers of the Inquisition stand no chance in a proper fight now let alone if these Venatori bastards wield all the rebel mages in Thedas. They need a good few more months of training and preferably a few years fighting for real before we throw them to the mages"

"And why should we listen to the words of one who pretends to be something that he is not. Whoever this man is, obviously he has shown so far that he cannot be trusted if he is willing to lie about who he is" Sensing a potential argument, Valeyna quickly knocked on the table focusing everyone on her as she addressed the group on what they were going to have to do in terms of handling the current situation that faced them.

"When we were in Val Royeux, we met with First Enchanter Fiona" Unsurprisingly, Vivienne sneered at the name of the one who led the rebel mages. "She invited the Inquisition to Redcliff to talk about a possible alliance. Now if we truly are facing against an old Magister, then we cannot allow such a man to recruit the help of more mages to his cause. I will leave in a few days to speak to Fiona, in the meantime, are there any other things that needed to be sorted".

Nat had to give it to the Herald, she certainly knew how to grab people's attention and pull them out of what they were doing. If things had continued, he was sure that there would have been a very loud debate between everyone on what had to happen. At least now they had a plan of attack it was simply a case of knowing who would go with her to this meeting with the Mages. If Valeyna was intelligent then she would avoid bringing Vivienne, already the tension was high with her and the current mages present. Should she attend an alliance meeting, he had little faith in her not to keep her mouth shut when it needed to be.

"There is the problem of Darkspawn attacks occurring at the Storm Coast" Cullen reported. "If we want to move troops through that area, then we need to make sure that the paths are secure for any of our soldiers that may have to travel in that region." That wasn't good Valeyna thought, on the other hand, it did have the advantage of lending more credit to this theory that they could possibly be dealing with one of the living Magisters.

"Cullen what have you been doing about the Lyrium supplies" Shocked by the sudden question emanating from Cassandra, Cullen stepped back before finally walking forwards once again a reluctant look marring his usually handsome face as the man felt the concern for his colleague.

"I have sent a note explaining our situation, but it doesn't seem to have done much. I'm afraid that unless we get supplies within the next two weeks, we will be completely out"

"As I said before, we can solve this problem as soon as we get the mages on our side. The moment they join us, we can reduce their Lyrium intake. For the most part, their buying it to prevent the Templars getting hold of it and for defence, if we offer them protection, then that will open up the Lyrium trade again". Not surprisingly to Nat, he had witnessed the First Enchanter of the loyal mages actually seem to have emotions when she heard what the consequences were going to be if they could not recruit the mages. Of course, most likely she was far more concerned that without the Templars getting hold of Lyrium, then their order would collapse resulting in the rebel mages having an easier time.

"So is there anything else or can I just go now" Smiling, Sera tried to move closer towards the door hoping to escape what she believed to be a boring unimportant meeting. If it was up to her, she would have just gone and done something already, make it up as she went along not some type of elaborate plan that people needed to speak around a table for.

"We have also received reports of rifts opening up in other places, the Hissing Wastes for example as well as other places. These will need to be handled if we wish to improve the reputation of the Inquisition and help the people who live nearby" Speaking softly, Josephine managed to push herself to the front of the table and directed her finger towards the left part of Orlais before the mountains located in the west towards where there was an area made of sand. Instantly Valeyna shook her head at the suggestion.

"We can't go there, it's too far and as Nat said with Winter setting in, it's not exactly going to be easy for us to move soon. Should we head to the hissing wastes, then we are going to get trapped there.

"Very well Herald I will leave it into the weather improves. Dear Maker, I wish we hadn't had to start this so close to the cold, we haven't had any time to prepare for the weather." There were two different reactions from the group assembled about the onset of the coming Winter, everyone bar Nat was not looking forward to Winter in the slightest. Winter was cold dark, slippery and people had a tendency to die at any time and food quickly became a scarcity if not handled correctly and that was just for a normal small family. For a group like theirs, they would require substantial amounts of capital to ensure that they could still feed their troops as the winter months came and past.

Nat, on the other hand, was quite looking forward to the idea of heavy snowfall and blizzard temperatures. With magic, he had no concerns about struggling in what to many was likely a snowy apocalypse. Winter for him was going to be a time of large amounts of relaxation by the sounds of things, yes he still had to train soldiers and exercise, but with a lack of troop movement, there was a high chance he could stay in one place and enjoy the snow.

"That is a problem, we need to act as quickly as we can and start preparing for the winter. I grew up here in Ferelden, the winters here are far colder then what anyone else is used to" Leliana shot the commander a sympathetic look, they both know how just cold it could get in Fereldan and that was just in the warmest areas typically centred around some city or other.

"If we have our plans, then we need to know who will be covering what. Valeyna would you care to assign the teams" Nat spoke gently pushing the conversation along, he alongside a few others in the rooms would rather be in different places than a tight room with strangers constantly looking at you as you spoke or the odd glares that were given mostly by the First Enchanter.

"Blackwall, Bull and Sera you'll accompany me to Redcliff. Cassandra will take Varrick, Vivienne and Solas to investigate the storm coast. Nat, stay here and help Leliana, Cullen and Josephine in looking for a new place for the Inquisition" Nat hid his sigh at the fact that he was going to be left at base again, it wasn't so much as the fact that he was being left behind as it was the fact that he had lost an entire month of speaking to Valeyna because she had wanted him to stay behind. Now that he was staying behind again, he was now going to lose even more time in gaining influence perhaps even to the point that he could lose it to Vivienne. Speaking of which, that woman was smiling far too much in his opinion.

"Valeyna with respect wouldn't it make sense to have another mage with you when you visit the rebel mages, another one who wields the power of magic will likely be seen in a better light." With a quick shake of her head sending her long blonde hair gently through the air, the Herald gave Nat a light friendly smile.

"If the others are investigating the Darkspawn, then they need to have mages with them in case anything happens," Valeyna smirked hoping to try and lift that stoic expression their youngest member was currently sporting as he broke down her plan. "Besides while we're gone, I'm going to need someone to act in my place, with Cullen, Leliana and Josephine busy somebody has to represent me." Now it was murderous glares from Vivienne that were directed towards the young wizard while Varick held back his laughter as well as a slight amount of concern over the kid. That Enchanter certainly didn't look too friendly in general, let alone after the Herald had decided to make the youngest member in her inner council her representative.

"If that's what you want, I'll play homes under the hammer" Confused blinking followed.

"Right. Anyway, shouldn't be too difficult, just try and find a new base and do any missions that Josephine, Cullen or Lelliana need you for" With a polite nod of his head, Nat walked backwards from the table and began leaning back on the wall with his arms crossed as he waited for the rest of the conversation to carry on. A diplomat he swore internally, he was going to be a fucking diplomat.

"So boss any reason we're not leaving tomorrow if the weather is such a problem"

"Well Bull, I and the others have to eat first not to mention we want to sit down and rest for a bit. Don't worry, we'll be leaving in three days"

"Not to mention that there are other key issues that you need to be made aware of Lady Herald, one of those being the status of Thom Rainier" Gulping quite loudly, Blackwall could feel the atmosphere of disapproval getting thicker and thicker as most of those present stared at the man harshly for what the crime he had committed to pretending to be another person. Seeing as there was no way he was going to keep this hidden, he turned to the kid unable to look the beautiful Josephine in the face for both embarrassment and shame of who he was.

"How did you know I wasn't a Warden, when did you know"

"I spoke to King Alistair when I visited Denerrim. I wondered if he might know what's happening with the Grey Wardens. He informed me that he had been struggling harshly ever since a new powerful calling had come out. When one figures that every other Grey Warden has gone to accompany this calling, then it makes it perfectly clear that those who haven't been either not in range or had other issues so important that they could not leave. Therefore I realised your story was fake as otherwise, you would have shown clear symptoms of suffering from the calling and as you didn't"

"I see. Well, I guess if it's out there, yes my name is indeed not Blackwall but rather Thom Rainer."

"Save us the sad back-story Blackwall, if you want to make a difference then help the Inquisition fight and once we save the Wardens we'll give them to you for them to sort out. If you try to mope around the base complaining about your past actions and it affects your performance in the field, then I'll hand you over to the Wardens or Orlais depending on which one you would prefer personally".

"What is he talking about" Unable to meet the Herald eyes in shame, Blackwall turned his head down onto the floor hoping that nobody would just see how guilt-ridden he appeared. All these years he had spent trying to run away from what he had done to hide who he was and then without even knowing it, his secret had been revealed casually in a conversation with strangers as if it was like talking about the weather. He wondered if the Herald would ever let him talk to her once she was told what happened, he shook his head, he didn't deserve that honour.

"That's his story, but for now if we are all quite clear on what we are going to do, then I believe I can say that everyone is dismissed. If we need to speak then I'm sure Leliana will send a runner to find you" Not wasting a second of her now free time, Sera slammed open the door and raced outside of the stone building into the chilly cold weather with a smirk on her face giggling incessantly. Down in the valley, a lot of people suddenly felt a chill go up their spines. Following after, nearly everyone else exited beside Nat, the Herald, Blackwall, Josephine and Lelliana.

"Kid come speak to me when you get free time, I have a story to tell you" Making his way out, Varrick groaned as he came to the realisation that he was going to have to go back out into that weather. "Hey Seeker want to help me find something to eat, what about you Chuckles, Tiny?"

"I'm afraid I will have to decline your generous offer Varrick, I would rather find somewhere to relax before I eat". With that said, Solas moved past the slower couple of the dwarf and Seeker, his clothes starting to ripple as he approached the now open door that Sera had not bothered to shut as she likely went to begin a rain of unsuspecting chaos on the denizens below.

"Sorry, Varrick was it, I and the rest of the chargers have a couple of drinks ready in the tavern. You're welcome to join us if you like, you as well Seeker it'd be great fun"

"Perhaps later Tiny, I got some things I need to sort out first"

"Fair enough, just swing by when you fell up for it" Patting the man harshly on the back, Bull then like all the others braced himself for the cold winter snow of Fereldan and pushed himself outside. "Damm it's cold, fuck this Fereldan weather" Varrick laughed once more and looked over to the short-haired warrior. Despite her apparent averseness to him, she was still perfectly content to join him in going to grab some warm food. Vivienne in an angry march soon followed them out.

"Now that's over, Valeyna as the Herald of the organisation, it's your job to decide on what we do here with Mr Rainier. The gist of his crime is that back when he was a soldier working for Orlais, he led a group of men and attacked an Orlesian noble and ally of Empress Celene. That attack turned into a massacre resulting in the depth of not only the noble but also of his wife and children. When his activities were discovered, Gaspard disavowed their actions, his commander killed himself, his men were captured and executed as traitors and he ran."

Valeyna stayed silent as she listened to Nat quickly explain the situation. She would have preferred a more in-depth version, but she guessed that Nat must have been short on time. As for Blackwall himself, the man hadn't made a single attempt to escape instead he had lost the flush on his face. Seeing as he was apparently unable to look her squarely in the eyes, Valeyna snarled.

"Children, he killed children?" Disgust filled her, this man had been responsible for an attack on an innocent woman and child resulting in their deaths all in the name of some noble. And now this man had decided to disgrace himself even further by donning the armour and weapons of a noble organisation and prance around as if he was a member of that group himself.

"I did." Seemingly out of nowhere, Blackwall had managed to muster up enough courage to speak out or perhaps he realised that there was very little point in lying now that they knew who he was and what he had done. Angry, Valeyna's eyes pierced Blackwalls searching intently for any type of guilt that may be present, in all honesty, she was proposing killing the man this instant for such a crime. "I will face up to my actions," He said bluntly. "And I will also not allow another to tell my crimes when I can do so myself"

"Then please Mr Rainier explain to us why you felt the need to kill innocent children and their mother. If you refuse then I will have the guards escort you out where I will take your head personally" As a very prevalent gesture that he meant exactly those words, Cullen actually drew his sword the sound of the metal clashing against the hilt making it loud and clear just what may happen. When she looked over, Valeyna was horrified with what she saw.

Cute sweet innocent Cullen had entirely changed. An angry scowl stretched from one side to another while his eyes burned furiously, even his foot stance had changed to one where he would likely go to attack another person. The rest of his face also showed the man's anger as creases in his skin appeared where his eyes constantly twitched as the speed of something like a hummingbird.

"Commander" Nat spoke quietly, but there was an underlying tone of finality to it, one that demanded to be listened to, less those who refuse to do so be punished for their insolence. Valeyna couldn't help when she heard it if this was some type of magic his people had, the way it almost compelled her to listen to do what he wanted was both surprising and concern yet also interesting. "Lower your sword"

"He committed to the crimes, if Orlais was to learn that we had such a man, then there could be consequences". With his sword approaching the neck of the bearded man, Blackwall sensing defeat closed his eyes and prayed silently to the maker to forgive him so that when his life was over he would not be left to forever wander the Fade lost and alone even if he deserved it.

"Thom Rainier must be given the right to explain his actions and defend himself if he so chooses. Once complete, he should be brought before the court to have this case examined and a verdict dealt. Unless you know otherwise, the Inquisition does not have an Inquisitor and therefore is not able to pass on punishments without one." Cullen strained at the words. As he did so, he didn't lower the sword, instead of keeping it very close to the neck of the individual he wanted to pass a sentence on. Nat understood why people who messed around with children were disliked in general by others so for a man to have led an attack that had killed a child was bound to boil the blood of many who had a stronger moral compass then he did.

"He killed children, in cold blood"

"This isn't a battlefield Cullen, you can't go round chopping everyone's heads off even if you are that desperate to give a donation to the local football team" More blinks and stares, Nat shrugged his shoulders before getting back to point. "The man has the right to explain his actions, I suggest we allow him to do it. Then the verdict shall be left to Valeyna" Nat gestured to the woman, with things coming to ahead and Vivienne here, he had to start making moves to cement his position with her not to mention the rest of the Inquisition.

"Why do I need to decide?" What was Nat up to she wondered, she wasn't exactly the right person to call judgement on a man so why did he want her to make choose the action that had to be taken with this man. She was hardly unbiased, the very fact that this man would lead an attack on innocents resulting in the deaths of children sickened her to her core. Just who was this man, that he would do such an act and then pretend to be a member of the most honourable group on the continent.

"Because you are the Herald, and I believe that no one would oppose me in stating that it is best if you make that decision"

"I concur, as a symbol of the Inquisition Herald, the responsibility of such judgements must also be placed in your lap. Starting with this man, will you allow him to explain his actions or would you like to give your sentence now" Nobody counteracted Leliana's statement. Carefully like a predator stalking their prey, her eyes sharp Leliana moved subtly from her position so that she got closer to this child killer. She was ready to slit his throat Valeyna realised.

"Let him speak, if we start executing such people without hearing them, then we're no better than our enemy" A simple nod was all Valeyna needed from Leliana to know that the spy was ready to strike should Blackwall try to escape.

"I suggest you speak quickly Mr Rainier, I doubt that the Wardens are going to be too kind about the fact that you've been impersonating them. I also believe that Empress Celene would like to enjoy punishing the one responsible for the death of one of her more loyal supporters" Cullen frowned at how easy he believed Leliana and the others were going on this case. The man was responsible for the deaths of innocent children, the man had even admitted to it and now Leliana and the others wanted to question the man. It didn't feel right

"They said that you killed a man, why what happened?"

"I was a captain in the Orlesian Army, respected but it wasn't enough. My employer was a chevalier, Robert Chapius and my target was a general called Vincent Cailler. Ser Robert believed that Grand Duke Gaspard was the rightful ruler of Orlais and would eventually take the throne. He thought that by eliminating one of Celenes loyal supporters, he may endear himself to the true emperor. I can't say if Roberts plan would have worked. I didn't care. There was good coin on offer, and I took it. By the time Ser Roberts involvement was uncovered, I was long gone. Of course, the Grand Duke disavowed any knowledge of the act and publicly condemned it. Robert killed himself. Poison in his wine. Another victim of the Great Game."

The mood in the air changed as Blackwall spoke, it wasn't the happy type of story or the sad type of story that Valeyna was used to hearing if anything it just sounded pathetic to her ears. The man had killed children because of a handful of gold, not because he was attacked, not because he was attempting to defend the lives of others but for nothing more simple than a bag of shiny metal. Revulsion ran through her mind, any thoughts of perhaps sparing the man were easily falling by the wayside.

"Why did you have the man's entire family slaughtered," She intoned loudly her fingers playing with the shaft of her staff. What would be the best way to deal with such a man, perhaps send him to Orlais. If that happened, then it may improve the reputation of the Inquisition in that country. Then again, for the crimes that he had committed she couldn't help but feel that something worse should befall this man.

"I didn't know Callier would be travelling with his family. I assumed only soldiers, armed guards. My men had been told to eliminate everyone. They'd seen war, they thought they were defending their country. No one wants to think about that, but it's names that carry weight in this world. Bloodlines, heirs. No matter how leaders like Celene or Gaspard pretend the Game is played, that's how real war is waged."

There was a certain callousness to his words, there wasn't any room for soft sweeter words to soften the blow with how the man impersonating a Grey Warden believed things out to be run, just how they were like he was defeated. Yet it wasn't enough, the man ad actively taken the job and led others alongside him to go and take the life of an innocent man. Even though she believed Blackwall when he stated that he had no idea that the man's children would be there with him, Valeyna still struggled to see this man as innocent. She glanced over at her apparent "advisor" hoping that he could give her information on what she should do. While she wasn't able to tell what exactly needed to happen, she had a strong nagging feeling in her gut that despite the revulsion that swelled within her like a small wooden ship in a storm, that there was another choice for this man than death. The question was what did he want to ask and what choice did want her to make? He had helped her before so why not now.

"That shouldn't be how wars are fought, there's no need"

"War is unfair, and the sky is blue." Blackwall rebutted the woman a scornful look on his face at the sheer naiveté that this woman displayed towards how the war worked. She was the Herald of Andraste; she had fought and killed before so surely she must understand. Ultimately as he stared into those beautiful bright eyes of hers, he saw only innocence. The Herald he realised had witnessed barbarity, but she had never witnessed war and would never understand, not yet but as time went on she would. " But you're right there was no need for what I did"

"You got your men to help you. What did you tell them?"

"They didn't know who they were attacking. I told them it was an important mission. They trusted me without question. Just as your men trust you"

"My men" Valeyna spoke quickly not entirely sure as to what the murder was on about. "I'm not in charge of the Inquisition nobody is." Blackwall coughed.

"Those men in the valley follow the Inquisition because they believe you to be their saviour, the one who will end this madness. The commander may lead the armies of the Inquisition, your Spymaster its spies and your ambassador it's politics, but ultimately it is your name that the people whisper, it is your name that the people toast to. These men follow your orders because they trust that you are what people say you are."

"That's not true, I've not led anyone into battle. I'm not even the Herald of Andraste, I'm just a person who was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Blackwall shook his head vigorously. Jabbing his finger towards the others four members in the room with them, he drew the Heralds gaze onto the four individuals who stood at the wayside their faces partially obscured by the shadows cast of the warm glowing torches that dotted around the room.

"Everyone here looks to you for leadership, it is your word that commands the Inquisitions forces. Whether you desire it or not, you are the leader of the Inquisition by default. If you order it then men and women will throw themselves against your enemy".

Desperate for some kind of backup, that one of the four with her would support her in her claims that she was not the leader of the inquisition and was instead just the Herald at best, Valeyna desperately searched towards the three older advisors first believing that with their age that any rebuttal would prove useful. After a few moments of silence, it became increasingly obvious that none of them was going to speak up and tell her that she wasn't the leader of the Inquisition. Finally, she turned to the boy that was apparently her advisor silently asking him for help on the matter. Slowly Nat spoke.

"What he says is true Valeyna, whether or not you hate it, the people consider you one of their great prophets. When people whisper the name of the name of the Inquisition, they do not mean it's army or its politics or its spymaster, neither do they think of their soldiers. What people think when they hear that term is the Herald of Andraste and that false or not is you and therefore people will flock to the Inquisition for you. The fact of the matter is, you are the leader of the Inquisition. You are the Inquisitor." Stepping back so that the shadows covered his face again, Nat through the corner of his eyes observed the reactions of his fellow advisors.

None of them said a word instead allowing the room to fall quiet besides a drone of constant tapping as water managed to sneak in and hit the floor in regular intervals. None of them was in outright disagreement, Josephine he saw was very likely considering the pros and cons of having Valeyna as the Inquisitor and how it would affect the Inquisitions relations with the rest of Thedas. Cullen it seemed was concentrating more on military matters, what exactly that pertained to he could only guess. As for their red-headed spymaster, he would assume she already had a long list of people that her agents needed to meet and "enjoy a nice cup of tea" with.

"Why me, I'm not a leader. Who would listen to an elf let alone one of the Dalish"

"We need to concentrate back onto the matter at hand before we discuss internal politics" Nat chided the woman bringing her attention back onto the man who stood accused of murdering innocents in cold blood. With a sigh, Valeyna relented and acquiesced to Nat's suggestion and went back to questioning Blackwall.

"Tell me about Blackwall, the Real Blackwall"

"We met in a tavern when I was on the run. I was nothing, a waste of life, but he wanted to recruit me. We headed to Val Chevin for the joining, but Blackwall insisted on making a stop along the way. An old ruin from one of the previous Blights. He said it led to the Deep Roads. I was to go down, alone find a Darkspawn, and fill a vial with its blood. When I returned, I found the Warden ambushed by more of the creatures." Almost as if by magic, Valeyna couldn't help but be dragged into the story that Blackwall told. It was short and not anywhere near the quality that Varrick usually regaled her with, but all the same, it was a curious one. Perhaps it was the lack of light allowing the small lights of the surrounding torches to bluster around continuously or perhaps it was the sound of the wind outside as it picked up speed and pressed against the old solid walls of this meeting hall. All the same, it helped to build the atmosphere of such a dark story. "He took a blow for me. He shouldn't have died. It should've been me.

"It was a heroic act stepping between you and a Darkspawn."

"I wasn't worthy"

"We rarely are, the Maker works in mysterious ways."Softly, like a feather, Leliana moved towards the murderer gently picking up the man's hand holding it in her own as she spoke in a sweet tone instantly brushing past any sort of defence the man may have held. Nat resisted the urge to slam his head against a brick wall. He needed a cup of tea, help calm himself.

"When the Breach opened, we believed that there was no way to close it but then the Herald appeared" At this point, Valeyna resisted the urge to slam her head into the table. "You have made a great mistake Blackwall, but I see in you a man who wants to change, a man who desires to do good by people to help them as you were once helped. You desire to assist the Inquisition, the Herald so that you can believe that you honour Blackwall's words do you not." Blackwall turned, his stoic expression destroyed by the former bard as she smiled soothingly at him. With his eyes downcast, the man scrunched his face up in sorrow tears threatening to fall from his closes eyelids and soak his black gambeson.

"I am not worthy, I never was."

"Then change. All are loved by the Maker, if you show him that you have changed, that you cast aside what you did and are willing to fight for his people that you are a better man, then you will find yourself worthy even if you do not think it so" Perhaps it was because he wasn't religious in the slightest, but quite frankly Nat was astonished that the very idea that such words would actually work in this situation. Blackwall, in contrast, seemed to be reacting just as Leliana hoped to her words, his eyes were once again thrown back to the floor and his heart weighed heavy with obvious guilt yet, all the same, he was finding peace in the red-headed woman's words. Nat said nothing, if the man wanted to take comfort in meaningless drivel then he could. So long as Valeyna kept the man with the Inquisition things could work out.

"I" Stopping himself mid-sentence, Blackwall closed his eyes his mind wondering back to when he had first encountered the original Blackwall, what he had wanted to do. "He... He would have wanted me to carry on to Val Chevin. I'm certain. But without Blackwall, there was no proof that I'd been recruited, that I didn't kill him. I couldn't go to the Wardens, but couldn't just walk away. So, Rainier died and Blackwall lived". Sensing that the conversation had now come to an abrupt end, Valeyna asked her advisors for guidance hoping to know what their opinions on this matter were. She currently held her own opinion of anger that welled up in her fort this man. The lies he had told the crimes he had committed had to be dealt with, there was no way she was going to allow the man to walk free from all of this.

"What do you four advise me to do?"

"What he has done is inexcusable, he lied to his men lead the slaughter of innocent children and impersonated a Grey Warden. His punishment is obvious, he should be executed for his crimes" Cullen spoke tersely his pale face snarled in anguish as he gave the bearded man a look of utter contempt.

"It is what I deserve" Blackwall agreed shortly.

"We could give him to Orlais. If we were to give Empress Celene the murderer of one other supporter's, then we could surely gain favour" Unlike Cullen who was actively sneering at Blackwall, Josephine didn't once even look in the direction of the man. Perhaps it was a political thing Valeyna thought, a way to show someone that you cared not for a single thing that they had to say. Despite this, Josephine's tone of voice was not the smooth pleasant one of a diplomat, but one of a harsher person who had seen the ugliness of the world and knew exactly was going to occur if Thom Rainer was sent to the capital.

"Leliana"

"Thedas is in a desperate struggle, only your council currently knows what the Grey Wardens are facing. It has scared the common people; they need evidence that protectors will assist them. Have Rainer continue to be Blackwall, if there is Blight then even his presence can relieve the minds of others." Valeyna sighed, she didn't have to ask why Leliana wanted such a thing to happen. She had travelled with the Hero of Ferelden during the last Blight if anyone knew the dangers that a blight possessed than it would be her. Still, did it really matter that much? Should a Blight come, then Blackwall couldn't kill an Arch Demon. When that was discovered, then the feeling of betrayal among the common people would take a heavy blow potentially devastating the Inquisition's reputation especially in Orlais where scandal was common.

"You would have me live the lie. If you do so then the Inquisition is just as corrupt as others." Silence resounded from Leliana as she stared him in the eyes with cold eyes of one who was willing to do anything that was needed to keep the Inquisition intact. Blackwall sighed, his stomach dropping at the idea of such a thing. Finally, Blackwall turned his gaze to the child saying nothing but still curious as to what the youngest member would say.

"May I ask some questions of my own" Valeyna nodded gesturing him to do so. "When we met, you were fighting off bandits and demons to save the lives of others. Why?"

"After all that I had done with the death of Blackwall, I came to the conclusion that the world is short of good men. Even if he was dead I did not want to tarnish a good man's name I decided to keep it going, to make sure that such a name would not be remembered for being killed by the shit that inhabits this earth"

"And afterwards?"

"I wanted to atone for what I had done, the crimes that I had committed will never but I thought that if I could help another person then it would be one less pile of shit in the world" Valeyna fluttered her eyebrows lightly, she had not been expecting such questions. Perhaps questions on why he had lied or why he had committed the crimes or was it worth it, but these questions she could sense had a different meaning. She frowned, he couldn't be that naive could he?.

"Tell me, Mr Rainier, what would happen if the Wardens were to fall to this old Magister. How would the world react, how would you feel if such an occurrence was to take place?"

"Your joking" He exclaimed loudly. While he had heard from the rumours that abounded around the camp that the kid was from some unknown place with a different culture, to not know the obvious repercussions of the downfall of the Wardens was ridiculous. All the same he realised it was a serious question. "If the wardens were to fall, then the world would be swallowed by the Darkspawn. Such a thing cannot be allowed to happen"

"I agree," Nat said slowly, once more his attention was gripped by the map in front of him. Covered in small trinkets and figurines, it made him think of someone trying to play some type of fantasy board game. The one that required dice and imagination, he couldn't remember the name of the thing neither did he care to, but the concept was the same. From what little he knew imaginary people would go on quest's typically in a fantasy world and stop the world from being decimated. The only difference was that very thing was occurring right now and it was up to the Inquisition to put an end to it. "As a man who had spent his time in the army and especially in Orlais, I'm sure you know well what the consequences of scandals are, how they can ruin a person entirely or worse."

"I am familiar with that yes, I hardly see how it has any relevance at this moment" Nat gave a fake sympathetic smile at the man.

"Hypothetically imagine that you were one of the children of the man you killed." Reluctantly Blackwall winced at the thought. "Now imagine that you have captured Thom Rainier the man who led the attack on your family, who lied to men who would then gut the rest of our family like fish leaving them nothing but dead pale corpses for the flies to land and feast themselves on." Josephine clutched her mouth fighting back the image to throw up as a gruesome image popped up in her head. "How would you punish him? how would you punish the brutal murderer of your family? What type of action do you think is justifiable in such an action?"

A look of guilty uncertainty was sent him from the man in question. Shaking his head vigorously, the man's eyes danced all over the room silently pleading with one of the many others for some kind of explanation about this question. None came forth. To the side, Leliana sensing what was about to come quirked the left side of her lip upwards as her eyes shone with a deep burning anticipation. That was something she hadn't considered.

"I hardly see why this is relevant, is it not up to this man to decide what his fate is. Herald, please make a decision" Valeyna said nothing, she trusted Nat. If he wanted to ask the man a few harmless questions then what did it matter, the man was still going to pay for his crimes nevertheless.

"As do I, the decision is in your hands Lady Herald. I will accept any judgement you may pass" the elf's eyes widened slightly, Blackwall was scared, something about Nat's questions was throwing the man off balance and forced to fight verbally.

"Answer his question" Blackwall grimaced. Scrunching his face up to the point that his beard was making odd movements, Blackwall tried to look directly into the kid's eyes so that he could face the accuser directly.

"Very well, If I were in such a position, then I would have Thom Rainier executed for his crimes against Orlais and it's empress" Cullen nodded in agreement.

"Oh is that it, It's not a very good punishment is it?" Nat replied gently taking a sip out of a cup of tea that appeared out of thin air. Valeyna shook her head. What was it with Nat and tea.

"I fail to see your point"

"Oh it's quite simple if you want to get revenge on a person, then the last thing you should do is kill them. No, what you do, is commit psychological warfare against the person who you are having a spot of bother with"

"Psychological?" Nat shook his head, oh the troubles with dealing with medieval people.

"Mental, mind, brain, fucking with a person's head" Nat explained quickly. "Anyway, if you want to torture a person, then you don't kill them as that gives them a way out and you lose out on the fun. Rather what you do is you torture them slowly, painfully for the rest of their life. And before you ask, I don't mean hitting a person's kneecaps with a hammer repeatedly, far too dull. No, what you do is you make them live, force them to live out their days in a way they would despise. For example, I would give a person who despises magic and fears it entirely a punishment of being forced to work with mages their entire lives subjecting them to it on a constant basis. Another example would be to force a human who hates elves to live in an alienage for the rest of their lives. It' not exactly as flashy as cutting their heads off or lining them up and shooting them and it certainly isn't as efficient for mass use like throwing them all into a concentration camp and gassing them. However, If done correctly it has a tendency to break them down more than the possibility of their death ever could."

All of a sudden, Valeyna felt as if the very air began to chill unnaturally. Life started to become still, and the sound of inside the room changed so that all that could be heard was the powerful wind blowing against the building in a constant strum as it continued to battle helplessly in its quietest to demolish the old structure. All inside the room noticed it, there as no indication that magic had been used in any sort of manner, yet things felt as if some type of dark secret had been revealed. Unconsciously she backed away from the table moving closer to the wall her eyes fearfully glancing towards the young man questioning Blackwall. She didn't know what it was, but even with his flat tone in regards of speaking, it felt as if some great threat had been made against the man's life. More questions quickly sprouted in her mind and likely the same occurred in the others,. She said nothing instead only watching as the conversation carried on with her breath held and a feeling that some sort of dire warning and horrific disaster had occurred scaring her to her very core.

"And what does this have to do with me?"

"Your guilt wracks you Blackwall, night after night you have nightmares at what you did, Every time you see children you breath is held and you are brought back to that scene of when you made that choice. No matter what you do, it is never enough is it. Every life you save every bandit you kill, every Darkspawn you slay and every demon you destroy does nothing but remind you of your failure. Day after day goes back and in the back of your mind you hear the whispers." Blackwall paled considerably, his once breath face turning to one of abject fear as Nat slowly like a predator stalking his prey approached step by agonising step bring the torture to the man every closer. "How does it feel Blackwall knowing that day after day that there is always that part whispering to you telling loudly that it doesn't matter, that you did what you needed to do. That their lives never mattered, that you don't care in the slightest as you remember the pale dead looks of those children's corpses lying in the dirt." Blackwall shook violently where he stood paralyzed by nothing but words. So lost was he in the memories of what had happened that he didn't notice that Nat was now standing directly in front of him staring him down with his arms held casually behind his back.

"Stop it please" The pleading carried ever on for Blackwall his eyes so scrunched up that it appeared that he was trying to crush them into a small white goo. In his mind all Black wall saw was that field, the dead man scattered on the ground slain in combat. His face was ashen with horror as he took in the sight that he had created, a line of corpses that littered the area.

"You killed them" A powerful high pitched scream echoed through the air. It was a child's. Rushing towards it, Blackwall ignored the aching burning feel in his chest, the lightness of his mind and the strain inside his limbs telling him that there was no point in carrying on. "You carried out an attack on innocent children" Suddenly the image of dead corpses was changed before Blackwall's eyes as the forms of your small humans appeared screaming and running in terror. Rushing to their flank was a group of soldiers weapons bared their intent to kill. "I bet you made sure that the father and mother were killed first, just to make sure that they couldn't fight back". Again the scene changed again only now instead of watching the children he was subjected to observe as the armoured men easily cut through the line of guards and headed towards the noble.

"No stop, this is a mistake" Calling out desperately, Blackwall focused his attention back onto the children. A cry rang out from his side the mother he realised, Not hesitating he dashed towards those children now cowering by one another by a tree trapped an frozen entirely with fear. Screams of fear combined in matrimony with tears and crying of tear terrified children as they looked on as their father had a sword thrust into his back and through his heart. With a thump, the father hit the ground ungracefully as a fountain of blood poured from the open wound his eyes wide open unflinching as they bored holes into his children. "Get away from them" Blackwall yelled drawing his blaze rushing towards the group his teeth grit.

"Not that it matters whether you killed the father first right, you and your men had no interest in whether the children lived or died. After all, you are a nothing but a coward, A waste of life, a good for nothing thug, a drain a society."

"Stop this at once" Blackwall's command failed entirely the troops ignoring every word he stated as if he wasn't there. "I told you this is a mistake, stop it now""

"And that is why you should be allowed to live," Nat stated calmly. "Death is too good for you, no what you need to do is suffer. Why should you be allowed the mercy of death? No, your punishment should be for you to continue wandering believing that you can be something that you aren't to believe that you are a better man then you are. You will forever run from your plans, a coward and nothing more."

Why wasn't it working Blackwall hissed, no matter how fast he ran the distance between him and the children only increased. Up ahead one of the helmet covered men advanced onto the children their sword bloody from the lives of those he had just killed. A brief few seconds passed as the man looked down at the small little bodies in front of him clinging onto one another for comfort their cheeks glistening with fear.

"Please don't kill us. Is that what they pleaded before they were gone? Did you even notice the expressions they made on their tear-stained faces as they cried out for mummy and daddy, did you tell them what happened."

"No stop they're innocent" Blackwall scrammed.

"You're a coward Blackwall, an impersonator using the bravery of others to hide your own cowardice." Uncaring for the sheer mental torment that he had placed on the man as Blackwall clutched his head kneeling on the ground so lost in his own word that he was totally unaware of the horrified looks that were passed around by the others in the room Nat pressed his attack.

"Their innocent" He pleaded.

"You can't stop it. To do so would require for you to actually care about anything more than gold" Out of nowhere Nat appeared before Blackwall leaning casually against a tree his eyes face entirely unbothered by the scene going on before him. "Oh, mighty brave Blackwall" He puffed his chest up and pretended to do a marching motion as if he were a soldier. "For you to even attempt to save them, then you would need to betray who you really are. After all, there is only one way to stop them if they won't listen to you but you'd never do that, it would finish your career. No more large money bags or respect, you'd be kicked out of the army."

"They are going to be killed" Nat shrugged his shoulders in response.

"What does it matter, they're only children nothing important" Blackwall was outraged by the comment. "Children are nothing but small sentient beings, they're weak defenceless pitiable, naive, time wasters and drains on people. What should it matter if these children die, they are going to do so at one point or another. You know what I mean, even if they survive they will live through constant pain and suffering until eventually later down the line they bite the dust. Besides, these children have watched their parents get slaughtered like pigs in front of them. They will desire revenge, they will hunt those killers down t the end of the earth forever scarred by what they saw" Blackwall didn't falter instead speeding up the pace of his running so that he could try and intercept the attack. As he got closer, he witnessed as the armoured man roughly gripped one of the children powerfully by their shoulder dragging them back as they screamed.

"Get away from them" Nobody heard him, with fury blazing in his eyes, Blackwall kept advancing but it was too late. Without a moment's hesitation, the sword of this armoured man shot through the back of the child appearing on the other side coated in their blood. Screams arose from the children. Uncaring about such pathetic emotions, the armoured man roughly tossed the child aside as if he was nothing but rubbish to be discarded and then grabbed another. This time that child only looked up fearfully at the murder sniffling as she clutched her now hoarse throat. "Leave her alone" A single blow was all that was required for the blade to pass through the neck of the child and clave directly through the bone decapitating the girl in a bloody display. The other two followed suit, both being killed quickly and without mercy.

Finally when the battle was done Blackwall managed to approach the corpses of the children. They were lying there, nothing more than clumps of flesh laying in dark crimson pools of blood. Marks of where tears had slid down their cheeks were still prominent their fear palpable for the whole world to enjoy if they so desired. Blackwall collapsed to his knees, splashing mud and blood all over his fancy Grey Warden clothes coating them in the blood of the innocent. Clumsily he gripped one of the bodies of the children dragging it close to his chest embracing it tightly as his own tears fell freely from his face.

"Why, they didn't have to die. They were children, innocents. They needn't have to die" Behind Nat approached his boots hitting the ground hard with a constant beat like a drum was playing, constantly and harsh. They kept coming and coming like they were some kind of monster raising Blackwall's heartbeat as sweat and fear filled him. Suddenly they stopped and that dam foreign voice spoke clearly to him.

"They were caught in something they could not prevent. The world is harsh and dictated by power, everyone wants it. Perhaps not all to the same degree, but all desire power. You desire the power to protect those children, to prevent their death; your employer wanted Gaspard to gain more power so he, in turn, would want more power. The Grey Wardens require power so they can succeed in their goal. The Inquisition also too needs it if they are ever going to fix the world. As for this Venatori, they want the power to do as they wish. Now think about it Blackwall, who should really have power?".

All around him, the scene changed. No longer were they in some open grassland surrounded by hills nearby and a dark sky with stars twinkling like jewels around them, the corpses of those four children had instead multiplied to more children and more children. The predominantly green grass was now permanently stained red as mangled broken shells of people littered the ground. There were all kinds, the young, old, men, women, elf, human, dwarf none of it mattered, they now stood in a mass grave. Horrified, Blackwall stood up again hoping to get a better view of where he was. It went on forever, the bodies of the dead from all places now nothing but pale and dead. A storm thundered above him and a crash of green light striking before him revealing the hulking grotesque body of a Pride Demon.

"How many did you kill Blackwall? How many could have been saved if somebody had been there to defend them against the tyranny that they faced." Not noticing him, the demon stalked forwards quickly snatching up one of the many dead before bringing it up to his mouth and then chomped down. Blood showered everywhere and in all directions, from his position, Blackwall had to fight every urge in his stomach that was trying to get him to vomit at the sight and scene. Another sound of thunder and then another, quickly this place filled with the bodies of the most dangerous type of demon there was and all began the same sequence of exploring the local area and then proceeding to eat everything in sight in a messy bloody gore.

"What happened" Blackwall yelled as he faced the casual child. Nat was standing there without a care in the world stepping over the lifeless as he paraded himself in a circle his eyes never straying once to meet the fake Warden.

"To think that so many people could be saved, if only there had a person to stand in the way between the demons and their feast?. Alas" Nat sighed shrugging his shoulders. "It was such a large defeat that the Inquisition was never taken seriously, people always mocked it considering it to be a useless organisation that had no other goal than to steal power. To think that failure resulted in the fabled Grey Wardens heroes of old and beloved by all would be the one who would lead the assault. Then again, if everyone is infected with the blight then the Wardens had no need to concern themselves with the Blight"

"The wardens would never allow this to happen. They would take up arms before they would ever allow such a thing to happen" Nat shrugged.

"Perhaps, but it's not exactly easy to do when you're under the influence of the Blight. A few tried to resist, but it was helpless against the call of the Blight. A few even managed to tell the Inquisition what was happening to the Wardens and other nations, but it was believed to be a trap. As the Wardens had vanished with the death of the divine, it was only natural to assume that they had been the ones responsible for her death in order to take control of what they desired."

"The wardens are heroes, they stand for what is right. They are the watchers of darkness, they will do what others will not and walk where others dare not tread,. They are not cowards"

"Maybe not, but only a handful are wardens, only a few know that burden. The rest of the world does not. Kingdoms play their games of politics and war, to them the threat is just as important as intention as is the image that they present. A frightful creature will always strike if they believe that is the only way they can survive. With no evidence to the contrary, the world believed that the Wardens are corrupt and have gone insane. They are nothing but slaves to the blight, lingering at its every word begging to be obeyed as they are corrupted by the blackness that they willingly took in. With their image ruined, who was going to fight for them, who was going to save the saviours"

"They would keep fighting, even if the rest of the world gives up. That's what Wardens do, they sacrifice so that others can live. Whether that means fighting on their own against the Darkspawn or against the rest of Thedas, the Grey Wardens will always defend the people".

"Perhaps if they had the trust of the people" Nat interjected his attention held by an entirely green swirling skyline. Constant barrages of green lightning shattered the nearby area as demons of all shapes and power congregated on the area and helped themselves to the large number of corpses available. "However without that trust, without a single Warden showcasing that they were willing to fight back against tyranny. That they would fight against themselves in name of the true Wardens... then they collapse."

"Then this is preventable? All the wardens have to show is that they will fight with the Inquisition?"

"All these lives gone, young innocent children who could have avoided death had there been a protector for them. If only a person had been willing to make a hard choice to defend those who could not defend themselves. If only there was one who would subject themselves to a life of torture for others, one who desired to do nothing other than help, to defend, to protect. Had there only been one?" Like ashes in the wind, Nat dissolved in front of Blackwall's eyes, flying into a million pieces and blowing away leaving him alone in this hell. With horror struck on his face, Blackwall redirected his gaze onto those demons feasting on the flesh of little children, one of them picked up a small girl and then bit a chunk out of her skull smiling in a demonic way before then complimenting the taste.

Was this what awaited the world? Was this the fate of all those innocent people's lives. Already they were tortured enough by the powers that were scrounging for food in a desperate bid to survive with harsh punishments should they fail. Some deserved such a fate he could admit, to make up for the crimes that they had committed the injustices that they permitted. Some yes but not all of them. Children were not what the boy said, they were not just small humans. They were hope, love a chance to do better and learn as well as a chance to improve the world. Children needed love and care, to be protected from the evils that plagued this world whether it was from corrupt tyrants, bandits, Darkspawn or demons they should not be forced to live through such harsh treatment, to be used as nothing but meat or slaves.

He remembered the words that the boy said, they were continuing to ring tirelessly through his ear like some recruit was continually banging a set of bells directly next to his ear almost deafening. Nathanael had said that he didn't care about the children that he had killed during the attack, that they were bound to die anyway and so killing them was merciful. He was wrong, those kids should never have been killed they had been innocent and it was his fault that they had died. It was on his hands that their blood loomed on like an overprotective lover who whispered never-ending about the stuff that they wanted to do with you. Only this was not a kind lover who would allow him to take her however he wished but rather the shrill voices of children jeering at him calling him a coward for running away.

He looked back at the faces of the children his heart aching with revulsion. He now understood, he was responsible for their death. His outburst at the spymaster had been wrong. Guilt struck him squarely in the chest like an arrow powering through the taut flesh of a target. How could he have been so selfish, the deaths of these children were because of him. All of it could be prevented, innocent people not slain and then eaten, children living on the streets begging for food until they were either thrown in a whore house or killed in the middle of some back alley with not a lone person caring about their withered husk of a corpse lying in the street.

In a seemingly burst of light in the man's head, Blackwall was then back to reality. The three advisors were all staring at him harshly, the Herald inspected his person like a Hawke waiting for dinner and the boy. Nat was staring at him directly his eyes assumingly staring into his unblinking as he stared him down as a hunter must do to a bear. Blackwall acquiesced, he now understood. Fixing his eyes on the lady Herald's face he bowed lowly.

"My lady Herald before you pass sentence on me, I would ask you of something"

"And that would be?"

"In light of the current troubles that the Wardens must now face, it is of the utmost importance that the people of Thedas see that the Grey Wardens are willing to fight and protect them. Therefore while I have no right to ask of it I respectfully ask you to allow me to maintain my position in the Inquisition as well as to allow myself to keep using the identity of Blackwall" Valeyna turned her attention to Nat her eyebrow quirked. Just what had he done to that man. A shiver ran down her spine like somebody had dropped snow or ice down her back during the freezing winter months. For a moment her heart beast faster as he turned to face her. Uncomfortable she returned back to the man on the floor.

"And why ever would I allow such a thing?"

"I believe in the Wardens and the cause they serve. To protect the weak and defend those who need their help is honourable. If what your advisor says is true then the Wardens cannot perform their duty because of this Magister. I owe them as does the rest of Thedas. I will happily accept any punishment they decide to give me however while they are crippled they require assistance. I want to offer my help. I may not be a Warden, but I can keep their legacy alive, ensure that should anything occurs that people will know that the Grey Wardens did not abandon them" Steely-eyed, Blackwall managed to push himself up to his feet glaring directly at the elf who held him. Valeyna felt shocked. This was a man who desired to help others in any way he could even if it meant his own death.

"And what of your punishment." Blackwall nodded.

"Guilt strikes him of every moment of every day. Give him time to live with it more, the longer he lives the worse it becomes. One day it will drive him mad to the point that he will want to kill himself. He can do that effectively if he were to become a Grey Warden." Nat interjected his calm tone silencing the rest of the room.

"You're not serious, what he did" Valeyna argued.

"Was horrific yes but being a Warden is a certain death sentence. Whether he dies in the joining or many years down the line, the man will die. Painfully. Besides the Inquisition needs good soldiers, as a former Captain Blackwall knows what he's doing and can help command troops when required"

"I will never allow such a man to command my troops" Faster than any of them could blink, Nat turned to face down Cullen. Rapidly the man stopped in his tracks all argument vanished as a certain primaeval fear born of his Templar training screamed at him to run and hide. Cullen's breath hitched, why did he feel as if he was a small mouse that had just gone up against a lion.

"We're fighting an army of demons, Tevinter terrorists and perhaps an army of Darkspawn. If the man died then so be it, if not then he spends the rest of his days fighting until he is no more. He will die, let the nightmares be his suffering"

"Very well" Slowly Valeyna approached the man her boots making a clacking sound as they struck the ground slowly agonising the man over his fate as the elven woman took her time to torture the man. Finally, she stopped her face so close to his that he could feel her even breaths lightly brush against his cheek while her eyes burned with hatred for the man. "Thom Rainier I sentence you to death"

Blackwall felt as if time had stopped itself. So this was it he thought, this was how he was going to end. He would have his head chopped off and the Wardens would be doomed to destruction because of the horrors being committed onto them by an ancient dead magister.

"Whether by battle or the taint, you will die" Blackwall slack-jawed looked up a hope blooming in his chest. "You are to retain your fake name and position, the Inquisition benefits greatly from the appearance of a Warden supporting us. You are not to mention who to truly are to anyone and neither will the Inquisition. Once this job of the Inquisition is completed, you will be handed over to the Grey Wardens where you will then describe who you are what you have done and will then attempt to undergo the joining. Should you succeed then you will live a harsh life. Should you fail, then the wardens can do what they will with your corpse".

"I understand my Lady. I... I cannot thank you enough for this opportunity. I am not worthy of such a thing, but I will give what little I can to assist the Wardens."

"Take your post, Warden Blackwall" Without another word Blackwall left the war room leaving the group of five alone together to carry on with their discussion on other more important matters.

"We shouldn't have done that" Cullen concluded a with a disproving tone as his eyes lingered on the door. "The Inquisition needs better men then him" Nat shook his head.

"The Inquisition also needs competent people Cullen. Blackwall has seen combat and has fought in a war, that experience is useful." Cullen disagreed but before he could voice his complaints Josephine interrupted the conversation before it could carry on.

"We should place our attention on other matters. Nathanael has a point the Inquisition is in desperate need of a leader, without one we could be easily paralyzed in the case that we are attacked. It is also important that the nobility has a name that they can parade around."

"Then it is a matter of finding the right candidate" Bored of standing still in one place, Leliana began to walk around the room pacing slowly to get her mind flowing more freely before she carried on addressing her colleagues. "None of us nor Cassandra can do it, we don't have the time to focus on such a task. That leads us with having to find somebody else. Any suggestions?" She asked softly. Already she had an idea of who should be their leader, however, it was of the utmost importance that the inner council agreed on such an important event. If there was large disagreement, then it could cause a political maelstrom hampering the ability of the Inquisition to act efficiently.

"Well if we're throwing someone to the wolves, then we might as well chuck them Valeyna. Although looking at her, I don't think she'd keep the wolves fed for long." "Furious at such a suggestion, Valeyna whipped around as fast as she possibly could planning on glaring at the kid to give him a message. What she got instead was for the kid to take a casual step and take a long drink preventing the eleven women from making eye contact.

"Will that even work? Politically at least" Quickly shooting the Herald a sorry look for anything he may have implied, Cullen was soon forced to give a sorry smile when he took in the glare and angry look that the woman had now directed at him.

"It will be a challenge" A spider fell onto Josephine causing her to quickly wipe the small insect of her dress before carrying on. "The nobility will find it difficult to see an elf as leader of the Inquisition. No offence lady Herald" She bowed to the woman.

"None taken" Valeyna held back the sarcasm.

"On the other hand as the Herald of Andraste, it does make a logical choice. Still, all the same, it will not be such a simple matter. Nobles, especially in Orlais, are very peculiar about elves and magic. As a Dalish mage, she is bound to face hostility because of who she is. With her rejection of the Chantry, she doesn't make it easy for us to gain allies" Even though she attempted to hide it, Valeyna watched the wince that Josephine gave when the topic of allies came up. She didn't blame the woman, but it was just normal that humans would not give her the time of day because she was an elf let alone a Dalish Mage and that was just with commoners. Frankly, when it came to having to deal with nobles and they're holier than thou attitude, she wasn't sure if she could make it in the political world.

"Good" Leliana interjected, "The Inquisition stands for all the people of Thedas, if only humans and non-mages are represented, it will look poor on us if we ever need to speak with others."

"I'm not so sure. The Herald is a brilliant woman, but she is young and she will be judged on that alone. I doubt she even has the political, military or spy training that she may need to lead" At this point, Nat walked away from his position silently moving over the old stone cobbled floor until eventually, he was standing side by side with the woman who was currently being discussed about by the other members of the inner council. They were quite close, having folded his arms, as Nat watched the three argue over in silent amusement. Bored of this and knowing that nothing he would say would bring them out of it, Nat approached Vaelyna.

"Welcome back" Valeyna smiled it was nice to actually have someone to talk to her without the typical crap about her being the Herald of Andraste. "I know it's not much, but once all this is done, I'll take you out somewhere quiet to relax. Enjoy a nice dinner in a calm environment, help you relax. We can catch up if you want, I'll tell you what happened here and you tell me how it was in Val Royeux" There were many things that Valeyna had been expecting the child to ask her when they got back, things like how was her day, what did she see, did she buy anything while she had been gone. She most certainly was not expecting for him to ask her to have dinner with him. She blinked as to why he might possibly want to commit to such an action.

Maybe it was a customary thing for his people to do when people came back from a long trip, perhaps he was bored and wanted to cook, then again it could just be that he wanted to speak to her alone about what her plans for the future were. With him being considered her advisor by the others and to Vivienne's apparent chagrin, there had to be an interesting story of just what he had gotten himself up top in the month that she had been gone. Briefly, she entertained the idea that he was attempting what humans called courting. She dismissed that theory pretty quickly, there wasn't a chance that the kid was going to do anything like that, he hadn't shown any idea that he knew how to perform such an action.

"Gladly" She replied quickly whispering to ensure that the others didn't recognise the fact that they were ignoring them entirely as they focused more trivial topics. "I haven't eaten anything but rabbit and rations, since we left" Nat shook his head in sympathy to the poor woman, being subjected to eating the same food day after day was a truly calamitous catastrophe that anyone had to endure. "What are you going to make?"

"Nothing fancy, just a Sunday roast." Again for what seemed the umpteenth time, Valeyna wished she could understand the strange words and terms that her youngest companion used. At the mention of the word roast she thought of something like a hog roast, but with the time and how hungry she was. She had serious misconceptions that Nat was going to go out and find a pig somewhere for them to east. That left her with the odder thing about this food, it had the name of a day before it. That was very peculiar, did that mean he ate this meal every Sunday or was it named after the day it was first eaten on. Either way, she licked her lips at the thought of having some type of roasted meat to sink her teeth into. She had gotten sick of eating rabbit.

"You can cook?" Nat resisted the urge to sigh. Of course, Nst knew that gender roles were far more pronounced here in Thedas than they were back home. Things were still different here, more traditional with a woman serving as the child raiser, cook, caretaker and other things which meant that for men who weren't soldiers, the ability to cook was likely limited due to early marriage.

"I can bake as well if required" Valeyna's eyes lit up at the mention of baking. A small amount of drool escaped her mouth as she remembered the taste from back in Val Royeux with all those small cakes that she had tried. She licked her lips, all those strange and amazing tastes had been an amazing experience it was just a shame that they had cost so much and she was unable to bring them home. "You have a sweet tooth I assume" Valeyna gave him an appreciative look. "If I get some spare time, I may consider baking you a cake".

"Thank you" She swung sweetly causing him to shake his head in amusement as if she was a small child constantly badgering on about wanting to have something more to eat. Promptly those thoughts turned darker as she recalled the number of times that she had asked for extra food when she had been starving. She still remembered the pained faces from the adults as they gave up a portion of their own food to the children. She wondered if they were doing okay, without her there was a higher chance that some of her clan would die of cold.

"I know you don't desire to be the Inquisitor Valeyna, but the fact of the matter is that you are the only one who is really in a position to take it. Cullen, Leliana and Josephine are far busier then they appear and all of them are experts in their craft should any of them be forced to take on the role of leadership, then it will diminish not only their ability but also the balance of power between them.

"Balance of power?" Valeyna said questioningly. "I know they're arguing at the moment, but I thought they got along?"

"They do get along, but part of that is because they all have their place and each one balances out one another. It prevents the Inquisition from becoming too heavy-handed in one field and prevents one of the others from gathering too much power."

"I'm not the right person to do this, I haven't learned about human politics or leading armies or spies. I've spent my entire life with my clan, struggling to survive. Besides I'm a female Dalish elf mage who's going to listen to me? Leliana would be better in charge" Nat moved his eyes over to the red headed woman. They were debating the pros and cons of having Valeyna as being the Inquisitor. Cullen's arguments against it were based predominantly on the fact that while he was perfectly okay with Valeyna being in charge, a great many others wouldn't. Leliana was focusing more on the fact that because she was an outsider that it would help keep her impartial.

"Hate to burst your bubble, but you're wrong." Trusting his judgement in the matter, Valeyna silently asked why Nat believed such things "Leliana is a good spymaster, but that's what she is. She thinks in the manner of a spymaster, soldiers and politics are secondary since why send soldiers to do a job when you can have an assassin put in place anywhere you need it. Then like you Valeyna, she doesn't know how to use an army effectively only its worse because she will rely on her methods of doing things which could cause calamity. It's the same thing with the other two. All three of them are specialised in their respective fields, they know them in and out, up and down. They can see future problems before others will and is exactly why they need to stay where they are."

"But they have more experience in matters and if Leliana is a bad choice, then why not Cullen."Nat tapped the table a few times in slight annoyance before rounding on the pretty woman to his side. She had serious doubts about her own leadership skills, most assumedly because what she had been trained to lead was a small group of elves in the forests. For that, she had been trained her whole life and as a result, likely knew how to lead her group of people to relative safety when the time came for her to take over. That was in contrast to the Inquisition which was not only a different type of organisation but also far larger with a set of military, political and espionage goals in mind.

"Let me put it in a simpler manner, would you tell an amazing warrior to lead an army of soldiers" Valeyna nodded. Nat resisted the urge to slam his head against the wall.

"Yes they've fought before and know what they're doing"

"As warriors, not as soldiers" Nat rebuked her slowly in hopes that it may make the woman think about his words in a bit more detail.

"What's the difference?"

"Warriors are individual fighters, most of the time they will take an enemy on one by one cutting them down, they're brilliant against single opponents, but they lack the discipline of soldiers." Seeing her still confused face Nat sighed once more in his head. He knew that Valeyna was not taught on these subjects, he didn't expect her to be seeing as the education of elven clans was far more about keeping their culture alive. Any fighting they did do was with their hunters which amounted to a few elves with bows running through the forest shooting at things they didn't like. All the same, it was still irritating that he had to explain it to her. "Soldiers are less deadly on heir own than warriors, and that is because they rely on their teammates to assist them in whatever goal they chose to take. Let's take a group of warriors and a group of soldiers and compare their tactics. Warriors will charge at an enemy attempting to fight the soldiers one by one where the advantage is with the warriors. In contrast, where the warriors will charge, soldiers with their discipline and training will raise a shield wall that the warriors will then slam into." As if a light bulb had suddenly gone if, inside her head, Nat witnessed the moment that Valeyna finally understood what he was saying.

"I understand now. A warrior is good on his own but when he strikes the shield wall, he will be beaten because if he tries to attack then another soldier will attack him forcing him to pull back" Nat nodded a fake proud expression on his face as if he had just been educating a child on the basics of war. Not that he could say he was an expert in war, as much as he pretended otherwise, he was not some Alexander the Great level genius. He himself was a warrior fighting by himself which meant that all his tactics were on a personal level when he fought. He did not think about how to defend the right flank of his army and the opening that had presented itself, rather what he thought about was turning the floor in front of him into a marsh to get this one particular enemy to make a mistake that he could take advantage of. If Valeyna did need to learn actual tactics and strategy, then it was best to refer her to Cullen for such training. That man had no idea about weapons from back home which clouded his judgement on matters.

"Exactly, a warrior is better used against an individual opponent rather than a group and a soldier is better at facing groups. Cullen is a good military commander, but he is a military commander, and by taking him away from that post and placing him into a context where military tactics don't always work will have drastic consequences which are why you are the best choice"

I was trained to be the next keeper of my clan, not to be the leader of a human religious order" Nat nodded in agreement subtly as he did so he began to spin his right index finger slightly as a gesture to get the woman to keep thinking so that she could finally get to where he needed her to be. "I told you before I'm not someone who should be leading this group, no one is going to listen to me, not the humans, not the Templars and not the mages". Okay never mind Nat thought. He wanted to leave this room before the eventual heat death of the universe, it was time for more direct measures.

"Valeyna you were trained for this. As the next Keeper, it would have been your duty to make sure that your clan moved forward that you kept a good relationship with who's ever land you were in to ensure that you had stocks of medicine, weapons, armour and food. If a member disobeyed an order then you gave punishment, if another did well you gave them a reward. That doesn't mean that you were the one who was personally responsible for making sure that food was brought in, what your job was to delegate that job. You would tell one person of your clan that this amount of food was needed after that, the one you told would then delegate in turn selecting the hunters who would go out on the trip. You do not have to be an expert in politics, war or espionage, what you need to be able to do is make a decision and tell others what you want to be done. If you want a castle seized then Cullen will ensure that it is done, if you need to get an agreement with a noble then Josephine will do what has to be accomplished and if you need someone six feet under then Leliana is your girl."

As he spoke, Valeyna wasn't entirely sure of his words. Being a Keeper and the leader of an Inquisition was too entirely different things yet Nat spoke as if they were the same job as if it was an easy thing to do. Already she knew that Lelliana and the others would help her make a choice, give her the information she needed, to know and why they assumed that a current course of action would be the best one suited. But still, the final decision as left to her. If she made a mistake, then people would die, if she made a worse mistake, then the entirety of Thedas would be lost to this Magister. As for her people? She shook her head, she didn't even want to think about it.

"And what will you do, if the other three are to advise me, what is your job?"

"If you desire it and believe it best, I can always give a second opinion. If you get stuck between Leliana and the others then you could ask me to determine what is the most urgent choice of action. As a neutral party, I won't be concerned about my department not getting the focus it needs, I can meditate if you need me to."

"That would be useful, thank you" Nat nodded in response giving the woman a warm smile to lower her defences and make her more relaxed around him. He could not afford to push Valeyna too much, she may be young by most standards, but she wasn't stupid just uneducated. As the leader of her clan in her future and having been trained for that, she likely had some ability to detect lies or when someone was trying to take advantage of her. At this point of time, the only reason he had managed to push himself into a position that he was allowed to attend these meetings, was because he had placed himself next to the elf and the other three when it was young and unstructured. Now, however, he wouldn't ever get noticed.

"If you ever need my help, just ask. I may not be one of your advisors, but I can still lend you aid when you are in need of it" Valeyna stopped her eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration then she closed her eyes as she thought back hard on the events up to now. Finally, after a minute, she pulled out and gave the young teenager an interested look.

"You're not a commoner" She stated plainly. "You know too much and can see things another cant not to mention that you seem to know a lot about things. Were you a noble in your people? Who taught you?" Nat gave a slight chuckle at the inquisitive gaze that was laid upon him. Valeyna's eyes were quite beautiful helping to accentuate the rest of her face. Behind her, Nat noted the slight movement of Leliana's stance, she had heard the question.

"I learnt at school" Nat replied calmly. Despite Valeyna being the one who wanted the answer, it was Leliana he knew that would get the most advantage of what he stated. The very implication of a school stated outright that his people had the infrastructure, buildings that were used for non-private affairs. Most assumedly Leliana would alert her people to look for large communal buildings for evidence of this claim.

"School" Valeyna stated softly as she wracked her head trying to remember what one was. She had never encountered one personally, but she had heard the term before and knew what it was. " I thought only the rich could afford to go there" Nat shook his head denying the claim.

"My people had free education up to the age of eighteen, this included reception, Primary and Secondary school alongside two years at college." At this point, Leliana was the most expressive one. The woman showed a very surprised look but that then turned to one of wonder as she could only imagine the opportunity for everyone to go to school.

"Eighteen" Valeyna nearly screamed "What about farms, your army, how did parents cope without having people to help them around? How many people died because they couldn't get food" Nat chuckled again shaking his head at the surprised woman. Oh, this next coming fact was going to blow her entire mind.

"It wasn't a problem, as time went on my people became very efficient in how they did things. Unfortunately, I can't give you any more details because I'm not a farmer" Behind Valeyna, Leliana gave a look of regret at the news. Most likely Nat thought the woman had wondered if he could bring such methods to the common people, doing so would likely mean that more people could have free time to do what they desired or to reduce starvation.

"In that case, what were you?" Valeyna wondered just what somebody of Nat's age would be doing. He had stated that he was a student, but that made her wonder just what exactly he had learnt in school.

"As I said, I was a student. I like everyone else my age, went to school five days a week from 9am to 3pm and learnt a multitude of subjects such as maths, science, English, geography, history, potions, charms, transfiguration, defence against the dark arts and a few other subjects. Depending on the student, they may take on other lessons such as art, I.C.T, ancient runes, Arithmancy, dance, music, performing art, photography, there was quite an abundance of things that we had to learn and others that we had a choice to educate ourselves on." Valeyna said nothing for a few moments instead she just looked at Nat as if he was some type of alien that had come from another world (both of which were true).

"You learned all of that?" She spoke astonished. "For free as in your people didn't have to pay for you to learn that?. I-" She gave a breath of disbelief at the sheer amazement of such a thing. If her people had that type of opportunity, she could only imagine how much of a better position that they would be in now. Like most others she knew how to count things, it was a basic useful skill but Nat was stating that he had been taught more than that. "Just how smart are you?"

"Smart is a pretty broad term, a person can be incredibly smart and able to use new tactics on a field of war, but they may not be smart enough to realise when a person is stalking them which is something along the line of street smarts. I wouldn't call myself smart, educated, yes but asking if I am smart is relative to not only which particular subject of study but also to other individuals. For instance, if I was to try and beat your clan's hunters searching for an animal without the use of magic, I wouldn't stand a chance."

"Right," Valeyna said slowly not entirely understanding why he was showing off his smartness with such words about the context of education rather than just stating that he was smarter than most people. "Well, it's good to know I have a smart person by my side." To the side, Leliana looked offended giving the blonde haired woman an amused look before it then increased as she realised that neither Cullen or Josephine had heard her comment. Nat shook his head. "So what do you think our next course of action should be?"

"Hitting Redcliff is a sensible move, if our enemy is an ancient magister from Tevinter, then I don't see the magister leaving a large disparate group of mages alone. As for attacking the Darkspawn, there's no point" Questioningly, Valeyna walked towards the map of Thedas that lay in the centre attempting to see where Nat's problem lay with her plan before she asked him to explain it to her. So far she could see nothing.

"What makes you say that the Darkspawn are just as much as a threat then demons"

"More so actually" Nat spoke unconcernedly with consequences of facing such an opponent as a darkspawn horde. His eyes moving again to Cullen and Leliana who were still debating whether or not Valeyna was the best pick as leader of the Inquisition. He shook his head, Cullen would come round to the decision soon enough. "Demons are somewhat easier, as soon as we find a rift you close it and we then deal with the rest of the enemy. In contrast, if we go searching for Darkspawn there is very little chance we can seal the pathways that they have been using to terrorise people. Should we divide our forces in some attempt to hold back the Darkspawn, then currently we leave both groups too vulnerable against an enemy attack."

"They would be cut down one by one" Nat nodded at the elf's reasoning.

"To give any proper defence against the Darkspawn hordes, we would need a strong army to kill any hoard and force them back to the Deeproads. Things like heavy dwarf doors will do the trick in the short term but they're expensive not to mention its not our job. Besides, the Inquisition is geared to fight an army of demons not Darkspawn and that has to be our focus on the matter. Once that is complete if it is truly a new blight we're facing then we can direct our attention on this new enemy."

"How would you deal with a possible Blight" Valeyna replied tersely not accepting Nat's opinion on the matter of what had to be their priorities.

"Before we can deal with any Blight, we need Grey Wardens. We can't get grey wardens because the Magister has set up a calling, therefore, any attempt to hold the Darkspawn back will be of no use. We hold the Darkspawn back and the demons will keep coming from the breach, if we fight the demons and close the rifts, then we can focus on only one enemy that is able to reproduce their numbers. Besides, we aren't going to be the only ones fighting. If we truly are dealing with both a Blight and demons, then the rest of Thedas is bound to raise their armies to confront the problem. In that scenario, it makes perfect sense for us to deal with the magister and for the Grey Wardens to deal with the Blight." Again Valeyna shook her head although far more harshly than this time. She still remembered the stories that the elves told when the clans met, she remembered how some of them had relayed the horrors of fighting those creatures for an uncaring human kingdom. They had told her how the blight acted like a disease spreading and infecting everything they touched, she knew just how dangerous such an enemy could be.

"And how many would die if we took such action? How many would you leave to the blight?" Unconsciously she raised her voice staring at him deeply silently challenging him as she stood straighter daring him to question her.

"Less than if we fight a two-front war," Nat replied shortly. "Yes the blight and the demons are connected by Red Lyrium, and yes the threat of another blight does exist in theory, and no we aren't entirely sure that an ancient Darkspawn magister is the one responsible for the attacks. All the same, we have to take action. If you've read anything about fighting the Darkspawn, then you will know that they are not easily defeated. How the Hero of Ferelden managed to stop the last blight in such a short time was a miracle for the nation, but that type of success is unrepeatable. If there is another blight, then there is the very real possibility that it could take years maybe even decades to quell. Combined with a possible demon army, and we have a small situation on our hands. Until we know more, our strategy has to be defeat in detail."

"He's right lady Herald" All eyes instantly landed upon Cullen who had seemingly overhead their conversation. He stared at Valeyna his eyes hardened as a million different thoughts raced through it. "If we do truly end up facing both a Blight and a demon army, then our first objective is to limit the size of their force to give us any breathing room. For that purpose, we need to focus on the Breach and the demon armies." Valeyna couldn't help but feel betrayed as Josephine and Leliana shared the same sentiments. She never for a moment doubted the logical movement of it, but she couldn't help but feel her body warm uncomfortably and her head felt light headed at the prospect of potentially leaving so many innocent people to die to the hands of such repulsive creatures. She could also see that all four of them perfectly agreed with her on the fact that they could be leaving thousands to be killed by Darkspawn, it showed on their faces that they held concern about such a thing. Well three of them did, Nat, as she had come to expect of him, was stoic in the thought of leaving thousands to die to face another enemy.

"I'm not entirely sure that there may even be a blight" Nat spoke quickly diverting the blonde elf back to him a silent hope glistening in her eyes before an indecisive look replaced them.

"But you said"

"There is the very high possibility that this new blight is all an elaborate ploy. These Darkspawn attacks and fake calling could be measures to try and cause fear among the Inquisition. If we fear another enemy, we may be forced to fight at a lower strength in the everlasting fear that another may appear. It would be a massive deception, a series of actions to make us believe that there could be another blight giving this Magister the time they need to gather strength by dividing recourses".

"That makes sense" Cullen looked at the map knowingly focusing his attention onto the storm coast where the Darkspawn had been seen. "It's not impossible to believe that the Darkspawn may have purely been coincidental in the first place. Besides, Darkspawn doesn't act that intelligently even when there is an Archdemon. By now we would have heard far more reports of attacks."

"I'm sure Orzammar would have reported if they were facing any sudden surge in Darkspawn activity in recent months, that could indicate the problem. Even if they haven't then we could still send an envoy just make sure. We could also be able to try and come to a conclusion about Lyrium at the same time, the question would be who to send." With an evil grin on her face, Leliana turned to the youngest member of the group. Nat resisted the urge to sigh, great he was going to go see the dwarves.

"What exactly are you expecting me to do?" Nat spoke incredulously making a pointed look to Leliana as if she was crazy. He was a politician, and a duellist not an ambassador not to mention the fact that he was still a child and would not be taken seriously. "Stand on a bridge and scream "You shall not pass" and hope everything goes well; or were you thinking along the lines of sneaking in and speaking in riddles". He spoke in a deadpan manner hoping that the current idea of sending him deep underground to meet short people and speak to the king would be thought over better.

"I'm sure you can keep them entertained enough" Leliana responded joyfully as she imagined the type of internal pain that Nat was feeling at the thought of having to present the Inquisition. If only he would squirm it would make for far better entertainment and blackmail. "You are educated which is more than most people could say and you are also the advisor to the Herald". It was at that point that Nat hated school more than he already had. Forget the annoying social bullshit that existed in school where you were forced to interact with people or the constant rumours that abounded faster than one could imagine or the constant threats whether political or social that constantly followed alongside a great other deal of reasons he disliked school. All of those points could easily be set aside, but not this, he was going to be an ambassador.

"You are" Josephine piped up in a merry fashion relieved that Nat actually knew how to win the social grace of others "That is great news. I wish you luck." Cullen also chuckled.

"Perhaps when this is all over, we'll have peace for our time" This time Nat audibly sighed before giving Cullen a look of utter defeat shaking his head. After a few moments, he returned his head so that it faced Cullen with an obviously fake smile that anyone could tell.

"Thank you, Cullen, on behalf of the entire world thank you for dooming us all. How would you like your reward, destruction of all major cities, minority groups to be placed in concentration camps, how about fighting to the death with no surrender or a sneak attack on a neutral nations naval base? Should I roll out the flags now and start sticking them everywhere or wait until vast amounts of people have died defending a lone city. Or would you prefer a mass set of famines, cities firebombed or just entirely erased off the face of the earth. All that can be arranged, just sign this form right here and we can have peace."

Slamming down the map that he had snatched up from the table, Nat stepped back pinching his nose and shaking his head. He had to say those fucking words. It was official now, everything that could go wrong was about to go wrong. Perhaps he should just leave in the night, board a ship sail east and never look back. That way he wouldn't have to deal with an army of demons and Darkspawn that were bound to take over the world since Cullen had the good tact to say those words.

"I don't understand, what's wrong with peace in our time?" Nat winced painfully. Quickly he turned to Leliana giving her a look that asked her to get Cullen to stop the shit he was attempting to do. Instead, Leliana did nothing likely also desiring to hear some more about the background of his people and how such a quote was taken in such a direction. Wanting to get any conversation over and done with, Nat explained the history.

"That phrase was spoken decades ago before the beginning of a major war with my people. Our leader at the time had been pursuing a policy of appeasement against one of the evilest tyrants in all of history. The man's intentions were noble, nobody wanted a war however nearly one year after, that agreement was null and void sending us on the path to a major conflict. With my people, to say such a phrase implies incompetence, naiveté, weak, and a prelude to mass death and destruction. You can say you want peace after the war, but never say what you did, doing so only tempts fate to bend you over and fuck you so hard up the ass that you won't ever walk again."

"This war" Valeyna spoke up her eyes burning with a morbid sense of curiosity at such a devastating war. "How bad was it?" How did one explain to a medieval person the sheer scope of modern war? He can tell them about modern weapons about the tactics that were used but it's simply incomprehensible to civilizations at this stage in their development. Roughly 60,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers had become casualties on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, that was probably anywhere between a full army to more than what a nation of Thedas could muster. That was one day. By the end of the battle, the British and Commonwealth casualties were at 420,000 casualties, the French at 200,00 and the Germans over 500,000. How does one explain to a group like them that over a million people died in one single battle? It was only made all the worse when one remembered that the Battle of the Somme was one battle on one front of one war.

"Let's just say that at the end of it, the entire social order had been changed". It would be so much easier if he could say that he was from a different planet and history, it would allow him to put more detail into his answers to state just how dangerous he could make the inquisition if he was given the time and recourses. Valeyna wanted to press on for more, to seek new answers to end the constant nagging that plagued her about her companions back-story, however, she didn't.

Despite Nat's calm attitude, there was a prevailing feeling from him that he was not to be asked questions that he would prefer for her to drop this matter. For the sake of her friend, understanding that the pain of having fought in a war and losing all he had ever known was still lingering on his mind like a parasite, Valeyna gave that respect to him.

"Anyway, Cullen have you decided on whether or not to make this woman here our leader officially" Instantly Cullen looked down finding his feet interesting all of a sudden refusing point blank to meet the eyes of the elf woman. "The longer we dawdle the longer we allow this possible magister to gather his forces, to corrupt the mages and deal us a devastating strike. We have to act"

"I agree that she would make a good leader, however, our supporters have to be shown that she is strong enough to lead. Had she been human and not a mage, we would have an easier time of things but until we show the rest of Thedas that we have a victory on our side then they will ignore us". Seeing that Cullen was feeling guilty over not supporting her outright, Valeyna motioned for the man to smile more causing him to relax where he was standing.

"So we need to accomplish something" Valeyna spoke quickly. "Could we get any credit if we convinced the mages to side with us"

"Yes," Josephine answered quickly. "If are able to prevent the chaos caused by the Mage-Templar war, then people will give you the time to meet with them. They will see you as an effective leader who is able to negotiate with large groups. They will want to exploit that"

"Not to mention the fact that we'd have an army of mages at our beck and call. I hardly see many nobles refusing to meet with us less they find their home in ashes"

"Only barbarians would resort to such treatment nobles" Scandalised, Josephine quickly spun her head around constantly as she took in the constant approaching looks of the other five members. "If we kill nobles, then we will lose any ability to speak with the Chantry"

Unfortunately, that is correct" With a disappointed sigh much to the horrified expression of Josephine, Leliana moved towards the table this time taking her turn to stare at the map as she pinpointed areas that required agents to be sent there. One of which was the tower that Varrick had mentioned. "That is for the future, for now, we should move on with our current plan. That is unless Lady Herald you have anything to discuss" Sensing her opportunity to escape such a dreary setting, Valeyna wasted no time and quickly said a few goodbyes to the other members of the inner council before dashing off into the freezing snow. Finally, she would be able to take a bath after so long.

"When you go to Orzamar" Leliana continued pointing her attention on to Nat.

"I'm aware, speak to the King and see if there are any hints of a new blight. Don't worry Leliana I can handle myself. If something changes, I'll make sure that you get a letter explaining what's happened. Now if you excuse me I have dinner to prepare" With stated, Nat also gave his courtesy goodbyes to the groups before then joining the elf and others outside.

"I don't like this, sending a child even one as powerful as him to Orzamar is a bad decision" Cullen spoke solemnly

"You heard him, he's hardly a boy. If he is educated, then that makes him far more useful to the Inquisition then just another solder. As a diplomat, he can also help to weaken our enemies." Arguing back, Leliana stared at Orzzamar her mind replaying through the most recent spy reports that came from that area.

"It's also safer for him, away from the frontlines" With a word from Josephine, Cullen relented.

"Very well but if something bad happens don't blame me" Leliana smiled reassuring him. All that Nat was to do was go to the Dwarven city in a few days and speak about lowering the price of Lyrium. If he failed, then he failed and if he succeeded then things were good all around. After all, Nat would be speaking to business and merchants, there was no need to panic about him getting involved with the Deep Roads.


	13. Chapter 13 A Calm Wind

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 13 A Calm Wind**

Blood, blood was everywhere. From the base of the mountain down to the small stream far off into the distance, the red liquid life force covered the ground in all direction's twinkling under a black sky missing the stars that would typically twinkle above like beautiful magical lights. Coming from all sides, Valeyna was unable to prevent the stench of decay from rotting flesh that emanated from the corpses that decorated the ground of what had once been the base of the Inquisition.

Fires burned mutely in the distance, their once mighty power having depleted with a lack of fuel leaving a trail of burnt black skeletal husks behind crawling almost pleading for mercy in now hollow eyes. She turned away from those bodies and returned instead to the rest of her surroundings her in complete horror.

The small wooden palisades had been entirely destroyed leaving at best a few small burnt wooden stumps in some places, whilst the others on opposite ends were nothing but ash that had been stomped on from heavy boots mixing in with the tainted blood snow. In the distance, more terror struck her as she gazed at what had been the location of their soldier's camps. Like the palisades that had been completely burnt down where they stood again leaving only a few small pieces of black smouldered wood where the main pole of a tent had been. All around these ruins of tents lay more dead soldiers only these were joined by another type of dead, demons.

There were a great many deal of dead demons she saw: rage, hunger, sloth, fear and other demons all joined the cacophony of those who had been killed in what Valeyna had assumed to be some sort of great battle. Only as she took in the sight further, the heavier she felt her chest grow. There were very few demons among the dead compared to the soldiers of the Inquisition. In fact, it appeared that there about twenty dead inquisition soldiers to each demon if not far more. Beside each cold demon corpse was more dead then she could have imagined. How had this happened she wondered, how had the Inquisition been so unprepared that they would be slaughtered against a hoard of demons?.

This place was now nothing but a dark grave and as a harsh wind blew past blowing her hair all over the place in a messy fashion, Valeyna found herself blinded for a few moments. Patting her hair down quickly with little care as to what it may appear like to others, Valeyna allowed her eyes to wander back to what was supposed to be the citadel of their small encampment.

What met her was an ugly sight. Besides the burnt crates, tents and other buildings leaving billowing black plumes of smoke high into the sky like tall stones marking the deaths of where a person had once stood, more blood, weapons and corpses of the deceased were sprayed around like toys thrown by a child. The old building that had once been their citadel standing tall on a raised platform had been brought low leaving nought but a pile of ruins that had cascaded onto those that had been below crushing their fragile bodies.

"Hello" She raised her staff clenching it tightly as she held it to her chest her eyes glancing quickly off every bit of terrain that she could see in the area around her. "Hello" She called again louder, hoping that there may be at least one person alive in the fallen ruins of this ruin. There was no response other than the echo of her own words, the soft sound as her clothing brushed against itself and the crunching of snow beneath her feet. "Is anyone there?. Nat, Leliana, Cullen, Josephine" The area continued to remain silent harbouring no revelation of a possible alive companion to her. "Please anyone, is there anyone here that is alive."

Panic began to set in as she continually heard no response. Desperate she tried, again and again, hoping to gain the attention of anyone or anything if it meant having an answer as to what had occurred. Only nothing happened, no demons rushed out to meet her and no soldiers groaned in pain and agony hopelessly clinging onto life for the chance that a healer might be nearby to save their lives.

With fear deepening further and further into her chest, she soon realised that all she could hear was the breeze of the wind as it smacked her lightly blowing in her ear. Nothing else was heard, no voices, no sounds of battle, no animals, no music the entire area of this place was dead with a heavy atmosphere of despair and destruction.

Immediately she knew she had to search for survivors if just one person had managed to live this long, then she could get some much-needed answers. Fixing her gaze back onto the citadel, she moved in that direction. If anyone had managed to survive the battle, then they would have been forced to pull back towards the old building. Perhaps if she was lucky, there might be someone left alive remaining within the rubble. It didn't take much to recognise that after such an attack, that any survivor would need urgent medical aid now forcing her to rush as fast as she could towards the rubble.

It wasn't a hard challenge, with the destruction of all the camp and its equipment, navigating an area like the camp was fairly easy. Where once tents had lined areas forcing her to dance and evade a group of servants who themselves were busying themselves as they moved between different masters, now there was only a clear pathway with only bodies providing any sort of obstacle. Moving over the bodies with a grim look on her, Valeyna continued to scan the area for any survivors when she stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing one particular corpse on the floor.

Her breath hitched as she approached the first soldier lying dead on the floor. He had been killed brutally; three long deep gashes stretched from end to end of the man's chest what little armour he had worn had been torn up into shreds. Pulling the man over from his side, Valeyna did her best to stop herself from vomiting as the man's internal organs spilt out of his chest cavity and onto the now rapidly turning red snow. Gently, she rubbed her finger across the man's breastplate. It had been cleaved in half, ripping it into two pieces and violating the image of a gryphon with outstretched wings.

"Blackwall" Her voice shivered slightly over the wind as her other hand moved to the man's cheeks inspecting his face. That too had been destroyed. Blackwall's once sharp features and handsome face guarded by a full thick beard now instead had entire chunks of flesh and muscle town asunder leaving the man's shattered skull for her to see clearly. She gulped, staying still for a few moments fighting the vomit that had nearly escaped her and forcing it down her throat gain with a shudder.

Placing the body gently back down into the snow, Valeyna moved forward her eyes continuing onto the other familiar dead bodies. Like ants when a person who had begun to flood their nest, Valeyna then soon began to take in the sight of ever more people she recognised in the field of corpses. Cassandra was the next one she saw, her head had been removed from its body and thrown elsewhere leaving only a scarred body drenched in the blood of demons and other monsters. She too had fallen to this menace of demons.

Soon after came none other than Cullen, his body had been stripped bare of its armour revealing a muscled chest with large powerful abs and a lot of holes all over the man that went so deep that Valeyna could actually see through him to the other side. Collapsing to her knees by the man, she tried to lay the man to rest from the awkward position he found himself in via being stretched in four directions and held there by inquisition spears that had been impaled straight through his arms and legs holding him there as if he was a prized pig.

"Varrick, Bull" She cried loudly again desperate for some kind of company any company. Her result was that she did find the bull, only he had been skewered through by a spear from his ass up to his mouth and was being twirled over a still hot fire having been presumably left unattended for a demon to cook him. What completed the grisly sight was the bright red apple that could only have been grown on the finest northern orchards had been shoved in his mouth like he was an animal.

Hanging her head low, she battled the urge to just collapse and cry instead pushing herself to the position where she managed to get to where the two thick oaken doors had stood and had now been replaced with rubble. She inspected the area, looking for anything that may indicate the presence of one of her companions or friends. She hoped that perhaps one of them may be injured and trapped under the rubble. However the more she looked the more she saw nothing but blocks of stone that had been torn down on those on top of them.

Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of a pair of shoes in the distance. Clambering over the dusty rocks, she jumped over to where she had seen them only for her heart to feel like it had been pulled out of her chest. Those shoes weren't any random pair of shoes, they were expensive, shoes, the type that was impractical for real life day to day activities and incredibly expensive. They were the type of shoes that only a person who had the upbringing of a rich family could afford to lose. Reluctantly she approached and saw that they were still attached to a set of chocolate covered legs that went under a large piece of rubble.

"No" She whispered to herself. Turning around, a sense of dread filled her even more. If Josephine was dead inside the building, how many of the others hand survived or were trapped in the dungeons below. Did they have enough air down there to breathe, what about food and water. A sudden squawk from a bird averted her gaze upwards, ravens she figured. They were here to feed on the corpses of the deceased.

Once raced down towards her seemingly catching sight of either the alive target or the feet of Josephine which could be eaten or consumed. Not wasting a moment, she directed her staff upwards called forth the power of the fade and unleashed a blast of blazing orange fire into the black sky incinerating the bird into ashes. Seeing the fate of their brethren, the other ravens swooped down but once more Valeyna was faster and summoned a small storm of lightning. Crashing heavily into the area around her, the Ravens were promptly picked off one by one charring their little black bodies mid-air forcing them to collapse straight down toward the ground smashing into a bloody pulp by the force of their impact.

With the area free of demonic birds who wanted to eat the remains of her friends and companions. The elf returned back to the business of looking for her friends. Quickly she moved towards the area that the underground passage was kept and stood well clear. She concentrated her magical power on the rubble, enveloping it in a green light of magical power before then lifting her hand up forcefully as if she was physically lifting the large rock. At her command, the piece of rubble followed levitating itself off the ground with small chunks of rubble falling off and striking the cracked stone floor beneath with a set of loud noises. With the stone now hovering in the air, Valeyna gave as push with her magic sending the piece of rubble flying through the air before colliding heavily with what had once been her small shack. She then repeated this pattern with the other pieces of large rock that covered the entrance downstairs a further three more times until the entrance was easily clear allowing her access.

Descending down the stairs, Valeyna cast a spell resulting in her staff emitting a white warm glow enabling her to see more precisely what she was looking at. What waited for her, was ever more corpses of men only most hadn't been injured. Instead, corpses were huddled together clinging against one another for all dear life as they likely awaited for the air they breathed to run out and for them to meet their final resting place. Advancing forwards through the multiple underground rooms and tunnels, she came across more and more corpses all of whom had died due to a lack of air. Among them, she hated to say it was some of her companions including Vivienne who was hunched back against a wall her staff held limply in her hands and Sera who had died hunched over a small hole in the stone wall with a rock in her hands. She had tried to tunnel her way out of here. Then she came across Leliana who had died on her knees her hands clenched together for prayer and her hood had been removed entirely leaving her dark red hair to blow occasionally as a breeze swept through from above.

She continued to search the area after that for a few more minutes wondering if she would find the bodies of her other companions such as Nat, Solas and Varrick but ultimately they were nowhere to be seen. A new sense of hope sprang up in her chest, perhaps the Inquisition wasn't doomed after all and there was somebody who could help her fight against the demons. Rushing up and out of the tunnels, she was met back buy the cold harsh winds which had now started to turn to a blizzard.

Heavy snow was all the more prevalent already it was starting to lay over all the corpses so thick that not even the blood shone through hiding from sight all that had happened here. She felt cold as the wind whipped against her so harshly that if anyone had been watching, they would have been entirely unable to make out her figure. She knew she needed to find shelter, and briefly, she thought of hiding with the others down below. She shook her head admonishing that thought. If the others had died down there due to a lack of oxygen, then it would be the exacts same for her. Inspecting the rest of the area for someplace where she may take cover from the even encroaching wind ice and blistering hale, she soon found a set of deep snowy footprints ascending upwards into the mountains.

Shivering she grunted in pain as a chunk of hail at least the size of her hand smacked into her back knocking her down into the snow. She stayed there for a few moments, her fingers beginning to freeze painfully to the point that they became so numb that the pain vanished entirely. Had it been possible, she would have paled. She knew what happened during snow and ice when a person became very cold, they lost limbs, fingers and sometimes even people. She had to escape.

Grunting in exertion, she pulled herself up ignoring the screaming that her muscles were doing as they started to lock up. Back on her feet, she pulled herself up the mountain a few steps at a time while constantly being hammered by hail so large that if it continued, then she would certainly die.

Before she knew what happened, her head felt light and agonisingly painful. Closing her eyes briefly in reaction, she soon opened them again only to see that white surrounded her in all directions bar one. A dark crimson red painted the ground next to her. She blinked before her eyes widened once she recognised the blood and came to the conclusion of what was happening to her. She needed to stem the blood, use a healing spell and keep her alive.

She tried to raise an arm in front of her, but it was no use. She felt nothing from her arms, not the snow not her clothes there was just no sensation in her arm at all. She attempted to move the other but it was of no use, her arms were utterly numb as were her legs leaving her abandoned on the mountain. Soon all she heard was her laboured breathing and the sounds of roaring winds brushing waves of snow onto her covering her body entirely. Her vision also deteriorated until the point where all she saw was white and that was it. Finally, as an unknown amount of time had passed, the last thing that she knew was a strange powerful wolf howl in the distance before everything went black.

Like that the Herald of Andraste was simply one more corpse upon the Frost back mountains.

Haven

Racing up to her knees, Valeyna panted heavily her face pale and covered in sweat with her hair clinging onto her forehead. Her eyes searched the place she was in waiting for snow only there was none. It was warm where she was, directing her yes downwards she saw that she was naked. She blinked confusedly at first before she remembered. Quickly her breathing calmed.

Rubbing her thighs together, she felt a familiar wet sticky substance right where her flower would be.

"Now that was great" Behind her, a deep voice chuckled smugly. Turning around, she moaned half-heartedly as she saw the other member of this tent leering at her with hungry lust filled eyes. "What about your boss, how was your first time riding the bull?" Valeyna grinned at the handsome Qunari she was glad what she had awakened too. Bull was here behind her as naked as she was and completely unrepentant about his lack of state of dress. In fact, going by the way his body was reacting as it became firmer, she knew she was out of the previous nightmare and into the real world.

"That..." She breathed out her face happily flushing red as she remembered everything from the previous night. "Was fucking amazing" She cried out happily. Bull smirked from his position taking in the sight of the so-called Herald of Andraste. Her hair was a complete mess, strewn about backwards and like the rest of nubile and fit body was covered in splodges of white fluid.

"Good to hear I haven't lost my touch" Bull laughed raising his muscular grey arms into the small amount of free space he had between his arms and the cloth of the tent. "When the kid said that out had a bit of an appetite, I was expecting something small, three rounds at most" Valeyna pulled back a look of mock anger emblazoned on her face as she stared into the handsome qunari's face not caring in the slightest about how her chest jiggled by the fast movement.

"Three rounds is that it?. Someone has a high opinion of himself" Bull laughed even louder before reached out towards her and gripping her two arms tightly. Playfully Valeyna gave a kick to the man's groin, but it only seemed to awaken something primal within him. Forcefully, Bull brought one of the Heralds petite arms into his other hand ensuring that with one single grip he prevented the woman from any type of movement or summoning magic. Then using his large frame and weight he pushed her down her arms still held by his beneath him leaving her entirely at his mercy.

"Oh, do you think you can go for longer?" Bull taunted bring his mouth closer to the woman's chest stopping just before he actually touched anything. "After the ninth round, you were just a wreck, one constant moan as you squeezed around me." Valeyna gave a sultry moan as Bull then moved his other hand up her exposed thigh and between her legs.

"I was tired last night" She smirked back her breath faltering as she knew what was about to come. All over she could feel her body heating up and an inescapable desire to delve into the lust that was overtaking her. "I want to see just how good this bull is" Sultrily she moved her head so she was next to bulls ear and blew warmly into it ticking his eardrum and taking great delight in the way he squirmed.

"Oh, I doubt that. Only one of the girls back in Par Vollen could sate me. And you're no Par Vollen" Valeyna purred at the challenge presented to her quickly she moved her head up to try and blow into the man's ear again only Bull gripped her face and held it there. "Now you be a good girl and stay like this while I get the rope" More moaning at the suggestion.

"No, I'm better then they are" Bull raises his eyebrow saying nothing as he leaned back slightly feeling around for the piece of rope that he carried around. It didn't take long to find it. Presenting it in front of the elf, he gave a quick tug giving an indicator to the woman just what she was in for only he smiled as she shivered and then began to squirm.

"Why don't you show me how good you are then"

"How about you make me your little toy and find out" Bull laughed more leering at the woman before gripping the two arms and started tying them tightly ignoring the melodious sound that the woman under him made as he did so.

"When I'm finished with you, you'll never find anyone who can do what I did "Feeling the ropes tight around her arms Valeyna gave a sultry look before she kicked him back.

"Shut up and fuck me"

Haven

"Dear Merlin, what happened to you lot?" Walking into the tavern, Nat who was as ever fully fresh and never showing a single instance of tiredness at all came across the rather different sight of a half dead looking set of inner council members consisting of Varrick, Solas, Blackwall and Cassandra. All of them were currently nursing drinks in their hands and all of them appeared like they were about to collapse at any moment. With them all leaning on the table so heavily, Nat was thinking of perhaps starting up a betting pool to see just how long it collapses and made the lot of them look like complete idiots.

It took a few moments to get a response although Nat was more sure of the fact that they were half dead as they lingered on hate precipice of sleep than trying to ignore him. Eventually, it was Cassandra who came to his aid by slowly sitting up straight her bleary eyes focusing on the young man who was standing to the side of them.

"The Herald and The Iron Bull got together last night for" She blushed bright red at the thought stammering as she tried to continue the sentence but for the life of her, she just stuttered repeatedly. "They, they. Oh, dear Maker "She slammed her head back onto the table clenching her eyes shut in a desperate attempt to catch some form of sleep.

"They what played monopoly?." Oh, he knew exactly what she meant, it wasn't hard to miss the looks that the elf and qunari had given in that room. As for why he was torturing the poor sods, well he was bored. Cullen was running his recruit through training whilst Elyria was taught bland magic by her teacher while he personally stayed up all night at the forge toling away for hours as he crafted his first ever set of his new weapons. When Valeyna had stated about leaving in three days, she had meant that all of them would leave in three days for their respective tasks. Therefore with any luck, he could have a functioning musket by the time he left for the infamous land of the Dwarves.

"I don't know what having an advantage over all your opponents in a business has to do with anything kid, but not they were not playing monopoly" Varrick responded dryly. With a heave, he managed to pull himself back up his chair and bring the wooden flask of ale to his lips and began gulping down his eyes never once leaving the inside of the barrel. "Andraste's tits I thought Hawke was loud".

"Don't take the ladies name in vain" Cassandra slurred. Her head lifted briefly off the table to get the point across before slamming it back down with a loud bang.

"Remind me to move my tent, I'm not sleeping anywhere near those two. Makers Breath how did they even do it, felt like my nuts were in a blizzard" Blackwall shivered at the reminder of the temperature. Although an observant person would have noticed that walking around in only a thin linen shirt probably wasn't the best idea but so far Blackwall didn't seem to care. Turning his gaze onto the painfully calm and unaffected voice, the fake Grey Warden rested his eyes on the young man who had approached them.

"May I ask why you were storing nut's, you're not a squirrel?" Nat inquired. A horrified look spread across the man's face as he heard the calm but also slightly curious and innocent tone. Reluctantly, the man gripped his drink and closed his eyes briefly hoping that the pain nagging his mind would start to dissipate long enough for him to ask a question.

"Kid you do know what happens between a man and a woman; you know how babies are made?" Nat smirked evilly internally. This was going to be so much fun.

"Of course I do. When a man and a woman love each other and they want a child, then they write a letter to Santa Christmas and send it off by an Owl. If the man and woman have been good boys and girls, then Santa will personally create a baby by making them first of pottery and then casting magic on them to make them real. Once that's over, Santa puts the baby in a small white bag and hand's it over to the owl who then flies it back to the man and woman. Of course, because it's such powerful and complicated magic, Santa needs around nine months per baby. As such because of the stress, he's under he often makes mistakes which are how people who are blind or death get born". Finishing with a childlike smile, Nat waited for the inevitable reaction from the others. It didn't take long.

Blackwall stalled where he was the tankard that had been in his hand making its way to his lips had also stopped moving entirely as the man slowly stared at the wizard with a sense of abject horror. Cassandra, on the other hand, gave a loud groan smacking her head against the table once more entirely not liking where this conversation was going to inevitably end up. Solas watched on in silent amusement already seeing through the lies whereas Varrick gave the kid an incredulous look not quite believing him but decided to press on anyway.

"Nice try kid, but why don't you tell us how kids are really made" Another groan emanated from Cassandra causing Varrick to turn towards her with a gift of a happily amused smirk.

"But I did" Nat kept up the innocent childlike tone his face far more expressive than it normally was with him furrowing his eyes. "Babies come from Santa and owls" Varrick's face dropped also in a sense of horror. With wide eyes, the dwarf realised that Nat wasn't joking. Darting his eyes towards the others, he saw that Cassandra was still nursing her head, Solas was sipping his drink and only Blackwall had the same reaction to him.

"Alright kid, stop the jokes" Blackwall warned Nat cautiously but he was unable to hide the uncomfortable feeling that had formed within him. "If you behave then we can carry on talking otherwise..." He paused not knowing exactly what to say.

"Otherwise Blackwall will have to enlighten you on how the world works" Solas chirped in happily. Blackwall glared back at the happy elf man but soon found himself outnumbered as Varrick also joined the fray in pinning him into a corner.

"Hey, that isn't my responsibility" He argued.

"Wait if Santa and Owls don't make babies, what does" The pained face that Blackwall made that day would be one to be treasured by everyone else there.

"Go on Hero. It's the duty of the Grey Wardens to help people isn't it." With Varrick's amused tone playing in his ear, the fake Grey Warden pried the dark wooden tankard from the Seekers fingers before then downing the entire thing in one go before finally facing the kid.

"Look, kid, how do I put it. You see babies aren't made by birds and" The man blinked trying to remember the name.

"Santa?"

"Yes, Santa" Blackwall shook his head. "You see babies are made when a man and a woman Uhm. Do I really have to do this? cant one of you two do it?" Solas and Varrick grinned evilly at the misfortune that Blackwall had been subjugated to. "I'm going to get payback for this one day"

"Promises promises Hero. Now, why don't you be a good Grey Warden and teach the kid the necessary facts of life". Blackwall shook his head once more returning to the uncomfortable task that had been laid before him.

"You see kid, do you know that thing between your legs" By now Blackwall had turned as red as a cherry. "That's called a..." Blackwall slammed down the tankard unable to go on anymore. Varrick burst into laughter.

"Yes Blackwall I am aware of the birds and the bees, I just thought it would be fun to fuck with you". There was no sigh of relief from Blackwall, only stunned silence as he moved the focus of attention to each person sitting around the table or well tried to when it came to Cassandra only to come across the sight of people mocking him. Soon after, Cassandra again managed to push herself back onto the chair giving Nat a drunk but admirable look.

"That was evil " She slurred. "Very evil. Do it again." Nat nodded returning his fake merry face back to its usual calm one as he made himself comfortable on the spare seat provided and again started to take a sip of his tea.

"Say kid care to explain why you're always drinking tea.?" With a change of topic, Blackwall started to calm down with his usual slightly tanned skin coming back through. Locking his eyes onto the kids, cup with that strange herbal drink, he could honestly say that he was also curious about the kid's apparent obsession.

"It's just normal," Nat responded. "It's like Orlesians and their masks, it's just what happens, a common thing that nobody thinks twice about. Back home people just drank tea. In fact, it was generally seen as part of my people as an intrinsic part of our culture." Varrick nodded.

"Surely you drank something else during the summer," Blackwall asked. Nat shook his head.

"Just tea"

"But it's hot"

"Only tea"

"There are no other drinks?" Solas questioned.

"Only tea"

"But what if a person doesn't like tea," Cassandra asked the blonde haired mage.

"Then the weak die."

Coughing loudly, Cassandra smacked her chest hard with a loud thumping nose doing her best to help the passage of whatever had clogged up in her throat. After the third hit, she was able to solve the problem by allowing her to gaze onto an amused Varrick who was staring at the kid in amusement.

"Seriously Kid, you drink tea even during summer when it's ridiculously hot" Nat gave a mock offended look at the question leaning back as if the dwarf was some kind of filth that he had no desire to be even close to.

"What do you take me for, some kind of uncultured barbarian. Tea is the symbol of sophistication, power, civilization. To not like tea is... inexcusable" It was quite fun playing this role Nat thought, perhaps in the future he should do it more. Apparently, he was so convincing that Blackwall was off the opinion that he was being serious.

"So what happens when a person takes away your tea" Nat froze in place. Slowly he turned his gaze creeping forwards onto the Dwarf who had mentioned such a horrific scenario. This time he was not joking if anyone was to touch his supply of tea. He repressed the shiver, nobody touched his tea.

"Then I would do what my people did the last time someone threatened our tea" Blackwall backed up a bit his senses warning him all of a sudden that the joking kid was now actually be serious. And that look on the kids face, it was if a mage had unleashed a powerful whirlwind that was about ready to devastate the entire encampment. "I will grow drugs get those who would dare to threaten my tea hooked on it, devastate their entire community before declaring war and humiliating them to the point that they shall not only forever remember the date that they dared to challenge my people, but also decimate their pathetic nation and grind it to dust. No one fucks with my tea."

"Okay," Cassandra blanched at the sheer protectiveness that their youngest member had over a simple drink. Absently she peered at the cup of tea that was sitting on the table innocently by the young wizard. After more than three seconds, however, Nat turned his attention onto her narrowing his eyes even though Cassandra couldn't see them. Backing off, Cassandra made a not never to mess with the kids tea.

"Andraste's tits Kid. I've seen people attack each other over a few gold coins but I can't say that I've seen anyone as protective as you about a few herbs and some hot water." The glared Varrick received also got him to back down.

"Insult tea at your peril" Nat warned picking up the cup and taking a nice long drink. Dear Merlin, he was glad that alongside other things that he had this one luxury with him. He could brave going this world without a comfortable bed or a working toilet or even toilet paper or the internet and electricity, but there wasn't a chance he would survive without tea calming him down 24/7.

"Anyway," Nat spoke louder causing Cassandra to grip her head in pain once more. "So you were saying that Bull and Valeyna were at it last night. Just how active were they if you didn't get any sleep?" At the mention of the precious nights incident, the others all groaned.

"I've travelled a good chunk of Thedas, heard and seen some strange things" Blackwall began solemnly his eyes staring off into the distance. "And not one of them have been as loud as those two were last night. Every moan, slap and thrust those two made could have been heard for miles. Which leads me to ask the question, how were you not aware of what happened. Your tent is right next to Bulls so how did you escape the endless torture?"

Everyone honed onto the young wizard who had somehow managed to escape the loud moaning noises from the night prior. Their suspicious looks Nat knew were more to do with envy than they were about any general suspicion about him being some kind of spy.

"I wasn't in my tent" Nat replied casually. "Things have a tendency to get rather loud so I regularly stay away from the main camp to read when I don't have anything to do"

"They were up nearly all night, surely you would have heard them" Cassandra replied not convinced that Nat had managed to avoid the rather vocal lovemaking that the two had gotten up to.

"No, I stayed up all night, just walked in" Varrick raised an eyebrow but didn't seem to care whereas Cassandra and Blackwall looked at the kid in concern inspecting him as if he was about to collapse at a moment's notice much to Nat's annoyance.

"You stayed up all night kid, what about sleep?" Nat shook his head taking another sip of his drink not concerned in the slightest about any damage that could be done to his health.

"I do it regularly." He responded much to the horror of the others as if he was some child that needed to be coddled when he could easily slaughter everyone who sat at this table beside perhaps Solas in less than a heartbeat. "My mind is constantly racing through ideas, makes it difficult to sleep most of the time. When I was younger I had to drug myself most nights but I got used to that rather quickly. Nowadays, I just let exhaustion do the work"

"How can you brush it aside so easily" Cassandra looked to the rest of her table also noting the rather pained looks that the others got at the mention of having so little sleep. With what they had to do on a regular basis, sleep was one of the most beloved things so to willingly go days awake without sleep was almost insane. "I've seen recruits who collapse after a short amount of training, but you say that you sleep far less then you should. Tell me that you are not affected by it. " Nat took a sip of tea not bothered or hindered by the previous night's lack of sleep.

"I'm perfectly fine Cassandra, you don't need to worry about me just keeling over. Besides, before I had tests back when I was in school, I usually went the full week before without any sleep. Afterwards, I'd just have a little bit more the following few days." Cassandra said nothing, she at first thought to stand up slam her arms on the table and command the boy to act normally and sleep especially at this time of his life and when he could get it. On the other hand, she didn't. A feeling in her gut told her that the boy would ignore any order to do so forcing her to sigh in discontent occasionally giving him looks as if he was ill.

"Well, Kid I wish I could get away with what little sleep you had, however, the rest of us are normal adults, unfortunately. But in the meantime, tell us about this school you went to? That is unless either of you two has anything to say on the kids sleeping habits" Both Blackwall and Solas said nothing allowing for Nat to carry on with his talking and explain this school that he had attended.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" Though he insured to hide it behind his usual calm none emotional tone, he could honestly say that he was missing the place where he was taught a good chunk of the magic he knew and especially the fond memories he had shared with a particular professor. "It was founded the date that my people came to these shores over a thousand years ago to teach us how to use our power."

"Why were you're people in need of a school?" Solas leaned forward now very curious s to how exactly these people had taught the young people on magic.

"Because people had live's" Nat replied with fake amusement. Seeing that Solas hadn't laughed, the blonde haired wizard resisted the urge to roll his eyes before addressing the point. "There was more to our society than just child rearing, as soon as we were old enough, our caretakers would ship us off to Hogwarts for the majority of the year. Once we arrived we were our teacher's problems until it came to the holidays or we graduated."

Ah, how he missed that beautiful train that had taken them to that lovely castle. The beautiful Scottish Highlands, the shimmering lake beside it and the magnificence of the stone castle that lat upon the land strong, mighty and intimidating all that was within sight. If there was one thing that like all other students of that grand old fortress remembered, it was their first viewing of the place. Beautiful golden lights shining brightly like little fairies under a dazzling starlit sky. Hopefully, he would see it again, he missed the place.

"Ship you off" Blackwall sounded scandalised. "Like some kind of unwanted item," Nat shook his head.

"It's a figure of speech Blackwall. Nearly everyone's parents were too busy with work to teach us brats, and the general consensus amongst the public was that by having the school separate from the main area it protected the society" Speaking softly to try and calm the man, Nat could only imagine that the thought of children just willingly putting all of their children on a boat and sending them away for a good chunk of the year was considered very poor parenting.

"Why would they do such a thing, wouldn't the more intelligent decision be to keep the children closer to home" Cassandra spoke curiously wondering just how differently this magical society worked compared to their own circles.

"I believe I can guess Seeker" Solas Interrupted the woman before turning towards the young man."Besides the peace and quiet, I assume that it was also to teach the children a sense of independence, make sure that they can act alone if the need should ever arise."

"Yes. Although having a bunch of young untrained wizards and witches who are constantly casting spells 24/7 isn't a good idea for social cohesion. Isolation of young wizards and witches prevented any outside group like your Templars and Seekers from finding excess magic." Gesturing towards Cassandra at the mention of her order, the woman frowned not entirely convinced that the Templar's being aware of who they were being a bad idea.

"Yes, if we had off found you, then we likely would have demanded that you split up and become part of the Circles"

"Which would have caused a war" Nat spoke brightly as he saw the blanched face that Cassandra gave at the very mention of such an activity. Solas on the meanwhile got his approval as the man showed his agreement with such an action by the knowing nod.

"Why would it have had to end in such a way, I'm sure there could have been a compromise" unable to help himself, Nat gave a slight chuckle at the words of the Seeker. She meant well and her actions were understandable from her perspective of the world, but it was a truly nonsensical idea.

"Sure, you leave us alone, you don't send missionaries to spread your religion, you do not arrest any of us if we were to visit and Templars would never visit. Oh, and our society would stay the exact same way." The look Blackwall gave was truly fantastic Nat thought. The way the man's eyes had furrowed as if he was attempting to understand something complicated like he had rocket science explained to him.

"That's hardly a compromise" Cassandra drawled her eyes tightening on Nat as he sat there with a calm expression on his face. "What would the Chantry get in return?" Nat smiled happily turning to face the Seeker head on. Although she could not see his eyes, there was a sense of happy malice directed at her. Then utterly without a care, he answered.

"Simple" Nat shrugged. "We don't wipe you off the face of the planet"

"I'm sorry, are you saying that in return for the Chantry leaving your people alone, that yours wouldn't have gone around killing us" Cassandra spoke incredulously not entirely believing that such a person would threaten such an action. "You would have been slaughtered, your civilization destroyed." Nat just chuckled once more not at all convinced by Cassandra's point. She could sing the praises of the Chantry and its group to the moon and back it meant nothing to him.

"Cassandra, just over a decade ago there was fierce social division over a certain political policy that split the nation. One of the main driving forces for some people on one side was the feeling of a loss of sovereignty. Compared to what you're saying, that was a small thing. Believe me, when I say that had your people attempted to subjugate ours, you would have had the fight of your life." As much as he had wanted to, Nat made sure to not give hint to a certain capability that his and a few other nations held in the world. Had he implied something along the lines of wiping Thedas of the continent, then there would be a bit of a panic with people like Leliana.

"You would have lost eventually" Had it not been for the education he had received, Nat might have spat out his tea at the mere assumption that the Templars could have stood up against the witches and wizards back home.

"Perhaps, but trust me when I say that the casualties of such a war would have exceeded any blight" Cassandra narrowed her eyes at the boy attempting to see if he was joking about such a scenario. He was aware that Templars nullified magic and that Mages only had limited range. Then again she thought back to when they had visited the Hinterlands and fought those Templars. The power of Magic was indeed strong with only exceptional warriors and rogues being able to fight them in the open, however, Nat had shown a certain deadliness to his attacks. If all his people could fight like him, could easily cut down entire legions of Templars so easily as if they were dead flowers and leaves against a forest fire? She frowned solemnly, the casualties would indeed be tremendous.

"Maybe?." She ended the conversation not sure of her words.

"You said you were taught magic" Solas interrupted looking at the child with a curious gaze. "Just how exactly did your people categorise spells."

"It depends, we've had different ways to sort them over the years. We do have our healing spells and our combat spells and other types of spells however our classes were split between three main groups, each one going over a different type."

"Only three" Solas sounded astonished.

"Charms, Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts or DADA for short. Charms are daily purpose spells, making things fly or move. Transfiguration is turning one item into another such as a hamster into a penguin. DADA, on the other hand, is more combat oriented, self-defence." While it was only a very brief overview of what each class was, Nat was sure that it did tell them just how their time was divided and what exactly they were trained in.

"DADA, that's where you learned about demons isn't it"

"Demons were part of it, but they were not the focus. Most of the time, Defence was geared towards defending ourselves against one another." A dark and concerned look was prominent on the Seekers face.

"How could you say that demons were not the focus of your schooling? Did you not teach your students just how dangerous it was to speak and interact with demons?" She asked quickly her eyes lingering on his form as if he himself was a demon and was merely taking the guise of a human.

"A few reasons" Nat started hoping to nip this in the bud before any apparent concerns of him being possessed got any were allowed to continue. "One, demons just weren't a threat, we hadn't had an incident with demons in several centuries." That one caught surprise although the curious look on Varrick indicated that the man might pester him for stories on the last time they had to deal with demons. "Two, we had far stricter rules then your Templars did when it came to demons"

"What exactly did you do then?"

"By our laws, anyone interacting with a demon in a willing manner whatsoever was executed" Solas shook his bald head in the air at the announcement as if he was an adult with a child who had just made a terrible mistake.

"What counted as willing" With a sense of morbid fascination, Cassandra pushed the topic desiring to know more.

"Unwilling, was if you enter the fade and are accosted by a demon. By our law, you are to do everything in your power to return back to the real world make no agreement with a demon, not to risk possession and to instantly report the incident to the proper authorities. Failure to report your interaction with demons was met with execution".

"Ouch and I thought Templars were bad when it came to demons" Joking, Varrick expected to be met with some kind of rebuttal from Cassandra but oddly she didn't even bother to send a glare her way.

"What if you wanted to save someone like a person who had been possessed"

"Now that is a good one Hero."

"Execution. We did not suffer the risk of demons entering our community" Taking another sip of tea, Nat briefly looked through the slightly ajar windows into the sky where the light of sickly green coiled constantly like some kind of giant evil snake circling the sky neverendingly. True demons like Dementors were very rare, but all the same, they were feared back home to the point that such harsh rules had been put in place. Demons here were different, far more common then he desired to be as were mages interaction with them however that was just the sort of world it was and he was glad that he had yet to not suffer the wrath of something like Dementors. He resisted the shiver, just the very thought of coming up close to one in person terrified him.

"Is that how your people would have handled Feynriel, you would have killed him". It was Solas who asked the question and for a moment Nat had to wonder who this person was before he remembered the name from Varricks book about the champion. Feynriel had been a very powerful elf mage who was something called a dreamer which gave him the ability to enter the Fade far more easily and increase his power. It also made the elf boy far more susceptible to the corruption of a demon. Hawke had sent the boy away to Tevinter to be trained, personally, Nat thought it was a terrible decision.

"Not immediately, however, if the boy continued to show signs that he was unable to resist the Demons, then he would have been sent away to a secure place to live out the rest of his life until he was taken over. Then when Feynriel was no more, the demon that took his place would be executed" The sombre attitude that fell upon the group thickened. Two different views on such an act were given, one which was given by Varrick and Solas as they agreed softly while Cassandra and Blackwall were off a different matter.

"You would allow such a man to live? Despite the threat, he could present to the rest of your people?" Nat turned to Blackwall, the man showed his concern with the very thought that for a people who would seemingly execute people for interacting with mages, that they would allow one of the most powerful types of mages who had been possessed to be allowed to live.

"Feynriel would have committed no crime, he was at risk and would have fallen yes, but it is not illegal to be possessed against ones will. Therefore in the boys final days, he should be allowed to live as best as he could before the end, give him something to enjoy before the time came. That is unless the boy asked to be killed while he was still him and not the host of a demon."

"A small mercy" Solas spoke softly. "You're people would wish him to enjoy life while he could and have it end on his terms. I respect such a decision" Blackwall scoffed loudly.

"Why not make the kid tranquil, that way the kid gets to live and the demon stays back in the Fade" Nat repressed another shiver as he looked Blackwall in his eyes staring him down.

"Among my people, Tranquillity would be viewed as a punishment worse than death itself. The act of barbarians, uncultured swine, evil. If one of my people were made tranquil without first committing a crime of the highest possible order, then the ones who would have carried out and sentenced such a deed would have had their bodies hung drawn and quartered, their heads placed on a spike and their names forever etched as one of the worst criminals of all time."

"You'll have to explain how being tranquil is worse than being dead?" Blackwall spoke slowly. He didn't know why, but there was a change to the demeanour of the young man. Gone was the calm slightly happy feeling in the air like that of a summer day and was instead replaced with Winters blizzard. Calm yet so cold that it was as if he was about to be enveloped in an avalanche and suffocated to death

"Magic to my people is a fundamental part of who we were. It was part of our daily lives how we did things it was second nature. To us Magic was another hand or leg, it was what made us, us, and to lose such a thing would be akin to me cutting off a person's arm. When people say tranquillity is the better choice as it prevents a mage from being taken over a demon or using their powers for ill, it's like me looking at a young man or woman and seeing that in the future they might murder someone and so to stop that I should cut their arm off."

"It isn't like that" Cassandra rebutted loudly her eyes steely at the implication given "Magic isn't another arm, magic is dangerous, it can and does kill people. It is known that magic is affected by emotions, if a child is feeling angry then they may use it accidentally on another child and kill them. "

"As could a child pick up a stone and bash a person's skull in if they were in a foul enough mood."

"A mage can easily kill an entire village if they desire to. Their power is dangerous"

"And could not a Templar do the same? A man dressed in full armour with a sword and shield has little to fear from pitchfork wearing villagers."

"Well yes"Blackwall fiddled with one of the leather straps on his armour playing with it for a few moments before it tightened in his hand. "But having magic makes it a lot easier."

"He makes a point kid, very few warriors can take on a village by themselves." Oddly as the conversation progressed, Nat couldn't help but again be thought of home again only instead of sitting around with people, he would rather be reclining in a chair likely discussing the issue of gun control with some stranger on the internet. It was quite fun.

"True having magic makes it an easier task, but so does a sword or a spear."

"Anyone can pick up a weapon just as they can put them down. Magic is not something that can be gotten rid off" Waving over the bartender, Varrick quickly ordered another set of drinks for the group seeing as all but Nat had finished before then returning his attention back onto Cassandra.

"Another excellent point." Nat gestured his cup of tea to Cassandra as a toast before then leaning back on his chair making himself comfortable. "As you said a sword can be picked up or put down, that makes anyone who carries it a person who has knowingly and willingly picked up such a device and has the responsibility to use it. Magic, on the other hand, is a gift, one that can only be chosen to not be used. You can't put down magic like I said before it would be choosing to put down your arm."

Cassandra groaned at the analogy hitting her arm against the table before peering back to where the bartender was hoping that at any moment he would come back and serve them their drinks. Only when he did come back with multiple cups of ale did she speak.

"So then how would you reduce the risk of mages using their power kid" With a friendly nod to the bartender, Varrick picked up the last two tankards of ale putting one in front of him and then one in front of the kid. Instantly and far faster then expected, Nat pushed the tankard away from him towards the middle of the table before rushing back flinching as if he had been scolded by the drink. "You're not going to drink kid?"

"I prefer to keep a clear and sharp mind; alcohol is rather detrimental to that. Oh and I also despise the taste" Even though he was unable to see the kids eyes, Varrick noticed that for a few moments that the kid seemed to stare at the tankard in the centre as if he was concerned that it was going to come alive and attack people.

"Oh is that so" Blackwall stared at the odd reaction the kid had to the tankard, he had seen kids less than half his age easily drink the liquid yet the kid was very rapid in staying away from it. "I can give you the name of a good few taverns to visit if you would be interested".

"I'll decline thank you Blackwall."

"Suit yourself kid"

"Is there a particular reason for dislike of alcohol" Solas inquired carefully.

"I have tasted Ale, Beer, Bitter, Lager, Cider, Champagne, Vodka, Whisky, Scotch, Mead, Wine, Sake, Brandy, Rum, Gin and many other drinks." Varrick nearly spat out his drink staring at the kid in a look of utter wonderment.

"How many drinks did you people make?"

"Do you have any with you" Chimed Blackwall a hopeful look on his glowing red face.

"Don't know and No" Nat answered swiftly. He cared not for such drinks and would rather be away from them as quickly as possible. "Do you know what every single drink has in common?"

"That I want to try them" Varrick spoke cheerfully a look of interest in his eyes at the idea of having so many drinks that he could choose to drink from. Perhaps if the kid could make some of them, he might buy the recipe and start making it on the side.

"That they're all utterly revolting. I would not drink alcohol if it was the last drink on earth." Honestly, if it hadn't been for the fact that other people were present, at this point Nat would have vanished the entire drink or more realistically just poured it on the ground. He would not lament the actions of his fellow members of the Inquisition about drinking such liquids, alcohol was safer than water in this time frame and it was not up to him to either force or not force something down their throats. Subconsciously he rubbed the bottom of his throat at the memory of when he had "tasted" such concoctions.

"Then what do you drink if you want to forget your problems or get happy."

"What do you think?"

"Say, kid, you wouldn't happen to know how to make one of those drinks you mentioned would you" Nat shook his head quickly as he was unable to talk as hid tea consumption had tripled three times since starting this conversation on alcohol. "That's a shame."

"Hardly, considering that our stuff was a lot stronger than this, then you can already start to see the problem".

"Problem" Varrick spoke up louder his arms extended in a gesture of amusement as he gave the bartender another nod for another round of drinks before then snatching up the drink that Nat had left behind and drunk the entire thing in one go. "Drinking is fun, drinking could never be a problem. How did your people who have so many drinks hate drinking"

"They didn't hate drinking, I hate drinking." Nat was unsure of how many drinks the dwarf had now consumed, but Nat was rather glad when a few moments later, none other than Gerald walked into the bar. Nobody bar him, however, paid the lad any attention making it instantly easy for the young wizard to stand up rapidly and give the rest of the group who had been sitting at the table a quick farewell before making a rendezvous with his soldier.

"Gerald good morning glad to see that you got my note. Now come with me" Not waiting for a response, he rushed out of the building with the older boy trailing behind him struggling slightly to keep up with his bigger pace as they weaved in and out of the camp. At his pace, escaping the camp was a very short affair but that only then began a rather unexpected hike for the young lad as Nat promptly marched him up some very steep snowy steps that had been crafted long ago into the side of the mountains.

"Sir, where are we going?" Slightly tired by the fast pace, Gerald leaned against a wall resisting the urge to shiver as he felt a piece of snow from a higher piece of rock fall down and land between his back and shirt that he was wearing. Before he could shout at the sudden sensation, the boy was instantly handed over what he assumed to be a small towel of some kind. Although he didn't know for sure as it was far to clean but not quite elaborate enough to be the ones he had seen on occasion when he spied upon a noble lady visiting Denerim.

"I have a present for you, Gerald. I spent the whole of last night and the early hours of this morning in the blacksmith just for you." Not saying a word more, Nat quickly hastened down a few of the steps that were separating him from Gerald and gave him a checkup wanting to make sure that the boy had not somehow gotten injured or was feeling ill.

"A present" The boy spoke up suddenly as he looked over at the one who was checking him over. Quickly Nat moved away glad of the knowledge that the older boy had not yet managed to injure himself before they moved elsewhere. "I can't remember the last time I had a present, I think my mum gave me a few cookies once."

"Well it's not cookies, but from what I've heard, it can be quite fun" On their journey up the ever steepening steps of this old decrepit mountain pass, Nat was forced a few times to use magic to prevent some kind of ill fate befalling the kid. There had been a few close calls with the boy slipping on fresh black ice and once he had even plummeted down several metres before he was stopped in mid-air before he was floated back up.

"Thanks," Gerald said his face slightly pale from the experience. "But did you seriously have to take me somewhere so dangerous?"

"I don't want people spying us here, once people know of your present, they will all want one". Gerald attempted to ask a question hoping to see if he could know what his present was beforehand but stopped himself short. He thought back to his own sister and smiled as he remembered just how happy her face would get when he brought her a little gift and how she would say that he also needed a present. If she was to learn that he had kept pestering his new commander to learn what his present was before he was given it, then he would be in for a rough-talking too.

Finally, they came to a stop. Where they were Gerald had no clue, but they were up high in the mountains and far away from anyone else in the region. Not even the grand height that he was now on enabled him to see where Haven sat as mountains blocked his view instead he looked at this new place that he had been guided to.

It was a clearing on one of the mountains, a wide open space and nearly entirely flat. To his right about a mile or two to his right, the mountain kept expanding higher and higher jutting into the mountain jaggedly like a sharp knife. Also to his right was the entrance to a cave, following his commander into it he saw that it wasn't a large cave, but it was certainly big enough for a person to sleep comfortably in if they sought protection from the freezing temperatures and harsh fast winds that struck the mountain.

"Gerald, come here" Following the order, Gerald rushed further into the cave where his commander was standing next to a fine wooden table the type that only nobles would be capable of purchasing. On top of that table, Gerald saw was a strange sort of box/crate that had a symbol on the front. Unlike anything else he had ever seen, the box was black and made of a hard looking material that he had never once seen before. Curious he walked closer and rapped his knuckles against the surface.

"What is it?" Gerald questioned rubbing his fingers smoothly across the black material. Standing backwards, he then inspected the symbol on the top of this case. It was unlike any other symbol he had seen. It was neither the symbol of the Inquisition or the strange symbol that his commander wore on his shoulders with that red white and blue flag.

It consisted of what Gerald assumed to be a snowflake in the centre only it had been changed to resemble a shield. Behind it, two swords in the same shape as his commanders crossed behind it while above it sat two other wooden things that had also been crossed over on another with a symbol of a staff that lay on top of that. Surrounding the entire thing was a series of bright gold beautiful leaves that continued to glint sunlight into his eyes. Finally coming diagonally downwards was a set of two bolts of purple lightning so lifelike in their depiction that it made Gerald wonder if his commander had managed to snatch up the very heavens itself. This had all been placed on a black background in the form of a large circle where words in some strange language were written that he could not understand.

"The symbol or the material" Nat asked gently watching in amusement as he saw the lad stare at the symbol he had devised. Personally, he didn't think he'd done a bad job.

"Both" Gerald countered quickly his hand pressing downwards onto the symbol.

"The case is made of plastic, a material from my home that is quite useful. As for the symbol, that is the sign of our regiment."

"A regiment, that's a body of soldiers?" Feeling down the case, Gerald wondered how it was to be opened. He saw no place where a key may fit or latches that he could unhook. The entire case has been sealed with no way to open it.

"Indeed. Gerald, I welcome you to the first Tempest Regiment. Please enjoy" With a simple wave of his hand, the case slowly opened up until it finally revealed the contents within.

Inside this black case was a few items and all of them had been put into areas that had been cut out leaving the basic shape. The first thing he recognised, was the sword that had been placed within, it was curved like his commanders and had a protective handle that had been inlaid with the same symbol on top. Next were two daggers only they weren't quite the same. The smaller one was an easier thing for him to recognise, it was a small thing but quite useful for close engagements, the other one, however, was longer more akin to a short word only it's handle had a strange hole in one side and the blade was curved. In the centre of the case was something he had no clue about although he recognised it from the symbol on top of the box.

This device was made of wood, it was long and had a tube of metal on top of it that extended outwards. Further back was some sort of empty but curved dish with a strange looking piece of beautifully curved metal that held a piece of flint in its snake-like maw. Underneath, the strange wooden thing was a trigger like one would find on a crossbow only again it was made of steel and not wood. At the back end of the device, the of quickly got larger and larger although he had no idea what for. The entire thing he quickly noted had been incredibly well polished so much so that he could easily see his own face. Turning his attention back onto to the handle of the weapon, again he saw that the symbol of his new regiment had been engraved while further back on the thicker part it had been painted on. There were even a few numbers and words beneath although what they meant he had no idea.

"What is this" Something about this device called out to him and before he had even known what had happened he had gently placed his fingers underneath the device and gently pulled it out as if he was carrying a small freshly born babe. Gazing lovingly at it, he allowed his fingers to run down the smoothness of the long end feeling all its contours and curves admiring the beauty of the thing.

"It's called a rifle" Nat started "That will be your primary weapon when you serve under me" Speaking softly, Nat ever so slightly smiled as he saw the reaction that Gerald had towards it. Creating that thing had been dam exhausting, he had made quite a few as practise attempts before he made his first proper one. He was just glad that he had magic as that had carried out the majority of the work allowing him to create multiple at a time, had he not used magic then it would have taken longer.

"She's beautiful, what's her name?"

"It called a Baker rifle after the person who invented it. This rifle is part of a family of weapons called guns which is part of an even larger family called firearms. That spike on the right is so that you may attach the bayonet to it when it is required." Looking back at this new weapon, Gerald indeed did see a small spike to the right of the end of the weapon.

"What's a bayonet?" He asked having never encountered such a word before.

"It's the short sword in your eyes" Diverting his attention back to the small collection of bladed weapons that were in the case, Gerald had no hard time realising which one. The bayonet as it was called did indeed have the appearance of a short sword with its straight design. The hilt was protected by a single strip of metal that went down from the guard to the pommel, it was also hollow and had a piece that had been cut out to slide onto the small piece of metal that jutted out to the side.

"I have it" Gerald replied his eyes lingering back onto the other items that were inside the case. Other than this rifle, Gerald also spotted another gun as his commander had called it. Unlike the rifle, however, this gun was far smaller with a short barrel that seemed more accustomed to being held in one hand rather than this rifle which like a bow appeared to require two. "What's this?"

"A pistol, it works roughly the same as a rifle and I'll show you it later but for now I think it's time to get into your uniform." Gerald blinked, there were clothes in this all he saw were some weapons a strange looking belt and a bizarre coloured piece of material.

"Unifrom sir" Gerald answer was a short point towards the very oddly coloured piece of material that had been neatly folded. Gently he picked up the material bringing it out so that he could have a look at it. Quite frankly, it was the most bizarre looking piece of clothing that he had ever laid eyes upon and that was including the odd all black appearance of his commander.

"There's a changing room out the back and some instructions for you in case you don't know" Looking further into the cave, Gerald saw a strange looking wooden room that had appeared. Had that been there before he wondered? Blinking he shut the case where as soon as he did so, a keyhole appeared alongside a key that was kept inside of it. He gave his commander an odd look. "Please don't take too long Gerald, we're about to get to the fun part" Not saying a word, the older boy made his way through the rest of the cave until he reached the changing room and walked inside.

What he saw, wasn't a tight space as he had imagined, but rather a small but comfortable size room where a few wooden triangles were hanging attached to a metal pole. There was also a large full body sized mirror, in fact, looking around, there were four each one on his main sides. Slightly self-conscious as he stripped himself of all his clothes until he was entirely naked in front of the mirror, something that he had never done before, Gerald reopened the case and brought out the odd-looking clothes.

He started with the oddly looking shirt. Like the rest of the clothes, it had a very strange pattern but only on the sides of the arms compared to being everywhere on the other parts. The front bit was a light forest green with that strange device that his commander wore. It was called a zip he remembered his commander telling him. Opening up the strange shirt with a sort of wonder, Gerald looked on the inside briefly of this wonderful new way to wear clothing before then fitting his arms through the sleeves.

"Wow, that's nice. Doesn't scratch like my old shirt does" Zipping up the strange device, Gerald was half tempted to walk around a bit to feel it better but then chose not to as he remembered he had to be fast. With a feeling of times in the back of his mind, he rapidly picked up the other set of clothes starting with this strange soft loincloth and then slipped that on followed by these trousers and the other shirt on top of that. Following the rest of the instructions, he then soon had his other shirt on alongside his new oddly shaped helmet. Followed by this was a new type of armoured chest plate that went down his front which then had an odd type of belt that went over it with a large number of pockets and other things inside. Then came his belt which his sword had been placed into its scabbard. Also on this normal belt was his new smaller dagger and his bayonet. Then on his right leg where another belt had been attached, was this new pistol. Finally, he brought out his new rifle which also came with a casing to keep it dry. That, in turn, had been placed into the larger backpack that had come with everything and instead elevated to carry his rifle with the strap that had gone around his neck.

Daring to look at himself in the mirror, he was surprised to see himself look so oddly. Compared to the Templars he had seen, he looked far less like a warrior ready for battle and far more like some sod who was heaving around a lot of random shit to sell on to someone. All the same though, as he looked at himself he couldn't help but think that he looked smart, far different to how he had been when he was in Denerim. Unable to help himself, he walked to the mirror gently touching it before then throwing on the last addition to this bizarre uniform. It was one of those black masks his commander wore.

"Hey mum" He whispered. "I don't know if you can hear me in the Fade, but, but I hope you're proud of me. I don't know if this is possible, but could you ask the maker to make sure that I don't look really stupid in front of the commander." A sour look appeared at the idea of disappointing his commander before he then smiled. "Thanks, mum, thank you for everything." With a heavy gulp and a few more seconds looking in the mirror, he closed his eyes before opening them again and marched quickly forth out of the changing room back into the cave.

"Nice to see everything fits. What do you think of the clothes?" Gerald turned his attention back onto his commander. Somewhere, he didn't know where though his commander had brought out another one of these rifles that he had created and was holding it in a casual manner.

"They look strange, but they feel nice far better than anything I've ever worn" Nat gave him a reassuring grin.

"Good. Truth be told, all that stuff you're wearing would likely prevent you from moving however it's been enchanted to adjust the weight to a more reasonable level. Of course, when you need to use something such as your sword, it will weigh the proper amount. You also don't have to worry about the lack of any armour, those clothes you're wearing are enchanted among a few other things to be immune to swords and arrows. Magic, on the other hand, is another question, but then again armour doesn't do shit against magic in the first place." Leaping down from the rock formation that he had been standing on, Nat walked up to Gerald and gave him a bit of a look around.

He'd seen Ant before in combat uniform before he had been deployed off to Germany but it hadn't been for a long time only for a few minutes. He was happy with the look of it though, the dark green forest camouflage was the default one but could be changed when necessary and the flags and rank on the shoulders looked about right. On the left arm in there were three badges. The first was the larger one of the regiment and under it were two smaller ones next to one another with the flag of Fereldan to the right and the Inquisition to the left.

"Wait this is all enchanted, how were you even able to pay for that?". Taking his position back in front of Gerald, Nat gave him another smile only this one to relax him.

"Gerald you are in my regiment, therefore your protection is my utmost concern. If I had desired to, I could have fit you in some cheap cloth and make you wear that." Gerald's eyes widened as she stared at his commander in shock. Before he could blurt anything out Nat carried on. "I will not have my soldiers going to war without the right bloody equipment. I enchanted all your clothes and I expect you not to tell anyone about such a thing. Do you understand me, Gerald?"

"Yes Sir" Nat nodded and then gestured outside.

"Okay then let's teach you how to shoot" Gerald grinned at the idea happily following his commander out of the cave and back into the open mountain air only this time he no longer felt the chill or ruffle of the wind only the excitement. Had the area not been enchanted, then ten minutes later scouts would have spoken of strange bangs in the vicinity.

Haven

With a bright beaming smile on her face, Valeyna trudged through the snow not bothering so much as she usually would about the cold temperatures until she made it over to none other than the bald elf. "Solas" She called happily, now alert to her presence, Valeyna soon ran through the rest of the snow over to him.

"Greetings" He stated neutrally. "I assume that you have finished with The Iron Bull. Did you enjoy your time together" Without a single bit of embarrassment, Valeyna smirked at the memories of the activity she had just enjoyed?

"It was certainly enjoyable. Unfortunately, I have duties to attend to" Solas raised an eyebrow sharply at the woman. Unnoticed by the Herald, a multitude of people were giving the Herald certain looks varying from lust, derision and anger the latter because of the lack of sleep that they had because of her moaning.

"Then perhaps next time you could be quieter, There are multiple people who were unable to sleep because of your moaning" Valeyna rolled her eyes waving her hand away dismissing such rumours.

"If they can't handle a bit of noise, then they're not suited for being at a military camp"

"You kept awake everyone around you for a good radius Herald, already they are discussing your activities" A grin was all that met Solas as he looked at the elf. Though he didn't say anything, that woman had also kept him up last night and it had been quite irritating to his desire to rest peacefully in the Beyond.

"Then that just means that they aren't doing it right. If it's not loud and rough then it's not worth having. Besides I couldn't have been that loud" Behind her, every single person who was in earshot stopped what they were doing and glared at the elf before a few finally managed to gather the strength and wipe the tiredness from their eyes. Yawning almost in sync, they got back to business.

"Oh Bull, fuck me harder then Fen Harel did my people." A slight blush appeared on Valeyna's face as she looked intently into the eyes of the bald elf who was now in a mix of amusement and something else that she couldn't pin a name on.

"I said that" She whispered softly her small blush transforming into a look of mortification.

"I can't say that I've ever come across using such a term. I wonder just how you were expecting the Dread Wolf to respond to such a thing" Awkwardly, Valeyna kicked a bit of snow with her feet as she diverted her eyes back into the snow trying to act all innocent as she possibly could.

"It was an expression" She mumbled weakly. "I need to apologise to the creators for offering him prayer".

"I would hardly call that a prayer" Solas pressed on taking a slight amount of amusement as he saw the young girl squirm as she became more and more aware of what she had done. "I was under the impression that the Dalish did not care much for the Dread Wolf. Do your people not have a curse which involves his name?" Valeyna looked down again her cheeks burning with shame from her actions.

"I should not have said that." She whispered three times before a cough from the man in front of her forced her attention back onto the elf who was waiting expectantly from an answer. Absently, Valeyna noticed that his bald head was reflecting an awful lot of sunlight, if only there was a way to power devised with such a method. "Yes. "May the Dread Wolf take you" It's one of our more serious curses". She blinked before then looking at the man more curiously. "Do you not already know this, I thought you had already spoken with the Dalish".

"I spoke with a few different members from a few different clans. Your people's belief that you are still united is folly. Your clan has as much in common with another as Fereldan does with Orlais." Instantly Valeyna's mood soured as she heard the ever so slight derision in the man's tone.

"Why do you hate my people so much, what have we ever done to you?" Solas shook his head at the young elf, her naiveté shown through quite proudly here. All the same, she appeared to be a kitten that had puffed up when someone had brought a friendly hand to pet them.

"Your people hang to images of false gods and traditions. When I first spoke to one of your clans I offered to help them, to share what knowledge I know of the old ways however they rejected me like a candle burns wax. I am not welcome in your clans, they cast me away the moment a person questions their belief. Your people are like a dog that bites the hand that offers them food and then whines when that person leaves." Speaking starkly, Solas shook his head as he saw the elf woman become furious with him to the point that she had lost control of her magic. Around her, the small wooden house that they were situated next to began to be engulfed entirely by a quickly rising wall of ice. Like spiders webs in a dark area, it did not take very long before the entire house had been frozen over.

"Is it wrong that we protect the last vestiges of our history. What would an outsider know about elf history if they were not taught by us, how can they understand the pain of knowing day after day that we could have lived in our own land in our own cities? And then people like you just come in and deride us, call us nothing but animals." With her temper flaring, Valeyna marched up to the man her smaller frame meant that her eyes could not meet up to the older elf's severely reducing any intimidation that she had hoped to give. "My people were forced to split into different clans so as to protect our history. When we have a home of our own, my people will come together and remake the time of the Dales."

"You are more naive then I believed if you think that something like that would happen. Do you seriously believe that the humans would just grant your people land?" Valeyna kicked her foot in the snow sending some of it flying a few food metres into the air where it then smashed into the wooden palisade.

"We will have a home" She spoke resolutely her eyes burning with determination whilst her hair flowed freely as her magical power pressed against the oncoming wind. Solas, however, was not impressed in the slightest. Tired of this lack of display of control, he outstretched his hand before then disintegrating the slight snowstorm that Valeyna had attempted to summon. With the state of affairs back to normal, he stared into the ever frosty eyes of the young elf.

I dislike is the arrogance you Dalish preside over elven history. You are children repeating stories misheard a thousand times" Valeyna only became even angrier again.

"And you would know better" She yelled.

"While your people pass on stories, mangling details I walk the Fade. I have seen things you have not"

"Then why have you not taught other elves the knowledge that you have gathered, why leave us in the dark if you know so much?" Watching the woman yell and shout, Solas could not help but lose respect for the Herald. As beautiful and powerful as the young mage would be, she showed her youth and it was getting tiring hearing the repetitive drivel that she and others like her spouted out the moment they heard an opinion that contrasted with hers.

"And would they even listen, you yourself are showing an unwillingness to hear anything that goes against your misguided beliefs."

"Misguided" Valeyna whispered her face contorting in rage once again. "You are not one of my people, you have never had to live knowing that at any moment humans would come and attack you simply because you are crossing through "their" land. You are also not the one who is being told that everything you know about your peoples past back when it was glorious and we was free is wrong. All by a stranger who knows how nothing works" Solas flickered his attention upwards not to the main hall or the small gathering of people who had stopped to try and listen in to the conversation but rather up to the cliffs above. Carefully he paid as much attention as he could to the mounds of snow that lurked above like wolves waiting for a potential dinner to become ever more vulnerable. To Valeyna however, it simply came off as arrogance. "So you won't even listen to me talk, is that how below you I am" With a bored expression, the older elf turned back to the younger one.

"If I may be of service answering your questions then do it, otherwise I suggest you leave for someone who is more willing to share your preferred interests" Back somewhere a gasp was heard although it was too fast for Valeyna to pick up on it.

"Alright." She grunted. "Tell me about the ancient elves oh wise one"

"When your people think of ancient elves, you think of Halamshiral. However, Halamshiral was a pale imitation of what came before"

"Arlathan" Valeyna scoffed. "You're telling me that you've seen Arlathan in the beyond." As much as she tried to hide it, there was a small tone of curiosity in the woman's voice as if despite her doubts that she was willing to listen to a story. Sensing this, Solas eyes the woman carefully.

"When we think of Arlathan we think of elves living in trees using ramps or Dalish Aravels. Imagine instead spirals of crystal twining through the branches, palaces floating among the clouds. Imagine beings that lived forever for whom magic was as natural as breathing. That was what was lost." Valeyna blinked her eyes scrunching up as she tried to imagine such a place, it sounded, unlike any other city that she had heard of before. Floating palaces, towers of crystal, she guessed it was possible if elves truly were exceptional with magic as Solas claimed that they were, but even so it sounded rather fantastical.

"Is the magic they teach in the circle different from the magic I learned with my people or Nat from his?"

"No, and yes" Valeyna rolled her eyes. "Magic is magic just like water is water but it can be used in different ways. Dalish Magic is more practical not needing Chantry approval oh though they still frown on blood magic. Superstition." Solas mumbled the last bit quietly to himself. "Much of it is more subtle. A legacy from when elves were immortal."

"The legends of elven immortality" Valeyna spoke calmly her voice lowered from the loud yelling that it had been as all the anger and hate in her voice had vanished instead replaced by curiosity. "Did they use magic to increase their lifespan?"

"No, it was simply part of being elven. The subtle beauty of their magic was the effect not the cause of their nature. Some spells took years to cast, echoes would linger for centuries. Harmonizing with new magic, an unending symphony. It must have been beautiful." Now that the conversation had returned to a more agreeable nature, Solas gestured towards the Herald to a more private place. Onlookers were still watching hoping to catch even the barest glimpse of how the Herald was acting. Some Solas knew would be for whichever master they served whether that be for the suspected old Magister or for some petty human nobles in Orlais that desired to show off to other human nobility. Finally, when they were more alone behind a small building Solas returned to the conversation.

"Solas" Valeyna spoke gingerly. "I'm, I'm sorry for yelling. It was wrong of me" Bowing her head low in respect, Valeyna averted her eyes downwards shame taking over her being as she realised just what had happened."I'm the ambassador of my clan, I'm supposed to act better than this. It's just" Solas smiled gently lifting the elf back up to posture. Briefly, Valeyna was unable to hold back the slight blush as her cheeks warmed from the soothing look that Solas gave her.

"You are under much pressure as the Herald of Andraste and leader of the Inquisition. It is expected that the pressure of such a weight on your shoulder will affect you."

"Thank you, Solas. I will try not to make such a mistake in the future." Solas frowned.

"There's something else that trouble you" Sighing heavily, Valeyna soon found a pile of firewood that had been stacked up to a decent height and was now leaning against the wooden wall of the building. Without a second thought, she soon jumped on top of them and made herself comfortable.

"I just received another not from my clan, apparently they're under attack from bandits" Solas nodded consolingly.

"You worry about if they are still alive and what assistance you can bring to them" Another sigh from the elf woman.

"I wish I was there with them, that is where I belong not here in some human organisation. I don't even know why people want me in charge, there are several people who would be a better Inquisitor then I would." For a brief moment there was a sudden burst of caution from Solas as Valeyna drew the small knife from her pocket but soon that fear ebbed away as the blonde hair woman simply grabbed one of the smaller logs and began to cut into it with her knife. Bit by bit she started to remove small strips of wood dumping them on the floor.

"And who would you suggest run the Inquisition in your stead? There is nobody else who is suited towards running such an organisation" Valeyna chuckled.

"What about Cullen, Cassandra, Leliana or even Josephine. Nat stated that there's some sort of balance of power between them, but I don't see it. In fact, I bet that even Nat could run the Inquisition better than I ever could"

"Oh," Solas spoke with interest his mind turning onto the young mage. "He is powerful and educated, but he is younger than even you and the nobility will not respect the word of a child. But that would explain why you put so much trust in him."

"Seriously Solas, he is better suited then I am to lead the Inquisition. I mean if Cullen and the others need to control their "balance of power" then fine, but Nat is serious, a good warrior, know far more about politics or espionage then I do and generally helps me make decisions. Not to mention he's human and a mage. The only thing that goes against him, is that he isn't nobility, he isn't handsome and he's young."

"He is also not the one with the mark" Solas spoke quietly. Looking over to the snow, he silently flicked his fingers outwards resulting in the nearby snow flying through the air before all squishing together to form a small solid mound that he then sat down on. "I'm surprised that you feel threatened by him" Valeyna blinked.

"Threatened, I don't feel threatened." Solas was not so sure.

"You compare yourself to another believing that you are inadequate to rule when you see that there is another who has other talents. Tell me, what else does he have that you also do not possess?" With a roll of her eyes, the blonde haired beauty easily responded and far faster then Solas had initially thought.

"Well if mages had freedom, then he's young enough to get married" Somewhere far in the distance Nat shivered. With a quick pat of his clothes, he returned to his business.

"As are you" Solas countered. "The only difference is that you are far more... open with your relationships" Unable to help herself, Valeyna snorted loudly at that comment. She was a lot more than "open" with her relations. She could still remember the feeling of Bulls muscled hands on her skin gripping her close as she begged for more.

"Oh please Solas, I've heard what the soldiers say, I'm spoiled goods. Nobody is ever going to want me. Not that I can blame them, who wants some elven whore when they can have a proper lady who behaves correctly?"

"I cannot speak for all people Herald, however, there are bound to be a large group of people who would want to meet you if nor marry you" With another scoff coming from the woman, Solas sighed.

"They would just want to marry me for my title."

"How about we come off this topic, return back to something of more interest to you?. You were asking about elven immortality" Before she could even have a moment to reject such a proposal, Solas stared her back in the eyes this time with the typical more knowledgeable gleam that she had grown accustomed too. "Your clan for instance. It was unique in that it held enough interest to send you to spy on the Divines meeting. As your clans have been separate for so long, they have all changed, adapting to the lands in which they live. Some are no more than bandits, others trade freely with humans and some have disappeared entirely into the forests."

"I remember my keeper saying that as the years went by that the number of clans that would meet with one another has decreased. Do you know why?"

"It is the result of time, with so little meetings, so far a distance and a lack of anything to rally behind, your clans have steadily diverged one by one until at this point your people are truly a different people but each claiming the same title." Slumping her head back, Valeyna pinched her nose lose lightly. There was no doubt that he was right, despite all the posturing that she and other Dalish did when it came to saying that they were a united people who as soon as they had land of their own would rebuild a nation, that they were disunited.

She was aware of two clans which had a strong rivalry with one another, whilst another had essentially become residents of an alienage settling down in the city to teach the city elves their tales. Even the legendary Hero of Ferelden had come from a tribe which was slightly more isolationist than most. She could still remember the times when she would go with her Keeper and meet with the other clans in the rare time they met up. She had never noticed it when she was younger, but now she only saw the division among the clans. They spoke of good fertile hunting grounds or friendly cities some even spoke about the rare trip to Orzammar to purchase some Lyrium. All the same, the sense of camaraderie and family and friends she felt with her clan was not there with the others, she felt just as much as a stranger likely did when she came across her clan.

She knew what Solas was true, in her heart. Her people were slowly disappearing no matter how hard they tried to stop and resist it. Pain was what she was feeling. Pain at the fact that her people were not what she believed they were, pain in that as time went on the number of clans and their members slimmed and pain at the growing doubt in her heart in the faith that her people had towards having a new home.

"Thank you, Solas. It's been... hard" Feeling another chill, Valeyna wasted no time and called on the power of the fade and brought forth a shimmering ball of fire. Quickly with a wave of her hand, she pushed a few of the firewood onto the floor where she then sent her flame colliding into. With a little roar, she had a small fire going. Sighing in contentment she walked towards it embracing the warm glow of the fire. Solas soon joined her also apparently cold though he did not state it like a great many deal of the soldiers and servants did.

"I apologise if my words stung, I did not mean to cause offence" Valeyna shook her head.

"No you're right, I just never really saw it till now. I'm proud of my people, how they have kept alive who we are, it's just difficult to hear especially from an outsider". Solas gazed at the fire admiring the beautiful hue that it made as it fought valiantly against the ever-encroaching snow and wind. In the background, the Breach crackled again lighting up the sky like a candle but nothing came out.

"Hearing that one has a problem is the first step to solving it. The fact that you are able to look at things, see the errors in them even when you are protective of them is good. With time you will prove to be a good leader for the Inquisition to rally behind" With a careless flick of his hand, Solas sent his own plume of fire towards the wood only this one was larger. Spreading upwards, the fire doubled in size increasing the sheer heat that the two of them felt upon their faces.

"You talked about how Dalish magic was different to Circle Magic, Is Nat's magic different to that" Straightening his back, Solas closed his eyes slightly pulling his thoughts back to what he had observed of the child that fought with them.

"There are a great many differences. For one I have noticed that he has never once called upon the Fade like you or I do but neither does he call upon a spirit, blood. Lyrium or the taint."

"Wait what?. Isn't that impossible?. How is he able to use magic if he doesn't use the Fade or any other method, are you sure he isn't using Blood Magic" Valeyna said confused. Solas raised an eye at the suspicion but shook his head. Leaning on his staff, he touched his chin-stroking it wisely as his eyes narrowed his mind pressing on the issue.

"No he doesn't use blood magic, if he had then we would have known by now. What young Mr Tempest uses is something entirely different, another source of magic entirely, one that has never been known before." Blinking, Valeyna recalled her memories to the time she had seen her friend fight. He had been incredibly quick with his spells, one after another in quick succession. It was far beyond the skill of most mages, however, he had handled it so easily and carefree that it was normal for him. Calling magic from the fade was an easier job for some over than others, but the sheer amount of magic that someone his age called upon and in quick succession without even the slightest amount of fatigue was curious.

"Maybe it's that staff of his, he is very protective of it" Cassandra had asked before she had left for Val Royeux to look at Nat's small staff mentioning about its small size and how she had never seen one so tiny. Politely she had asked to look at it and asked if Na would explain more about it, however, Nat had politely declined, stating it was a secret of his people.

"It is possible, however, I do not believe that is the case" Gesturing to his staff, Solas once more spoke but this time with a sense of curiosity and mystery while at the same time sounding like her keeper had as she was told about the mysteries and powers of magic. "When he casts spells, they are always without a doubt from his staff. He always points his staff at the target and the spell always comes out of it. Compare that to you or I or even the First Enchanter, we may use our hands to call forth a spell, direct it with such gestures. Nat on the other hand always uses his staff, not once has he ever shown to handle magic without it."

"It is rather odd" She commented. "My staff is always for basic magical attacks but other than that I can easily cast a spell without it. Do you think he uses the staff power?"

"Perhaps," Solas said slowly. "But I cannot help but theorise that perhaps he is entirely unable to cast magic without a staff. It would explain his caution in protecting it. The staff he wields is quite unlike any other in Thedas, most likely any other staffs of the same type are destroyed or cannot be used. As a Seeker, Cassandra presents quite a threat were she to break it." Valeyna looked at Solas dubiously.

She doubted that Cassandra would ever be so rash as to break one of her fellow member's weapon, however, she also knew that Cassandra was an individual who believed that the Circles despite how poorly they had been run needed to be kept intact but severely updated. Now away from his people and surrounded by mages and Templars who had a different way of doing things, it wasn't too much to guess that her young friend did not like the idea of being forced to do things a different way. Should the circles be restored, then he would likely be forced into one against his will. He would not stand for such an action.

"He considers her an enemy still" Solas nodded as he turned his attention onto the group of Templar's who were standing in the cold trying to stay still and allow the sheer blistering cold take their minds off the withdrawal. It wasn't exactly the best way to deal with the problem, quite frankly it was like whacking a person's elbow with a hammer because their knee was hurting in his opinion. All the same though, it appeared to be working for now.

"By now whispers have already spread about your companions. Besides mentions of a Grey Warden serving and a powerful Qunari Mercenary joining up, they will talk about a young mage who wields powerful magic and slain a large number of Templar's in the Hinterlands." Valeyna grimaced at the mentions of rumours, they were a most annoying thing that she had to deal with. Before the Inquisition, she would have to deal with rumours of her being some type of elven whore or savage sometimes it was an odd story about her clan. Now though there were the constant rumours she heard, the most recent one she had heard was that she had made a pact with an ancient demon to keep her alive and spread chaos throughout the world.

"Well, technically he did kill a few Templars when we visited the Hinterlands." Solas leaned back his skin having gone slightly pink being so close to the fire.

"That is true, however, it has shown us that there is information he is keeping secret" Curious, Valeyna looked at the bald-headed elf imploring him to say more. "He has dealt with his opponents with exceptional skill, far more than a normal mage would"

"He did say he came out of a war" Solas stared into the fire a few seconds almost entertaining the idea of making it dance warming up the nearby area a bit more.

"There is more to it than that. If he was a normal mage that had fought in a war, then he would still show flaws in his ability, indications that he had never had extensive training" Solas explained quickly. "That is not the case, he has seen combat long before a civil war and even then I am not so sure that he was part of such a conflict" Valeyna blinked repeatedly staring at Solas as if he had just revealed that the world was flat or that the planet orbited around the sun. Shaking her head, she stoked the fire a little bit making sure that she didn't catch on fire as she did so.

"You think he's lying," She asked not believing a single word that the elf was telling her.

"For one who has just lost all of his people, he seems remarkably... stable," Solas said slowly. "Have you not noticed that he never once seems to feel the burden of pain by being the last of his people, that everyone he knows is dead?. If it is as he has said, then he should be grieving. Yet he carries on life normally as if nothing had happened. Then there is his magic, I mentioned before that he does not call upon any known force for his spells and he does not ever seem to tire."

"Don't tell me you think he's some type of demon" Valeyna joked her eyes flickering briefly over to where her young friend's tent should be. Like normal, it sat there untouched and seemingly unknown to the wizard. Though looking at it, she thought that she should peer inside. Last night when she had enjoyed the dinner he had cooked, he had introduced her to more meat and other food on a single plate then she had ever enjoyed before. Nat, on the other hand, had behaved as if it was normal that the at least in her mind large plate of food was something he regularly consumed.

"No" Solas disagreed quickly pushing aside any such thoughts before they could be allowed to fester and cause doubt in the mind of the pretty blonde. "I do not know where his power is drawn from, but he is certainly not any demon or spirit from the Fade. I would have sensed such a thing."

"Wait now that I think about it, I've never once felt him use the fade. There's also that time when we first met him, he just appeared out of nowhere." All those weeks ago and she had never questioned it. One moment she and the others had been fighting against the demons and the next he was simply there. There had been no footprints in the snow no sound of him approaching and she was certain that a strange Mage like himself was bound to have been caught by the Templar's or the Seekers. Not to mention there was his strange clothing and staff. "And how often do we see him, most of the time he's doing something or other but no one knows where?"

"And food" Solas added. "Here in Haven it is a simple matter of breaking into the larder when nobody is observing, but back when we were in the Hinterlands he never once ate in front of us."An uncomfortable feeling started to form in the lower part of Valeyna's stomach. The more she started to think about their youngest member, the more things didn't add up. When it came to his initial meet up with them when they closed the Breach she could dismiss the sudden arrival under a form of invisibility spell or something along those lines, but that still left the footprints. When it came to food, he had already demonstrated that he could easily conjure things from thin air like water and had no problems showcasing such an ability. Then again, when he had cooked for her last night, he had magically moved the food rather than just made them appear. Why was he so afraid to eat anything in front of them if he could conjure food.

"Could it all be his special type of magic. Maybe he doesn't want to alert the Templar's too much and bring them on him?." All this was unsettling her. She held no doubt that Nat wanted to help her and the Inquisition in its goal of healing the Breach, and when he did occasionally mention something about his people it did sound like he told the truth. Now though she couldn't help feeling like there was a certain sense of evasion when he spoke about his past. Just what was he hiding she wondered and more importantly why was he hiding it. Did he not trust her?

"I would assume so, he mentioned earlier that his people despised demons and took far more reactionary methods then even Templars."

"Wait how can a group of mages hate demons can more than Templar's do. Isn't that what Templar's are all about, demons are bad evil monsters whereas they think mages like demons?"

"According to him, his people killed anyone who had interactions with demons"

"That doesn't make any sense" She whispered her confusion openly showing at the sheer contradiction that such a task was. "If everyone who spoke to a demon was killed, then every mage would be dead at some point. His people never would have existed in the first place" Solas agreed with the young Dalish. For a mage as powerful as him, there should have been no way that Solas would have not felt his presence in the Fade when he called forth magic, but there wasn't any presence, not in the slightest. It was rather disconcerting in all honesty.

"Indeed, somehow his people have either found an entirely new source of magical power, or they have learned to hide their presence so utterly that an interaction with a demon is a rare event. Both results would have interesting implications." Valeyna simply nodded unable to form the correct words. If what Solas was saying was true, if Nat was somehow special in how he went ahead with magic then just who was he, who was his people and why was he here?. There was something about him now that she concentrated on it that didn't make sense. She needed answers.

"Thank You, Solas. I need to go" With a slight smile, Valeyna rushed quickly from her position of behind the small building. Solas's words held a great deal of merit and with her mind now concentrating on such an oddity, she could no longer ignore it. Nat was something strange, perhaps unique and maybe even lying to her. A pang of pain ripped through her at that very idea. He had been for her from day one, listening to her problems and soothing any worries she may have had. Yesterday they had spent an odd but nice meal together underneath the glimmering stars. It had been something out of a fiction book but all the same, she had enjoyed it.

What was he hiding and why was he hiding it. Before she knew it, her feet were slapping hard against the stone floor making a loud echoing sound that almost made her think that she was some terrible creature here to punish little boys and girls for misbehaving. With a loud bang, she slammed open the door to the war room revealing Leliana and Josephine.

"Lady Herald is there something you need?" Curtsying gracefully Josephine eyes the Herald. The woman was not in distress, however, she was certainly in some great hurry. Sensing that this was no time for jokes, she went immediately to business pausing her conversation about how to deal with a certain Orlesian noble with Leliana.

"Nat, have you seen him?" Beside her, Leliana narrowed her eyes and her back straightened. The redhead recognised that tone of voice, there was something happening with their youngest inner council member, something that would cause the small flush that had gotten the elf to move so quickly over the snowy outside ground.

"I sent a messenger to him about two hours ago. The situation with Orzammar has gotten worse and I asked him to send us back news. He did take two people with him, a boy in strange clothing and one of the mages". Valeyna's stomach dropped with a powerful feeling of uncertainty. All she had wanted to do was ask him some harmless questions and now he had already left for Orzammar.

"If it is anything important we can always send him a raven" Jutting into the conversation, Leliana shared a look with Josephine. Whatever the Herald wanted to talk to Nat about wasn't anything minor in fact the girl seemed concerned that he had left so suddenly.

"No its a personal matter" Valeyna replied her voice slightly defeated. "I'll speak to him when he gets back. Why did he have to leave so urgently?" Grimacing, Leliana looked the Herald in her slightly worried eyes.

"There was an attack on the king, it's unknown if he's going to survive. We sent Nat because he needs to get into Orzamar before they close the gates." Valeyna swore quietly.

"If the gates close before he gets there, then we won't be able to get the Lyrium" The effects of no shipments of Lyrium didn't have to be said. Anyone could see how badly the Templar's were struggling. Tempers were flaring on a more regular basis and the tensions between the Templar's and Mages was getting worse by the day soon it would come to a boiling point. It was a wonder so far that nobody had been killed yet but that was likely to change soon.

"Don't send the Raven, Nat has to focus on getting a deal with the dwarves. Anything else could distract him from that task. Josephine how long can the Templar's go with our current supplies" Focusing her eyes on the bronze-skinned human woman, Valeyna's eyes bore into her a strange commanding presence slowly being let loose as she concentrated on the task that she now had to complete.

"If we ration what little we have left, then at most a month. However, we will surely lose some Templar's and be forced to kill them. Without extra rationing, then it's the same as before." Valeyna pinched her nose so tightly that it started to turn white. Breathing slowly, she paced back and forth quickly as she thought of possible other ways to deal with the current scenario.

"Tell the others that we leave for our assigned areas tomorrow morning" Firmly she looked into Leliana's eyes. "Can your agents pin down anyone from the Coterie, that's our best chance".

"I will speak to Varrick, he is bound to have contacts."

"Good, if I remember from when you travelled with the Warden, Orzammar will shut its gates soon. If Nat gets in then we have a chance and if not then tell him to meet us at Redcliffe." With a light curtsy, Josephine gave a quick farewell and left the war room leaving Valeyna with Leliana. Now with the one person who had gone through something similar, she gave a fixed and worried look.

"Is he going to be okay? I know things were different during the blight, but it it's anything similar then our only possible chance of getting Lyrium will involve some sort of political task. Picking up a knife, Leliana started to play with the blade between her fingers. Soon she turned her attention back onto the map staring at where Orzammar and Kal Sharok were on the piece of parchment.

"I have already sent agents to see if assassins were sent. Kal Sharok has firmly denied to obey Orzammar ever since it was rediscovered. Over the last few years, the king in Orzammar has been putting pressure on Kal Sharok, sometimes even threatening war if they did not obey. We could be facing a civil war between them, or it might be another plan to cause chaos on the continent for this Magister." Frowning darkly Leliana remembered when she had visited the underground city.

Orzammar was an impressive place, that was for certain. Made of thick stone the buildings of the city covered nearly the entirety of the large indoor cavern giving off an impressive display to any visitor. Their large neatly crafted statues of previous paragons were also a sight to see and were likely even now being prayed to by one dwarf or another. Then there was the smell. Living underground had a tendency to force smells to congregate together. Truthfully for a person like her Orzammar smelt awful with all the sulphur and metal and body odour that was heavily present. She chuckled briefly as she remembered what her friend Shale had called the city. It was rather ironic to see a former dwarf turned golem to view the capital of her people so poorly.

Then her attention turned onto a less welcoming place and she resisted the shiver. Even now she could remember the horrific sight of Darkspawn in the Deep-Roads. She had killed countless people and ordered the assassination of countless more. However, even to this day, the milky pale faces of Darkspawn with black gunk blood pulsating was a hideous and terrifying sight. She was glad that she had been in the Wardens company then, had she not then she doubted she would have survived quite a place.

"He can take care of himself, I do not remember the dwarves being so callous as to allow three children into the Deep Roads" Valeyna went pale her eyes staring at the map of where Orzammar was. Why would they have to go into the Deep Roads, this was just supposed to be a negotiation. Nat was powerful and used a strange set of magic, but for a child to go into the Deep Roads. He would be lucky to come out alive not tainted.

"Three children, who did he take with him?"

"Elryia Trevelyan was the circle mage, Nat has been seen spending a great amount of time with her and there are rumours that they may be in some kind of a relationship" Valeyna blinked, whey hadn't she heard these rumours. There was a golden opportunity to tease Nat and nobody had told her about it into to now. The moment they got back she was going to spend some time with this Trevelyan girl, make sure she knew just what this girl was after. "And a boy called Gerald. He's been recruited as one of Nat's own soldiers." With a heavy sigh, the elf leaned back against the cold wall. There was some relief then. If he had people with him then he had some type of help in the scenario that Nat was forced underground to fight the Darkspawn although it wasn't much. Silently she gave a prayer to Mythal begging her to protect him while he was away.

"At least he has someone with him" She murmured softly to herself hoping for anything that would silence the growing worry she had for her friend's safety. "I'm going to find a drink, calm my nerves"

"Have fun" Without another word, Leliana watched somewhat amused as the Herald left. It was adorable how she worried about the young mage as if he was her little brother. Was this how she had been seen back when she had travelled with the Warden and Alistair? The cute young sibling who everyone else had to look out for. She blushed slightly at the thought before returning back to business. Nat was only going to negotiate a trade deal with the dwarves, nothing should go wrong.

She hoped.

Fereldan Road

"Now I remember why I hate horses" Nat chuckled lightly as he heard the melodious sounds of Elryia moaning in pain every time her bottom touched the saddle. Up and down she went, like a seesaw on steroids. Her dark hair was fanning all over the place and certainly didn't keep the more noble looking appearance that she usually kept when she walked. As for her staff, it was a good job that it was placed on her back as otherwise, it would surely have hurt her. "Ow, ow, ow." She complained more loudly resisting the urge to move her hand downwards and massage her aching bottom. To his left, Gerald wasn't doing much better as his face scrunched up in pain from the constant impacts. Thankfully he wasn't complaining of pain in his ass yet although he had a feeling that the soldier would be eager to sleep the first moment they got.

"Commander how come you're not in pain" Turning his gaze onto the young commander, Gerald noted that out of the three of them, he certainly showed that he was comfortable with a horse. His face was normal and entirely unaffected by the constant rocking motion and appeared at least compared to them quite comfortable sitting on the back of an animal that when needed to could gallop far faster than a human could run.

"I've had a little more experience then you have. Don't worry with time you'll get used to it." All lies of course. What Nat knew that they didn't was that he had applied a cushioning charm ensuring that his backside would not be in a state of unending agony as his flesh collided with the thick leather of the saddle.

"I hope so" Elyria muttered gritting her teeth as her but collided with the saddle once again. "But why did you want to take us with you?" Keeping his eyes on the road, Nat sped up the horse he was sat on top of a little faster soon after the other two followed suit.

"It's supposed to be a negotiation, we walk up we speak to the person in charge and see if they can lower the price of Lyrium. With the lack of danger, I thought you two might want to accompany me, leave the base and stretch your legs. That and the fact that I want to get you away from Vivienne" Elyria frowned at the mention of that woman, just being in her presence made her angry. That stuck up bitch thought that she was better than anyone else just because she had been the court Enchanter of Empress Celene.

"Thank you" She replied happily glad to be away from the camp. "Visiting a dwarven city isn't exactly where I would have liked to go, but it's better than Haven" Another chuckle came from Nat as he paid attention to the surroundings. The snow was far less present here then it was in Haven although that was to be expected since they were now in more flat land and at a lower altitude. Green grass was swaying in the wind and the usual biting wind was now merely uncomfortable when it occasionally struck them.

"And where exactly were you expecting me to take you?. Some candlelit dinner underneath the sky by a lake where I would then feed you fine dining and champagne while I whispered something romantic in your" Turning bright red Elyria quickly diverted her attention onto Gerald only for the older boy to start laughing at her misfortune. She looked away again. "Don't worry Elyria I wouldn't subject you to such torture. I don't like anyone that way in the slightest"

"Oh" Gerald interrupted wriggling his eyebrows at the two. "I thought you two were pretty close." Nat rolled his eyes behind his glasses.

"Hardly, Elyria is suffering from what I guess would be called Rescuer Syndrome. It isn't uncommon for a person who is rescued to develop some sort of feelings for their rescuer, however, the best thing for that person is to be left alone to heal on themselves. If I indulged Elyria's feelings, then she wouldn't be able to heal leaving her weak and unable to fend for herself. Besides it's generally accepted that any feelings born from such a thing are only temporary and sooner or later will vanish if allowed to heal. " Turning his attention back onto the circle mage, Nat gave a gentle warm smile at the girl hoping to comfort her. It, however, did the opposite affect as Elyria instead just looked at Nat horrified as if she had just killed her best friend or pet.

"You know" She went bright red and she tried to turn away embarrassed. However, she was unable to do so and instead looked at him staring innocently in her eyes as he eyes fluttered and her heart beat faster. Subconsciously she leaned forward hoping for him to return the favour. What she got instead, however, was a gentle hand petting the top of her head lightly soon after Nat began stroking her.

"I'm not daft you know. I knew that you had feelings for me the moment we met." Elyria wished she could see his eyes, that were what happened according to the novels she had read. When two people loved one another they stared into each other's eyes where they began to dazzle with love like glimmering stars. Slowly bit by bit they would then lean towards one another where finally their soft lips would press together and kiss, finally after a few moments they would then undress one another and show their love for each other. "Elyria, Elyria snap out of it" Snapping loudly in her face Elyria was brought back to reality to see a bored Nat and a smirking Gerald.

"Yes," She whispered hopefully.

"She did not hear a single word of what you said" Shaking his head in sympathy Gerald looked over at the pretty circle mage who was riding beside them. She was certainly a noble, those delicate cheeks, thin slender body and larger than average buxom for her age could only be brought about by years of careful and meticulous breeding. Had she been born without magic then she would have been sold off long ago and if she had been a commoner, then she would have already become a concubine to some noble or other.

"It's like talking to a brick wall" Nat replied in agreement as he watched with a somewhat bored fascination as Elyria seemed to go through a type of fantasy in her head. Were most girls like this he wondered?. He didn't mean on a daily business, a lot of girls he knew were serious and professional most of the time but that was because of the public image they had to project. Rather what he meant was that when most girls were alone or with trusted friends did they fantasise about wedding'a or how romantic something should be. If they did then he could not possibly imagine such a dreary existence.

"I tried that once" Nat looked over. "When I was younger one of the older guys said that a mage had been killed when a demon took over. Apparently, the templar's killed the mage and then banished the demon into the wall as they were unable to kill it."

"And you believed them" Bursting out laughing, Elyria held her sides together as she listened to one of the most ridiculous stories that she had ever heard about demons. That laughter son stopped however when the horse she was in jumped slightly and soon started galloping forwards ahead of the others. With a small sigh, Nat turned to Gerald.

"Come on we have to make sure that she doesn't get into too much trouble"


	14. Chapter 14 Beach Trip

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 14 Beach Trip**

Storm Coast

"We've arrived" Speaking sourly, Cassandra frowned as she took in the weather that they were going to be working with. The name chosen for this bit of territory was certainly apt in its description. Storms were raging overhead and lightning danced as it struck the ground in a beautiful display of power before being joined in matrimony with the sound of heavy rolling drums as thunder bellowed loudly above.

"Could have chosen a better day for it" Varrick muttered wiping his face with his hand as another drop of rain landed on it. Already he could feel his clothing began to soak through as they pressed on over the rocky shores. He had to make a conscious effort to try and not step into some of the damp holes left in the sand.

"It's no wonder that Ferelden is such a backwards place. I can't possibly imagine what the previous emperor was thinking taking over this land. It's cold, damp and miserable" Solas shook his head as the complaining from the resident first enchanter stared once more.

"Perhaps then you should have considered bringing a cloak" Smiling smugly at the woman, Vivienne only gave the man a sweet glare as the elf gently tugged on the thick wooden brown cape that he had brought with him. He was the only one to do so and was certainly enjoying the benefits of such foresight.

"Say chuckles could you conjure up one for the rest of us" Walking forward, Varrick made a mistake with the position of his left foot and instead of landing on a soggy wet piece of sand, it instead went through a hole filled with water soaking his foot a good several centimetres past his ankles. "I hate the beach"

"I'm afraid not Master Varrick." Varrick looked at Solas doubtfully but said nothing instead just grunting as he moved on feeling his socks squelch under every step.

"I hate storms. The Herald and Tiny get to go visit a castle with nice warm fires and clothing and the kid gets to visit Orzzamar. What do we get, Darkspawn and rain" Tried of this, Cassandra led the group on though secretly she agreed with the dwarves opinion. If Cullen had been so concerned with moving troops through the area because of some Darkspawn stragglers, then why not simply send the army in. A few of them would get experience and she wouldn't be forced to trudge through a soaking wet beach while rain buffeted her and the wind then struck her like an icy lance.

"Come on Varrick the quicker we deal with this problem the quicker we get to leave." Cassandra seriously wished that she had followed Solas's example in picking up a cloak before they had left. It may have been less practical to wear a cloak into battle, but right now she felt like just rolling up in a ball and hiding in a cave preferably with a nice fire nearby.

"Hey chuckles you ever saw a Darkspawn" Solas had to hold his laughter in as Varrick stepped into another hole filled with water. The way the dwarves face just seemed to be constantly twitching with anger and his hand nearly always reaching for his crossbow was certainly amusing for him. Varrick, on the other hand, would boisterously disagree. Dragging himself out of another hole, he gave his recently submerged leg a good few kicks in the air chucking of what water he could from them before placing it down.

"I have come across them on a number of occasions. Hurlocks and Genlocks for the most part although I have seen a few other forms. Memories of Darkspawn are quite usual in the Fade"

"Nightmares more like" Cassandra replied her tone growing ever sourer as her clothes sucked in more and more water to the point that they were now starting to cling to her body like a second skin. "My armour is going to need to be polished when we get back" She turned her attention to Solas a small hopeful look in her eyes asking a question without a single use of words. "Solas" She began.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Seeker. If we wish to sneak up on these Darkspawn then creating a fire will prevent that" Menacingly Cassandra gave a death stare to the dark grey clouds above cursing them for all eternity for raining so heavily. Suddenly, she lurched forward and sneezed loudly.

"You alright Seeker, do you need to stay indoors" Stopping before he had a reply, Varrick unhooked his crossbow from its holster on its back bringing it forward as crouched down and darted forward with some grace to one of the larger boulders of rock. Peering around slowly with his weapon drawn, Varrick slowly aimed his crossbow at the lone Darkspawn getting it into his sights before he then gently squeezed the trigger.

Zooming out of the contraption, the first bolt easily sped through the air ignoring the raindrops as it simply cut through them and then cut into the dark spawns back where the heart would be. A roll of thunder from above hide the sound of the body collapsing onto the floor.

"Darkspawn?" Cassandra questioned sliding against the same rock that he also took cover behind. Varrick nodded and took aim again this time focusing on another Darkspawn a little further back and hidden slightly by a bush. With only the slight whooshing of the arrow as it was launched at the enemy, Varrick killed another Darkspawn hitting it in the chest knocking it down. A brief moment later a dark terror-inducing wail sounded out echoing out over to where Varrick had been hiding as another Darkspawn came to view. Turning its vicious rotted head towards them, the Darkspawn swung its sword alerting its fellows. The next arrow struck the Darkspawn in the neck however it was already too late.

"We've been spotted" Without a moments delay, Cassandra leapt out of her hiding place, throwing herself forwards over several rocks as she moved to engage the Darkspawn. Bearing down on the first creature she came across she slashed downwards splitting open the monster from shoulder to waist. Bringing her shield up she blocked a strike from one of the Hurlock's and then bashed it squarely on the face knocking it onto the floor where a quick thrust downwards. Sweeping her blade straight after the attack she effortlessly decapitated another Hurlock and then squarely kicked one of the genlocks in the face. Roaring angrily another Hurlock advanced hoping to make quick work of the apparently distracted Seeker as she slaughtered another two Darkspawn. It thrust it's blade only Cassandra casually sidestepped it and then thrust her blade through its stomach and into another Hurlock as it rushed behind the first.

A flash of a spell whizzed past her shoulder exploding a few metres away incinerating the oncoming few Darkspawn into nought but ash. Then another came only instead freeing a Darkspawn in a block of ice before shattering into millions of pieces. A throaty gurgle alerted to her next opponent as like the others it ran at her in a blind manner with no care for strategy or skill at all instead waving around its curved ugly pieces of metal in a random fashion. She hacked off its arm in one shot and then turned around blocking a series of arrows from archers in another.

Pouring forth her magic, Vivienne unleashed a powerful plume of fire engulfing everything its direction within a burning red and orange three-metre radius. All the archers that had previously been standing were now burnt husks among the dead and the few gunlocks behind that were running away like headless chickens as they spent their last moments in utter agony as their flesh was cooked dropping to the floors like flies. Another roar resounded over the battlefields revealing none other then ogre rushing towards them. Responding with years of practice, Vivienne summoned a large fist of rock pounding into the measly flesh of the ogre cleaving through the top half pulverising it leaving only a pair of legs that fell flat towards the ground.

Cassandra cleaved her way once again through another Darkspawn killing the last remaining member of the small host. Beside her Viviene waltzed over the battlefield with a disgusted look summoning a small icicle and then thrusting it into the rotten flesh of any still alive Darkspawn. Once nearly all of them were dead she treated Varrick with a demeaning look.

"Varrick dear you have to make sure that you kill them properly" As an example, she quickly made her way to the last creature of Darkspawn. It's left arm had been cleaved through leaving a black puddle of black ichors pooling on the ground as it attempted to crawl forwards to the nearest sword. Smashing her shoe into the back of the Darkspawn, Vivienne pointed her index finger at the creatures head releasing another burst of fire liquefying the entire set of skin muscle and bone until only a patch of burnt ground remained. Then with a disgusted scowl on her face, she wiped her boot on the sand wiping away the filth.

"Oh I'll make sure to do that Iron Lady" Bursting with speed, the dwarf aimed his crossbow at the mage and fired another bolt felling another Darkspawn. "You need to watch your flank, we couldn't have you messing up those pretty clothes now" Cassandra shook her head as she was forced one more to take in the sight that Vivienne was. Despite being told of her destination beforehand, that they would be fighting Darkspawn on a wet stormy beach, the woman had still decided to wear some of the most colourful and expensive clothing Varrick had seen.

They were white with some rather pointed large collars that he swore could take a man's head off is only she would spin round. As for the rest of the outfit, it was made of some thin Orlesian material designed far more for fashion than practicality. Her outfit highlighted her chest area drawing an unsuspecting persons gaze to that region of her body. With the two strips of fabric that went around the back of her neck to hold this tight corset up, it gave off the appearance that the woman was attending some type of ball rather than a battlefield. Then there was that ridiculous likely heavy metal hat on her head giving off the impression that she had horns.

"I'll keep that in mind" Vivene turned her gaze onto the elf mage raising an amused eyebrow as the man brought his staff back into its holster. "Solas darling I couldn't help but notice that your style is a little crude. Perhaps when we return to Haven I could give you some assistance in correcting that." She smiled sweetly at the bald elf giving off the impression that she wanted to help yet she was unable to disguise the pompous arrogant tone.

"I thank you for your offer First Enchanter; however I would prefer to take lessons from a mage who does not overcharge their attacks" Politely Solas replied before then bending down.

"I shall keep that in mind Solas." Hiding her scoff from the lack of response from the elf, Vivienne waltzed her way merrily with no attempt in the slightest to hide that she was of the nobility where she then engulfed the second Darkspawn corpse in a blistering white fire.

Correcting his balance slightly so as not to fall down and physically touch the rotting corpse Solas inspected the now dead enemy who had attempted to claim their lives only moments ago. Cold dead hateful eyes like that of a burn caused by the cold stared up at the thundering sky black ichors running out the side of its mouth. Turning his attention over to the whole Darkspawn, he inspected it closely again from the size and shape of the monster to the weapons and armour it had carried into battle.

"It's a young Darkspawn" He announced grabbing the attention of the others in the nearby vicinity. "Not a newborn, but it certainly hasn't hit its full maturity." Cassandra gave the man a curious look. On her walk towards him, she noticed that one of the Darkspawn still wasn't dead. Not hesitating in the slightest she thrust her sword into its skull killing it with a small hiss.

"How can you tell?" Cassandra would happily admit that she had never faced enough Darkspawn to know much more than the very basics about them. Her primary focus had been mages and demons, not evil monsters tainted by a blackness that came from the Fade. Although with its origins she could state that it was also the duty of the Templars and Mages to fight the Blight.

"During my travels, I have seen many a memory of a Grey Warden. I can easily recognise from their memories what constitutes a new Darkspawn" Nodding grimly Cassandra gritted her teeth. This was only their first encounter with the monsters, unfortunately, they all knew that it would not be their last.

"Is that good or bad?" Off in the distance, Cassandra felt a small amount of relief as Vivienne finished off the last remaining Darkspawn with another plume of weapon. Curling her nose up in response to the newly created stench of burnt flesh, she silently prayed that Solas would finish his sentence and they that they could move on to less corpse infested areas.

"I cannot say. On one hand, newly formed Darkspawn were sent to the surface to get experience as they were or to try and lash out on their own. If we were facing a Blight then there would have been more of them" Standing back up again, the group of four quickly regrouped and joined forces once more quickly moving over the rocky and beach terrain of the Storm Coast. It didn't take them long to encounter more Darkspawn however.

"Heads up" Varrick cried setting his target on the closet Hurlock embedding it with a bolt between its eyes. Like before Cassandra rushed forward her sword in hand as thirty Darkspawn all cried at once pounding down the hill like a herd of horses on a cavalry charge towards them.

Solas gathering the power of the Fade within him, allowed the energy to flow through his body building up in volume where it reached his staff. Only a brief second passed before a shining blazing red bolt of fire flew forth striking the head Darkspawn. Exploding with another thunderous bellowing roar, white fire incinerated bone and flesh in an instant whilst tearing the limbs off sending more black blood spewing all over the area like a fountain of dark rotting water. Other Darkspawn were catapulted off the ground with a tremendous force sent hurtling back as if they weighed nothing. Crashing down heavily their bodies broke on the sheer impact as their weak frail bodies smashed into the large boulder-like rocks with an audible crunching noise.

"Mages" Varrick shook sarcastically. "Always making a mess of everything" Turning to the elf he pointed towards the newly painted rock a few metres to their left. It was a mess of pale corrupted flesh, black ichors trailing down like watered paint tendrils reaching towards the floor hoping to gather up prey to consume all of which had been mixed with what the dwarf guessed was the sinew of the monster's brain. "Chuckles did those Grey Wardens have any memories on how to get Darkspawn shit off my shirt"

Turning around with no tact or grace at all, Varrick revealed his now dishevelled appearance to the rest of the group. His usual pink skin now was stained by strips of Darkspawn blood while his once well known and adored chest hair was now home to multiple pieces of flesh and guts holding it close in a loving embrace.

"Varrick if anyone has the right to complain it's me" It was certainly true. Where Varrick had a few splashes of blood and chunks of guts, Cassandra had essentially been covered head to toe in the sudden explosion. Utterly caked in blackness with pieces of white milky flesh in large clumps all over like polka dots, Cassandra appeared less to be a noble warrior of the chantry and more of a woman who had gotten into a fight with a mud pit and lost.

"New makeup Seeker" The glare of utter loathing that was sent Varricks way was so palpable that for a moment Varrick almost thought that the woman was a mage readying her deadly powers to smite him into a tiny million pieces. Instead, she brought her blood-drenched hands to her eyes and began to wipe away the filth from them. With a dark look to Solas, she returned to the task.

"According to the Wardens, such behaviour of Darkspawn is to be expected around areas that hold an entrance to the Deep Roads. If we find that then all we have to do is close it and kill any remaining stragglers"

"That is a sound plan" Vivienne spoke loudly entirely unaffected by the messy display of magic like Varrick and Cassandra. Preventing herself from commenting on the Seekers new state of dress despite how much she longed too, she moved the conversation along. "So do we have an idea of where that is or are we going to have to search the entire area?". With a deep unwomanly almost primal growl from Cassandra, the woman pushed ahead, her hand tightening around the grip of her sword squelching slightly on the pool of blood that had now covered it.

"This way"

It took time for the group to advance forward, more than once did they counter a group of Darkspawn in the area stalking the land. They dispatched them quickly ensuring that they were unable to alert the rest of their race as to their presence. As they kept moving through the miserable terrain that was sure to inflict the group with colds for the next few days, Solas struck up a conversation with Varrick.

"That crossbow is rather remarkable Varrick. I'm surprised that the Dwarves haven't made more of them"

"The woman who made Bianca would rather that not happen, War's bloody enough as it is" Varric sighed gently caressing the weapon in his hand. Bianca had seen him through a lot, a constant companion that had saved his life more times he could count. "A crossbow that fires this far and this quickly with so little training. Every battle would be a massacre."

"Indeed. I am surprised, not disappointed" It truly was an astonishing weapon Solas thought. Having wondered the Fade glimpsing at old battles, warriors caked in the blood of their enemies as they stood victoriously, generals staring dispassionately at the scene of carnage below either too afraid or not caring in the slightest to join the battle or just the bloodied muddy fields of a battle abandoned, Solas had seen all types of war and the weapons that were used in war.

"I'm surprised in your interested in weapons Chuckles. Aren't you mages supposed to look down on us mere mortals" Solas chuckled good-naturedly yet his smile did not reach his eyes? A brief haunted look flashed. No one noticed.

"Fire is a useful tool yes as is lightning and Ice, however, I cannot help but be curious on the subject. Fighting with a sword requires just as much skill and training as magic does." Speaking cryptically, Varric rolled his eyes at the response. With a gentle stroke of his crossbow, he placed it back into its sheath so he could turn to face the elf.

"I've seen what Hawke did with magic, makes me wonder why kings even bother with armies" Whether it was calling forth a hail of white blistering ice pounding and smashing relentlessly into the ground, unleashing a deadly wave of sheer invisible force knocking back all in the way like dolls thrown by an ogre or the capacity to bring one back on the precipice of death itself, magic was a most extraordinary and dangerous power.

"Because my dear Varric if Mages were allowed to run loose on the world then the majority of commoners would be nothing but corpses. With the Templar Order, the commoner rarely has to be concerned with being murdered one night because some apostate has decided to summon forth a demon using blood magic." Solas scrunched his eyebrow hiding his contempt for the woman. Vivienne gave him no care simply twirling her staff in her hand as if it was nothing but a fancy toy rather than a deadly weapon that could kill a man with a simple wave.

"You are of the opinion First Enchanter that the majority of mages would use their powers for ill the moment they were given freedom" Pompously, The woman harshly kicked a piece of grass down that had in her apparent view, dared to grow too long crushing it down with a single step before thrusting her head upwards marching on.

"Most Mages are delusional dear. They scream and cry day after day about how they are mistreated by the Templar Order, about how they should be given their freedom. It is nothing but the selfish actions and desires of children who are out of touch and have no care for anything if it does not concern them". In a moment the once dreary atmosphere of four people slugging through a cold stormy day on a jagged rocky beach was changed to one of anger and rage. Unlike how other perhaps younger more carefree mages would react, neither of the two mages launched any spells nor raised their tone in any way. They kept things civil but with a biting barb like a beautiful rose being gifted to an individual only for them to cut their hands on the thorns upon the stem.

"You call it the desire of children for people to be treated equally" Solas glared at the woman in her eyes.

"How can a mage be treated equally to others Darling. When a non-mage is scared they run and hide in some corner crying to themselves. A mage, on the other hand, unleashes a torrent of flame burning all nearby killing parents, crops and buildings. A mage is not equal to a non-mage, not when one can call on the powers of the fade at their disposal and the other cannot." Countering his point, Vivienne met the elf mans gazed with a bored expression. How many times had she heard this argument before she wondered tiredly? The dreams of a deluded fool, seeing what one had and desiring it for themselves when they had more than that person ever did.

"I am aware of what happens when a child is scared, Enchanter. It does not matter if the child acts out with their power, magic does not determine the personality of one so young" Vivienne scoffed. Taking in his set of clothes she shook her head once more wrinkling her nose in disgust far more than she ever could for the sight and smell of rotten corpses and flesh that wafted upwards in the wind.

"Oh, so you are of the opinion that when a child learns of the power of magic that they will not use it against others who do not. What defence does the average boy or girl have, how can they stop a young mage from taking what they want? Their parents surely can't help, not unless they plan to kill the mage or would you prefer that the mage is allowed to continue their business taking anything they wanted too?. Eventually, a mob will form and hunt the child down killing them in their rage. That is if the demons don't find the child first."

"Magic is a gift, something to be cherished. It can be abused however under the proper tutelage and moral values the child is not likely to steal" Leaning on his staff, Solas inspected the nearby area his eyes scanning closely for any sign of the monsters. For some odd reason, they had vanished. Tightening his eyes in preparation, he brought his staff closer to his body his mind gently whispering in his head quickly ready to unleash should a Darkspawn strike from nowhere.

"Exactly my dear" Vivienne smirked believing that she had gained a victory. "Magic needs education to be used properly. If it were not for the Circles then most mages would have fallen to the demons becoming abominations and slaughtering countless innocents. Without the circles how would those with magic learn to control their power" Fluttering her eyes at the man Vivienne watched amusedly as the elf man searched the area for another threat.

"Perhaps, but that does not mean that the Chantry should be responsible for their education. A religion that harbours hatred for its students will never be as effective as those hold a free mind" Solas thought back on the mages he had seen from the Chantry. They were all so limited, restricted by their fear of the unknown and entirely against even daring to take one step out of the door. The Templars were a dangerous threat it was true, however, if the Mages were willing to push forward past the doctrine of the Chantry then perhaps they may have stood up for their freedom a long time ago.

"A free mind" Vivienne drawled. "That is a most certain path to decadence and corruption my dear Solas. An open mind allows for one to experiment with the dark forces of the world, commit crimes against their fellow people as they "discover" their power." Once again Solas desired that he had actually been part of a different group. Meeting the mages at Redcliff could have been an interesting endeavour and he certainly wasn't opposed to seeing the wondrous city of Orzzamar in person. Instead of that, he had been given the worse assignment of being stuck with this Orlesian woman. "Tell me Solas would you like for mages to have a free mind when they enter the fade and converse with demons. What about with blood magic, do you also believe that it should be approached from a fair angle?"

"Blood magic is no more evil than any other. If approached correctly." Vivienne scoffed once more before she brought her hand in front of her focusing on the tips of her nails as if they mattered more then a conversation on magic.

"Then you are in need of some proper education, my dear. Blood Magic has shown time and time again that it is nothing be evil and a mage will always turn to it the moment they have their back against a wall."

"All animals fighter more fiercely when they are trapped and feel like they cannot escape; In such a situation it is only to be expected that a mage will draw on such a power if they believe that they have no other choice. Such a thing could be prevented if the force driving them to the wall was removed" Speaking resolutely, Solas rolled his eyes as he saw the Enchanter go to scoff again. She stopped herself from doing so but then shook her head from side to side gently and consolingly as if she was staring down a young naive apprentice who was so engrossed with their studies that they never once bothered to learn the truth.

"So you wish to take away the Chantry, the Templar's and even the Circles. Tell me Solas would you have mages live among the people." Inquiring towards the elf, Vivienne would admit that she was curious to see just how each member of the Inquisition believed that mages should be treated. So far she found it ironic that the three other mages besides herself who made up the inner council all advocated for mage freedom yet none of them had ever been part of a Circle. Nathanael was the closet having been educated in a school by other mages but as it wasn't with the rules and regulations of the Chantry, he was as good as a hedge-mage.

"Yes," Solas nodded his head.

"And when they kill someone or become an abomination?"

"Then I would kill them". Raising a perfectly pedicured eyebrow, Vivienne quirked her lips to the left slightly where she then silently asked the man for an explanation. "Magic is far more elegant than a sword or a bow but a murderer is still a murderer. I would hold them accountable for their actions"

"So you would make yourself judge jury and executioner." She stared disbelievingly at the elf. "There are a lot of mages in the world my Dear Solas. You would have to be both omniscient and immortal for you to carry out such a task."

"Then tell me, first Enchanter, how would you prefer for the mages to be treated. Would you still preferred for them to be locked up in their prisons, children taken away from parents that they will never know, taught to make them think that they are monsters and are only normal individuals when a war comes and someone asks for their aid" With a withering glare Solas held back the contempt and disgust that he held for this woman. Secretly he had hoped now that he had met her that she had been killed by one of the other mages. The way she treated other mages like children calling their complaints selfish and agree with harsh punishments while she herself suffered nothing brought him back to a certain time. This woman reminded him of Them.

"Imprisonment is all about who holds the key darling." She chuckled "There have been some foolish attempts by others, why not allow the one in charge to be passed on to someone who knows what they are doing."

"You believe that you should be the one left in charge?" The smile Solas received back was telling enough. He had seen that look on a large amount of peoples faces, it was not one of trepidation of trying to do the right thing, that smile was one of a person who was fantasising about what they could do with such influence.

"Others have tried, why not I. Do you not believe that a Mage with the proper training and experience could help the lives of their fellow mages" Her words were like a plant that Solas had seen in the memories of a Tevinter Magister. The flower would produce a sweet smelling sap that would draw in insects of all kinds. Upon arrival, they would search for the sap soon finding it out in the open. As soon as they started drinking, the flower would close with wicked looking teeth trapping it and would then begin digesting it over a period of days.

"Yes, an educated and experienced Mage could lead the mages effectively. Just not you Enchanter. You would only lead them to more slavery" Vivienne almost growled at the man her eyes sharply boring into him apparently trying to make him suddenly combust into a roaring inferno and turn him into ash. Nothing happened but the First Enchanter falling into a deep silent hateful glare.

With a return back to the more tranquil surroundings and their goal of finding and eliminating the Darkspawn, Solas soon was able to concentrate on more important matters. Cassandra gave him a cautious look, she too it seemed had noted the sudden lack of Darkspawn in the area. He was about to question why when he was stopped short as they advanced up a hill.

There at least a mile before them was a tall humanoid pale creature far higher than any other human standing at the same size as the rocky cliffs that held back the powerful currents of the sea like a wall against a tide of invaders. It was not alone, however, this powerful creature made up of what appeared to be unbridled rage and muscle was giving combat to none other than one of the most feared creatures known to man. A dragon.

Powerfully and thunderously like the cannons that Varric had once heard upon a Qunari Dreadnought, the two monsters smashed against one another. The large humanoid creature known as a giant as that was all it could be launched a mighty fist towards the scaled beast hammering hard into its stomach with a booming bellow. Responding in kind, the dragon reared it snake-like maw towards the giant discharging a blazing bonfire of fiery death and destruction striking the giant back. Another echoing bellow rolled out of the giant tongue. So loud it was that the party of four were forced to clutch their hands to their ears fiercely guarding their capacity to hear sound. It was a devastating enough bellow that Vivienne squinted in pain.

Rearing its arm back again the giant slammed its meaty firsts into the dragon smacking with enough force that a shattering noise was heard. Screaming furiously the dragon beat it's scaly wings once blasting out trees stones, sand, water back in a tornado strength gust that even forced the giant to stagger back forced to catch its balance. Before the large opponent could come and send another strike the dragon heaved it's wings once more beating the wind around it and flew upwards into the dark clouds where it could no longer be seen.

With its prey or attacker lost, the giant spun around on its feet where it then stopped midway as it noted them. Varrics breath hitched in his throat as the two large eyes stared down at him as if he was an ant. Where should he shoot first? The eye he reckoned would likely piss it off and even if he did blind the creature it would then likely start attacking wildly in any sort of direction. His worries were promptly unfounded as it's large barefoot crashed against the ground as the Giant headed in the opposite direction.

"That was close. You alright Seeker" Steadily Cassandra brought her sword down along with her shield gently placing them back where they needed to go. With only a light noise as the metal sword slipped against the leather sheath, Cassandra turned to Varric nodding slightly still shaken from what he had seen.

"I'm fine. I wasn't expecting to see a dragon or a giant" Punching her with a small modicum of force, Varric grabbed the attention of the Seeker and pointed back to the direction of the dark stormy clouds. Several miles away a small jot of bright blue had emerged. It was surrounded on all fronts buy the ever-encroaching storm, however, the light continued to pour forth through that small hole and onto the rest of the gloomy coast illuminating the world a small amount.

"That takes me back" Looking over to the smiling dwarf, Cassandra shook her head as she imagined that Varric was reminiscing on when he and the Champion of Kirkwall had investigated the incident at some nearby mine or quarry only to come across a High Dragon. "You killed one didn't you" Grunting, Cassandra wished she could do away with the curious gazes that were set upon her by the rest of the group.

"You killed a dragon Seeker. Are you willing to share your story" In vain she dropped her attention downwards to Varrick praying that he could take advantage of the situation and tell his own story or perhaps if needed tell them the story. Instead though she saw the hairy chested man grinning up at her like a pack of ravenous children did to an adult the moment they saw cake.

"Oh no Seeker, if anyone's telling this story it's you" Cassandra merely groaned again.

"I'm afraid we are going to have to wait for that story my dears. There's a rather large group of Darkspawn heading this way" True to her word, a rabble of Darkspawn had emerge from a large overhanging cave soiling out onto the hilly area. Drawing her sword, Cassandra hastened her walking speed and moved against them.

Like all the other skirmishes they had been a part of, the Darkspawn were quickly defeated. Most were slaughtered before they could get within four metres of Cassandra as some spell either from Solas or Vivienne put it into a grave. Idly Cassandra noted that neither of them liked to keep to one particular spell. When an ogre had charged at her it was only a moment before the thing had been encased in ice and then shattered as if it was nothing. Later a bunch of Darkspawn archers were all punctured as a wall of thick icicles emerge before their feet impaling them and leaving them like little baubles on a tree. Varric, for the most part, managed to kill one or two Darkspawn. For the most part, they were the ones out of range for the two mages but still he did more work then Cassandra whose only contribution to the fight was to be smeared in more blood and more guts.

"Could you mages make you're killing a little neater" Wiping her face with the back of her gauntlet covered hand, Cassandra winced as she sniffed the stench of dead Darkspawn. Worse than even rotten milk combined with stale eggs, a person would be able to notice the presence of these monsters a good distance away.

"Sadly I'm afraid not Seeker." Varric gave him a sarcastic look.

"How exactly is magic more elegant if it results in this carnage" Gesturing to the sheer mess of bodies strewn around on the floor, rotting and burnt carcases littering the ground so easily like leaves in an autumn gale.

"It is not the final result, but the process". Shaking his head, Varrick worked hard to hide his chuckles as he noted that once more Cassandra now appeared to be some kind of monster from a novel coated entirely in blood as it searched for innocent children to pull out of bed and drag into her lair where she would then consume them one by one. When the templars would finally arrive all they would see were the remains of a child's bones.

"Always with the cryptic stuff. If there's one good thing about keeping mages locked in towers guarded by Templar's, it keeps the blood out of my shirt" Smiling as he leaned on his staff, Solas directed the dwarves attention over to the oncoming crashing waves and white frothing bubbles that brushed ashore as if the beach itself was a canvas and the bubbles paint.

"Well the sea is always there" Varric shook his head.

"I would have thought Chuckles that you know Dwarves can't swim"

"It's not a case that they can't" Solas countered. "It's just that their shorter stature makes buoyancy far harder than a human or elf. Like throwing in a rock compared to a twig"

"Are you calling me fat chuckles"

"No master Varric you are the right size for someone your age. Perfect for creating a wave of water when you inevitably do decide to wash "Varric blinked repeatedly. Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult? Knowing the smug elf, it was likely both.

"All right you two cut it out. We still have to find the source of these attacks" Reluctantly, the two of them agreed to follow the Seekers words resulting in both members helping the dark-haired woman to search the cave that they had entered.

The cave, like most caves, was dark, grey, wet and the air felt clammy. Tapping his staff to the ground, Solas channelled his magical power into the top conjuring a bright white light that shone forth. Advancing forwards they soon noticed the presence of the previous Darkspawn. A battered worn footpath led further into the cave daring the group to follow it further to see what could possibly be hiding in the blackness. Sharing a look between themselves, the group silently cast a vote with only their eyes on whether they should venture forth.

"I hate caves" Varric complained.

"Let's just hope this doesn't lead to the Deep Roads" A shiver ran though Cassandra at the idea of going near such a place.

"Seeker" Varric spoke sullenly. His face had gone a deathly pale and his eyes were downcast and twitching constantly from side to side inspecting for and hoping that there were no Darkspawn. after a while, he gripped Bianca firmly, his finger gently pushing down on the trigger. Not enough to fire the weapon by mistake, but enough that the moment he saw one of the dreaded creatures he could unleash the power of his crossbow and exterminate its black existence. "If the Darkspawn came out of this cave, then we're dealing with the deep roads"

"Vivienne could you also" Not even allowing for the Seeker to finish, Vivienne also lit her staff up allowing for her light to assist in Solas's as they marched forward their wet soggy boots squelching loudly on the dark rock.

"So Varric, I was wondering if you could answer some questions for me" Despite the quirking of his eyebrow up at the man for breaking the uncomfortable silence that the group had, Varric was glad that the elf had asked a question. Stalking through these bare stone walls in silence with the knowledge that they could encounter a group of those monsters was not exactly the most endearing thing.

"Ask away chuckles, anything is better than walking through here in silence" Varric shivered his mind turning back all those years ago to when he and Hawke had first entered the Deep Roads to find their treasure. Even now he vividly remembered the time he had first laid eyes upon that eyebrow the way it pulsed evilly. By the maker he wished he had never gone down there with Hawke, he wished he had never found that dam thing. The way it sung to him at times. He shivered again.

"The dwarves of Orzammar own the Lyrium trade, how come they have not asked the surface kingdoms for land or territory to support them. Would it not be a wiser choice to personally own farmland rather than trading for it" Varric sighed breathing in the foul corrupted air.

"You're not saying anything that I haven't said myself. Orzammar is traditional, those in charge generally want to keep things that way. I also guess that it could lead to a conflict with Ferelden, I don't particularly see King Alistair taking too kindly to dwarves demanding land for lyrium"

"But it could be done" Varric frowned.

"They could ask and they might get something in return. Ultimately though it's not really effective and likely would lead to war. Orzammar claims anything underground and leaves the surface kingdoms alone. If they started to demand land then the kingdoms will demand that they mine whatever, naturally, Orzammar will get angry at the human's demands and will take it as an insult cutting off supply to Lyrium"

"Which would lead to a war with the Chantry and an Exalted March would be called against the dwarves." Cassandra interrupted quietly. She wasn't a politician, but even she knew what the Chantry would do if the Templar's were threatened in such a way. When Tevinter had broken away from the main faith and proclaimed their black Divine, Exalted Marches had been called left right and centre with none of them successful. That, however, had been primarily about a difference of opinion and no real threat. Cutting of Lyrium without a doubt meant the destruction of the Templar Order. "Templar's need Lyrium for their powers in fighting Templar's, without it then they are nothing more than regular humans"

"Without Lyrium, the Templar order would be destroyed and Mages let free on the world to cause havoc" Vivienne sniffed. "The trade deal with Orzammar is a necessary evil at least until a Divine with vision got rid of such a glaring weakness". This time it was Varric who chuckles at the sheer absurdity of what Vivienne was suggesting.

"You would go to war with Orzammar?" The doubt in his voice was clear. "It's not like fighting up here, Mages aren't as useful with a wide open space. Too many spells and you'd bring the entire cave around their heads." Shaking her head Vivienne taped the dwarf on his shoulder unleashing a light scathing look when she spoke again.

"My dear, why ever would I want to fight? All that is needed is to cut off access to their food. They cannot hold out forever and when they surrender or if they are all killed because of their foolish pride, we then just march in and take control of the entire supply." Solas scowled at the woman.

"You would just so effortlessly kill thousands of people just so that the Templar's could have access to Lyrium" Solas raised his voice angrily at the woman. "You show yourself to be nothing more than a Tyrant killing anyone who would hold a different viewpoint" Shrugging her shoulders casually with a smug grin on her face, the Enchanter happily bowed low to Solas in a mocking and teasing way.

"I think an intelligent Divine would agree with me. Allowing the dwarves, a group of people who did not believe in the Chantry and the Maker to hold control of one of the most precious recourses in the world is a rather large security threat. At any time the Dwarves could refuse to sell Lyrium to the Chantry and when that happened the Mages would be free to kill anyone they pleased. Surely you can see that dear Solas"

As much as Solas wanted to disagree with her, Vivienne was correct in her assessment. Only dwarves had the capacity to mine Lyrium and even then it was a dangerous trade. Miners could go insane if not die from coming into contact with such raw amounts of the substance. That severely hampered the ability to keep a steady supply of the material coming to the surface and risked damaging the entire Chantry if they could not get their supply.

"She has a point Chuckles. I doubt it would work though"

"Oh, how do you see that Varric, do you doubt the strength of the armies of Orlais?" Shaking his head, the man idly wondered if he should pass this on to one of his contacts in Orzzamar. An attack on the city was highly unlikely, but when this shit with the Breach all ended it would be best to make sure that he and his fellow associates would not be harmed. If the Chantry took control of Orzammar then the Coterie would have a lot harder time smuggling the Lyrium to places that the Chantry didn't want it.

"Not at all Iron Lady, Orlais and it's Chevaliers are impressive but that's purely on the ground"

"And how exactly does that matter?" Varrick laughed lightly at the surprising lack of knowledge the mage knew. For one who supposedly wanted to conquer Orzzamar, she knew very little about it and had apparently given no thought in the slightest in how she would fight in those tightly contained spaces.

"Horses are good on the ground, Iron Lady because they have a large open space to move around. They can charge and dance around an enemy as much as they want all they have to do is watch out for rivers and forests. On the other hand, fighting underground is different. Cavalry down there is a liability. Your Chevaliers are too tall and easy to spot, they'd either be hit continuously with arrows and they could only ever charge directly forward into a column of spears with no way around."

"Then I would send our mages to the front, batter shields and spear with fireballs and ice." The idea of using magic against a hardened dwarven battle line underground gave Varric pause only to laugh more at the absurdity off it. It was an interesting thought, but one that would end futilely and perhaps could make an interesting book.

"Have you ever read up on dwarves Iron Lady?" Varrick questioned her curiously. "We're resistant to magic. Besides, your fireball would need line of sight and nothing between the mage and the dwarves. The moment your pretty little mage tried anything they would be shot full of arrows and even then it's doubtful that they would break the line."

"Then an Earthquake could be summoned to break your line" This time it was Cassandra who stared at Vivienne as if she was an idiot.

"An earthquake whilst you would be underground in small tightly contained tunnels?" Punctuating his words, Varric only imagined such a scenario. A bunch of humans in tight corridors bringing down an earthquake because they thought it would dislodge their enemies. He could only imagine the roar as earth shattered around them, the screams from humans as rock collided downwards burying the entire passage in rubble and smashing anyone who would be in the tunnels into a bloody pile.

"It would work" Solas rolled his eyes. "But you also lose your own soldiers either from lack of air or being killed by the falling debris. Honestly, First Enchanter to fight the dwarves in their land on their terms is suicidal"

"And yet the Darkspawn managed to destroy nearly all of Dwarven civilisation." The first Enchanter rebutted giving a sickly sweet smile at the two as if they had entirely forgotten that a bunch of soulless dark monsters had slaughtered a mighty empire.

"A race that requires no need for sleep, sustenance or an economy. A race that produces their numbers in large batches by brood mothers and comes out as fully grown, a race who heals so quickly that an ogre can be back to full health after only a day of rest from a serious injury. It is also a race who has no need for Lyrium. Darkspawn are nothing but an endless swarm of monsters and are only ever beaten when the Archdemon is found and killed. Even then, the Darkspawn are not destroyed, just driven back underground until the next blight begins" Solas stared menacingly into the eyes of the Enchanter silently asking him to debate his words for her to state that the Darkspawn were more than an endless swarm whose power came from sheer numbers alone.

"Exactly, if the surface world attacked, then it would likely be repulsed. Once that happens I can't see Orzammar ever selling the Chantry Lyrium again considering that it would cause all this mess." Smugly Solas gave his own bow of his head in respect to the first Enchanter after Varric gave those comments.

"You're very actions to secure the power of the Chantry First Enchanter would instead destroy it. Only it would be far worse as your actions would decimate the Templar order entirely as any stocks of Lyrium would run out far sooner than you would expect them too" Ever so slightly alarmed by his words, Cassandra faced the Elf. She doubted it was anything serious, but there was an unsettling feeling in her stomach.

"What do you know off the supplies of Lyrium?" Fingering the hilt of her sword, Cassandra kept pushing through the tight confines of the caves that they were in. So far it appeared that they stretched forever on with no hint of ending and only the glow of the two mages staffs as their light source. Where were the Darkspawn she thought to herself? By now she was sure she should have seen some stragglers or other Darkspawn based along such thoughts. Only there was no blood splattered on the walls and no hint of the taint.

"War has a tendency to burn through stocks of supplies far faster than those who count them believe. Even with experience, rationing can often go wrong. In a war against the dwarves, mages would surely take advantage and perhaps even rise up in their circles forcing the Templar's to burn through their supplies even quicker."

"Chuckles is correct Seeker. If there was a war, then the Coterie would be having a field day charging exorbitant prices to the Templar order just for a small amount of Lyrium. Actually, it would likely only raise the prices in general and just help us surface dwarves." Pushing forward, Cassandra almost stopped. All of a sudden she began to feel anxious, she didn't know what it was, but it was if something was approaching or rather she was approaching something dangerous. She readied her sword in preparation. Behind her, however, Solas and the others also brought their weapons into a more favourable position but still carried on talking.

"I assume you mean the futile efforts of those small surface dwarf mines" Vivienne inquired. "I thought that the Chantry had closed them down" Varric rolled his eyes. Looking over to the Seeker he stopped as he saw the woman was almost growling. He smiled. He was annoying her and he loved it. It was hilarious at times just how fearsome the woman would become. Within a few moments, he knew that the woman would yell at him to shut up or for him to prepare for combat. It was the latter that was called.

"Darkspawn get ready" Almost as if on cue a loud unearthly screech rushed down the halls sounding like some great dark monster that was going to cut them and kill them all. They weren't wrong.

Charging down the corridor in front of them, the group instantly attacked the monsters as best they could. Cassandra took the most forward position with her shield brought out in front of her. Her hands gripped her shield tightly, waiting for the first creature to bash into it at full force.

With a blood-chilling scream, the first Darkspawn slammed into Cassandra' shield with a loud crash before gurgling and dropping dead as it fell upon the Seekers sword. Behind it, the Darkspawn kin also soon raced towards them. Loudly they barrelled into her crashing into her shield with a cacophony of noise as bodies piled up on top of one another. Cassandra grunted loudly at the weight struggling to hold back the ever-increasing number. As the numbers continued to increase, her muscles burned painfully begging her to push back or retreat from the number.

As she kept holding them back, the hairs on the back of her neck began to tingle with a familiar feeling. Before she could speak to confirm if such an action was going to take place, she could just barely see the glimmering of a red light glowing above the horde. Groaning with pain, she flared up her own power.

With a mighty blast, fire rang down from the small gap above the Darkspawn head. Lashing down like a tidal wave, fire engulfed the Darkspawn that pressed on top of her waving their blades in the air. Blasting and burning, the Darkspawn were set alight their flesh melting and skin cooking filling the entire tunnel with the stench of death. Those who had been closer to the initial explosion been incinerated but still it was everything in Cassandra's power to hold back the monsters from landing on top of her. Then it stopped. The fire extinguished and the weight had all seemingly vanished.

Panting heavily, Cassandra pulled herself to her feet. Gently an arm touched her shoulder. Spinning around, Cassandra came face to face with the concerned eyes of Varric. Briefly, her face tinted ever so slightly red.

"Seeker are you okay" Varric stared at the woman in concern. As much as he teased and joked with her, he was relieved to see when Cassandra nodded that she was unhurt.

"Yes," she muttered gently touching her cheek. She frowned as it felt warm. Concern blossomed on Varric's face as he brought out a slightly dirty piece of cloth and then pressed it to her cheek rubbing it. "What are you"

"Oh relax Seeker, I'm just making sure that your wound isn't infected." Varic looked towards the two mages sternly. Without further asking, Vivienne walked forward and raised her hand gently placing it on Cassandra's cheek. Calling forth her magic, a bright blue light appeared in the palm of her hand over the wound.

Quickly, the gash that had scarred Cassandras right cheek began to retreat as the skin began to knit itself back together at an exceeded pace. Within only a minute, the entire skin had been healed leaving no mark and unblemished skin.

"Thank you" Panting again, Cassandra leaned back against the damp mossy wall breathing in and out slowly as she allowed air to fill her lungs. "We need to move on, find where this leads and then close the passage." She eyed Solas. "Do you think that these attacks are the result of this Magister" Solas shook his head.

"No most likely the Darkspawn just tunnelled this part out."

"Well we should get moving, the faster we close this passage the faster we leave the Darkspawn" Varric shivered, as much as he tried not to think about that time when he had found the idol in that odd Thaig, it was no use. Constantly those memories haunted him. Whether it was the first time that his own brother had betrayed him and left him for dead or the ever lingering sense of death and decay from the Darkspawn, the DeepRoads was a bad time. On the other hand, one memory still struck him as bizarre. Even now he wondered how that odd Dwarven boy had managed to freeze that ogre and kill the rest of the Darkspawn with "Not Enchantment" whatever the Maker that meant. Then again considering what happened down there it was likely for the best if he didn't know.

"Yes, I agree. The quicker we leave this ugly cave the better" Varric said nothing, knowing that woman, as soon as she got back to Haven she was going to have some kind of fancy party or bath. Andraste's tits he knew he and the Seeker needed one covered in the blood and guts that they were.

Ten minutes later after weaving and bobbing through twisting and turning tunnels, the group finally emerged from the dark tight confines of the tunnel and walked into the cold dead bask of the Deep Roads. They said nothing as they stared at the barren and abandoned road of a once mighty empire. Once long ago it would have been used to transport goods underground from all corners of the continent. Now though it was just a stark reminder of the power of the Darkspawn. Curious as to how his dwarven friend would react, Solas looked at Varric

What he had expected to see was a man with some sense of loss or nostalgia for a time when his race was more powerful and influential. Instead, he just saw raw memories etched on the man's face and a sense of high discomfort. Not once in anywhere in the man's eyes did he see any sort of sadness for what his people had lost.

"I'm surprised you're not upset at seeing this place Varric." That caught the mans attention. "Your people were a mighty empire once. These roads ran all throughout Thedas connecting the Anderfells to Ferelden. Now they are gone, defiled by Darkspawn left as nothing but tombs and memories of a greater time" Solas stared at the dwarf expecting to see some kind of reaction on the man's that indicated that he could return to what his people were once.

"And why would that be the case Chuckles? I'm no Orzzamar dwarf, I have no connection to this place." Solas stepped back his eyes fluttered with shock. That had not been the reaction he was expecting. "What's the matter Chuckles, can't believe such a thing"

"I'm just surprised. Do you not feel any connection to the Stone?" Varric rolled his eyes in a bored fashion looking over at the remains of the once decorative area with a small sense of derision.

"No, I don't even know what the "Stone" is other than something that "Proper Dwarves" worship. I can't even see why a person would want to live underground. The air tastes like piss, it's far too dark and it's all so dull, like watching a bad romance novel over and over" Cassandra scoffed slightly offended.

"Do you not have any interest in learning?"

"Of course not, why would I want to be part of the Stone or some shit when I can be me. Who knows, if I became part of the Stone, would that make me no longer me?. I like being me, I like telling stories and meeting new people. If the Stone changed that?." Solas bowed his head slowly his eyes scrunched in intense thought. After only a brief time had passed, Solas gave his friend a smile.

"Very well Varric I will respect your choice" Solemnly Solas turned his focus back onto the deep roads. He felt sorry for such a mighty race, to be reduced to only one lone city from a continent-spanning empire was a social collapse if he had ever heard one. Worse if those who settled away no longer even considered themselves connected to the other dwarves. Idly he wondered if the dwarves could truly survive the way they have been or would instead they collapse and fade to nothing but a footnote in history.

With a quick minute of checking that there were no other tunnels or caves in nearby, the group nodded before turning around again and walking the same route out that they had come in appearing in the cold wet and still stormy terrain of the Storm coast.

"Chuckles if you would" Stepping forward, Solas conjured his power allowing it to flow freely through his body gathering in strength as a small light of red energy grew in size and brightness. Thrusting his staff forward, the ball of light flew forward with a powerful shove slamming into the stone wall above the tunnel entrance where it detonated with a loud explosion. Rocking the stone all around it, the tunnel collapses almost instantly with a miasma of heavy dust coasting the group from head to toe. "Now can we go home Seeker"

After a quick cursory glance at the tunnel's now barricaded entrance, the Seeker nodded her head and began the long trudging walk all the way to Haven.

They didn't make it far up the coast however when once more they came under attack. This time unlike the last however was not punctuated by the gurgling and screaming sounds of tainted creatures with ichor pouring out of their eyes and mouth with bleach white skinned and malicious evil eyes. These attackers were humans or they were believed to be humans. Their stature was too tall for them to be dwarven and too broad to be an elf. They were almost certainly not a Qunari as then the attackers would have towered over them by about two feet on average; Far higher in Varric's case.

With good timing, Cassandra blocked the oncoming with her shield before then pulling it back slightly and rammed it headfirst into the attackers face with a jaw-shattering smash. Another one came at her, however, this time she noted the presence of Solas forcing her to rapidly raise her shield once more. Barrelling past her at ridiculous speed, the attacker's entire top half from the legs up was turned into a red paste as a fist of hard stone pounded the enemy. Turning her attention to Solas, she glared as once again she knew she was going to have to spend time picking blood and guts out of her hair.

"Why does magic have to be so messy" She growled. Her short black hair that had been doused in the blood of her enemies and had gone dry now began to trickle down her face as a freshly applied batch of intestines struck her face. Only by years of renowned skill and experience did she stop herself from swallowing a person tongue as it jammed into her throat. Throwing her body forwards, Cassandra spat out the tongue in disgust. Straight after she collapsed to one knee as she summoned her willpower and stared at the floor fighting the ever-increasing need to vomit. She understood now why Templars hated working with mages who attacked the front ranks of the enemy.

Off in the distance, the sound of a heavy bolt crunching through heavy armour told her that Varric had yet again taken down another foe. Heaving herself back onto her legs once more the dark-haired woman swallowed the small amount of vomit that she fleet in her throat and charged at an archer that had been left alone.

With a great slash, she split the woman from collarbone to waist pouring open the contents of his stomach spilling down onto the ground. Soon followed was the archer a look of cold fear and shock on her. Crying in rage, Cassandra was alerted to another attacking woman. Without any thought, she sidestepped the charging pike getting past her defences where she then thrust her blade into the woman's neck and pulled it to the side nearly decapitating her.

Once more after Cassandra had taken the life of another attacker this time a man where she had chopped of his legs, Cassandra was glad that she had the power of mages on her side. She would never want to be a mage, being born with such a curse was in her mind only a horrible experience to live with. Yet in battle, despite her fears of the sheer power and death that it could inflict onto others, she was pleased that she had the protection of mages.

With the free time now allotted to her, Cassandra took the time to observe Solas. The elven mage had always made her curious and set her on edge. Not only was he an apostate, but he was an apostate who according to him had spent more time in the Fade than any other Mage she had heard about. He was certainly gifted in his talents, and his time in the Fade fighting demons certainly showed clearly. His stance was strong, his spellcasting higher than that of the average circle mage and he easily knew what was around him preventing any type of ambush. His experience spoke volumes in his style. Other mages had a tendency to be flashy with their magic, giving little flourishes to their spells or extra gestures to help control the direction of their magic. Solas, on the other hand, did things in a very natural smooth way that indicated he had seen far more than his fair share of fights.

Yet despite this, she noted that while he seemed to favour fire in his more offensive repertoire, in general, he preferred to use more fade oriented spells. It wasn't the easiest thing to put into words, but she would describe Fade Spells as using more power in its raw form. Fire, Ice and Lightning were used by using the Fade to change reality in the material world. What Solas did, in contrast, was not call forth those powers often but instead use the fade itself to catapult enemies with force into the air and toss them around like ragdolls in a hurricane.

It was an impressive and awe-inspiring sight alongside being absolutely terrifying. She could only imagine what it would feel like to be in Solas's grasp once he took hold of you. One moment your feet were on solid ground and the next all you can feel is weightless as your mind caught up to where you were. Once it did, the mind then likely screamed itself hoarse as it shit itself coming to the realisation that they were about to die with nothing to stop it.

Solas was like a High Dragon trying to sneak around a store of pottery. Powerful awe-inspiring and an involved awful lot of screaming, explosions and guts flying everywhere.

Vivienne, on the other hand, was far more predictable in how she faced her attackers. Having been raised in the Circle, she used that knowledge and education bringing forth the power of the three offensive elements. Like Solas and Valeyna did when they entered combat, Vivienne called forth a barrier around herself granting a temporary reprieve from damage. While it did not last long with her being forced to renew it on a constant regular basis as it ran out, in that time that she was safe she wiped out opponent after opponent.

Compared to Solas's practical fighting which had been formed by a lack of formal teaching, Vivienne was like a dancer on the field. Her legs did not move much beyond the slight repositioning of her feet so that she could bring her staff forward in its swing. Her hands and head, on the other hand, swayed beautifully like a leaf dancing merrily in the wind during a gentle autumns breeze only to be interrupted by the unneeded twirl of her staff and elegant movement. Alongside her more noble clothes, she really did stand out of the background.

With her cocky attitude, Cassandra had a feeling that she wanted to be seen by the enemy. She wanted to either punish or pleasure them with her opponent's last thoughts being of her with a smug smile gracing her lips. She was the centre of attention, the one who at balls would make loud announcements and draw all eyes to her so that she could impress anyone who saw her. For the First Enchanter, an act it seemed always had to be put on.

"That was some fine work Enchanter."

"Oh. It is good to know that you can see talent when you see it, Darling. However to you as well" Solas bowed his head and gave the woman a respectful look.

"Why thank you. I withheld my concern about your skill until after we faced a more deadly opponent. Darkspawn are not particularly skilled in combat" Cassandra wondered if she should debate that. Darkspawn had killed hundreds of thousands of people maybe even more over the five Blights, they had also killed Grey Wardens, Kings and even the greatest warriors and mages.

"What makes you say that Chuckles."

"The only strength the Darkspawn possess is their numbers. Without that, they are nothing but mere beasts. To determine one's proper skills, they must see how they fare against an intelligent opponent." Varrick thought back to that Magister back in that tower. Perhaps it was only certain Darkspawn that had that level of intelligence, maybe all of them did. Didn't Blondie once mention something about some strange Darkspawn called the Architect that the Hero of Ferelden had killed? Not to mention that he had also given the other Darkspawn the ability to talk. He shivered at the idea of talking Darkspawn besides that magister. What the fuck was wrong with the world?

"I concur, although I much would have preferred to see how you would have fared against a Templar or Mage. The opponents who are resistant to our powers makes it all the easier for us to see which one of us has been taught the greater techniques. Tell me where did you learn your powers Solas, they certainly aren't taught by the Circle." It was rather easy to pinpoint what the Enchanter meant Solas knew.

It was a common trait among all circle mages to cast their spells in a certain pattern going step by step by step. With time it became second nature like how a blacksmith would strike the steel on an anvil with complete accuracy. Less known however, was that with time, the pattern became harder to detect as sharp instruction like motions were gradually replaced with flowing ones.

Solas could still see the pattern that Vivienne used when she fought. Even though Vivienne possessed a lifetime of experience and casting spells likely on a daily basis, her lack of combat experience still shone through clearly. She refused to take some shortcuts on her spells that would increase her casting speed, and her feet were unused to unsteady ground. Her staff was also apparently a hassle as the normally heavier staff that was used for aesthetics to impress many a noble was now hindering her ability.

"I'm self-taught. There was nothing for a young boy in a small village to do when he had magic so I taught myself everything that I could. When I experienced the Fade I spoke to Spirits befriending them learning from them and helping them from time to time. With time I was able to recognise demons and how to avoid their tricks." Vivienne narrowed her gaze sharply at the man.

"So you were vulnerable to demons in your youth then? How did the Templar's not discover you?."

"I was very careful apostate, Enchanter." Smiling at her, Solas took great delight in the way her eyes glimmered for a brief moment in annoyance. Knowing her, the woman would have used any contacts she might have had to try and discover all the information that she could on him. Most assumedly she would want to gather blackmail on him and use it as leeway for some sort of political machination. What? he did not know, yet he had little worry. There was very little an eleven apostate could offer a Grand Enchanter besides joining one of her ridiculous circle towers.

"So it seems. Although one does wonder what your plans are after the Inquisition has completed its mission." Inspecting her staff, Vivienne tutted as she noticed a stain of red blood situated on the top of the golden Orlesian lion. It had been a gift from Empress Celene when she had first entered her employ, a way for her to represent the Empire. She may have only been the court Enchanter, but ultimately such a symbol represented the power of not only Celene but also of Orlais a whole. It was only a few specks of blood, nothing major and nowhere near in the state that Cassandra was with her armour coated red to toe in blood. Sighing, she mentally thought of the best time to add it to her schedule.

There were so many things for a busy woman like her to do. There was meeting with the few nobles that had bothered to turn up to Haven and see what this Inquisition was all about. There was the footbath that she had brought, her feet needed regular care and maintenance to look as good as they did and there was also her attempts to make contact with the Herald and advise her.

"I will do as I have. I will travel the world visiting places of interest and learning their secrets in the Fade"

"You do not seriously believe that you would be allowed to wander once this is all done, my Dear. You are an apostate, under normal circumstances, you would be inducted to the Circle." Solas gave the woman a small smirk shaking his head lightly. Staring into the distance, he idly thought about where that dragon had flown off; So powerful and free, it would make for a good symbol for the rebel mages.

"I will leave the Inquisition once this is all done"

"And if the Templar's tried to stop you" Curious as to what the bald elf was gazing at in the distance, Vivienne grunted as she only saw the dark storm clouds raining above them covering her nice dress in rain. Ferelden truly was a terrible country. It was a good thing then that King Marric had won the war lest other Orlesian's be forced to live in such a dire and dreary place.

"I would kill them" Solas sounded almost happy in his words. Cassandra resisted the urge to stare at him in concern. Solas was an ally of the Inquisition, he was their expert on the Fade, the one who had inspected the mark on the Heralds' hand. Alongside young Nathanael, he was one of the first mages to lend their aid to the cause of the Inquisition and had already proved his worth to the order. He may not agree with the Templars, but to outright state that he would kill Templars if they attempted to prevent him from leaving.

"You would not try to reason with them?" Vivienne inquired carefully. Solas was powerful, he may have had the least flashy magical fighting style she had ever come across in the entirety of her career as a First Enchanter, but he was a powerful mage and one who without a doubt knew what they were doing. With the Templars already weakened, it was obvious that pursuing or hunting a mage of Solas's calibre and knowledge would prove difficult.

"What could there be to reason First Enchanter. The Templar's would desire for me to stay with the Inquisition and when I would refuse, they would draw their swords and attempt battle. Should I spare their lives then more would come after me, should I take them then the same occurrence would befall." Getting bored of this conversation, Solas walked over to Cassandra who had been inspecting the bodies of the men they had just killed.

"These aren't bandits Seeker, their faces are too well groomed and they all seem to be wearing blue. Their clothes aren't as thick as they should be if their living out of tents" Kneeling down next to one of the corpses, Varric, inspected the clothing the attackers had been wearing for any more clues.

Besides the rich blueness of their clothes, something that would not normally be possible because of the cost of such a fine royal colour, their clothes did not appear in the slightest that they had been torn up and attacked. There were no stitch marks where more material had been sown leaving patches, and the chainmail was also of a higher quality than that of what bandits could afford.

Picking up one of the discarded weapons, Varric peered at it closely inspecting the quality of the steel with a well-trained skill that came after years of being in not only trade but also killing people. The latter of which, may have had more to do with his skill.

"Seeker, these guys definitely aren't bandits" It was almost certain, the few times a Bandit could get hold of a good weapon or set of armour was before during or after a war. When armies were equipped with weapons, there would often be stragglers who ran away and some who tried to smuggle out the weapons that they owned. That was how during the blight in Ferelden so many bandits had good weapons and why the quality of bandits around Kirkwall with Hawke was so poor.

The other way to get hold of good weapons besides stealing them was to purchase them, and as every commoner knew, weapons were expensive. Basic weapons cost several silver, decent quality ones even more and high-quality weapons were several gold. It was why weapons pedlars only ever brought a small number of weapons or armour with them when they travelled on their little carts. Only Templars were able to purchase such weapons.

"Do you have any idea Varric" Concerned, Cassandra gripped the sword in her hand a little tighter. If these people weren't bandits, then the most likely conclusion she could come up with was that they were the ones who were responsible for the Divines death.

"They're not Venatori, Tevinter's generally wearing black and they had no mages with them. I think they could be part of some kind of cult"

"A cult" Vivienne scoffed loudly. "Whoever would put their cult on the side of such a place like this?"

"They could be trying to hide from the authorities or they may be using the threat of the Darkspawn to deter people from visiting" Cassandra replied also confused.

"If they wished to hide, then there are better places to do so. Attacking people out in the open is not a very sensible idea especially one as well armed as we are. More likely the group attacked us for another reason" Cassandra agreed with Solas, if these people had truly desired to hide, then they would have done a better job staying out of the way and hiding from anyone that came near them. Going around attacking people was not the best way to direct attention. In fact, they had only gained their attention.

"There could be something else going on" Varric commented. "If a cult wears this type of clothing, then they won't attack just anyone "Cassandra's eyes widened and a small amount of anger bloomed within her.

"They knew we are part of the Inquisition. But why would they attack us?" Varric racked his memories for any specific group of people he knew who would try to kill the Inquisition besides the usual suspects. They hadn't been hired to attack to them if they had then they would have worn higher quality armour not to mention something less flashy and uniform in look.

"Could it be the Chantry?" Solas asked Cassandra.

"No, if it was the Chantry then they would have sent someone less obvious. This is someone different entirely" Blinking, Cassandra looked at the others seriously. "We need to check the area, make sure that there aren't any others. If there are then we kill them all" The others nodded in agreement although Cassandra wished that she had come on a day when the Storm Coast wasn't experiencing a storm.

Touching her face gently, she coughed revolted as the blood still spilt down the rest of her face and onto her armour. On the plus side, being in the middle of a buffeting storm with howling blasting winds and a never-ending heavy downpour of water allowed for the rain to slowly wash the blood off her face and hair cleaning her. All the same she as taking a bath the moment they got back to Haven.

"I'm surprised that we didn't receive any reports from the scouts, in fact where are the scouts?" A sense of horror and dread poured down Cassandra's back as she heard Solas's comment. So far they had witnessed a bunch of Darkspawn, a High Dragon, a Giant and a bunch of raving lunatics who went around attacking anyone they could. Their disappearance with nobody at the camp could only mean that they had all met some kind of gruesome end.

She didn't know which one would be worse, slaughtered by mindless Darkspawn where they would consume the corpses, eaten whole and alive by a giant flying lizard that spouted fire and could easily cook them all to death. Perhaps the giant had taken them and roasted slowly them over some type of giant-sized fire. Maybe even this bunch of crazy cultists had taken them to their secret hideout and eaten them there. All in all, she couldn't decide which fate would be worse for the poor scouts.

"Were the scouts assigned here female" Cassandra knitted her eyebrows in confusion at first before they rapidly turned to ones of horror. She thought back to the mission briefing that Leliana had told given her. That briefing had included the names of the scouts in the area. All of them had been female.

"Oh that isn't good" Varrick shut his eyes tightly silently in respect for the dead. It was too late for the scouts if what they believed was true. If the scouts had been taken, then it was highly likely that the Darkspawn had taken them back through the tunnel they had collapsed into the Deep Roads. From there the women would be subjected to the cruel torture of being corrupted into Broodmothers.

"Seeker perhaps they got delayed by something or were taken by the Cultists" Speaking up, Varric tried to give Cassandra some form of hope. Briefly, the woman seemed to gain some, but it was lost soon after with the reality of their world set in. She hadn't thought much of the camp when they had arrived, other than being abandoned which was a bit suspicious, there had been no signs of battle.

There was supposed to be at least one agent who would have met them and give them an update on the Storm Coast. It wouldn't have been Harding as she was currently in the Hinterlands keeping an eye on Redcliffe, but there would have been someone else.

"Or perhaps they were eaten by the dragon" Vivienne cheerfully piped in. "Only once we take out these cultists or whoever they are will we know what happened" Varrick rolled his eyes at the woman.

"You just want to get out of the rain don't you" Vivienne sniffed upwards haughtily.

"This weather is hardly reasonable" She replied tersely glaring at the storm above as if she was trying to command it to bend down to her will and follow every single order she commanded. Unsurprisingly, the weather did not care about what one stuck up mage thought and instead pelted the nearby area with water.

"You know you could have worn something more practical then a dress to this place Iron Lady" With their new objective in their minds, the group followed Cassandra as they trod on dirt paths, squelched through large soggy grass coating their shines with so much water that their woollen clothes stuck to them like a second skin. As they kept on advancing, they came across another group of cultists but like before they were unable to call out to them to negotiate any sort of settlement to stop the violence and prevent the wholesale destruction of the attacking group. Before the group knew it, they had all been butchered leaving nothing but corpses to be looted or fed upon depending on the individual that found them.

A little while later, they started to face more of the attackers and their numbers swelled. They charged the moment they saw Cassandra's group and they were killed rather quickly as magic, and crossbow bolt struck them before Cassandra had a chance to approach them. Finally, after hours of fighting and exploring this Maker forsaken coast, they came across the enemies base.

It possessed a small wooden palisade around some small wooden houses. Sounds of thundering feet were apparent as a bunch of archers rushed to the battlements drawing their bows ready to shoot at the Inquisition they moved into range. Then a man came forth. Unlike the others, he was dressed in a crimson red and was an older tougher looking man who had seen some things during his life. Through it was only a brief view inside the fortress, it was all that was required for the group to determine that the scouts had not been kidnapped by this cult.

Vivienne turned to Solas. "Fire?"

"Fire" Without a further word spoken, the two mages casually walked to an equal distance space form the wall outside of the range of the archers. At first, the archers seemed confident in the strength of their wooden palisades, it would require more than an elf, a dwarf, a human and a qunari to beat them. That confidence rapidly turned to panic as Solas and Vivienne began channelling their magical power visibly showcasing the spells that were casting. Fire sprang forth from their staffs and the soldiers of the cultists instantly brought open the gate jumping from the battlements in some form of cover.

It was too late.

Fire sprang forward from the two staves, crashing into the wooden palisades with a mighty roar louder then any dragon. Archers were lifted off the ground by the shockwave sent tumbling into the air and smashing into the stone sides of the mountain that had surrounded their encampment smashing against them. Other's were cooked alive in an instant, their skin charred black as smoke rose up. The majority were wiped out instantly, incinerated by the initial blast reducing them from life forms to nothing but ash blowing in the wind as their encampment caught fire and blazed out of control killing anyone who might have escaped the blast.

"Okay time to go home" Placing his crossbow on his back, Varric did his best to mute the sounds of screaming as the last few survivors choked on the smoke and ash falling into their lunged suffocating them. Had he turned around to watch, then he would have witnessed as men and women clutched at their throats collapsing to the ground vomiting violently unable to move.

He was just glad that the Herald was going after the Mages then the Templars. Templars could cut him up and stick an arrow in his chest but mages were terrifying at times. As much as Hawke was his friend, the sheer ease in which she could feel entire groups of enemies by frying them with lightning, or incinerating them with fire or even turning a bandit into an icicle was frightening. The last thing that the Herald needed if she close to going with the Templars was a bunch of angry mages who could very likely wipe out entire armies if they so desired.


	15. Chapter 15 A Glimpse of Defeat

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 15 A Glimpse of Defeat**

Redcliffe

Calm would have been one of the ways that Valeyna would have described her surroundings. Birds flew happily in the sky chirping their sweet songs, trees swayed slightly back and forth under the duress of the wind and occasionally the odd squirrel would pop it's head out of its home to take a peek at the world around it.

"Things have certainly changed here" Blackwall commented happily. It was good to see that the once prominent chaos that had ransacked the bountiful and glorious land had vanished. Well for the most part anyway, there were still some scars of battle that marred the ground. "The Inquisition does good work" Compared to when he had been recruited, the area around Redcliff was relatively stable and undisturbed. There wasn't a rebel mage or Templar in sight, only the occasional soldier of the Inquisition as they went on their casual patrol. Blackwall even noted that a few of the refugees he had seen in the camp when he had left for Haven were now back in their homes tending to their fields.

"I wouldn't be so sure" Bull interrupted. "This area is safe, but you heard the report that dwarf girl told us. The rest of the Hinterlands is dangerous and sprawling with demons." Blackwall nodded grimly at that. Demons were a constant threat for the common person, just one of them could easily butcher an entire family, destroy their crops and livelihood if not something far worse.

"Then after we are done with the mages, we'll close the rest of the rifts" Blackwall spoke resolutely before then staring at the at the elf who was leading them, waiting for some sort of confirmation of his plan. Valeyna closed her eyes breifly wondering if there were any matters more urgent that had to be handled without delay. She could think of none.

"Of course, as soon as we finish with the mages" She replied confidently. Sera snorted behind her back giggling incessantly as she pointed at the elf. Confused, Valeyna turned around facing her fellow blonde elf and confronted her.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked both curiously and slightly annoyed. "You've been giggling ever since we arrived in Radcliffe?" Sera snorted again while she pointed at the Heralds' legs. What could be wrong with her legs, Valeyna wondered, was there some mud on them, a tear or something else. Gazing down at her trousers, she blinked not quite understanding what the problem was. Nothing stood out to her yet Sera was still giggling like a child who had heard a person fart.

"The way you walk is just so hilarious"

"The way I walk?" Now Valeyna could truly say she was confused. She was walking as she usually did, one foot in front of the other, there was nothing wrong with it otherwise she would have tripped up by now and landed face first in some mud or dirt. "I don't understand"

"It's you. The way you walk is just so funny and elven. How you keep your legs so close together like you're some posh bitch"

"What?" Valeyna stared down at the way she was standing. Despite Sera stating that she was standing in some type of noble way, she didn't see it in the slightest. Turning her gaze over to Blackwall and Bull, she observed how they stood still in the mossy grass. The two men stood with their feet shoulder-width apart at all times giving them a good level of balance. She, on the other hand, had her feet very close together and instead of both feet being planted firmly on the ground, one of her feet was on the ground while the other only had her tiptoes grazing the floor. "This is how we walk in my clan" Ignoring the snickering of the blonde elf, Valeyna turned her attention over to Iron Bull. "So Bull why don't you wear a shirt? Are you naturally immune to the cold?"

"Nah it's pretty hot where I come from. To deal with the heat we tend not to wear as many clothes as you southerners do. Though this cold, freezing" Much to Valeyna's amusement, the man's entire muscular body shook suddenly. It was very much like a dog trying to get rid of water when it was soaked to the bone on a wet day.

"Then why don't you wear a shirt" Bull grinned at Blackwall pushing his impressive muscular chest forward broadcasting it to those not only in the group but also to a few young men and women who were walking down the road ahead of them. It wasn't difficult for Valeyna to notice the slight blush on some of the young maidens as they passed by their eyes lingering on the chest and then on the man's but from behind. "Oh I see" Blackwall muttered.

"A little bit of cold never hurt anyone, that and shirts aren't exactly the easiest thing to put on for a person who has horns" Gazing upwards, Blackwall could quite easily see what the man meant. Getting into to shirts could be difficult enough as it was at times, having to deal with a set of giant horns likely made such an endeavour far more difficult.

"I can see why you're people aren't seen much in Ferelden then" Bull laughed good-naturedly.

"Yeah, get's difficult for us in winter, most of us haven't ever experienced one" Valeyna blinked curiously her interest had been piqued.

"What do you mean your people haven't experienced winter, does your homeland turn into a dessert?"

"Ha, ha, no nothing so fancy. It's just so hot that it never snows. Well, it does at the top of mountains but that's it." Valeyna tried to imagine such a place, an area of the world that did not snow sounded fantastical. Winter here was always feared by the populace because of what it always brought with them. Disease, a lack of food, freezing temperatures that could kill a person if they did not dress up warmly and then there was always that Creators blasted cold she always got. She hated the colds, the way her nose blocked up and made breathing difficult or worse when she could feel the substance in her nose drip down her face and she had nothing to wipe it with.

"It sounds amazing, what does it look like?" They were bound to have trees she thought, the question was what type of trees did they have. Was it the oak, and sycamore trees that she had grown up around or were there different types of trees?. She wondered if she could maybe ask Bull if they allowed Dalish clans to settle in these strange forests.

"The trees are taller than those here in Ferelden, darker green as well. The heat in those things though is one of the hottest things in the world, makes you feel like you're being boiled alive and then there are the creatures that live in them?"

"Creatures" Valeyna spoke softly her eyes lighting up with imagination as she tried to imagine such a wondrous place. "What type of creatures are they big" Bull laughed loudly at the elf. He looked at her amusedly mentally picturing her next to some of the beasts he had fought and killed in Par Vollen. The elf was cute, but he couldn't help but see her as anything but prey as this moment for the monsters to grab and snack on.

"There are these lion-like creatures, big and spotted really sharp teeth. looks cute when they're little cubs, but once they get older their just kill everything" Bull described the animal in a bit more detail explaining how the creature had a tendency to climb up the big trees and hide in the branches searching the area down below for any prey that could be found. Once that was done he told them about a time when he had been sent to hunt one down that he been attacking a nearby village. Long story short it had been a far larger member of the species which was how he had gained the large claw marks over his chest.

"It sounds very dangerous" Blackwall noted. "Are they anything like wolves, do they hunt in packs or are they more single creatures"

"They prefer to hunt by themselves. As for behaving like wolves, we think each one has a certain amount of territory that they rule over or something. If someone is in that territory then it might kill them but you're better of speaking to one of the beastmasters, they would know more." The idea of a large cat wasn't anything new to Valeyna, her clan had killed mountain lions before and sold their pelts to human cities, however, these creatures that Bull spoke of sounded just larger and far more dangerous then what she had faced. Mountain lions were dangerous especially when they hunted in a group, but these monsters sounded like they were expert assassins prowling in the night as they looked for their next meal jumping down on the unexpected person and tearing their throat out in a sudden lunge.

"So why did they send you out if they have beastmasters," Valeyna asked as her eyes ran down the sharp scars that ran across the Qunari's chest. They looked painful or at least she imagined that being slashed by a giant cat across the abdomen would be painful, yet Bull seemed not to be bothered by the story in the slightest.

"They didn't send me, I found the dead after I had killed some Vints." That made sense Valeyna guessed, she had no doubt that Bull could butcher his way through some large cats, however, she doubted that would be his job if the Qun did actually have people specialised for such a role.

"Vint's, you've killed mages?" Bull gave a predatory smile as if just the mere mention of what he had done got his blood pumping for a fight.

"The trick with killing mages is to get up close. Too many fighters run and scream the moment they see a mage, they think they're going to be roasted alive or turned into ice. The reality is that very few mages can actually fight properly and the moment you get into a certain range, they panic and leave themselves open. That's when you close in and chop off their head for good measure." Watching him talk, Valeyna couldn't help but get the feeling that he had enjoyed his time fighting against Tevinter soldiers. While the man's words were something to think about, the man apparently viewed it as a rather happy set of memories.

"I know what you mean" Blackwall interrupted as his stroked his beard. "Mages are powerful, but none of them has any training when it comes to actual combat. Their reactions are too slow and their movements are sloppy they also can't react very well. Once a Templar closes in they just scatter until they can recuperate". It was always the same he supposed with mages, they were powerful when they were safe and behind enemies lines with no threat, however living in the Circles even with the threat of the Templar's meant that they were entirely unused to actually having to fight. Before the kid had picked him up, he had witnessed time and time again as a young mage killed one or two Templar's, but was then promptly overwhelmed by a sword.

"Not to mention the lack of stamina" Bull added.

"You weren't complaining last night" Valeyna quipped. "That is unless you want me to show you just how good my stamina is again" Blackwall groaned. One night had been bad enough, two nights and he was honestly surprised how the two were up at the ridiculous hour that they were. If all the soldiers of the Inquisition had the same stamina on the field that those two had in bed, then they would be unstoppable.

"When we get back to camp I'll how to properly do it. Those last two nights were just practise" They were interrupted by their conversation by the hysterical sound of Sera giggling incessantly. Valeyna didn't even need to turn around to see that the girl was doing some rather promiscuous. Blackwall, on the other hand, wasn't and so witnessed as Sera made rather sexual motions with her body acting up what she thought would happen between the elf and Qunari.

"So which one of you is on top?" Bull chuckled at the woman getting the woman to grin massively as she looked at the Herald in a new light. "I never thought that you would be the type to try that Herald. So how is it? To fast wham, to hard wham, splat" Bull just laughed more at Sera's cheerful description even if it was entirely inaccurate.

"Hardly, He still isn't rough enough" Teasing the man, Valeyna smirked as Bull gave her that look, one that promised he was going to get her back the moment they got back to Haven. Ignoring the constant hysterical laughter of the blonde haired elf behind them, Valeyna returned the look daring him to try better.

"Just keep it down next time or better yet move your tent to somewhere else and let the rest of us sleep" Treading on the worn dirt path that had been trodden on by hundreds if not thousands of others before him, Blackwall's attention was soon grabbed by something. It wasn't anything physical he could see and neither was it anything he heard. Things were still calm in the area, yet he could feel the hairs on his body start to stand up of their own accord. "Something isn't right he muttered" Drawing his sword and shield, the man turned his attention from his fellow companions to the row of trees just in the distance. Eyes flickering between each tree, he inspected the surroundings waiting for an ambush of mages or Templar's he didn't know.

"What is it" Broken out of their merry banter, Valeyna and the others had also readied themselves for combat each one of them inspecting a different area of their local surroundings.

"Something doesn't feel right." Blackwall narrowed his eyes as he moved the party on. His long experience fighting enemies and travelling around the world had enabled him to gain a useful trait of being able to recognise when an ambush was coming. It wasn't magic, it was something that all soldiers developed after enough time. One's gut instinct became stronger, warning you of something that you didn't consciously recognise but one that your subconscious did. "Herald do you sense something".

Taking a step forward, Valeyna smacked her staff against the ground and extended her sense outwards. Reaching out for the power of the fade, she began to notice something. Up ahead there was a large collection of fade energy, a rift she recognised, having closed so many of them by now, she was more than used to feeling the aura of a rift allowing her to prepare herself for the inevitable battle that would entail in closing one. "There's a rift, and" She frowned, why did this rift feel so strange? It was entirely unique, something that she had never came across before. "Something else, not demons, but there's something. I don't know"

"Great, there's freaky magic, I bet one of those tosser mages did something in that stupid castle" Sera shivered, if the mage was telling them that something odd with demons was happening then, something bad had happened. There was no trusting magic, it was freakish, doing stuff that wasn't natural, she had to make sure that she put two arrows in the ones responsible.

"Bull you've fought Tevinter, any idea?"

"I'm not a mage so I can't feel what you're feeling. Even then Vints generally weren't too keen on demons themselves and those that did summon them had a tendency to get killed by them"

"Well serves those bastards right," Serra said despite a growing uneasiness as they kept moving forward. In front of her, Valeyna nodded in agreement. If anyone was stupid enough to summon demons to fight for them, then as far as she was concerned, they got what was coming for them. Even so, she looked at Bull silently asking him to take the lead. Bull happily accepted.

After only a few more minutes of walking, the group came across what Valeyna had sense minutes before. Floating in the air in the image of a sickly glowing green translucent crystal was none other than a rift to the fade. Spewing out of it, was a series of lesser demons in all forms of horrible and grotesque shapes and forms. It was a sight that Valeyna had long since grown used to and enemies that she had also gotten used to slaying with a high degree of skill.

"They're attacking the defenders" True to Blackwalls words, the moment that the demons came out of the hole to the world of demons and spirits, the creatures turned instantly and marched as quickly as they could to the closed portcullis on the other side. On this portcullis, Valeyna noted, was a series of human soldiers all of whom had been equipped with short bows and were firing in a pitiful attempt to keep the monsters at bay.

One arrow loosed from the bow struck against a rage demon in the arms causing it to cry out in pain and unleash a torrent of lames from its raised hands engulfing the poor archer and sending him into a screaming death thumping onto the ground like a sack of bricks. Another guard fired a shot and this time managed to kill the same demon turning it into ash as rage demons tended to do only to then be struck by a green ball of light by one of the other demons.

"Bull take the vanguard, Blackwall, cover his back, Sera hide in that tree and cover them" Not wasting a moment of previous time lest they allow more innocent guardsman to be killed, the group dashed to their positions.

With a mighty and bellowing roar, Bull charged to towards the demons at a speed unthought of with his hulking size skewering the first set of demons as his horns punctured large meaty holes into their forms and wrenched them up high into the sky like ornaments. Unconcerned with the brutal death of one of their fellow demons, the others changed their focus from the mages to the large brute that now presented a greater threat.

Bull grimaced at the sight of the demons. Never the less, he raised his axe high and brought it crashing down onto the first demon, turning it into a black smoke where it disappeared out of existence. The next demon he grasped by its wrist without concern before then pulling it closer towards him where he promptly proceeded to grip the neck of the demon and twist harshly. Followed by this, one of the more tree looking demons attacked the man only for them, like their brethren, to soon have an axe embedded into its body killing it instantly. After a few more minutes had passed, Bull growled menacingly and charged another two demons which had taken to attacking the soldiers at the gate. With one powerful swing, he decapitated them.

With another animalistic growl, the man smiled joyfully as he then destroyed another enemy. He could feel his blood pumping through his veins at a faster pace raising the excitement that he felt as enemy after enemy, was felled by his axe with no difficulty. In the corner of his eye, he noted another demon this one speaking in whatever language demons spoke approaching him quickly with its ugly spiky hands drawn. With a bloodthirsty smirk, he brought his axe down to smack into the monster. All of a sudden before he could carry on with such an action, an arrow sped past him and sliced straight through the monster killing it instantly.

"Sera" Bull growled in annoyance. Turning, he ignored the enemy and found another one this time he planned on cutting its legs off and then smashing its skull with his foot. Only before he could carry on with this action, another arrow hit his demon and killed it before he had a chance. Hoping this time that he could actually get a kill, he ran towards another more powerful demon, this one he hoped would not be so weak as to die from a single arrow.

With his head bent low and horns pointed towards the enemy, he sprinted forward intent on goring the demon preparing himself for the sudden jolt when he did make contact. He got closer with a grin the bloodlust in him rising as he waited for the oncoming demons death. He got closer, any second now and he would slam into it like a dragon would its prey. He neared it and was about to gore it when his heart sank as he recognised the sound of an arrow flying past his ear. What followed was the sound of a demon turning to dust after it had thumped loudly on the ground.

Thumping past the now gone demon, Bull stopped his charge and raised his head. Facing the blonde archer, he growled angrily while his eyes twitched as he took a few moments to observe what the girl was doing? Blackwall who was also fighting a demon, he blocked one of its attacks with his shield before then going to thrust in the opening now provided only for an arrow to strike the demon in the face first. It was the same thing with the Boss, Valeyna had picked her target had brought up her magic and channelled it through her staff only for it to strike a second later after Sera had filled the demon with an arrow sticking out of its chest before then turning into a poof of smoke.

"That girl," he thought in an irritant manner. Before he could call her out on what she had been doing, the sound of magic alerted him to yet one more demon. This time he purposely made sure to put his far larger frame in front of the monster so the archer couldn't get a shot. In his anger and frustration, he deflected the blow far harsher, throwing the demon's arms into the air, where with a loud squelch his axe tore through flesh and bone alike splitting it in two.

Suddenly, a loud cracking sound like thunder sparked behind him quite audibly. Turning on his heel far faster than a man might think for his size, he brought his weapon down to bear on what he believed was another demon that had spawned from behind him. What he saw though, was not a demon that had snuck through the fade to kill him, but rather a sparking bright green bolt of lightning emanating from the Herald and striking the rift.

She stayed there for a few moments as the bolt of light jumped chaotically in the nearby vicinity threatening to eviscerate anything that it struck into a red bloody pulp. As it did so, a thrum of power and a strange noise echoed building in speed and tempo before exploding outwards in a sound of shattering glass. Instinctively Bull covered his eyes from the blast expecting to be struck by magical power. Instead, he was only hit by a small shockwave that hit his bigger and bulkier frame but accomplished nothing. Sera and the Herald with their smaller frames, on the other hand, were forced to take a step back aa the blastwave struck.

Now believing he was safe, Bull eyed the patch of sky that just moments ago had been all pale green and spewing demons. It was clear, no demons, no fade and no visual sense that just a moment ago that two worlds had been connected by a small gateway. He turned to the Herald his eyes narrowing in on her gloved covered outstretched hand.

So it was true, she really did have the power to close the Breach. He wouldn't exactly say that he had entirely doubted the reports and comments made by others about her so-called amazing powers, but it was another thing to see it in person. His attention was soon called back to other matters, more specifically the gatehouse that the demons had just been assaulting.

Squeaking loudly and painfully enough to force the Herald to wince, the rusted metal slid against itself slowly until finally the portcullis defending Redcliff village was raised. Soon after, two soldiers rushed down from the battlements, kneeling down before the Herald with their faces held in reverence.

"Herald of Andraste" One began in total awe. So dazzled by the spectacle that they had witnessed Bull regarded that they didn't even show the typical attitude towards an elf as they may have done at any other time. "We are not worthy" To his amusement and that of the other three, Bull watched as Herald breathed slowly in through her nose as she kept her eyes closed before then breathing out slowly. After she had completed this small ritual five times, she reopened her eyes and stared at the human with a pained eye granting them a fake smile as she commanded them to stand up.

"What's going on with Redcliffe?" Even though she asked politely, it was obvious to anyone who paid attention that Valeyna was frustrated with how the humans had been acting. It actually angered her. Valeyna knew that under other circumstances, humans would never treat an elf with respect, they were looked down upon, treated as slaves despite not being slaves. The only thing desired about them was their unearthly beauty. The soldiers unaware of this took this opportunity to settle their eyes on the elf.

"There is a rising tension at castle Redcliff Herald, the Tevinter Magister has refused to leave the castle" Valeyna turned pale white at the mention of Tevinter. Panic began to set in and she felt her heart rate begin to start galloping. Concerned she looked over to Blackwall and Bull. The latter had narrowed his eyes and tightened his jaw while Blackwall's hand had begun to linger around his sword ready to pull it out and push it through the first Tevinter Mage he saw.

"When did this Magister arrive?" Valeyna asked.

"Not long ago, the talk is that he and the rest of the Venatori are planning on sending them to fight the Qunari up north" Blackwall shook his head.

"If the man isn't abandoning the castle, then he has other concerns. We need to know what's happening if this magister has really recruited the mages?" No one said another word as a dark aura descended upon the group.

"Thank you" Valeyna spoke to the group. With them dismissed the two soldiers returned to their post leaving the group alone. "We need to move now" Not bothering to wait for an answer, Valeyna took off as fast as she could her staff in hand and starting to glow with power. Behind her, Blackwall also ran as fast as he could with his hard steel shoes impacting the dirt path imprinting them as he held his shield in front of him.

Gritting her teeth, Valeyna and the others were a bit of a sight to the generally peaceful populace of Redcliffe as they raced down the hill so fast that they nearly tripped over one another. It was only when they had reached the bottom when they figured out that they didn't know where to go. Stopping herself in mid-sprint, Valeyna blinked owlishly as she noticed that every other person in the village stared at her as if she was a deranged woman.

"Uhm I think we might have jumped to conclusions" Blackwall stated slowly. Sheathing his sword, Blackwall tried to blend in with the rest of the environment. Thankfully after a few brief moments of confused staring and head-scratching, the common peasant looked away no longer wondering what all the ruckus was about.

"So this mage we're supposed to meet, where is she" Carefully, Bull paid strict attention to the people in the local area. Most of them were peasants, too afraid to really move or do anything, other were traders and one of them he noticed very quickly was flogging his goods for more money than they were worth. More importantly, he discerned the mages of the group.

They weren't especially difficult to notice, what with their bright flashy robes. Spotting mages were as easy to notice as gold would be in a pile of coal. A lot of things gave them away, one of which was their lack of social grace and preferring to stay away from the major crowds, others were due to the lack of familiarity of being out and others because of the prevailing sense of fear and trepidation that they could not hide.

"Be careful" The large man whispered to the group. "There's Vints and assassins crawling all over the place" Subtly angling his head upwards and his eyes making a quick dart in a specific direction, Bull made sure that the others knew what he was talking about.

Following the large grey man's lead, Valeyna did her best to try and subtly follow where the man was gesturing too. Her eyes widened when she saw the stereotypical look of Tevinter mages. The soldiers of the Venatori were dressed in a far more brutal way then Valeyna had witnessed of the Orlesians or Fereldans.

Instead of the more common and practical armour design of Ferelden or the incredibly ornate and colourful armour worn by Orlais, the armour worn by the Venatori reminded her more of Darkspawn then anything else. The armour was entirely black and looked rather crudely made. Constant blunt spike dotted all over the armour from the chest, arms and legs adding in her opinion far too much extra weight. Then there were the ridiculous helmets that they wore. It was shaped like a giant bowl only at the front part there was a giant spike and at the back, there was a bright yellow plume of horse hair. At the front of the helmet, there was no typical horizontal slit but rather multiples small circular holes. The bottom of the helmet tapered off into another large spike and the whole of the rest of the helmet had been covered in more spikes.

Thankfully for those who cared about fashion, the actual mage uniform looked far better aesthetically. Instead of chunky crude metal that Valeyna assumed the common non-mage soldier used, the mages wore a lighter armour. Primarily it was made of chainmail that had been dotted in place with bits of brightly coloured fabric here and there, most of which was prevalent on the shoulders and arms. The chest and stomach's chainmail, on the other hand, had been hidden behind an expensive dark yellow silk tunic. Oddly, the legs had been left unprotected with them instead of being made up entirely of puffy breaches that she remembered the Orlesian nobility had worn when she had visited Val Royeux, only it was coloured a dark grey almost black shade. Another victory for the mage uniform was the design of the helmet.

The front of the helmet was similar to Orlesian masks in style only they had been designed to look intimidating with angry and demonic features that had been carved into the steel masks rather than happy or sad expressions. Unfortunately for weight issues, they had two large thick chunks of metal that had been plastered in the front in the shape of a U and V. Suffice to say she was less intimidated and wondered why they had done such a ridiculous design until it hit her.

"I get it" She diverted her attention so as not to be noticed by the ones she had just started out. "They put V on their forehead for Venatori." Not quite believing what the Herald had just said, Sera took the time to look at the stupid looking mages before nodding vigorously before she snorted.

"Nah I think they're just trying to shout that their virgins" Blackwall looked away rapidly his face turning red as he snorted into his beard. Valeyna grinned towards the elf treating to her to a light melodious chuckle.

"Perhaps that's why they've come here, they'll give the mages protection in return for taking away their virginity"

"I know right, imagine that if all we had to do to get the mage's attention was to buy these Venatori bastards a girl for the night" Once more Blackwall laughed at Sera's joke. What made it even funnier, was that a few moments later an unmasked Tevinter mage walked out of the tavern no longer wearing his V helmet causing the two of them to burst into laughter.

"Well, a tavern is a good place to have fun" Bull wiggled his eyebrows as he stared at the establishment. For whatever reason, the tavern was being guarded and watched by an unusual amount of Venatori. They tried to hide it, of course, a few agents were dressed as civilians and there was also the main and obvious member, but the fact of the matter was there was a lot of attention being paid to that establishment.

"You've had fun before in there?" Valeyna teased her face going slightly red as her imagination ran wild.

"There are plenty of ways to have fun in a tavern boss besides drinking." Sensing a possible never-ending series of teasing and jabs thrown at one another, Blackwall gathered up the attention of the other before speaking in the form of raising his voice.

"If we need to meet the First Enchanter, then our best chance is in there. We should ask around, see if anyone knows how to get into contact"

"Do you think Fiona knows about the Venatori?" Advancing towards the door, the group of four was not accosted in the slightest as they entered the building. Once they did, the first person they saw was none other than the very woman who had invited them to Redcliffe in the first place.

Fiona had her back turned to them and was instead speaking quietly to one of the rebel mages in a corner. She wasn't happy Valeyna saw, her face had been set upon by a large frown and lines had started to appear on her face likely from all the stress she was set upon Valeyna deduced.

Physically, she didn't appear that old, her hair was still the voluminous dark black it had ever been and it was also short, a holdover from when Fiona had been a Grey Warden. Her face was unblemished by any major creases or bags under her eyes that came about at that age and her skin was still pale and mostly unblemished even despite the enormous stress that she would be under. The woman appeared to be in her forties maybe early fifties, physically however her experience and the look in her eyes made her seem far older.

"Grand Enchanter Fiona" Startled by the announcement, the elf whipped her head around to face much to her confusion a Dalish elf, a Grey Warden a Qunari and another elf with a bow. Briefly, she tried to think of who the group was only when for her eyes to widen in alarm and surprise as she recalled the description of the Herald of Andraste that had been passed around by commoners. Recollecting her focus, she bowed her head respectfully to the group.

"Welcome Agents of the Inquisition. What had brought you to Redcliffe?" Fiona asked not understanding exactly why a group of armed individuals sanctioned by none other than the last Divine had just marched into the only safe place that the Mages had at their disposal.

"We're here because of your invitation back in Val Royeux" Valeyna replied quickly. Around the group, she alongside the others noticed the very sudden interested looks that others in the establishment had given them. As soon as they had entered, the typically loud crescendo of people talking, yelling, singing when they were usually drunk beyond imagination had all quietened substantially. It could still be heard, however, anyone could pick out and listen to the conversation between the First Enchanter and the Herald.

"You must be mistaken, I haven't been to Val Royeux since before the Conclave" Pausing for a brief moment, Valeyna retraced her memories back to the moment that she had met the elven woman. It was definitely her, there was no way she had met an impostor. Her eyes wandered onto the interested parties in the tavern with them.

"Well that's very strange because someone who looked exactly like you spoke to me in Val Royeux a few days ago"

"Exactly like me? I suppose it could be magic at work, but why would anyone..." Befuddled, Fiona shook her head in confusion her eyes downcast as she attempted to think of a possible explanation to this odd occurrence. "Whoever... or whatever brought you here. The situation has changed. The free mages have already..." Fiona hesitated nervously "Pledged themselves to the service of the Tevinter Imperium"

"This right here is why you can't trust mages" Bull narrowed his eyes at the elven woman. How many times had this happened before with mages, they said one thing and did another? They offered an alliance with the Inquisition and now they had pledged themselves to none other than the enemies of the Inquisition. If this turned into a fight, he was going to have to ensure that he cut down the Grand Enchanter first.

"As one indentured to a Magister, I no longer have the authority to negotiate with you" In the corner of her eye, Valeyna witnessed as a bunch of Tevinter mages raised an ale of whatever they were drinking and smashed the cups together in victory. Foam frothed from out of the cups and splattered upon the table that they were sitting at. Behind Fiona, she was easily able to pick out the obvious concern of Fiona's fellow mages at the mention of being indentured to the Military.

They were petrified. What had Tevinter done to them? What threats had they delivered to them that mages raised under the Chantry who had desired nothing but freedom and had fought and killed Templar's for such a goal would now subject themselves to the power of Tevinter? Her stomach shuddered, something was wrong here, the Fade felt peculiar; there was something strange going here. She had to be careful.

"Very well, who's in charge?"

Wooden doors banged loudly against the stone frame of the tavern jolting the Herald into motion. Facing the direction of the sound, she studied the arrival of the two newest members. They were mages, dressed in the same colourful garb that the other mages wore only unlike the other mages who hid their faces behind a mask and helmet, these two had their faces opened and exposed for the world to see.

"Welcome my friends" The old crooked man in front greeted them with his arms extended as if he was saying hello to some old and dear friend rather than their enemy. That was good. For now, at least Valeyna realised, that the Venatori was unaware that the Inquisition was aware of who they were. "I apologise for not greeting you earlier".

"Agents of the Inquisition, allow me to introduce Magister Gereon Alexius" Despite the slight smile the man presented to her, Valeyna fought to prevent the snarl she felt growing.

"The southern mages are under my command. And you are the survivor? Yes. The one from the Fade? Interesting." Alexius spoke slowly, his eyes inspecting every single part of Valeyna's appearance like a hawk would do this its prey. Unlike how others saw her as an object of lust though, Alexius showed no interest, whether repulsed by her as an elf or as she was his enemy, it was made abundant in his tone of voice that the man saw her as an artefact to be locked away and studied. Valeyna shuddered.

"I'd like to know more about this alliance between the rebel mages and the Imperium?"

"Certainly. What specifically do you want to know?"

"The Grand Enchanter told me that she was "indentured to a Magister".

"Our southern brethren have no legal status in the Imperium. As they were not born citizens of Tevinter, they must work for a period of ten years before gaining full rights. As their protector, I shall oversee their work for the Imperium." Slavery, Valeyna furrowed her eyes at the man. Everyone knew what happened to those that Tevinter "took in". They were slaves for a long period of time and after that had ended, they were then nothing but the lowest of the low, left abandoned on the streets to scratch a living off rocks and charity of the others. It was essentially another type of alienage.

"What does the Imperium gain from taking Rebel Mages under its wing?"

"For the moment, the southern mages are a considerable expense. After they are properly trained, they will join our legion"

"You said not all my people would be military" Fiona countered angrily. "There are children, those not suited-" Without even a single care for ht plight of the mages that he was apparently protecting, Alexius snarled at the elf Enchanter, raising his voice and temper as he spat out the words in a menacing tone

"And one day I'm sure they will all be productive citizens of the Imperium. When their debts are paid"

This time it was Bull who was unable to contain his anger towards this man. The large powerful Qunari shook his head in a disapproving fashion at the First Enchanter before he turned his full raw powerful glare onto the Magister. He out of everyone here knew just what the mages had signed up for. After the so-called training, they would be shipped to Par Vollen. There in those hot blistering jungles, they would fight and kill his people, burning down homes, slaughtering families, dying of disease, and sacrificing others to fuel their blood magic. Worse more children would be killed.

"I'm not clear on when exactly you negotiated this arrangement with Fiona.?"

"When the conclave was destroyed, these poor souls faced the brutality of the Templar's, who rushed to attack them. It could only be through divine providence that I arrived when I did. Alexis explained nodding at the First Enchanter.

"It was certainly... very timely" Fiona jabbed back her face scrunching up as she replied in a polite manner but one that oozed hatred and made obvious for anyone paying attention that she was being blackmailed by the man. Not that Alexius seemed to concern with hiding his strong-arming of the Rebel mages into his faction.

"I haven't seen any sign of the Arl of Redcliffe, or his men.?"

"The Arl of Redcliffe left the village"

"I doubt that" Blackwall spoke sternly. "Even during the Blight, the Arl stayed with and defended his people. I do not think that such a man would abandon his castle"

"There were... tensions growing. I did not want an incident" Alexius spoke smoothly hoping to calm the fears of this group. Instead, what he received were dark looks from the group, dark looks that threatened death, destruction and violence. Before anything could spark and result in a brawl in the middle of a tightly contained space, Valeyna spoke quickly.

"If you're leading the mages now, then let's talk. I'm sure we can come to an arrangement" Such as killing every single one of you Tevinter bastards here she thought. She doubted Bull would object to being given the opportunity to cleave some mages in two, and Sera would also appreciate the chance to stick snobby mages full of arrows. Once they were all dead, then they could negotiate an arrangement with Fiona.

"It is always a pleasure to meet a reasonable elf" Gesturing for the Inquisition to follow, Alexis casually made his way over to one of the now abandoned tables and sat down. Leaning back, he watched bored as the so-called "Herald of Andraste took the seat opposite and delivered him a cold stern look. "Felix would you send for a scribe, please?. Pardon my manners, my son Felix, friends "

Directing her eyes briefly towards the younger and more bearded man, Valeyna gave the younger Tevinter a slight bow of her head while he greeted her with a far lower bow before standing up straight and walked away from the two of them.

"I'm not surprised you're here. Containing the Breach is not a feat that many could even attempt. There is no telling how many mages would be needed for such an endeavour. Ambitious, indeed."

"Well, when you're fighting a massive tear in the sky, you can hardly afford to think small."

"There will have to be-" Alexius paused mid-sentence his attention entirely taken by the presence of his son. Following him, Valeyna saw why. Felix had gone pale, his face had slackened and his breathing had increased substantially. Horror spread across the old Magister's face as he rushed out of his seat as his son limped towards them appearing as if he was about to suddenly drop dead. "Felix" Alexius cried in concern. It was not enough as the boy then tripped stumbling forward quickly.

Acting quickly, Valeyna grabbed the young boy and helped him stand though he was still bent double and his face still wracked with pain. Seeing that he was feeling good enough to stand, the blonde elf slowly stepped back, checking constantly for any signs that the boy may collapse where he stood.

"My Lady, I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

"Are you all right" Alexius approached the boy panic strewing his face all sense of care or decorum lost. Valeyna took a very careful note of that, it appeared that the man had a weakness that she could exploit if required.

"I'm fine, father" Alexius ignored him.

"Come, I'll get your powders. Please excuse me, friends, we will have to continue this another time." Standing up straight, Alexius marched out as proudly as he could seemingly having remembered that he was in the presence of his enemies and that his actions made him appear weak. "Fiona, I require your assistance back at the castle".

"I don't mean to trouble everyone" Felix limped after them guilty

"I will send word to the Inquisition. We will conclude this business at a later date." With a simple look, Alexius then commanded every single one of his men or possible spies to leave with him in rapid succession. After only a few minutes of food being abandoned, dice put away and the sounds of chairs and tables being pushed against the stone floor, the entire tavern had emptied of the Venatori. Watching them go, Valeyna then brought forth her right hand where a sheet of parchment had been laid.

"Come to the Chantry, You are in danger" She read loudly.

"Wait did the sick mage give you that, why would those cunts help you?" Grabbing the paper of the Herald, Sera read the note herself raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"It could be a trap" Blackwall warned. "Get you into a closed position and finish you off with archers."

"I agree with Blackwall, something fishy is going on." Accepting the note from Sera who had gotten bored of holding it and was about to tear it up, Bull took the time to inspect it. With years in the Ben Hassrath, he could tell meanings simply by style. Vint's and especially Magister's liked to be neat and tidy with their language. This note, however, had been rushed, the normal smoother curves had been skewed, then there was the fact that it was a new piece of paper and the ink was still wet.

"It could be an important clue," Valeyna said though she was unsure herself. Though Alexius liked to hide under a happy and polite disguise, being near that Tevinter and bells in her head, warning her about what this man had likely done to other elves who had worked for him in the past or come to some sort of arrangement. She was not even a person to him, just an object that was to be taken and studied.

"Or it could be a trap" Bull argued.

"Do you have a better plan?" She responded eying the large man.

"We could always sneak into the castle and kill them in their sleep."

"You want us to sneak into a castle covered in mages" Sera was aghast at the idea. Bull, however, nodded confidently in his plan. "It beats sitting around waiting for a response. The Venatori are our enemies, we should kill them when we have the chance. If we do it when they're asleep then we don't have to worry about the mages as much".

"Only one problem with that Bull"

"And whats that Boss, too afraid to sneak into a castle full of mages" He taunted.

"No" Valeyna shook her head in an amused fashion. "The problem is we don't have a secret passage into Redcliffe. That is unless you know of one?"

"Ah" Bull spoke slowly slightly downtrodden with the lack of ability to slaughter his way through Tevinter bastards when they were sleeping. "We could assault them from the front" He chirped at the idea as his blood pumped faster as he imagined catapults throwing chunks of burning stone at castles smashing their thick stone walls. Better yet, he could imagine the terror that the Vints would have if a Qunari dreadnought were to sail into the lake and give fire. He growled in arousal as the sounds and smells of gatlok raced into his mind.

It was one of the most impressive sights in the world. The raw intense feeling of power one had when they saw their cannons unleash the fury of their finest engineers. Metal balls the size of a human adults head would pound into the walls tearing them down like the all-powerful wrath of a thunder god. Then there would be the battle, where troops would charge in and hack one another to pieces. Limbs would go flying, blood spewing, screams of pain and victory, he shuddered in arousal and pure joy just thinking about it.

"Bull, I don't think we have the ability to lay siege to a castle. At least not yet."

"What about the kid" Blackwall interrupted. Seeing that he had the attention of the other three, he decided to explain by what he meant. "When I met the kid, he used some type of exploding spell. It obliterated the bandits he was fighting into nothing but paste, that might work." Valeyna took a step back, taking her place back in the seat and leaning back. Soon she was accompanied by the other three who also joined, though not before Blackwall walked up to the bar owner and paid for a round of drinks to enjoy.

"It might work" Valeyna muttered. "However the spells he used were against people, so it's natural that they would be far more squishy. A castle wall, on the other hand, would be something entirely different. For all we know, his spell might hit the wall and fizzle our as most spells do." Blackwall sighed and began stroking his heard carefully.

"What about a cannonball," Bull asked

"What's that. Some sort of kinky thing between you and the Herald? Do you just go outside the walls and take your clothes off and do it in front of everyone" Unconcerned with the amused glances that she was given, the elf archer instead peered around the room haphazardly looking for anything interesting that could occupy her time. Unfortunately, there was no fun to be had.

"That could work" Iron Bull joked. "But no, a cannonball is what we shoot from our dreadnoughts when we siege Tevinter castles. You see a cannonball is a ball made entirely of iron around the size of your head Sera. Then we put it in this tube put a whole crap ton of Gatlok behind it and light it on fire. Then with a big boom, the ball goes flying out and smashes against the wall. Generally, it only takes a few shots from a cannon to bring down a wall."

"If that's the case, then how come you haven't brought cannons with you on land and win the war with Tevinter?." In all honesty, Blackwall would say he was rather curious about this strange weapon that Bull talked about. While war wasn't his biggest interest, he could state that the idea of a weapon that wasn't a spell or catapult being used to smash down enemies walls was an intriguing one. This idea of a cannon, however, sounded like a crossbow or that was how he imagined it. Half a metal tube with some type of powdery stuff at one end and a large ball in front of it, this would then be pointed in the direction of the item that needed to be brought down. Then with a loud bang, the iron ball would be thrown into the sky as fast as a catapult's boulder, or a crossbow and then hit the wall with such zeal that it would send rocks flying.

"The things are too dam heavy and can't be transported over ground."

"Well, why not just aim that at people?" Sera inquired.

"We tried that, the soldiers just kept moving out of the way constantly and the mages just aimed at the cannons. They're just not practical for war" Blackwall gave the man a sympathetic look. He like other soldiers could remember the number of times that some new general had promised that this brand new weapon would win them a war without ever having to send troops in. He could still remember the screaming the man gave after the battle when he was sent off to be executed for severe incompetence and the death of thousands of men.

"It's a shame that the enemy can't just line up in large columns" The dark-bearded warrior spoke. "Or even yet dress them in bright colourful costumes with an x on their chest" Bull laughed at the image of such a bizarre looking battle. Humans dressed in bright colourful uniforms marching down in a big column unable to move while they just took shot after shot of cannon was bizarre.

"Who knows Blackwall, perhaps they'll even play loud music to inspire the troops and fire arrows in a straight line" The two burst out laughing happily again. Soon though, Bull returned to the topic and looked back at the leader of this group of agents. "It could work, if the kid really can make cannonballs out of nothing then I doubt that even Redcliffe's walls would stand a chance"

"Then why don't we just do that" Sera spoke watching the two warriors not entirely understanding why they were doing all this sneaking around business if they had a person that could bring down the walls of a castle. "Where is the long-haired twat anyway?"

"Nat's helping Leliana and the others in the mountains, apparently there has been a sighting of a rift and they want to contain it" Valeyna raced to answer the question, her heart raced slightly while her eyes darted to the few remaining patrons in the tavern. The last thing they wanted any spy to know was that they had sent a member of their inner council alone to Orzammar.

It wasn't a secret with the rest of the group as they had been told of the sudden change. Sera, on the other hand, hadn't been informed of the change due to Valeyna worrying that the archer may reveal it to others by accident. Sera wasn't exactly the most subtle of people when it came to her mouth.

"Right, then why don't we go back to Haven grab the twat and then smash down the walls and take the mages" Grimacing at the word of mages, Sera wished she hadn't been asked to attend this mission. None of them had done their freaky magic yet, however, she still felt uncomfortable like a spider was walking across her face and she couldn't see it.

"I heard Josephine mentioning that she needed to send Nat to Val Royeux. Something about picking up a fabric for uniforms or some shit" Grateful for the help that Bull had now given her in the prevention of vital information being given away, Valeyna confirmed that the rumour was true by also seemingly remembering.

"Yes blue I think. Nice colour but not my first choice."

"Oh" Bull raised an eyebrow before leaning in closer to the young elven girl with a teasing smirk. "And what would be your choice"

"Purple I think, has a nice look of royalty to it"

"Bah" Bull waved her off. "Purple's overrated, makes peoples look like giant grapes that can be picked up and squeezed into wine. Red is the way you want to go, a bright scarlet red that hides the colour of the enemies blood and sends fear into the heart of the enemy. The person who wears bright fucking red in the middle of a battlefield is a person who screams, here I am come get me fuckers."

"Good one, nobles don't like red for some reason. If you rocked up to a noble's ball in bright red, they would shit themselves" Snorting loudly to herself, Sera did not notice the bewildered expressions on her companions as they stared at her flabbergasted as if they had been slapped by a tuna on the face. Sera snorted again at that thought, maybe that should be her next prank, drop cut fish pieces in some noble's hair.

"You like fashion Sera," Blackwall asked dubiously. He wouldn't complain if the elf did like fashion, but a girl that ran around the place with rags for her main clothing that had been patched and sewn together so many times didn't exactly strike him as a fashion observer. "I never thought you were the type"

"Wait what. Fashion me, eww" Sera leaned back degusted at the mere idea. "No, I just know that nobles don't like red for some reason. They prefer boring colours like blue and white." She giggled. "Makes it easier to cover them in red paint" Valeyna and Bull shared a look. The moment that they got back to Haven, they were going to catalogue where all the paint was kept.

"Well, that's good to know. But I think we need to focus on how we're going to get inside that castle" Bowing her head low in concentration, the Herald of Andraste attempted to think realistically about how they would infiltrate the place. They neither had the manpower nor the war machines for a full frontal assault. A siege, on the other hand, would take months if not years. By now she was certain that the occupants of the castle would have hoarded enough supplies to go through winter and into spring if not longer. That negated any hope of recruiting the mages before the enemy truly brought them to their side. She returned back to the topic of an assault on the castle only to frown again. Besides the lack of physical manpower itself, the men that would be used in such an assault would not be ready for such an assault. When one added inexperienced Venatori mages alongside the possible circle rebels joining in on such a night, then it was inevitable that an assault would take heavy casualties.

That left entering the castle in other ways. Five came to mind although only three were practical and out of them only two really practical. Theoretically, they could try to glide into the castle perhaps using magic to cushion their fall, however, that was purely a fantastic idea. As if people could fly without being a dragon or a bird, or a gryphon. The other would be to tunnel under the battlements and enter that way. The only problem, was that took a lot more time and they would surely be caught and killed.

That left the three more practical methods. The first was that they walked through the front gates under friendly notions and then proceeded to butcher the Venatori. That just led to the situation of being trapped inside a castle with no way out and a lot of angry mages and other Venatori soldiers. The second was to check if there was some sort of secret passageway. If it existed, then it would have been utilized by the Arl as a last resort should the fortress be breached. The last was to somehow smuggle themselves in under the guise of traders or something similar.

"We could go check this note," Valeyna spoke quietly. "I know it could be a trap, but without first checking with Leliana, the only option we have is a frontal attack. Sera before we enter the Chantry, would you have any way of knowing if there was a trap".

"I'll check around back."

"Good" Valeyna nodded. "If it's safe, then Bull can you stay out the front. I'll take Sera and Blackwall with me"

"You got it, boss"

"All right, Sera, Bull once we enter I want you to take positions at either side of the building. Sera make sure to have an arrow ready to go, and Blackwall you need to be close enough to charge and chop off a person's head. Bull if you see anyone suspicious, you tell us first and then we all charge outwards. If we are ambushed as we get out of the Chantry as soon as possible, then we rush to base camp as fast as we can." Giving their acknowledgement to the plan, the group of four waited for their drinks to come and consumed them quickly.

Leaving the Tavern, the four began their plan. Sera detached from the group first, rushing silently over the cobbled stone as she had done many times stopping against the stone walls of the religious building. Moving rapidly with well-practiced skill, Sera dashed all across the back of the building with her bow taut and ready to plunge an arrow into the first Tevinter bastard she saw.

Double checking that the area was secure, she then placed the bow on her back before gripping one of the old Chantry stones and heaved herself up. Stone by stone she clambered, one hand grabbing a rock in front of her while her feet moved upwards and pushed her body up. Her lighter frame made things easier for her. Gripping the edge to one of the raised painted glass windows, Sera threw herself up and allowed herself to hang cautiously from the balcony window. Now in such a position and her compatriots keeping a careful watch out for spies or Chantry sisters, Sera peered through the image of Andraste in one of her many battles against the mages of Tevinter and gazed into the building.

"There's a mage"

"Is that all?" Valeyna asked.

"There's no other twats in there"

"Okay, you can come down if you want" Without a further second of delay, Sera pushed her feet against the wall and back flipped high into the air spinning round twice before landing on the back of bulls back and gripped his horns.

"Let's go horsey" Rolling his eyes, Bull snatched the elf from the back of her coat in one hand holding her there as if she was a kitten that their mother had grabbed by the scruff of their neck.

"Let's get one thing straight Sera, I'm a Bull, not a horse. You don't ride bulls"Staring deeply into her eyes, Bull spoke in a calm yet menacing voice.

"I did" Valeyna chirped happily causing the small elf archer to snort in amusement as she still faced the great lumbering beast. Idly Blackwall thought that Sera looked like a chipmunk smirking and laughing in front of an owl.

"Boss" Bull moaned pitifully. "I was trying to act all cool and stuff"

"But I did ride a Bull didn't I" She smirked. "In fact, I distinctively remember taking the bull by the horns" Unable to help himself, Bull flushed slightly at the memory. Sera snorted more giggling like a hyperactive chipmunk before she then started making expressions as she looked at the two.

"Boss I'm trying to look awesome. I can't be imposing if the moment I say something cool, you just ruin it"

"All right" Valeyna motioned with her hands as she allowed the giant smirk on her face to fade away. With a grunt, Bull turned his attention back onto Sera and seemingly tried to thrust his eyes into her as if they were daggers.

"As I said Sera, don't do that again. You wouldn't like it when the Bull gets angry"

"Yes Sera, you wouldn't like it when Bull gets all horny"

"Dammit Blackwall" Throwing Sera to the side as if she was a ragdoll, Bull lumbered to the man his hands squeezed together so tightly that they had started to go pale while his lip twitched in annoyance. For a moment panic set into Blackwall, how would he kill this angry beast of muscle, a strike t the left leg? "Blackwall" Not able to prepare himself, the man braced himself for the pain of an angry giant. A hard meaty slam struck his back pushing the man forward a few metres before being followed by a heart bellowing of the man. Shocked by the fact that he was still alive, Blackwall stared up at his friend only to see him smirking.

"I'm alive"

"Give another bad joke like that and that can be reconsidered" Accepting the outstretched arm, Blackwall was soon brought into a hug by the Qunari before being released.

"Well I guess you could say that was some bulliant fun"

"No Sera just no" With that said, Blackwall joined the other two members marching forward over the stone ground towards the front door of the Chantry. Drawing his weapon from its sheath, Blackwall breathed out deeply before bursting through the door, sword and shield in front of him his feet hammering heavily.

Following straight behind, Sera drew her arrow and pointed it directly towards the man located in the centre whilst Valeyna summoned up a fire spell. It was a good job as immediately afterwards, an explosion of green light rocked the Chantry unleashing a group of demons growling as they dashed towards the lone mage in the centre.

Spinning on his heel, the mage, blasted the first rage demon that approached with a wave of raw power slamming it forward into the stone walls. Following through with his attack, the mage spun his staff in his hand with refined grace punching another demon in the chest with it and unleashed a spark of lightning. Not breaking for a moment, his actions continued, transforming one demon to ice and shattering it and not hesitating to crush the head of another demon with the end of his staff in a sickening crunch.

Hearing the sound of combat, Bull smashed through the doors so harshly that he broke the bottom hinges, barrelling down the room and skewered the first demon he saw and cleaved the next in two before kicking the third tree like demon between the neck and ripped it's head off with his bare hands.

Blackwall, Valeyna and the other's did their part, either by hacking a demon into smaller pieces, impaling a demon full of arrows or by demolishing the top half of another demon into a bloody mess with a fist of stone spell. In short order, they had the entire situation under control with the breach closed.

"Fascinating, how does that work exactly?" All eyes of the group turned to the man. They looked at him up and down, reviewing his clothes, appearance, magical abilities, analysing him for any threat that a mage from the Venatori would more than likely present.

While the light inside the Chantry was dim, Valeyna only being able to utilise that of the small burning fires that tried but failed to sufficiently illuminate the building, Valeyna got a decent look at the mage.

He was young, older then her but not by many years. At most, she would say that the man was twenty-four years old. He was of average height and build for a mage, darker skin more indicative of those who lived in the more northern regions of Thedas all though it was still more common in Rivain. The same could be said for his hazel coloured eyes. On his face was a thin but curved moustache and a small goatee. He was handsome, yet he didn't strike her as the more typical type of handsome.

Inspecting his clothing, it was again rather obvious that the man was used to far warmer climates than that of Ferelden. He wore rather thin brownish leather for the most part but a white robe with only minimal patterns and decorations had been laid on top of it. The mages lower half was also made up of breeches although far less puffy then that of his fellow mages. On his waist was located a small satchel that had been loaded up with a book and some biscuits. Obviously, this man had been wearing something more suited for travel then the daily business that Alexius did.

"You don't even know, do you?" The mage sounded astonished. "You just wiggle your fingers and boom! Rift closed.

"Who are you?"

"Ah. Getting ahead of myself again I see. Dorian of house Parvus" Dorian bowed respectfully. "Most recently of Minrathous. How do you do?

"Watch yourself. The pretty ones are always the worst."

"Suspicious friends you have here" Dorian replied happily not at all concerned about the dangerous tone that Bull had spoken in. Rather it appeared to the young elf mage, that this Dorian seemed to find Bull rather amusing almost as if Bull was a small toll that he could play with. "Magister Alexius was once my mentor. So my assistance should be valuable. As I'm sure you can imagine"

"I was expecting Felix here?"

"I'm sure he's on his way. He was supposed to give you the note, then meet us here after ditching his father.

"Alexius couldn't jump to Felix's side fast enough when he pretended to be faint. Is there something wrong with him?" Valeyna inquired carefully. Despite the seeming friendliness of the man, she refused to entirely lower her staff. This could all be a trick to delay her and the others while Alexius took his entire force and massacred them until the chantry's walls were permanently stained red with blood.

"He's had some lingering illness for months" Dorian replied sadly. "Felix is an only child, and Alexius is being a mother hen, most likely."

"Are you a Magister?" Not before she had even finished her stance, Dorian sighed loudly. Shaking his head in annoyance, he repeated a speech that he had done so many times before. "

"All right, let's say this once. I'm a mage from Tevinter, but not a member of the Magisterium. I know southern use the term interchangeably, but that only makes you sound like barbarians." Valeyna rolled her eyes. She couldn't remember the number of times that humans had called her a barbarian. She was a Dalish so she was a barbarian, she was an elf so barbarian, she had magic, so dangerous barbarian. Now apparently she was a barbarian because she did not know how titles worked in Tevinter when she had never visited the nation in the entirety of her life.

Then again how did the mage expect her to know such things when the very moment she would step into Tevinter, she would likely have been taken into slavery to serve as some concubine or blood sacrifice.

"You're betraying your mentor because?"

"Alexius was my mentor, Meaning he's not any longer, not for some time. Look, you must know there's some danger. That should be obvious without the note."

"Yes because the presence of Tevinter soldiers and mages, aren't evidence enough. Or the Fade rift that just opened, or the large presence of rebel mages who are bound to be getting jumpy by now" Valeyna wondered if the man was just saying that for her sake or because he was seriously under the impression that "southern barbarians" could not notice when a foreign nations army had rocked up in a major lord's castle. If this was the attitude that those northerners had, then she wasn't surprised that Tevinter had been entirely unable to expand its holdings.

"Let's start with Alexius claiming the allegiance of the mage rebels from under you. As if by magic yes. Which is exactly right. To reach Redcliffe before the Inquisition, Alexius distorted time itself."

"What?" Valeyna said incredulously.

"Alexius distorted time itself my dear. To put it simply, he used magic to ensure that the Venatori arrived here just after the explosion of the conclave. Do you understand"

"Maybe" Valeyna squeaked. Alexius had manipulated time, that sounded utterly impossible, she had never heard of such magic. She wasn't a circle mage but she was pretty dam sure that if somebody had learned how to manipulate time, then the Dalish would have seized on the opportunity instantly. If magic could manipulate time itself, then why hadn't it been used before, why wasn't Tevinter an all-powerful nation. Could that even be achieved? going back in time. If it was possible then she would love the idea of going to see Halamshiral or better yet Arlathan and stare in awe of glistening crystals towers and floating palaces.

"The rift you closed here? You saw how it twisted time around itself, sped some things up and slowed others down. Soon there will be more like it, and they'll appear further away from Redcliffe. The magic Alexius is using is wildly unstable and it's unravelling the world." Valeyna was unable to hide her bewildered look. She knew what Dorian was saying when it came to magic slowing things down and the opposite, she had noticed a few minute differences but had thought it to be some trick of the light.

"That sounds dangerous"

"No shit" Shaking his head, Bull paced himself over the smooth Chantry floor. Currently, he was thinking of how many ways he could cut off the limbs of the Vint mage. There were a certain few that he liked more other others. One was to go for the arms, make them scream out in pain, the other was to go for their legs and laugh as their faces went pale. Then again he could go for something more traditional, like cutting the men head off.

"I know what I'm talking about. I helped develop this magic. When I was still his apprentice, it was pure theory. Alexius could never get it to work. What I don't understand is why he's doing it? Ripping time to shreds just to gain a few hundred lackeys"? Joining the large Qunari in his pacing, Dorian scrunched his face adorably like a puppy. Valeyna on the other hand only felt her stomach drop as her heart beat faster than any possible drum beat while her face turned sickly and head went light. If they could manipulate time, if this apparent Magister was so powerful then how were they even still alive?. How would they beat a man that powerful?

"He didn't do it for them" Appearing out of nowhere, Valeyna half turned her head coking her attention onto the now suddenly present Felix. Dorian smiled at his friend before staring at him in concern and whispered.

"Took you long enough. Is he getting suspicious."

"No, but I shouldn't have played the illness card. I thought he'd be fussing over me all day." Turning his attention onto the Herald, Felix's eyes widened slightly as he saw the giant hulking grey beast that was the qunari. "My father's joined a cult. Tevinter extremists. They call themselves the "Venatori. And I can tell you one thing, whatever he's done for them, he's done it to get to you" Felix explained.

"Why would he rearrange time and indenture the mage rebellion just to get to me?" Valeyna closed her eyes in thought. Should she tell the these two what they know of the Venatori? If she asked about any mention of an old magister, would they respond in a positive or negative way and how did she know it wasn't a trap already. All this faking illness and creating a friendship could be to get her in a disadvantaged position where they then took her out before she knew what would happen. She held back her shiver at the idea of just waking up in a cage in Tevinter to be sold like cattle.

"They're obsessed with you, but I don't know why. Perhaps because you survived the Temple of Sacred Ashes" In a moment Valeyna's heart dropped as she pieced everything together. Powerful time magic, access to the fade itself and a Magister's from the glory days. That had to be this Magister's plan, this time magic could have been a test to see what it could really do. If she was captured by Alexius's minions, then this old Magister might use her as a conduit to access the raw power of the Fade. If that was then combined with time magic, then perhaps in an instant this old Magister could restore the glory of the old Tevinter Empire in a single strike.

"You can close the rifts. Maybe there's a connection, or they see you as a threat?" Dorian added.

"If the Venatori is behind the rifts or the Breach in the sky, they're worse than I thought."

"Alexius is your father. Why tell me this? Why are you working against him?" Valeyna asked.

"For the same reason Dorian works against him" Felix replied distraughtly. "I love my father, and I love my country. But this? Cults? Time Magic? What he's doing now is madness. For his own sake, you have to stop him" The man pleaded in such a sorrowful tone, that Valeyna felt that she could almost experience what the Tevinter mage was feeling.

"It would also be nice if he didn't rip a hole in time, there's already a hole in the sky," Dorian added cheerfully.

"Do you have any suggestions?" With the true threat of what this man was now revealed to her, Valeyna sighed loudly in no small amount of panic. She thought she understood a bit better now, and if she was correct then that understanding could bring untold destruction onto the world. If what happened at the Conclave was reversed, she would likely be killed and the same would likely be for several others who had barely managed to escape the showdown. The Inquisition likely would have been crushed before it had a chance to be born.

Solas would be off somewhere else, Varric might have fled the scene panicking about his own life in the presence of an old magister, Cassandra would likely be butchered and Nat she feared would be found and enslaved.

All her previous plans for getting the mages had to be dropped, action had to be taken as soon as possible and it had to be lethal in its composition. Any warning and Alexius could reverse what had happened or worse.

"You know you're his target. Expecting the trap is the first step in turning it to your advantage. I can't stay in Redcliffe, Alexius doesn't know I'm here, and I want to keep it that way for now. But whenever you're ready to deal with him, I want to be there. I'll be in touch" With a respectful but flamboyant bow, Dorian turned elegantly on his heel and strode out as if he was some prizes nobles horse. "Oh and Felix" Dorian stopped with a cocky grin. "Try not to get yourself killed.

"There are worse things than dying Dorian" Without another word, Felix skulked off into the shadows disappearing through the same secret entrance that he had entered leaving the agents of the Inquisition alone.

"So Time Magic" Blackwall spoke slowly tasting the words on his tongue and grimacing. "That doesn't sound good"

"No shit" Sera muttered fearfully. "We're gonna stop this right. Stop the freaky magic and time shit. This Alexius fellow, we're going to kill him dead" Valeyna nodded not saying a word as she still processed all the information that had been presented to her.

"Hey boss, you think it's real."

"Yes. That rift back in front of the village, I knew something was odd, now that we know it's time Magic, we have to stop it" Bull agreed as dark thoughts fluttered through his mind. If Tevinter could wield that type of power, then the war for Seheron would be lost.

"Makers Breath. I won't pretend to say that I understand it, but if Alexius truly has manipulated time to his benefit, then he has to be stopped. We need to get back to Haven right away and formulate a plan" Magic was a strange thing to Blackwall, he knew of its power and devastation on the battlefield, the rumours of blood mages taking over the minds of others against their will and even the odd enchanted item like a teapot whose content's never went cold. Time, on the other hand, was something different, terrifying and utterly bewildering.

"When we get back, we'll ask Solas about this. Until then, we should deal with the rifts in the local area. It's probably going to be a few days before Alexius sends a letter anyway" Grimacing reluctantly, Valeyna gripped her staff and walked out of the Chantry back into the fresh bright beautiful sun of Redcliffe Village. It was going to be a long day of closing down portals.

Days Later

Haven

"Solas" Revolving around slowly, Solas placed the book he had been reading down on the nearest table. Valeyna didn't recognise the book, however, going by its title she could guess what it was about.

""Herald, Is there anything I can do for you," Solas asked earnestly as he gestured towards one of the chairs in the library. Accepting his request, Valeyna almost collapsed into the chair her face plagued by worry and her eyes red from a lack of sleep she had suffered since returning from Redcliffe.

"This magic at Redcliffe, I was wondering if you knew anything else about it?" Solas sat down opposite her nearby the fire that burned comfortably a little in the distance casting the man's face in an almost eerie light. Sighing gracefully at the lack of response, Valeyna went to stand up figuring that she might as well trouble somebody else.

"I'm afraid not" Breaking the silence, Solas narrowed his eyes in caution before picking up the book that he had set down previously and opened it. "I did not think such a magic was possible. It is a truly groundbreaking piece of magic yet also one of incredible danger. To manipulate the very fabric of time is an incredible endeavour, one that fills me with curiosity as to how it was achieved and dread at the idea of it being placed in the hands of this Alexius and his master. As to how it works, I'm afraid I cannot say without studying it in more depth. Whatever happens, when you interact with this Magister, you will need to ensure that you are careful and feel out for any such magic"

It was not the first time that Valeyna had discussed the topic with Solas. As soon as he had arrived back at Haven, she had inquired upon him as to the nature of this magic and if he knew of anyone performing such a feat before. She still remembered his genuinely concerned yet very curious tone of voice when he had heard that news. Solas unlike the others when they were informed had mentioned that such magic was truly revolutionary and something that the Inquisition could use efficiently. Time magic he stated could at least, in theory, be used to see into the future and take action to prevent some sort or grave catastrophe arriving such as the destruction or major defeat suffered by the Inquisition.

Everyone else including her thought that it was a possible disaster that loomed over them threatening to consume them like a blight did the world. Time was of the essence, and everyone knew it. Cullen had already stepped up the level of the recruits training and Blackwall had joined him. At the same time, Leliana had already recalled back a number of her agents ready to strike and Josephine had made contact with as many nobles as possible. Everyone else, on the other hand, was doing what little they could but besides the knowledge that Solas and Vivienne could give, there was nothing that could really be done.

Neither of them so far had any knowledge on how to counter such revolutionary magic and neither did any of the other mages or Templars that were stationed at Haven. She wished Nat had been with them right now. His people might know secrets on such an esoteric area of magic, and if not then having another powerful mage attending her when they went to confront Alexius would be of great use.

That only made her frown more as her thoughts concentrated on her young friend. If Solas was correct and she had the ever sinking and worrying feeling that he was about the boys magic, then something was up. She was just not able to push the thought away from her mind, it was always there, like a really bad rash that had to be constantly rubbed and never vanished no matter what was done to soothe it.

"Solas" She spoke slowly. "If this magic is used against us, how likely can we win?" A dark aura fell upon Solas. Flicking his book a page, Solas in a bored fashion scanned the page before half turning his head away from the fire and back onto the woman that was known as the Herald of Andraste.

"If Alexius can truly control time, then it is likely that every mistake that the Venatori make and every victory that the Inquisition gains could be reversed in an instant. They would know our plans before we did, they could counter us, decimate our numbers before we even knew what happened. For all we know, we could defeat Alexius at Redcliffe and beat this possible Magister. Nonetheless, if Time magic was used after that, then this Magister could rise again perhaps with his newly gained power. In other situations, our enemies could use such power to reverse time to a moment even further back in time, perhaps before the fall of Tevinter and change all of history."

"The problem is all this waiting" Valeyna moaned. "Every day that Alexius is allowed to stay in Redcliffe, give's him more time to cement his power over the mages and possibly call up another one of those time spells"

"You don't think he could do it whenever he desired?" Solas quirked an eyebrow in curiosity.

"I hardly think meddling with time is something that can be so easily done. It might take hour's, days even. If it was so easy to cast, then we wouldn't be having this conversation" Solas silently admitted that the younger mage did have a point. If the ability to manipulate time was so easy to utilize, then it would have been done so already. The only explanation besides being difficult was that either that Aleixus's master was unaware of such magic, or that Alexius's master was so stupid or confident of his plan that he wouldn't bother with time magic.

Ultimately, however, the question on the Inquisitions mind was how to deal with such awe-inspiring power when the time came to negotiate. Most assumedly, any negotiation is going to be a trap. Normally she wouldn't be so concerned, if she was to fight mages then she would bring those with hr who would be most suitable for such a task.

Already in her mind, that meant that those she had taken for the initial meeting with Alexius, would not be going with her. Sera was too childlike and Valeyna suspected she was petrified of magic, that girl was just not suitable. Vivienne couldn't be brought due to the conflict that would spark between her and the rebel mages.

She doubted that the others would oppose if she brought along Solas and Cassandra with her. Solas was their expert on the fade. Time magic may be new to him, but she trusted in his experience to deal with any problem that they would come across. Cassandra, on the other hand, was trained in the ways of the Seeker and was used to hunting down and killing rogue mages. Her experience in such regards would be invaluable. Her final choice she figured, would be Bull. The man had spoken a bit about his time serving in Seheron and fighting Tevinter. Most likely the man had experience in fighting mages and would be incredibly beneficial when an inevitable fight would break out.

There was no point in taking either Varric or Sera. Any upcoming confrontation was likely going to be one big brawl fest with a lot of people getting in close and fighting. Not to mention, that they would be in a very tight environment, negating the use of archers quite a bit. That type of environment was better suited to those who could fight efficiently or that was at least how she saw it.

The Inquisition would walk into the negotiations, pass meaningless dribble with Alexius for a bit before a disagreement would come and result in the certain battle for the castle. Alexius had to be the first to die if he didn't then the entire plan would fall apart and who knows what kind of shit the man would do if he panicked with time magic.

"Facing such an opponent will require a detailed plan. Any action that you take, must be quick and decisive" Solas spoke slowly his fingers flicking over the page.

"I know, it's just-" Slamming open loudly, Valeyna whipped her head around to see none other than Cassandra staring at her sternly.

"It's Alexius" Not waiting for one more moment, Valeyna threw herself out of the chair and raced out the library as fast as she possibly could, joining the Seeker and bursting into the war room. Inside Cullen Josephine and Leliana were already in mid-conversation.

"We don't have the manpower to take the castle. We need to find another way in, or we give up this nonsense and get the Templars." Cullen argues his eyes crossed. Recruiting the mages was an incredibly dangerous plan in his opinion, they had already shown what they were willing to do at Kirkwall and even later when they all rebelled. Personally, he thought of them as little more than a group of frightened individuals who held a very dangerous power and were barely organised.

"Redcliffe is in the hands of a Magister's, this cannot be allowed to stand." Thumping her gloved covered hands on the wooden table, splinters flew out a few centimetres and embedded themselves into the Seekers leather glove. Grimacing, the woman yanked the splinters outwards.

"The letter from Alexius asked for the Herald of Andraste by name. It's an obvious trap" Josephine said staring at the Herald silently asking her if she was really going to go with such a dangerous and tricky plan.

"Isn't that kind of him, what does Alexius say about me" Ignoring the silent question, Valeyna joked about the man although she was generally curious as to how the enemies of the Inquisition thought about her. Was she a blasphemer to them, an elf who had been raised far too high a position and now had to be quashed or was she just some useless elf with a bit of magic and had stolen something from Tevinter. Either one she was fine with.

"He is so complimentary, that we are certain that he wants to kill you" Leliana responded flicking some of her hair over her shoulder.

"Not this again" Josephine groaned loudly.

"Redcliffe castle is one of the most defensible fortresses in all of Fereldan. It has repelled thousands of assaults. If you go in there, you'll die and we'll lose our only way of closing these rifts. I won't allow it" Cullen's eyes burned resolutely.

"And if we don't even try to meet Alexius, we lose the mages and leave a hostile foreign power on our doorstep" Leliana retorted. Cullen frowned once again, fighting mages would be difficult as it was with Templar's, what he had was ordinary soldiers who for the most part weren't even trained properly yet. With Radcliffe as a base, the Venatori could strike them at Haven and they would have no way to defend themselves against such a threat.

"Even if we could assault the keep, it would be for nought. An Orlesian Inquisitions army marching into Fereldan would provoke a war. Our hands are tied." Josephine interrupted

"The Magsiter-" Cassandra began.

"Has outplayed us" Cullen ended gaining a glare from the woman.

"We can't just give up, there has to be something we can do. Can we trick him into somewhere that would give us the advantage, pour poison in his goblet? " Valeyna inquired. These were supposed to be some of the best advisors in the world for their skills, so why did they seem so unable to get her a decent result. By now she would have expected that Leliana could have brought in an exceptional archer to take out his Magister.

"We cannot accept defeat now, there must be a solution," Casandra said slightly calmer then she had been before.

"Where is the Arl of Redcliffe?, I'm sure he'd help us get his castle back" Valeyna turned to Josephine hoping that the woman dressed in the bright dress may be able to give them a serious advantage in the upcoming conflict.

"After he was displaced, Arl Teagan went to Denerim and positioned the crown for help. I doubt he'll want our assistance once the Ferelden army lays siege to his castle"

"Shit" Valeyna banged her small elven fist against the table before then kicking her leg harshly against one of its legs.

"Wait. There is a secret passage to the castle, an escape route for the family. It's too narrow for our troops, but we could send agents through."

"You might have mentioned that earlier Leliana" Valeyna stated. She could work with that, sneak her and everybody through the tunnel while Cullen led a more obvious attack on the front. Perhaps if they could get far enough in, she could reach Felix where the boy may then be able to offer his own assistance in dealing with the matter. Maybe by keeping the man distracted or by threatening something drastic.

"Too risky, those agents will be discovered well before they reach the Magister." Cullen abjected the idea

"That's why we need a distraction. Perhaps the envoy Alexius wants so badly" Upon hearing the words of their spymaster, Cullen squinted his eyes at the table staring at the many different points on the map. Cullen had always found it easier to concentrate on things when he squinted, he didn't know why but it always helped

"Focus their attention on Lavellan, we take out the Tevinters. It's risky, but it could work." He nodded gently to himself. Before he could respond further and ask a few more questions, the door to the room slammed open with the force of a hurricane. There, striding in was none other than the handsome moustache twirling Tevinter Mage known as Dorian sporting a flirty grin on his face which he promptly gifted to Cullen. Rushing past him, a soldier of the Inquisition brushed past the mage and bowed his head to Cullen their cheeks glowing red with embarrassment,

"Fortunately you'll have help" Dorian smirked excitedly.

"This man says he has information about the Magister and his methods commander" Relaying the information, the soldier promptly left the room leaving one commander muttering under his breath about needing better less bashful doors.

"You're spies will never get past Alexius magic without my help. So if you're going after him, I'm coming along" Dorian intoned, smirking at the Herald in an appreciative look at her choice of attire. Sighing, Cullen shook his head and turned back to the main agent who would be leading this group in its goal.

"The plan puts you in the most danger, we can't in good conscience order you to do this. We can still go after the Templar's if you'd rather not take the bait. It's up to you" Valeyna smiled warmly at the man, touched by the apparent kindness and worry the man held for her over the risk of her being killed by some backwater Tevinter Mage. It was actually quite cute the way his tone had turned from serious and warlike to a sweet gentle one as if he had gone from a proud strong lion to a baby kitten in desperate need of petting.

"It's okay Cullen, I'll be perfectly fine. I'll take Cassandra and Solas for their expertise, have everyone else stationed in Redcliffe village just in case. If anything happens, then they need to be able to rush the castle as soon as they possibly can." Josephine frowned.

"Couldn't that be taken the wrong way, there is no way to hide someone like the Iron Bull in a village full of Tevinter mages. They will know that there's going to be back up".

"Then we make sure that any reinforcements arrive after Lavellan has entered the castle." With the conversation nearing its end, Cullen turned towards the Elf mage and presented her a stern but deeply concerned look. "We can hold back our attack for a small time, but if Alexius has truly manipulated time itself-"

"Cullen, I'm ready" With a modest bow of his head, Cullen gave his goodbye and strode out of the building so he could begin marshalling what troops and recourses they had to spare.

1 day later

Redcliffe Castle

With furious speed, Valeyna 's boots struck the ground ringing out the sound of wooden soles on a hard stone floor of the castles Courtyard. Built of thick and heavy stone many years ago, Redcliffe castle was considered by many people to be the second most defensive fortresses in all of Ferelden only bested by that of Fort Drakon in Denerim. Redcliffe Castle's larder she had heard, was typically always kept at full capacity ready for an inevitable war that would onset at any moment. A result of the Orlesian occupation and the Blight that followed soon after and only confirmed with the Mage Rebellion and Duke Gaspard calling for Fereldens conquest.

There was a lot of history in the old stone walls Valeyna sensed. Whether it was the more recent kind when the Darkspawn had assaulted the castle during the Blight or even during the Orlesian occupation, Redcliffe castle had stood its ground and endured years of warfare, death, political intrigue and revolutions.

Therefore, Valeyna could not hide her disappointment as she took in the sight of the powerful towering grandiose stone walls that surrounded the keep. Redcliffe castle while impressive with its architecture and initial imposing figure that loomed in the distance of Redcliffe village as a stubborn but honourable defender now felt empty and devoid of happiness. All decorations that would depict the rulers of the castle on the outside from the banners of the Arl of Redcliffe which was s alone grey tower on a white background towering mightily over a blood red cliff, to the individual soldiers who would train rigorously for combat had entirely vanished to the point that they had seemingly never existed in the first place. This was only made ever more prevalent by those people Valeyna could see.

Though few in number, the archers that had been posted on the wall to defend the fortress were not dressed in the slightest for the difference in climate. They wore no furs of like the native-born Fereldens who were used to biting and freezing temperatures of the far cooler climate, but rather that of thick black steel and light tunic and clothes simply coloured black. As they progressed towards the large oak doors that led to the main courtroom, Cassandra growled as she spotted the banner of some Tevinter Magister being hung down from the tallest tower. The Tevinters it seemed had no intention of leaving Ferelden soil.

Valeyna herself scowled as she noticed the terrified looking elves cowering behind a doorframe with their heads aimed low to the ground. That scowl turned to blazing fury when she saw that nearly every elf had been physically injured in some way. Most were gingerly touching a swollen cheek. Another was scurrying around with clothes in her arms that had chunks of their hair yanked out leaving a bloody scalp. A different elf she witnessed to her increasing rage and her growing distaste had her shirt ripped off her back and forced to lean on a post. Bright red bloody marks scarred the woman's back as tears ran down the servants face.

Valeyna gripped her fist tightly, no longer bothering to hold back the glare at some of the Tevinter soldiers who stood in their guard positions apparently unbothered by the treatment. That was it, she would kill all of them. Not one of these bastards would be allowed to escape with their lives. Any mage whether they were Tevinter or not who partook in such activities she would have the heads off. Or even better as she gave Cassandra a calculated look, she would have them all made tranquil.

The enemy also didn't seem too concerned about what was about to go down as all of those who had their faces revealed did little to hide their distasteful sneers or haughty lustful looks. One even dared to act out what was going to happen to her.

Yes Valeyna thought angrily, they would all die and that one making the actions would be made tranquil.

With an enraged glare established on her face and combined by the same angry expression on Cassandra, the two women followed by Solas who was in the rear waltzed through the opened oak doors so that they could march inside the keep.

As soon as they entered, they were met with one of the Tevinter Mages only this time his uniform in white and gold stood still with his crossed behind his back. Not even bothering for the man to speak, she locked her withering glare on the man.

"Announce us" She spoke brutally daring the mage to so much as step out of line. The man didn't react, however, the blonde haired man in more plain clothes took a step back in slight fear as he felt the harsh piercing gaze of the Herald slash into him. Backpedalling slightly, the man breathed out before fixing his cocky smirk and walked forward although this time noticeably scared.

"The Magisters invitation was for Mistress Lavellans alone the rest will wait here"

"Where I go they go" She spat out the words sharply. This little shit would join the pile of soon to be corpses as well. A brief look passed between them, a stare down which the man promptly lost as Valeyna gave him a such a harsh glare that the man felt as if he was being physically crushed by an invisible force by the young elf woman forcibly against his will transforming into a ball of nothing but paste. Gulping loudly in fear, the man relented allowing the rest of the group to follow the Herald up the stairs into the actual main room itself.

There at the centre of the room lounging casually with one leg resting on the chair of the Arl of Redcliffe stationed before a red carpet was none other than Alexius. To his side was Felix whereas to his other side but down the steps was a tired and forlorn looking Fiona. A sign of her place in life? Valeyna directed her outraged scowl at the magister.

"My lord Magister, the agents of the Inquisition have arrived" Seemingly finding courage in the proximity to his master, the blonde servant fixed the Herald of Andraste a "Superior than thou look". Alexius arose from his wooden carve throne and greeted Valeyna with the same friendly expression he had worn when they had first met. He was not bothered in the least by the scorned look marring the typically beautiful face of the Dalish mage.

"My friend it's so good to see you again." As the man retained his ever-present friendly demeanour, Valeyna couldn't but feel her desire to punch the man's face grow. "And your associates of course." Alexius momentarily narrowed his eyes at Cassandra, recognising her for what she was. I'm sure we can work out some sort of arrangement that will be equitable to all parties" He drawled out slowly grating Valeyna's patience.

"Are we mages to have no voice in deciding our fate" Fiona spoke scandalised breaking the unspoken social faux pas of daring to interrupt a Magister.h

"Fiona you would not have turned over your followers to my care if you did not trust me with their lives" Alexius levelled a full glare at the elf woman. Instinctively, Fiona met that glare with her own daring the man to strike her promising without a single word being passed that she would not back down when it came to the defence of her people.

"If the Grand Enchanter wants to be part of these talks, then I welcome her as a guest of the Inquisition" Sensing a possible fight about to break out without the aid of the others agents of the Inquisition in the nearby vicinity, Valeyna interrupted silently praying to the gods for the agents to hurry up and butcher the other Venatori guards in the area.

"Thank you," Fiona responded as she gave the Herald a look of thanks. Gritting his teeth, Alexius turned his back to the group before then lounged back into his seat, covering one leg with another where he subtly then moved them, blocking out his ability to see the elf.

"The Inquisition needs mages to close the breach and I have them. So what shall you offer in exchange?" Alexius spoke in an almost mocking but serious tone.

"Your life" Valeyna declared boldly not caring in the sparsest sense as the rapid movements of the Venatori guards made themselves known to the world as they stepped away from their posts and rounded the group creating a semicircle enclosing them. At the same time, she marched up the stairs her eyes blazing with righteous fury that promised to deliver untold anguish on the one who was on the receiving end.

"You are certainly bold enough to threaten the life of one who wishes to negotiate. Is this how the Inquisition works? Bullying, intimidation. You elves are nothing but a bunch of savages" Glowering at the little blonde haired elf, Alexius briefly looked at the specimen up and down bored. So this was the one who had stopped his master's plans, a young elf savage wielding a gift that should only be granted to humans. Pathetic.

"She knows everything father" Felix announced quietly to the man walking forwards with his head bent low in concern for his father.

"Felix, what have you done?"

"We know what the Venatori are, we know that they killed the Divine, that they destroyed the Conclave," Valeyna yelled glaring at the man while her feet echoed around the large hallway as she ascended the steps that split her from the magister, putting her on equal footing until she had finally come to the top putting the two of them on equal ground.

"So speaks the thief." Alexius spat the words out as if were poison from a wound. He rose from his seat his own face twisted so tightly in raw anger and fury that he gave the impression of a serpent. "Did you think you could turn my son against me? To walk into my stronghold with your stolen mark, a gift you do not even understand and you think you are in control?" Alexius paused outraged "You're nothing but a mistake".

"You mean this mark that was designed to grant one entry to the Fade itself" Valeyna retorted. Alexius stepped back momentarily in shock.

"It belongs to your betters, you wouldn't even begin to understand its purpose."

"Father listen to yourself. Do you know what you sound like?" Felix conveyed scared as he hoped to prevent a possible fight from escalating further than it already had.

"He sounds exactly like some villainous cliché everyone expects us to be." A voice answered loudly yet jokingly from behind.

"Dorian" Betrayal flashed across Alexius face as he stared at his old pupil and friend. "I gave you a chance to be a part of this, you turned me down. The Elder One has power you wouldn't even believe. He will raise the Imperium from its own ashes"

"So it is true, Nat was right. This Elder one is the one who killed the Divine, he's one of the old Magister's isn't he, one of the Tevinter Mages who walked into the Fade and tainted the golden city with his presence. He was one of the original Darkspawn." Alexius glowered zealously at the elf his face once again creasing with fury at the very concept of a lowly beast interrupting him. This would have to be reported to the Elder One he thought. Apparently, the insignificant boy that he had heard about, had already divined the true nature of his lord master without anyone even telling him.

"Soon he will become a god." Alexius cried out in euphoria. "He will make the world bow to mages once more. We will rule from the boric ocean to the frozen seas"

"You can't involve my people in this" Fiona trembled where she stood truly horrified.

"Alexius this is exactly what you and I talked about never wanting to happen. Why would you support this?" Dorian called out his tone one of disbelief but also of concern. Valeyna stared at Alexius surprised as he saw the mans withered faces relax but transform into that of heavily guilt and sadness before staring at Felix forlornly to the point that she thought the man was about to break down into tears. Hoping to hide such a shameful expression from a mere beast, Alexius shifted his attention to the fire that burned behind him hoping to find comfort in the warmth it provided.

So distracted was the man, that he did not hear nor turn around when a sharp piece of cold steel was plunged into the neck of one his many Venatori guards. As it was done so, the soldier who had performed the deed had also wrapped his hand around the mouth of the guard, suffocating the mage as he gurgled his final breath in fear and panic and was then gently lowered to the floor before his killer proceeded onto the next one. After only a few well hidden and secretive minutes, every single guard that Alexius had held inside the halls of the castle to defend him from an attack lay as nothing but pale corpses. Their cold dead eyes staring up at the old timber ceiling as blood poured from their now gutted throats.

"Stop it father, give up the Venatori. Let the southern mages fight the breach and let's go home" Felix pleaded.

"No, it's the only way Felix, he can save you"

"Save me" Felix shook his head while growing sense of dread and dismayed filled his heart.

"There is a way, the Elder One promised. If I undo the mistake at the Temple" Alexius spoke fervently his eyes glistening with a sense of desperate hope that one came to when everything had been lost and one was told of a final chance that could save everything. He was like a gambler that had lost everything and was praying that one single roll of the dice would recover all that he had thrown away.

"I'm going to die. You need to accept that" Alexius turned around slowly his eyes brimming with guilt before they hardened like diamonds.

"Seize them Venatori. The Elder one demands this elf's-" They were all dead Alexius saw petrified. Every single one of the several dozen mage guards that had lined the walls of the hall lay dead in a pool of their own blood while Inquisition soldiers loomed over their corpses bloodied daggers in hand.

"Your men are dead Alexius" Valeyna smirked victoriously as she advanced upon him slowly savouring the moment as the last guard gave off his last throaty gurgle where he was then stabbed cleanly through the skull by Cassandra's now drawn sword.

"You are a mistake, you should never have resisted" gripped by unrelenting terror, Alexius pulled back quickly raising his hand where an amulet encased in glowing green energy began to pulse.

"No" Dorian yelled at the top of his voice as he shoved his staff roughly in the direction of Alexius unleashing a blast of yellow light crashing into Alexius knocking him off his feet. It was not enough however as the green energy jolted suddenly from the amulet smashing into the Tevinter and Dalish mage enveloping them in a dark forest green swirling smoky green whirlpool and a flash of blinding white light.

Unknown

Blasting like a crack of thunder during a heavy storm, sickly green tendrils of lightning crashed against the battered empty stone walls. With another crack, a white light blazed over the room in an instant followed by a green magic whirlpool where two individuals were thrown out and strewn across the flooded room their faces and clothes covered in water.

"Blood of the Elder one" A soldier swore behind his black helmet revealing his incredibly thick Tevinter brogue.

"Where they come from?" Drawing his blade in an instant, the second soldier sent to guard this area, followed alongside his comrade at the two unknown individuals ready to strike down and murder the intruders. Advancing a single step forwards as their bare ankles brushed against the water, the two Tevinter soldiers were rapidly encased in ice killing them as the sheer cold from the magic performed froze up their arteries alongside the air before shattering into small snowflakes and melted into the rest of the pool of water that rested at the two mages feet.

Sighing audibly, Valeyna picked herself up off the floor grunting as she felt the water slip into her gloves and squelch between her fingers and looked around.

This place wherever it was, was certainly not where they had been mere moments ago. This place was no large grandiose hall where paintings lined the walls proudly showing the history and tradition of the powerful and imposing fortress they had just been in. There were no fancy red carpets in here, no small flowers or trees that at one point a person had decided to set down and most importantly, there was also no bitter Magister.

Rather the surroundings that surrounded her put her spontaneously on edge. They had landed in a small flooded room where their only source of light was a giant crystal of Red Lyrium growing out of the very rock itself and encasing everything around it in a malicious energy. Prison cells lined the sides of the walls she spotted. They were small, old and had rusted with constant exposure to water, however, oddly they seemed to have been used recently since the loack of the cells iron gate had been kept in good condition. Obviously, the owners of this place cared not for their prisoners.

"Interesting." Dorian mused to himself yet managed to draw the attention of the fine yet confused elf he was with. "It's probably not what Alexius intended, the rift must have moved us to what, the closest confluence of arcane energy" Dorian analysed the area that they were in his eyes glowing with fascination and excitement yet also tempered with caution

"The last thing I remember is we were in the castle wall" Bending over the area where the two soldiers had been killed, Valeyna wondered where she was. The two soldiers had been dressed in the exact same attire as those non-mage soldiers of the Venatori had. Was that where they were?, some strange underground base in Tevinter or something. Was that spell that Alexius used to teleport them to somewhere entirely different? She turned to Dorian for answers.

"Let's see, if we're still in the castle, it isn't." Valeyna blinked, what was the man even on about?. Dorian shifted to her, a smile beaming on his face like a child that had answered a complicated the question correctly "Oh, of course, it's not simply where it's when. Alexius used the amulet as a focus, it moved us through time" Dorian explained.

"Did we go forward in time or back, and how far?"

"Those are excellent questions. We'll have to find out, won't we? Let's look around, see where the rift took us. Then we can figure out how to get back. If we can." Valeyna did not like the sound of that. Being subjected to weird strange time magic was one thing, being trapped in a whole different time was another. What made things even worse, is that despite the familiar looking around of the Venatori soldiers, for all she knew she could have gone back centuries in time to when Tevinter had ruled all of Thedas when this Elder One was just one of many Magister's about to enter the Fade physically for the first time in existence.

"What was Alexius trying to do?" Valeyna inquired, she doubted that Alexius had thrown her into a different time for no apparent purpose.

"I believe his original plan was to remove you from time completely," Dorian answered still sounding enthusiastic as he contemplated the magic that had just been cast upon them. "If that happened, you never would have been at the Temple of Sacred Ashes and mangled his Elder One's plan. I think your surprise in the castle hall made him reckless. He tossed us into the rift before he was ready. I counted it, the magic went wild and here we are. Makes sense."

"It just seems... so insane" Valeyna whispered "I knew magic was powerful, my people have always talked about how Tevinter destroyed Arlathan with blood magic. But to do this?" Valeyna trailed off her imagination running wild. If time magic was possible, then did that mean that other things like space could be changed. She wondered if there was a spell that might be able to make something bigger on the inside then the out. If such a spell existed then it would be of severe help to her people.

Just storing general tools would be easier and not to mention food and the general populace of their people. Dalish clans were forced to stay small so as not to take up to recourses yet if some Aravels were used purely for transporting people and others for items, then it would allow her people to increase in size and possibly wealth.

"I don't even want to think about what this will do to the fabric of the world. We didn't travel through time so much as punch a hole through it and toss it into the privy. But don't worry, I'm here I'll protect you." Muttering under his breath, Dorian locked his attention on the lone way out of this room. He guessed going by the cages, that they were in some type of dungeon likely on the lower floors meaning that they had to go upwards if they wanted to confront Alexius.

"There were others in the hall, could they have been drawn through the rift?"

"I doubt it was large enough to bring the whole room through, Alexius wouldn't risk catching himself or Felix in it. They're probably still where and when we left them. In some sense anyway." Valeyna gave a sigh of relief. At least there was some good news. Still, it made her curious as to what had happened to them. Were they stuck in time, a moment frozen like a painting that would only progress when they returned or did they go about their life as if she and Dorian had been killed. She shook her head banishing the thoughts from her mind. The more she considered such a thing, the more she worried about her friends.

"Alexius mentioned an Elder one in the hall, do you know who he was talking about?" Dorian blinked at the girl raising a perfectly manicured eyebrow.

"I believe you said in the hall that he was one of the original Magisters. Or at least that's what I remember you conveying?" Valeyna nodded grimly and began to explain.

"We have reason to believe that after coming back from the Fade, the Magister was captured by Grey Wardens and held in a secret fortress. A few years ago the champion of Kirkwall freed and killed him, however when Cassandra spoke with the Wardens there, they said they didn't know of Larius the lone surviving Warden. Nat-"

"I assume that's the boy I've heard rumours about, the young mage from a strange background?" Valeyna nodded her slightly head in surprise.

"Well Nat looked at the Breach and he noticed a few things and after putting things together he figured that an attack like that had to have been supported by Tevinter in some fashion or other. When my companions and I went to Val Royeux, Nat went to Denerim and dealt with a bunch of thugs. They said that they worked for the Venatori and told him how Tevinter would rule gloriously once again. When he got back, he was able to connect the dots and stated that only a Tevinter Magister could have had that type of influence and that most likely the Mark and the attack on the Conclave was a way to cause enough damage of the Fade so that a person could walk in and enter the Golden city."

"And doing so would make that Magister unbelievably powerful" Pinching his forehead, Dorian shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Normally I would say that we're not trying to do such things but unfortunately It is very easy to come from. How did he come to the conclusion that an ancient Tevinter Magister was behind the attack?"

"He said it was possible but improbable at first, something along the lines of why attack now if the Darkspawn had been around for centuries?. When Varric told us about his and Hawkes experience with one of the old Magisters at the Wardens old fortress, however, alongside Cassandra telling us about the presence of Larius not being mentioned, Nat worked out what he thought we were dealing with."

"I'm going to regret asking this, but how does your young mage friend believe that an ancient magister held by Grey Wardens and killed by one of the most famous women in the world managed to cheat death?" Perhaps it was his burning curiosity on the subject or the concern about what was plaguing his friend and mentor, but with this new set of knowledge being presented to him, Dorian felt panic slowly set in as he connected the dots together. Secretly he desired that the next piece of information would dissuade him from the theory of the strange mage if it didn't then. He shuddered at the thought,

"Nat thinks that this Magister is able to act like an Archdemon. After being killed, Nat thinks the Magister is able to transfer his essence into another being that has the blight and why the Grey Wardens had imprisoned him."

"Because he cannot be killed" Dorian grunted uncharacteristically before twirling his moustache after noting that it had come out of place. "Felix has the blight, if what you say is true, then Alexius could very likely see such a Magister as the only way to save his son." Dorian closed his eyes tightly in concern and whispered under his breath. "Oh, Alexius what have you gotten yourself into?"

"Does that help?" Delicately placing her hand on the back of the Magister, Valeyna patted the man's shoulder reassuringly as he breathed in and out slowly controlling his anger and emotions.

"Yes, thank you." Straightening his back up, Dorian flipped his head back catching a loose hair and combed it back before treating the elf woman to one of his roguish smirks. "If what you say is true, then it would explain why this magic has been able to work. A man willing to sacrifice the lives of hundreds to enter the Fade once will not care in the slightest if he rips a hole in the fabric of time. We need to prevent such a thing"

"You have a plan to get us back I hope?" Valeyna said cheerfully. Considering the situation that they were in, she felt that she needed to keep a brave face on. Otherwise, being trapped in the future?. She shivered at the very thought.

"I have some thoughts on that. Their lovely thoughts, like little jewels." Dorian joked casually.

"Then I think we need to go,"

Cautiously, the two mages waded their way through the flooded area and onto the only dry area that they could see, the staircase. Worryingly as they advanced upwards, the two mages noted that there was no need for either of them to cast any sort of light spell despite the fact that not one single torch was lit across the pathway. Rather what did allow them to see was the ever-increasing giant growing crystals of Red Lyrium.

Constantly they pulsed rhythmically with an inner light like a heartbeat. Then she heard it, a faint whispering in her ear, soft and loving yet she knew malicious like a small kitten that had jumped up into her arms and snuggled her throat while its fangs had wrapped around to where she could not see and were positioning for the kill.

As she kept moving upwards ignoring the strange statute that stood opposite of the door she had come through, Valeyna could not stop herself from shivering. It wasn't cold in the traditional way, such as when the seasons eventually turned to winter, and long bright summer days turned to short dark ones and while snow and ice were ever present forcing people together to take shelter from the blizzard. Nor was it the type of cold that one felt after pressing their hand against the corpse of a long-dead body.

This cold she knew as down to an ever increasing sense of pure terror. It wracked her from side to side, a constant assault thrusting, stabbing and slicing attempting to given in as she felt the presence of the Lyrium cackle in the air and blow across her pale skin. He breath hitched in an instant, and she froze in place as a feeling of trepidation struck her like a dragon barreling into her at full speed. Anxiety arose in her and she felt the whispering turn louder and louder. Every moment that passed she felt it wrapping its tainted presence around her.

Was this what the taint felt like? a growing sense of darkness ever encroaching on to innocence until all that had been good and pure in the world was no more and replaced only with a vile pungent darkness that seeped into all places? She shivered once more.

"Andraste" Her eyes widened in shock bashing the whispers away as the sound of some other voice carried down one of the other staircases to where she was. Changing her direction towards that of the voice, Valeyna seized Dorian and tore out of the room.

It didn't take long to find the origin of the source, but what they saw was heartbreaking. A young mage still dressed in his robes stared emotionlessly out of his cage as if he had been killed or made tranquil while he chanted to himself in a drone-like manner.

"Andraste bless me, Andraste bless me. My tears are my sins, my sins, my sins. Andraste guide me, Andraste guide me"

"What did they do to you?" Valeyna asked.

"Andraste blessed me, Andraste blessed me". The man continued his chant seemingly not noticing in the slightest the elf girl who stood in front of him almost pleading for the man to give her answers. He gave none resulting in Valeyna walking way shaking her head distraughtly. Seeing that the young mage was lost for all time, Valeyna carried on through the rest of the underground dungeon her eyes grimacing as she felt the glow and singing of the Red Lyrium increase it's tempo, whispering more in her ear.

"Do you also here the whispering Dorian?"

"You mean the intelligible singing, yes. This red Lyrium seems to be the cause although why exactly it had become like this is unknown." Dorian peered closer to one of the red crystals, not touching it but certainly enough that his cold frosty breath struck it.

"Don't touch it" Valeyna snatched Dorian's collar and yanked him back hard before releasing him. Seeing his slightly irritated but also curious expression, she explained. "It's corrupted by the Blight"

"The blight" Dorian raised his eyebrow before his eyes sparkled like brightly coloured jewels when the light struck them just right for them to shimmer gloriously. "That would imply that Lyrium is, in fact, a living being. Oh, this is astounding, one of the greatest breakthroughs there has been for centuries." Dorian smiled excitedly and pulled in Valeyna so that they stared eye to eye. "Tell me how did you discover this information?"

"I didn't, Nat did"

"The boy, did he state how he came to such a conclusion?"

"Apparently he's sensitive to magic. When he first came across Red Lyrium he was concerned because he felt something evil had corrupted the Lyrium. Afterwards, he came across some Darkspawn on the Storm Coast and he said they felt similar" While Valeyna did believe her friend on the subject, it was still rather difficult to wrap her head around. Lyrium was alive, but how alive was it. Was Lyrium like people, with some sort of sentience, or was it an animal where it had instincts and acted on them but no further thought added, maybe there were like plants and flowers, alive but only in a limited state. She had asked Nat when he revealed this information to her, however, he had stated that he didn't know anything beyond that.

"Ah, now that is a peculiar but useful ability. If he can simply sense the taint in Red Lyrium or the taint in the Darkspawn, then who else knows what he may be able to detect. I would very much like to meet him and discuss the wonders and aspects of magic if you will?"

"I'll arrange a meeting"

"Fantastic. Now let us be off we have a spell to reverse"

The two of them didn't get very far when they ran into their next encounter. After running up one of the flights of stairs, the two of them had come into a larger holding cell area where multiple cells had been placed so that prisoners could be kept for whatever purpose that and Arl may have. Oddly, the cells that they did pass, were empty for the most part, well empty besides the large crystals of glowing red Lyrium. Why anyone would put such giant crystals all over the place or why the need for such large ones when according to Varric even a small idol was enough to turn a woman mad was beyond her. However, as she stared at the crystals, the sinking feeling in Valeyna's stomach swiftly grew larger and larger until to her horror she encountered another prisoner.

It was Fiona. Fused inside a giant crystal of red Lyrium, the elf mage was stuck in place, her face taught and withered by the passages of time that should take decades to take. Her once youthful but experienced face now appeared to be one of age as lines and crosses formed all over her. She leaned on one of her arms while her face pressed against the crystal all hope seemingly lost. She was trying to get by day by day waiting for the inevitable to occur.

As her foot hit the floor, Valeyna nearly jumped back as Fiona slowly twisted in a way that Valeyna could only describe as a dead like manner. Once the First Enchanters eyes locked onto her, the once warm but now dead eyes of the elf woman went wide as she gazed upon the Herald.

"You're alive" Fiona whispered weakly. "How?. I saw you disappear into the rift."

"Is that Red Lyrium growing from you're body? How?" Initially, Valeyna had believed that Fiona had been placed into the Red Lyrium as a punishment of some kind, yet with a proper and more astute observation, she saw it for what had truly happened. Red Lyrium was sporting through the woman, growing from all over her body like a tumour or vines that wrapped and suffocated an entire forest. Already the enchanters entire lower half had been consumed whilst the other arm had been encased.

It was vile, like some virus or gangrene spreading up a healthy body using it for rest and to spawn more of itself. Even if she was able to get Fiona out of the cell, Valeyna knew the woman would die very shortly as already her body consisted of nothing more than a lone arm, and a small Red Lyrium partly covered chest. Most likely the woman would be consumed soon.

"The longer you're near it, eventually you become this. Then they mine your corpse for more." Fiona answered dejectedly

"Can you tell us the date, it's very important" There was a short perplexed look from the Enchanter though soon she complied with the Tevinter mans request and spat out the words like she was spitting blood.

"Harvestmere 9:42 Dragon"

"9:42. Then we've missed an entire year" Dorian cried in alarm.

"We have to get out of here, go back in time," Valeyna spoke in anguish. "Who knows what this Elder one could have done in an entire year".

"Please stop this from happening. Alexius serves the Elder one. More powerful than the Maker. No one challenges him and lives."

I will, I'll make sure that this will never happen" Sternly but warmly, Valeyna pushed her hand through the bars of the cell until her fingers gently brushed against the First Enchanters face. Slowly she rubbed the woman's cheek and offered her a comforting smile. Fiona gave a pained but grateful look in response thankful for one last gift of kindness before Valeyna pulled her hand back.

"Our only hope is to find the amulet Alexius used to send us here. If it still exists I can use it to open the rift at the exact spot we left. Maybe?"

"Good" Fiona groaned in pain before giving off a slight squeal of agony as a crystal f Lyrium extended from her back weighing her body downwards. Gritting her teeth in pain, Fiona knew that she would never be able to walk again, either through encasing her or by breaking her spine, she would die.

"I said maybe. It may also turn us into paste"

"You must try. You're spymaster Leliana she is here. Find her. Quickly before the Elder one learns you're here "

"We will, Fiona, I promise that you will never experience this" With their last words given, Valeyna and Dorian left the old mage to her dark depressing fate, and began to hammer down the old corridors of Redcliffe castle as fast as they possibly could until finally, they heard yet another voice in the distance. this one belonging to yet another friend.

"The Light shall lead her safely through the paths of this world and into the next. For she who trusts in the maker, fire is her water." Approaching the admittedly dry if somewhat abandoned looking cell, Valeyna witnessed as Cassandra slouched on the floor her face gaunt with defeat.

"You've returned to us" Cassandra cried out in hope, her eyes starting to tear up as she saw none other than the only one stand strong in front of her "Can it be, has Andraste given another us chance?" Then like a light spell could be ignited or put out, Cassandra's face turned to one of unbridled guilt. "Maker forgive me, I failed you, I failed everyone. The end must truly be upon us if the dead return to life."

"I'm not back from the dead Cassandra, I just got... well this is hard to explain" Valeyna started hoping that the woman might be able to understand what had occurred. Sure they had talked about what might be possible with time magic before they had confronted Alexius, but to actually be thrown through time and to comprehend that such a thing was even possible was another.

"I was there when the Magister obliterated you with a gesture" Cassandra took in the figure of the Herald eying her up and down her hope revealed for all the world to see. She was exactly how she had been the day she was obliterated. No change in clothing, the same staff, even her hair was done the exact same way. Valeyna did not also seem troubled by the events of the past year like she was an innocent child.

"Alexius sent us forward in time. If we find him, we may be able to return to the present" As Dorian explained the situation to Cassandra, Valeyna blinked as she stared into Cassandra's eyes. She thought it had been a trick of the light, but now that she looked again more closely she noticed that the seeker's eyes had turned to a cackling glowing red while small almost scar like red cackles of Red Lyrium energy impressed themselves onto the woman's face.

"Go back in time?. Then can you make it so that none of this ever took place?"

"And I'll make sure that Alexius suffers for his crimes" Venom seemed to drip from her voice as Valeyna considered what she was going to do to that bastard the moment she got her hands on him. He was going to pay for what he'd done, to Fiona, to Cassandra and to anyone else he had hurt.

"Alexius's master. After you died, we could not stop the Elder one from rising. Empress Celene was murdered. The army that swept in afterwards, it was a horde of demons. Nothing stopped them. Nothing" Cassandra informed them hauntingly as her eyes seemed to spark and grimace as the memory played repeatedly in the Seekers head. The battles that had been fought, the constant defeats, the slow and painful deaths of every single one of their members, and worse how the Elder one had used his power to crush any and all that opposed his raw strength and awesome power.

"We'll stop all that from happening I promise." Valeyna unlocked the cell and presented her arm to the seeker pulling her up and tapping her resolutely on the back.

"Maker guide us all"

After finding Cassandra, Valeyna with the seeker now in tow led the group to the other side of the cells hoping to find somebody else who may be able to grant them assistance in the upcoming fight against Alexius. If they had been beaten once by the Magister when they held all the cards, then in this dystopian future, they would need every small victory they could gain.

Entering the room, Valeyna gave a small smile as she heard yet another familiar and friendly voice only this time while she recognised the language that was being spoken she could not understand the words. It was old elven, the language of her people or she supposed now that this Elder One had won, she would be surprised if her people and clan were even still alive. By now they were most certainly either dead or had been taken as slaves for one purpose or another.

Unlike Cassandra who had been slouched on the floor her face distraught as she prayed for the Maker and Andraste to come and give them another chance, Solas stood still his eyes focusing on the cracks between the brickwork that held him in place here. What he said in the tongue of their people Valeyna did not know, however she started to understand why Nat would take lessons of this man rather than her. Solas it seemed had been keeping a few secrets about her people.

Hearing the sounds of footfall approaching him, Solas gyrated himself preparing to come face to face with yet another one of the Elder One's guards. He blinked, the guard was female today and an elf. She looked familiar. Smashing into him harder then a giant with a hammer, Solas jolted back as if struck; disbelief written all across his face.

"You're alive?. We saw you die" He whispered.

"The spell Alexius cast displaced us in time. We just got here so to speak." Dorian opened the door to the cell freeing the elven mage to join his fellow Inquisition members.

"Can you reverse the process? You could return and obviate the events of the last year. It might not be too late" Solas focused on the Herald his mind running through all the possible information that she needed to know. If there was a chance to prevent the Elder one from rising, she would require as much help as she could get.

"We'll prevent everything from happening Solas, you can count on us." Solas nodded gratefully at the girl.

"You should know what happened to the others, it may prevent their fates?"."

"Why what happened to them?" A grim expression came over the mans face joined by Cassandra as she was once again brought into bad memories caused by the war.

"The entire inner council is either dead or captured"

"What, how?"

"First Enchanter was one of the first captured, she was turned into red Lyrium and mined. The Iron Bull was taken over by a demon and is now an abomination. Sera was taken and fed slowly to a pack of demons, her screams echoed for hours. Blackwall fought well, but eventually, he was captured and used as a sacrifice in blood magic. Varric was the last to be taken, but eventually, he too was captured by the enemy where he was then executed and had his head placed on a pike decorating Redcliffe castle. Cullen was killed in battle, and Josephine was taken as a slave to pleasure anyone who desired it" Valeyna perked her head up at the elf ignoring the crushing pain of guilt that was threatening to pulverise her heart into a smooth paste and drop her to her knees.

"What about Nat?" Solas shared a look of Cassandra before turning to face the Herald again.

"We don't know"

"What do you mean you don't know?" Solas didn't answer.

"After he left Haven, he and the two others that were with him were never seen again. We don't even know if they managed to make it to Orzammar."

"Do you know anything that happened" Cassandra shook her head.

"After your death, the Inquisition was in chaos. Infighting, desertion, morale dropped and our supporters abandoned our cause. After the Elder One conquered all of Thedas with his demon army, he then invaded and conquered Kal Sharok and Orzammar to bring the supply of Lyrium under his control. Afterwards, he turned his sight on the Qunari and destroyed them."

"Destroyed, what do you mean. Is their nation gone or something" Solas gave her a dark look one still brimming with nightmares and one that would eventually die haunted.

"He killed all of them, every single member of the Qun and Qunari. All of them are dead. The Qunari race is no more"

"All of them" Valeyna whispered in shock. Cassandra nodded her head slowly. "Can we fight him? if this doesn't work is there any way to kill him?"

"All who opposes the Elder One is either enslaved or killed"

"Well... Shit." Nobody said a word instead Solas and Cassandra adjusted their clothes slightly before following the Herald in hopes of finding not only some weapon that could be used to defend themselves against the enemies that were bound to be lurking in the shadows of this once magnificent castle. This was their only chance to ensure that they came out on top and prevent the looming disaster. They would not fail.

It wasn't long before they encountered their first set of guards. They had been standing around talking about themselves about some drivel or other. They never stood a chance. Solas waltzed into the room his eyes still glowing red from the corruption of the Red Lyrium and called forth one of these green portal things that he did. Sucked of their feet by powerful gravitational forces, the soldiers were sent swirling around the air at insane speed before the spell released them chucking them haphazardly into the air where the bodies slammed into walls with an audible smack and explosion of gore. Not wasting a good moment, Cassandra followed the spell and snatched up one of the soldier's swords from their corpse alongside a shield. Solas grabbed a staff, twirling it briefly eliciting a small smile from him.

After looting the bodies, Valeyna was about to leave when she saw a note on the table. Hoping that it may reveal to her some important information either about Alexius or this Elder one, she picked it up and read.

 **A Prayer to the New God**

Praise his name, who has risen from the darkness.

Praise his name, who has striven for the light

Praise his name, who has walked the golden city

Praise his name

The old gods are no more

The Maker never was

The new god is among us

Praise his name

"I assume this is about the elder one" Valeyna spoke after showing it to Cassandra.

"Yes"

"It can't be true, I don't follow the Maker, but how can one Magister be powerful enough to beat someone so powerful?"

"You do not understand, there is no fighting the Elder one. No mage is powerful enough, all armies and resistance are obliterated. There is no weapon in all of creation that could be used on the Elder One, you would need the strength to destroy entire cities. You serve or you are destroyed"

"Entire cities" Valeyna shouted in horror. "How is anyone supposed to get hold of a weapon that can do that, is a weapon like that even possible, it took Tevinter a lot of Blood Mages to sink Arlathan?" Unbeknownst to her, Solas scrunched his face up tightly in regret before. Then he shook his head.

"Now you understand why we cannot fight him. Only by reversing what has been done, can you prevent the Elder One from rising? You have to move quickly" Solas butted in rudely desperate to end the conversation so that they could return to what was truly important at this current moment in time.

They travelled on in silence, only stopping to kill the men who had tortured Mother Gisele right before their eyes. However as soon as she was released, the woman closed her eyes softly said a farewell and passed away from the world.

Minutes later after rounding another corner of this seemingly impossibly large castle, Valeyna heard loud smacks and slams of skin against skin and an angry Tevinter crying out only to be met by one with an Orlesian accent.

"How did Lavellan know of the sacrifice at the Temple. Answer."

"Never"

"It's Leliana" Quietening her movements, Valeyna crept silently across the floor until she stood outside the door and much to her own displeasure, leaned in and eavesdropped.

"There's no use in this defiance little bird. There's no one left for you to protect"

"You're wasting your breath" Fist struck against flesh forcing a small moan of pain from the Spymaster but other than that Leliana much to Valeyna's own disturbed joy and guilt still resisted.

"Talk." The interrogator grunted irked. Slowly he picked up one of the many tools of torturing he had at his disposal. Softly caressing it he brought it in front of the woman's eyes allowing for her to understand just what she was about to be subjected to for her resistance. "Everyone is dead little bird. Do you not remember seeing the body of that enchanter transform into Red Lyrium and then mined to be used on the other mages? How about when that Qunari was taken over as a minion for the use of one of the Elder One's Demon servants, or perhaps that elf girl who was eaten alive? And that dwarf made for some rather fun decoration out of his corpse. I rather enjoyed hitting his stomach with that piece of wood. But I suppose you also know what happened to the rest. That pretty boy commander was burned alive by the Mages and that delectable piece of ass that you had as an ambassador has long since been broken to serve in the beds of whatever mage wants her. The Herald and the traitor are dead"

"I will not speak" Another slap or glare.

"What did you think that the boy would come and save you? He hasn't been seen since he left for Orzammar and you know what happened there. By now he's either ran away and is hiding so afraid to come out or has already been killed and nobody even knows it. There is nobody coming to save you little bird, you are my prisoner for the rest of your miserable life. " A dark chuckle rumbled from the man's mouth as he leered at the woman. Her face wasn't so pretty anymore, but he still remembered what the rest of her looked like when he first started "And I'm going to enjoy making you squeal like a stuck pig"

"I will die first" Leliana spat.

Having heard more than enough, Valeyna slammed the door open with a loud crash marching into the room her staff bared as she called up a spell and got ready to fry the man alive in his own armour.

"Or you will" Before Valeyna had her opportunity to enact vengeance for her spymaster, Leliana beat her to the punch. Tightly she wrapped her legs around the man yanking him back forcefully as she squeezed and squeezed taking great delight as she heard him suffocate from her pressure. Bit by bit she felt the man's body jolt and stutter as her former interrogator tried to fight. Seeing him draw a dagger off the table, Leliana growled in annoyance before powerfully twisting her legs very audibly snapping the man's head around to the point that a bone burst out of his throat. "You're alive" She spoke after Valeyna had released her from the restraints that had kept her held up.

"Are you alright?" Valeyna said as she stared in unbridled horror at her friend. Leliana the once beautiful fair skinned red haired woman of Ferelden features now appeared more like a ghoul. Her sublime face appeared decrepit, old as if her skin had been stretched too far and others cut off entirely leaving a great may scar's marring her. Aside from cut's, Valeyna also noticed burn marks, from what Valeyna would guess was when her torturer had taken a hot poker to her face. There were other marks and scars not made by some weapon, but instead by insects that had apparently once been allowed to burrow into her skin and feast on the spymasters flesh The area around her eyes had also seemingly turned black through some sort of corruption whilst her once dark red hair had lost it's shade instead become far more of a withering ginger. As for her eyes themselves, they had entirely lost the once sad yet also happy glow to them. Instead what stood were dull gems, long past they're prime and had since lost their lustre dammed if they had actually been jewels to be sold cheaply if they could ever be sold again?

All in all, Leliana looked less like a human and more like a skeleton with a small amount of skin that had been stretched across her face.

"Anger is stronger than any pain." Leliana narrowed her eyes on the door, her dull eyes brightening only with a fire of untold vengeance. "Do you have weapons?" Valeyna nodded and pointed to where Cassandra who had been standing. "Good, Magister's probably in his chambers"

"You aren't curious as to how we got here" Dorian inquired

"No"

"Alexius sent us into the future. This, his victory, His Elder one it was never meant to be"

"If we get back to the present and stop Alexius, then you'll never have to go through this" Valeyna added hopefully.

"And mages always wonder why people fear them. No one should have this power."

"It's dangerous and unpredictable. Before the breach nothing we did-"

"Enough." Leliana bellowed. "This is all pretending to you. Some future you hope will never exist. I suffered, the whole world suffered. It was real"

"What happened while we were away?" Dorian stared at the angry woman.

"Stop talking" Leliana spat back not once bothering to look at the Tevinter mage as she took the opportunity to finally leave this fucking room and take her revenge on all those who had wronged not only her but the rest of the world.

"I'm just asking for information"

"No, you're talking to fill silence. Nothing happened that you want to hear". Dorian rolled his eyes at the woman walking forwards towards her hoping for a direct response. Suddenly a hand grasped his shoulders and pulled him back roughly. Twisting his body to face the one who had held him, he came face to face with the sad face of the Seeker. Cassandra said not one word to him instead lowering her head in guilt as she took in once more the sight of her old friend.

"Very well" He sighed backing off from the redhead allowing her to stew in her righteous fury. Cassandra tapped his shoulder gently thanking him. Afterwards, Cassandra brought her hand down and followed Leliana out of the torture room and up the oversized pair of stairs until they reached the courtyard.

"The Breach" Valeyna gazed into the sky. Well, it wasn't really a sky, not any more. The sky was blue and had nice fluffy clouds or dark clouds or at night there were stars that shimmered. This was not the sky. It was green and swirled faster and harder than a hurricane whilst blasts of thunder and lightning never ceased smashing away shattering rock and stone evicewrating corpses of flesh and birds while above in chaotic fashion giant chunks of rock floated mid-air ready to seemingly fall down and crush anyone who was in the way.

"It's everywhere" Dorian finished.

"We need to hurry, by now someone has bound to have heard us" Cassandra grunted gripping her side in pain.

"Cassandra" Valeyna rushed to her side.

"It's all right, some of the guards were rather angry and thought to take it out on me. Go we must send you back, ensure that this never happens" Valeyna gave her friend a look of concern before she acknowledged that the Seeker was correct and reluctantly left and led the group back into the castle where the main hall was.

Marching boldly into the room, Valeyna had no care in the slightest if her feet echoed through the room. Alexius was on his own at the back of the hall standing up with his attention seemingly focused on the fire.

"You're going to pay for this Alexius. All the people you've killed all the suffering you've brought." Gripping her staff tightly, Valeyna called forth her magic silently debating which spell she wanted to kill this man more with. Did she want to see him get turned into cinders by ash, be obliterated into tiny chunks of ice or perhaps she wanted some real excitement and electrocute the man to death as he spasmed continuously on the ground like a pathetic animal? It would be no less then he deserved in her opinion, sending her through time allowing this Elder One to conquer the planet and the destruction that he had delivered.

If this plan didn't work, then what was left for her? By now her clan was bound to have been butchered or enslaved, the Inquisition was annihilated and all her companions were either killed, enslaved or point blank missing.

Her blood boiled in her veins, and rage overtook her; only the actions of a still calm Solas prevented her from marching up to the man and engulfing the bastard in flames.

"For my country, for my son," Alexius replied darkly. "But it means nothing now. I knew you would appear again not that it would be now, but I knew I hadn't destroyed you. My final failure"

"Was this worth it. Everything you did to the world, to yourself?" Dorian yelled his yes almost tearing as he glowered at his friend.

"It doesn't matter now. All we can do is wait for the end" Alexius spoke softly unconcerned about his upcoming fate.

"It does matter, I will undo this" With a powerful shove, Valeyna broke free of Solas's grasp and walked quickly over the old matted carpet while fire swirled in her hand growing in size and strength as she advanced.

"How many times have I tried, the past cannot be undone. All that I fought for, all that I betrayed, what have I wrought?" Alexius asked still seemingly unconcerned with the group of five who had made it their mission to kill him and destroy every single thing that he had fought the past year for Every sacrifice, every lie, every victory that he had gained would all be erased from history never to happen. Finally, he answered. "Ruin and death, there is nothing else. The Elder one comes for me, for you, for us all" He spun around ready to confront the group only to come face to face with his son held in a tight grip whilst the red-haired spymaster held a sharp knife to his throat.

"Felix" Alexius stared into the eyes of his son, the memories he had spent with his young boy coming to the forefront of his mind.

"That's Felix? Makers breath Alexius what have you done?" Dorian shouted as he saw the state of Felix. The once handsome young man appeared to be nothing more than a ghoul approaching the part where his mind would be entirely lost to the blight and would then begin wondering the Deep Roads for the rest of his life. Well, at least until he either died of the disease or filled the stomach of some hungry Darkspawn or other.

"He would have died Dorian. I saved him." Dorian shook his head in disgust. "Please don't hurt my son. I'll do anything you ask" Alexius pleaded to Leliana his face for once actually showing some kind of emotion not that Valeyna cared anymore.

"Hand over the amulet and we'll let him go" Turning her focus onto Leliana, Valeyna felt a jolt of fear strike her as she saw the expression on the woman's face. It was cold, more frozen than ice itself and more lethal than that of any dragons breath. She saw at that moment that Leliana had no intention of ever letting go of the young blighted man until she received even a basic semblance of what she had initially joined them for.

"Let him go and I swear you'll get what you want" Valeyna gave her consent.

"I want the world back" Crying out loudly, Leliana brought her blade against the man's throat and with a single gesture cleaved the flesh with a single sharp stroke of her knife. Blood gushed out Felix's throat onto the man's hand as his eyes stared in disbelief. Leliana shoved the corpse onto the floor before advancing onto Alexius himself planning on committing the exact same action.

"No" Alexius screamed as he gazed upon the bloodied corpse that had been his son."No" screaming so loudly that it echoed out through the other hallways, Alexius his teeth grinding against one another glowered monumentally furious at Leliana. With a harsh and unrefined shove of his staff, a powerful green light catapulted her off her feet and towards the back of the hall where she crashed loudly and painfully against the thick stone walls.

Bursting out of nowhere the familiar sound of glass shattering bellowed echoes above Valeyna and the rest. Throwing herself onto the cold stone floor, the Herald barely managed to avoid as the green tendrils of a rift opened just above her head and poured forth a demon. The fight was on.

Alert instantly, Dorian called forth a wall of freezing ice smothering the first few fear demons in the frozen state of water. Then with practised ease, he twirled his staff around where a ball of fire sped emerged out and with a great crash exploded against the barrier of none other then Alexius.

"You handle the demons, I've got Alexius" Dorian didn't bother waiting for an answer instead he slammed his staff against one of the demons that had charged him and struck it with a powerful bolt of lightning frying it in an instant. Two more followed. Weaving past the first ones strike, Dorian brought his staff down onto the floor pushing forward and unleashed a devastating wave of raw energy throwing the demons off their feet and send them colliding against the wall so fast they were killed by the sheer force alone. "Alexius" he cried grabbing the man's attention "Let's settle this here, you and me"

"It doesn't matter Dorian none of it does" Alexius raised his staff above his head pooling forth his magic in the form of a hypothermia-inducing blizzard. High pitched wind's screamed in Dorian's ears, swirling around him so quickly that the hair on Dorians face began to coat over in a rapidly increasing amount of frost, snow and ice until his entire face has been plastered white. Dorian grunted as a wave of hair struck his side shredding part of his skin as he fought over command of the spell.

Then with a laugh, Alexius chucked the rampaging blizzard from him and towards the rest of the group who were still engaging the rest of the demons so as to keep them off his back. Dorian narrowed his eyes at his former tutor creating a bloom of flame that rocketed across the room towards his old friend. Alexius dropped his spell in reverse and instead summoned up another one of his barriers allowing it to slam against it with an echoing roar as the blast shake the nearby area. Stepping to the left, Dorian narrowly avoided one of the pieces of falling rubble from what was supposed to be the ceiling.

Glancing upwards in the corner of his eyes, he noticed that the explosion had done far more damage than Alexius had thought. Deep wide cracks ran across the stone ceiling threatening the entire structural integrity. Occasionally small pieces of debris would fall down and strike against the floor breaking off into smaller pieces.

Alexius attacked again this time with a raw force of energy planning on smashing into Dorian and send him through the air. Instead, the spell simply slammed against Dorian's only barrier with a big thump like a boulder falling from the mountainside and slamming against the floor. More spells followed in a beautiful yet lethal display of flashy lights an elements. When Alexius would call fire to smite Dorian, it would break against a barrier whereas when Dorian would attempt to encase the man in solid ice, all that could be seen, was a circle on the ground where ice lay on the floor having struck uselessly against the Magisters own magical shield creating yet one more obstacle course for the two Tevinter mages to dance elegantly around. Fire, ice, lightning and the occasional giant rock were chucked and thrown at one another both sides hoping that one lucky hit would be enough to end the fight and gain factory.

Alexius panted heavily as he faced his young pupil his face strewn with sweat. It had been quite a while since he had fought properly against another Mage and even longer against one with any skill. Dorian, in contrast, seemed only slightly tired by the sheer amount of spells and highly intense fighting he had just taken, but other than that he was younger then Alexius and was not affected like the older man was.

Yelling in anger, Alexius fired off another green pulse of energy followed then by a bolt of lightning and a giant boulder. Quickly summoning up a barrier, Dorian entrenched his feet into the ground bracing himself for when the giant boulder struck against his barrier so that he could deliver his own spell. Blasting with the sound of thunder, Dorian narrowed his eyes on Alexius only for his face to turn pale and panic as he witnessed the exact same amulet that the man had used last time to float in the man's hand and begin to float with magic energy".

"No" He screamed and cast a spell. Alexius threw his hand forward taking advantage of Dorian's opening, launching him off the ground like a ragdoll and colliding into Valeyna harshly in the ground with a loud thump. Dorian gasped for air, his eyes fluttering as he panicked instinctively in search for air that seemed to be entirely refusing to enter his body.

"Now it ends" Alexius decreed. Raising his arm he gave the group a malicious smile, taking great joy in the panicked expression of the Herald companions as they witnessed just what was about to happen. The amulet flashed green coalescing in magical light. "Ahh" Alexius screamed in agonising pain his other hand clutching the hand that held the amulet as he brought the hand up.

Impaled in his hand, was the shaft of a bloody arrow.

"What have you" Another grunt of pain as this time the arrow twanged from Leliana's bow flew through the air before striking with perfect accuracy through Alexius's mouth puncturing the upper jaw and straight through to the skull where although unseen by the group, the metal hilt of the arrow had diced a large chunk of the brain. Without a word spoken, Alexius collapsed backwards to the ground in a heap.

Lelliana narrowed her eyes at the corpse, drawing another arrow, she let it lose where without any resistance it passed through the chainmail armour that the Tevinter man had worn and struck directly where the man's heart would be puncturing it and allowing his blood to flood the rest of his organs. Leliana at this point was not finished yet though. As Valeyna incinerated the last demon and lurched her hand forth to close the rift, Leliana strolled up to the dead corpse her face still not satisfied.

Roughly, Leliana gripped the man by his short blood-soaked hair and yanked his face forward. Then reaching behind her back, Leliana felt for the blade of one of her daggers before thrusting it directly into the mans throat where it sliced straight through the skin and muscle and cut open the bone till it reached the other side. Once done she moved her blade in a repetitive motion up and down until after a minute she had sawed of the entire mans head of and held it like a prize.

Closing the rift, Valeyna said nothing only nodding her head in satisfaction when Leliana spat in the face of the dead Magsiter and drop kicked the head to the other end of the hall as if it were a ball. Now that the deed had been completed, Leliana descended the stairs snatched up the amulet that had fallen from the man's hand and threw it to Dorian.

"Go," She said urgently. "While we still have time"

Catching the necklace, Dorian glared at the woman. Alexius may have been a monster, but there had been no reason to defile the body as she did. Frowning angrily, he gripped Valeyna by the shoulder and grabbed her upward over the stairs to where the two of them had stood before being sucked into a giant portal and flung through time.

"This is the same amulet Alexius used before. I think it's the same one we made in Minrathous. That's a relief. Give me an hour to work out the spell he used and I should be able to reopen the rift"

"An hour?" Leliana glared at the man astonished "That's impossible. You must go now"

As if Leliana was the very Maker himself giving of a holy warning, an unearthly scream pierced the air around them. Rocks shook and small pieces of the ceiling that had fallen own earlier shook more dancing up and down as if they were at a party. Another scream followed this time joined by the ground itself rocking forcibly too and fro while the very walls of the castle cracked and blistered under some unseen force like a hand crushing a grape or crunching paper.

"You cannot stay here" Pulling up his staff towards his chest again where he held it tightly as if it was something truly precious, the elf man looked into the eyes of Cassandra. Grimly, Cassandra twirled her stolen sword in her hand one last time as she checked the balance. Finally, she met the eyes of her old friend and compatriot sharing his look and giving one another a final farewell before they met their inevitable fates.

Here they were bound to die, but there was a chance, a chance to prevent this from ever happening and the need to perform such a sacrifice.

"We'll hold the outer door. When they get past us, it will be your turn." Solas stated calmly.

"No I won't let you commit suicide" Valeyna yelled, she went to rush off to her friends planning on arguing with them. They could always take Solas and Cassandra with them, she wasn't just going to let them die here for her.

"Kill us" Leliana spoke darkly "we're already dead. The only way we'll live, is if this day never comes". Valeyna sighed in defeat it was three against one. Looking Solas and Cassandra in the eye, she wished them good luck before they then left their weapons bared and their final mission to buy as much time as possible. Finally, it was Leliana's turn as she drew her bow and listened as the sounds outside the door echoed inwards. Yells of pain, the sounds of magic and metal meeting flesh and finally silence. "Cast your spell, you have as much time as I have arrows" "Though darkness closes, I am shielded in flame"

With a great heave, the wooden doors, rocketed open, striking the old stone floors as the first vestiges of the Elder One's army advanced forward unconcerned by the lone archer and her bow while a fear demon casually dumped the impales bleeding corpse of Solas on the floor as if he was a piece of rotted food to be eaten by nothing but pigs."Andraste guide me. Maker, take me to your side" Loosed from her bow, arrows sang through the air, whispering of an upcoming death before they struck the first demon killing it instantly and then followed by a second and then a third and a fourth. It was not enough, for every demon that fell, four more took their place, soon what had only been the first vestiges were now pushing against one another simply to squeeze through the doors and kill the last of their enemies.

Leliana still kept fighting until she was unable to, one demon after another attacked, spells flew towards her but the red-haired spymaster dodged every single one of them. When she ran out of arrows, Leliana drew her knives and threw herself into the fray, cutting stabling and slashing moving with years of untainted grace despite her captivity as she butchered demon by demon by demon. So lethal was she in her fighting ability that she smashed her bow so hard against one demon that she broke the bow and kicked it in it's chest sending it sprawling to the floor.

Leliana grunted as she glanced back towards the Herald, the amulet was glowing but nothing was happening. She drew her dagger before grunting in pain for an arrow loosed by a human Venatori struck her upper chest stunning the woman momentarily in place.

"You move and we all die "Rushing forward to grab the Herald, Dorian, yanked her back harshly forcing the elf to simply watch as Leliana grunted in pain before returning to the fight with her two daggers. Leliana fought well, managing to take out an additional five more opponents, however, her tired state and the sheer amount of enemies that were now surging through the hall overwhelmed her. Within moments two Venatori rushed forwards grabbing the spymaster's arms and held them behind her back. Then waltzing forward a fear demon stepped in front of the red-haired woman it's grin malicious and plunged its clawed hand into the woman's stomach. Leliana gasped once before dropping to the floor dead. Not satisfied with their death's the demons and humans surged forwards their weapons drawn hoping to reach the two mages before the giant green portal engulfed them.

Valeyna banished her fear whirled around and jumped into the green portal vanishing in a blinding white light covering the entire hall.

The Present

"You'll have to do better than that" Dorian said smirking. Brushing past him her eyes still blazed with unbridled fury and her staff still in her hand glowing with power in case anything occurred, Valeyna strode over the red carpet until she came face to face glowering at the man who had sent her into the future. Alexius collapsed to his knees, all hope of victory lost forever.

"It's over Alexius surrender" Valeyna declared.

"You've won" Alexius sighed. "There is no point extending this... charade." Valeyna glared once more at the man.

"No there isn't" Snatching a sword from one of Leliana's agent's, Alexius barely had the time to raise his eyebrows yet alone cast a spell in defence before the cool sharpness of the metal struck the side of his neck. In one single clean fury induced stroke, the Magister's head was separated from his body.

"No father" Felix dashed towards his father. "Why?" He said staring at the Herald.

"He was a monster, it's no less then he deserves" Without any further notice given to the man, Valeyna turned the sword around gently passing it back to the soldier she had taken it from. "Kill every single Venatori in the city, leave non-alive" She commanded fiercely. Felix glanced up his face contorted in sorrow and anger he glanced at Dorian only to see the man shake his head warning him of speaking out again.

"Well I'm glad that's over with. " Dorian muttered angrily. Valeyna ignored the man's comment instead focused on their original task of recruiting the mages. Again for what seemed to be the umpteenth time today, she was prevented from accomplishing her goal by another set of individuals.

These individuals Valeyna recognised were some of the heavy infantry of Ferelden as identified by the symbol of a Mabari on their well polished steel cuirass. Strangely they weren't armed, no sword, no flag, no spear, the soldiers had simply marched in very loudly high stepping all the way in perfectly synchronised and then took their own positions in a line and stood still. Followed by the heavy infantry however was not who the woman would have guessed.

It wasn't Arl Eamon, instead, the man that followed the soldiers down with a serious face was a bright blond-haired man and short hair. Like the soldiers, he wore no weapon on his hip instead preferring only to carry with him the furs that consisted of his more practical Ferelden clothing. She glanced towards Cassandra and Solas hoping that one of them might know who this attractive man was. Going by the way Cassandra's face had gone, it seemed that she should know the individual

"Or not" Dorian ended

"Grand Enchanter, imagine how surprised I was to learn that you've given Redcliffe castle over to a Magister" While the well-dressed man spoke in a serious yet sarcastic tone, his eyes showed a different story. He was pissed, undeniably angry at the events that had befallen at Redcliffe. Not that Valeyna could blame the man, inviting a foreign nation into his kingdom giving them a castle and kicking out its owner, the use of powerful magic to fuck with time itself. She was rather glad she was not the one currently in the crossfire. Fiona however as and her fear was made rather evident by the shame that had taken over face and the way her feet waddled up to the man.

"King Alistair" Fiona spoke with fearful respect.

"Especially as I'm fairly sure that Redcliffe belongs to Arl Teagan" Alistair continued

"You're Majesty, we never intended-"

"I know what you intended, I wanted to help you, but you've made it impossible." Alistair shook his head painfully "You and the rest of the southern mages are no longer welcome in Ferelden"

"But we have hundreds who need protection. Where would we go?" Fiona cried out.

"You could come with us" Valeyna interrupted "We did come to Redcliffe to recruit the mages to help us close the Breach".

"And what are the terms of this arrangement?" Fiona asked

"Hopefully better then what Alexius gave you. The Inquisition is better than that yes" Dorian spoke quietly his eyes still lingering on the corpse of the man who had been his mentor.

"I suggest conscripting them. They've proven what they'll do when given too much freedom" Cassandra suggested as she narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the First Enchanter almost daring her to object and deny the damage and harm that had been done by her group of people.

"They have lost all possible supporters. The Inquisition is their only remaining chance for freedom." Solas gave Fiona a sympathetic look, he wished to help more if possible, but there was nothing that he could do without the support of the Inquisition and currently that support relied on getting the Herald on his side.

"It seems we have little choice but to accept whatever you offer." Fiona gritted her teeth in trepidation. She prepared herself for the worst result, would the Herald allow her people to keep their hard-fought freedom. There was nothing that could be done to resist the Inquisition even if she wanted to.

"We would be honoured to have you fight as allies by the Inquisitions side." Sensing her discomfort, Valeyna reassured Fiona with a warm smile and a gentle pat of her shoulder before announcing proudly to the rest of the room.

"We'll discuss this later" Cassandra muttered under her breath just audible enough that only the Herald herald what she said.

"The breach threatens all of Thedas. We cannot afford to be divided now. We can't fight it without you. Any chance of success requires your full support"

"I'd take that offer if I were you. One way or another, you're leaving my kingdom" Bowing her head in shame, Fiona gave the king one last sad look almost withering under his stern expression and harsh warning.

"We accept, it would be madness not to. I will gather my people and ready them for the journey to Haven. The Breach will be closed. You will not regret giving us this chance." Valeyna nodded gratefully,. It was about time they got this whole mess sorted, as soon as they closed the Breach it was a simple case of hunting down this Elder one and taking him out.

Haven

"It is not a matter of debate, there will be abominations among the mages and we must be prepared" Arguing loudly, Cullen shook his head in irritation at the apparent lack of understanding that the Ambassador was having in understanding the danger of having mages being allowed to do whatever they desired.

"If we rescind our offer of an alliance, it makes the Inquisition look incompetent at best, tyrannical at worst." Josephine retorted

"What were you thinking letting mages loose with no oversight. The veil is torn open" Seemingly angry at losing the debate with Josephine, Cullen turned his attention onto the elf who was standing amongst them. Recognising that she was finally being spoken to instead of being mostly ignored, Valeyna jolted up and met the former Templar's stern and judging gaze.

"Mages are people too, they have suffered under the Chantry and been brutalised for too long. They deserve to be free and they cannot have that if we keep them under a constant watch." Cullen shook his head in disagreements. Pinching his nose, he mentally counted the number of mages they now had and divided them by the few Templar's who had joined the Inquisition. The result was not promising.

"And how many lives will be lost if they fail? With the Veil broken the threat of possession. You were there Seeker. Why didn't you intervene" Seeing her roll her eyes, Valeyna felt sorry for Cassandra as she rolled his eyes? Now she started to understand why Nat was so insistent on a balance of power between the three main advisors, she could only imagine what Cullen would have done if Josephine hadn't bothered to step in and inform them of the political consequences.

"While I may not completely agree with the decision, I support it. The sole point of the Heralds mission was to gain the mages aid and that was accomplished." Cassandra nodded slightly receiving a warm and thanking smile in return.

"The voice of pragmatism speaks. And here I thought just starting to enjoy the circular arguments." Letting himself be known, Dorian smiled happily at the group although his eyes did briefly give a disappointed smile at the Herald. Valeyna ignored him. Alexius had been far too dangerous to let live. Even if he hadn't committed the crimes yet, his very action of throwing her and Dorian through time resulted in the likely deaths of hundreds of thousands, the decimation of empires and the slavery and sacrifice of her people. Her main concern about allowing him to live was actually in terms of safety. Point blank time magic could not fall in the hands of the enemy again, doing so would result in their destruction.

"Closing the Breach is all that matters." Cassandra retorted.

"The sooner we get this done, the better," Valeyna spoke gently. "Do we have enough Lyrium for such a thing though?" Cullen grimaced slightly his eyes crunching up slightly as he began to recalculated his precious sums ensuring that they were correct and gave leeway either way in case of an emergency.

"With the recruitment of the Mages, we have gained enough Lyrium to close the Breach and push back our concerns with the Templar's to the end of Winter. After that, however, we will be in severe need of more"

"Then let us hope that Nathanael is able to negotiate the trade deal that we need." At the mention of Nat, Valeyna felt her heart beat slightly faster. She remembered clearly what they had said in the future, he'd gone missing, entirely unseen after leaving for Orzammar and never seen again.

"Do we have any news on his whereabouts?" Leliana shook her head.

"No, he's gone missing entirely. None of my agents has seen him and we don't even know if he has made it to Orzammar. Even if he did, we can't get any news from the dwarves, they've officially closed the kingdom. Nobody gets in or out"

"Then we will have to hope for the best" Unable to help herself, Josephine's voice cracked slightly in concern. Dwarven politics wasn't her field of expertise, but she was well aware of their culture and especially how ruthlessly they guarded the Lyrium trade. She trusted Nat's ability to stay safe in Orzamar for the most part, other than that though she wasn't quite sure.

"I will send soldiers to patrol the roads to look for him, if they see him we'll know"

""We should look into the things that you saw in this dark future. The assassination of Empress Celene, a demon army" Leliana said dragging the group of them back onto the true concerns and focus that the Inquisition needed to be concentrated on.

"Sounds like something a Tevinter cult might do. Orlais falls, the Imperium rises. Chaos for everyone." Joking good-naturedly, Dorian waited for a laugh or at worst a small smile instead all he received was a collective eye roll.

"One battle at a time. It's going to take time to organise our troops and the mage recruits. Let's take this to the war room." Cullen turned to Valeyna. "Join us, none of this means anything without your mark after all."

"And I hoped to sit out the assault on the Breach. Take a nap, maybe go for a walk"

"What is it they say? No rest for the wicked" Valeyna chuckled lightly at the man's joke glad to be relieved slightly of the pressure.

"Meet us there when you're ready" Josephine added

"I'll skip the war council, but I would like to see the Breach up close if you don't mind"

"Then you're... staying?" Valeyna peered at the dark-skinned Tevinter man, she would have thought that he would prefer to stay away from the Inquisition especially after the trouble they had gotten into and the opponent behind Alexius.

"Oh didn't I mention, the south is so charming and rustic that I adore it to little pieces"

"I must admit I'm surprised" Valeyna smiled.

"We both saw what happened, what this Elder one and his cult are trying to do. Not everything from Tevinter is terrible. Some of us have fought for aeons against this sort of madness. It's my duty to stand with you. That future will not come to pass."

"There's no one I'd rather be stranded in time, future or present" Extending her hand out happily Valeyna chuckled as Dorian gripped it tightly and shook.

"Excellent choice, but let's not get stranded again anytime soon yes"

"I'll begin preparations to march on the summit." Cullen ended "Maker willing the mages will be enough to grant us victory."


	16. Chapter 16 Pan meet Fire

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 16 Pan meet Fire**

Frostback Mountains

Trudging up the snowy White Mountain, Valeyna was unable to prevent the excited grin gracing her face despite the freezing and harsh winds blowing against her. Finally, after months, she thought, it was time to close the Breach once and for all.

"How are you feeling?" Turning her head to beside her, Valeyna eyed the Seeker as she also attempted to make her way up the frosted stairway and into the mountain. Unlike her who had her staff to act as support where she would push it into a batch of snow and then heaved herself upwards whenever she had the chance, Cassandra had taken the approach of clinging onto the side of the mountain and her eyes flashing with hopeless panic every time her feet moved even the slightest inch too far and threatened to send her sliding of the higher elevation they were now at. She would have smirked had she not herself been concerned with falling to a certain painful demise.

"Good" Valeyna replied slightly panicking as she rebalanced herself on the dangerously smooth pathway. Cassandra shook her head in sympathy. "We're about to close the Breach after that most of our troubles are gone".

"There is always the Elder One. If he is one of the Magister's as Nathanael believes, then he will be difficult to defeat." Valeyna nodded slightly although not as much as Cassandra was expecting.

"I guess, but I'm sure that you and the rest of the Inquisition can handle him" Cassandra was taken aback, she meant to stop and confront the Herald about what she had just said, however, Valeyna simply carried on up the snow-covered stairs attempting not to fall down and smash her skull in.

"You're not going to help?"

"Once the Breach is closed, I was thinking of just going around and closing all the rifts. Once that's done I was going to go back to my clan"

"But what about the Magister? We need your help in defeating him. If what Nat believes is true, if he can truly survive death after being killed, then we need your help". Valeyna shivered slightly as an extra harsh wind blasted into them. Gripping her staff tightly in the snow, she braced herself for the onslaught for a few seconds. In that time, frost and snow rapidly deposited on her clothing, turning them white while what hair she had exposed had also transformed her into the same colour.

"No you don't" She replied. "The only thing I'm any good for is closing the Breach and the rifts after that I'm not that much use to the Inquisition" Shaking her head in fiercely, Cassandra breath out heavily before then breathing in and out again in a more controlled manner. It was a technique from her training, it wouldn't get rid of the cold, but it allowed a person to negate the effects somewhat and currently it was something very useful.

"That's not true" Cassandra argued raising her voice as the sounds of the wind got louder the ever higher they rose." You led us into Redcliffe, you recruited the mages, you recruited Sera and Vivienne. Without you, the Inquisition will not be where it is now. We will need your help when we face the Elder One."

"The Elder one needs to be beaten by a general, someone like Cullen who can lead the troops into battle and bring the Inquisition victory after victory. I'm not that person, I haven't been taught strategy and I would only get in the way of people who do know what they're doing." She shook her head, grabbing Cassandra by the shoulder steadying her before she almost slipped up and fell several hundred feet plummeting to a very painful and lonely death. "No once all the rifts are closed, I'm going to go back home to my clan. That will be okay, right? When all the rifts are closed there will be no point in having me around".

Cassandra gazed at the hopeful face of the Herald. Valeyna was being entirely honest she realised, the woman simply wanted to get things over with as soon as she possibly could. She wanted to disagree at first, state how the Inquisition would still need her after all the rifts have been closed, she wanted to give a reason as to why only as she considered it, she recognised more and more that there was no answer.

Valeyna had been very accepting of the scenario that she had quite literally fallen into. When she had been captured by the Inquisition and interned in that cell, she had been quick to lend her assistance to the Inquisition in helping to initially close the Breach. Afterwards, when that was completed, she had not hesitated in the slightest to then lend assistance in their goal of closing the Breach for good and close all the smaller rifts. Perhaps it was because she was the only one who could do such a task and therefore knew that there was nowhere she could run or hide before the Inquisition tracked her down. Even now with her plans on leaving the Inquisition, Valeyna was stating that she would only do so after the Breach and rifts were closed so she was hardly abandoning the Inquisition when it was needed.

But this Elder One they had been warned off, this supposed original Darkspawn and Magister from Tevinter was another story. His initial plan had been prevented purely by chance via the Herald. Soon, his other main scheme was also going to have been stopped by the Herald when she closed the Breach and prevented the Magister from using it however he had imagined. From there as Valeyna saw it, the Inquisitions job would be to fight like a private army in an Exalted March against the Elder one.

And in that case, Cassandra understood Valeyna's reasoning. She had done her part in closing the Breach and the rifts and actually gone further in terms of being a useful agent of the Inquisition in her other efforts. All the same, however, the most prominent thing was Valeyna had never been asked to join the Inquisition instead just conscripted into the organisation at its birth.

The same could not be said for the rest of the inner council. Her, Leliana, Josephine and Cullen had all been there from the start, leading the forces from the get-go with everyone knowing what they were going to do and all of them had signed up to it. Solas, Varric and Nat had also signed up, in the beginning, phase with the others also joining voluntarily. Valeyna, on the other hand, had never volunteered to join the Inquisition; she was initially a prisoner and a suspect as the person who had committed the crime of destroying the conclave and murdering the Divine. Somehow, since then Valeyna had been placed on a pedestal, the Herald of Andraste and at least according to the youngest member of the inner council, the unofficial leader of the group.

"You have been very helpful," Cassandra said slowly while her mind still raced around all the events that had led them up to this point. "I will speak to Leliana and Cullen, however, I do not think that after the rifts have been closed that you would be prevented from leaving" Giving her a graceful smile, Valeyna kept climbing upwards.

"Thank you, I never wanted to be here, in all honesty, Haven. I fought with my Keeper about it, I wish I had fought even harder" Cassandra blinked curiously as she stared at the elf's bottom which was currently moving left to right as the elf gripped the cold stone railings on the side of the mountain.

"Why were you here, at the Temple?" Valeyna chuckled slightly at the memory.

"My keeper was concerned that any deal made by the mages and the Templars would affect the Dalish in general. My Keeper sent me here to learn about what was going to happen in terms of mages so I could report back to them as well as see if I could influence the talks. She even told me to try and speak to the Divine if I had a chance, see if she would allow a Dalish to be there officially. Unfortunately, I never had the chance." Cassandra frowned upset at the memory. If only things had been different.

"What was your Keeper most concerned about in the talks?"

"For the most part, it was us mages. My Keeper wanted to make sure that we would be fine to keep the status quo of us not being bothered by Templar's." Valeyna explained. "Ever since the rebelling, we had heard rumours of other clans being attacked by the Templar's for "harbouring rebel mages" when in fact there weren't any. The Templar's only attacked our clans because they wanted revenge for some of their friends that had died since the rebellion. As we were Dalish Elves, they could strike against us with impunity".

"Despicable behaviour" Cassandra growled angrily her face cross at the inexcusable behaviour of certain Templar's. "Do you know which group of Templar's attacked you?" Valeyna shook her head. Sighing, Cassandra walked faster up the steps so she was closer to the Herald. As the winds got every louder, she found it necessary to keep shortening the distance so that the two of them could converse with one another.

"No, and it wasn't my clan, but rather our sister clan. We tried to help them, but they instead went to a different clan as we didn't have that may recourses to take in so many numbers. Either way, my Keeper wanted me to do my best to try and prevent another attack from breaking out."

"I understand, I assume you want to visit your clan if possible?" Valeyna bowed her head at the answer. Briefly, she allowed her lips to smile once more as she remembered how her people would usually behave around this time of year. Typically if they had been in Ferelden they would have started to head to the more northern stretches of Orlais or even the Free Marches.

"Yes, it's been a while. And-" Valeyna stopped where she stood her face turning into one of severe concern. "The letters they've sent me, have said that they're facing some trouble. I should be with them" Cassandra nodded her head in understanding.

"I understand the desire to be near loved ones and friends when they are facing danger and you are not nearby, you feel that you are helpless. Once this is all over, I will do what I can to ensure that you can return to your clan with as little hassle as possible"

"Thank you, Cassandra. I appreciate it"

"Think nothing of it. Though for now, we need to place our attention onto closing the Breach" With a warm smile sent to the Seeker, Valeyna once again focused all of her attention onto the path that they were walking on. It wasn't exactly the safest route, in fact, the more direct route had been closed off when apparently one of the mages had cast a spell during their training and trigged a small avalanche almost killing the poor bastard. The result of such negligence was that everyone now had to slog their way through the mountains until they could enter the old mine and approach from that way.

Eventually, after the two had made it through the perilous area and almost dying from the cold or severe drops, they walked into the area where the Breach lay. It was different to when Valeyna had first visited after she had awoken only to discover that she was the only survivor of the blast. The old sounds of whispering and thrumming energy of Red Lyrium had ceased having all been disposed of in an ordered and strict manner supervised by Varric. After it had been taken to a suitable abandoned location, it had been obliterated in its entirety by the mages.

Also besides the Red Lyrium, the corpses of men and women who had been killed in the blast had been taken away and given a proper funeral with notices sent to the relevant people to inform them of their loved one's fate. Afterwards, a large general funeral for all those who had been killed had been held. Because of this general clean up of the area, the ruins of the temple Valeyna noted did look better now.

It still retained it outward looks of a fuck-off big explosion that had just occurred, but it was also of one where individuals were likely planning on creating some sort of holy site. Valeyna frowned at the idea. Years down the line if she ever visited Haven again was she going to come face to face with a giant proud Chantry building with her as statue overlooking the rest of the valley proudly. She scoffed. Knowing the Chantry, they would make her a human in appearance and have her wielding a mighty sword in hand whilst wearing armour. There wasn't a chance they would create a statue of a Dalish mage.

Looking further ahead, she noticed that Solas had arrived much earlier then she had. Currently, he was gazing analytically into the swirling sickly pale green hurricane hole in the sky. Likely giving it a few last minute checks to ensure that nothing bad happened she assumed. Once he was done, he nodded towards them giving them the signal that the checks that he had completed were entirely fine and that they were ready to proceed ahead.

Not saying another word, Cassandra this time took the lead though unlike before in a far more casual manner as she brushed past a number of identical robe wearing mages and marched down the steps into the open arena. With a relieved sigh at the fact this was soon going to be mostly over for her, Valeyna skipped her way across the old and devastated stone floors doing her best not to think about the dark scarlet colour that painted them.

After approaching so far close to the rift entrance, she hissed in pain gripping her hand as the mark sparked again. Cursing slightly as she felt the pain increase at least tenfold compared to any other Breach, Valeyna reminded herself that soon it was all going to be over. All she was going to be after this was over was one lone agent walking into a secured area of the Inquisition raise her hand and bang, the rift was closed and she could move onto the next one. So with a sense of both dread at the prospect of what may happen if this goes wrong combined with a general sense of ease and finality, she waltzed past Solas and Cassandra and towards the Breach.

Reacting to her very presence, the once closed breach burst open with a crash of shattering glass as a beam of bright bursting green light blasted out of the ground and into the Fade itself where it thrummed and sang proudly giddy at the idea of being allowed to connect the worlds once more. Narrowing her eyes, Valeyna surged forth only for her legs growing heavier all of a sudden as if she had been attached to bricks of led and now dropped into the ocean.

Gulping heavily a spurt of air, Valeyna felt her own magic and power crash against that of the Fade. Magic flowed outwards flowing through the Fade into her fighting her command and orders for it to close. She shoved it back roughly begging a battle of two wills began. Together they crashed against one another, both fighting and shoving looking for any crack of pause in the others attack hoping to take advantage. With the fight now begun, Cassandra turned around marching quickly to where the mages had been stationed.

Proudly they seemed to stand, not meek or petrified of the giant hole in the sky threatening to rip everything asunder, their hoods covered the top of their heads and they held staffs close to their bodies. They flinched not once instead of standing to attention the moment that Cassandra called out to them.

"Mages"

"Focus past the Herald" Solas spoke quickly as he raised his staff high in the air. "Let her will draw from you" Valeyna pushed forward walking further and further into the Breach. Raising her hand slightly above her eyes, she flinched as more strike of lightning struck the ground nearby whilst her hand continually allowed the magic of her Mark to crash into the Breach.

For a moment, there was no action before the lead mage lifted his staff into the air calling forth all of his own manna alongside that of the stockpiles of raw Lyrium that had been deposited around the area, calling upon it for strength. Then with a loud crash, the mage slammed his staff upon the ground and pushed the power at his command to the Herald creating a golden shimmering light where she stood. Moments later the other mages that had gathered in the area followed the first mages example also giving as much power as they could reasonably call upon and flooding it into the Herald of Andraste.

Valeyna's eyes glowed mightily with power in response. With a determined expression, she concentrated all the power that she felt, that of the Fade, of the Mages and the Lyrium and also that of the Mark that she bore upon her hand. Quickly it gathered, like attempting to fill a small bucket by tipping the entire ocean to fill its contents. With a mighty roar, she thrust herself forward bashing that energy in one single shove out of the material world and into the Breach.

Power thrummed around her in a beautiful awe inspiring but terrifying fashion as multiple shades of green light swirled merrily around her coalescing as the power increased until finally with the last shove all of them melted together. Condensing rapidly, Valeyna nor the others present had any time to cover their eyes as a bright white flash many times more intensive than that of the one experience at Redcliffe stuck the group. With a sound blasting louder then any thunder of cannon, the shockwave of the blast blew all nearby off their feet into the air flying back several metres and crashing down onto the ground with a harsh thud. Not allowing a single moment of rest, Cassandra pulled herself back onto her feet gripping her stomach in pain for a few minutes and then rushed past the mages until she came to the centre.

There she was, Cassandra saw. Valeyna Lavellan, the Herald of Andraste was alive and well. The woman was on one knee panting in and out from exhaustion a few times, however other than that she was perfectly unharmed by what had just occurred. Dashing towards her, Cassandra made no effort to hide her relived and revenant face as she gazed upwards into where the Breach had laid before and gently laid a relaxing hand on the elf.

"You did it" Valeyna followed her gaze and stared up to the sky. Gone was the glowing sickly green light swirling around constantly like a whirlpool intimidating all that gazed it warning everyone of what lurked inside the other world. However, while the sky had returned to dark clouds and an ever-increasing darker sky as the sunset in the background. All were witnessed to the fact that ever present was a scar in the form a great black hole where even now the clouds and sky continued to dance around it viscously.

"Yes," Valeyna whispered relief welling up in her very body. "It's over" Cassandra presented her arm to the elf. Taking it, Valeyna was pulled to her feet before much to her own astonishment, those mages who had just helped her gripped her body turning her sideways and then tossed her into high the air. Screaming from the surprise action and the current feeling of falling, she had very little time to react as she felt herself land on something soft only for that feeling to vanish as her body momentarily left the confines of gravity before then landing once more into the group of excited mages. Only after this had been repeated a total of ten times, a very dizzy Valeyna was finally allowed to stand on her own two feet once more. Promptly after, she drunkenly walked into Solas who held her tightly upright enabling her after a few minutes to get her head on straight again.

"Thank you," She said gently stepping away from the bald elf.

"You have accomplished an amazing feat Herald, closing the Breach will save a great many lives. However I believe we should return back to Haven, people will desire to celebrate" Solas replied calmly as he gestured towards the group of mages. Seemingly bored of tossing around a young elf girl after she had closed an inter-dimensional portal, they had instead taken to casting all kinds of spells as a way to celebrate.

Some of them had started summoning up blocks of ice smashing them down into snowflakes and allowing them to sparkle like beautiful gems in the moonlight, others had gone for summoning blasts of fire in a mix of large blazing hot plumes of fire, burning smaller fireballs that raced into the distance whilst one had simply started up a normal fire and began dancing around it. Finally, the last group had gone with the idea of chucking lightning in every direction scaring off the local wildlife as they scattered from the bunch of magic loomed humans.

"I couldn't have done it without you or Cassandra." Solas shook his head in response. Taking a deep breath, the man slowly led Valeyna to the edge of the cliff that they were standing on. "Wow, it's beautiful" She had never really looked at Haven this way before, last time she had the chance to take in the scenery had been when she initially arrived at the Conclave as a spy and even then she had missed the opportunity as she searched for a better position to stand.

"Indeed," Solas said slowly. "I have often heard it said that one can only take in the beauty of things after one has struggled" Valeyna raised an eyebrow but said nothing instead preferring to enjoy the scene in front of her. It was a rather magnificent one, a sight that she believed would make a good painting if the Inquisition had the money for any.

To the right and left of the picture would be the powerful imposing sides of the snow-topped Frostback Mountains leaning forwards like lions ready to pounce. In the centre under a black dazzling starlit sky would be the very small features of white dotted tents arranged neatly in a row's while the occasional small dot of a warm orange torch would be scattered in different places illuminating the area like fireflies. Then in front of the tents and scattered across the rest of the camp would be a great many deal of small black silhouettes that would be the many people who were part of the Inquisition from the soldiers, servants, spies, generals, and the inner council to the newest recruit. Slightly to the left of the main encampment, however, would be the actual village of Haven itself with the old Chantry building acting like the keep of a castle with its sturdy dark grey stone walls.

She smiled warmly ignoring the chill of the cold winds that bashed against her. Finally, something had gone right, the Breach had been closed plain and simple. She hadn't had to worry about any secret demon hiding at the other side of the rift, feel concern about her own sanity as she had when she had been in Redcliffe castle as the Red Lyrium had pressed down on her whispering sweet tempting but also maddening things. Everything was just fine, she alongside the rest would take this night to relax, celebrate and when she woke up tomorrow with a massive headache nude and in someone else's tent, she would return back to work.

"Well, that's the hard part done." She turned to Solas and grinned excitedly. "Let's get down there, the faster we move the faster we get to party" Rolling his eyes, Solas had no chance to respond as the elf girl bounced off her feet gripped Cassandra by her collar and then started running down the mountain like crazed woman. All the while this happened; Solas rolled his eyes after having to ensure that he dodged just in time as one of the mages narrow missed him with a plume of flame. When he finally did descend minutes after the mages had to ensure he did not get caught in their antics, his eyes never stayed away from the where the Breach had been moments prior.

Haven

Music played loudly in the once small village, songs of some hero or other back in the past after completing some other strange task. What about Valeyna didn't know nor could she particularly say that she cared. Instead, she enjoyed herself as she happily downed her cup of ale while she gazed merrily at the other members of the Inquisition.

For once, the usual dividers of society, magic, race, gender had all been pushed aside entirely as strangers met up around the campfire and cheered merrily. Some danced with one another their shoulders locked together as they paraded merrily in step back and forth their faces one of pure bliss and happiness. Others had taken to sitting around a series of makeshift campfires chatting loudly to one another as they boisterously spoke of battles they had fought with the demons. Others like her had taken a temporary reprieve from all the action as they leaned back taking a swig of whatever drink they had and smirked drunken out of their minds occasionally exclaiming in joy or having a more private conversation with somebody else.

Finishing her drink, Valeyna snatched up yet another from a nearby table before with her face flushed from the alcohol, she marched proudly towards where she heard the familiar voices of one very good friend. As she progressed along the well-worn path's now, Valeyna did nothing but keep up her smile as she passed the grateful looks of a good amount of passers bye. Some raised their flagons to her in respect others bowed. Not all were that respectful however instead openly leering at her and undressing her with their eyes. To those, she wontedly licked her lips and winked laughing to herself as most jolted back and turned bright scarlet in embarrassment when they realised they had been caught. Soon enough she approached the group she desired to talk to.

There in the centre of the camp was Bull or as she remembered in her drunken state, The Iron Bull. Currently, the large and rather handsome piece of meat was standing around as ever flashing his broad chest and shoulders as he occasionally sipped from the tankard in her hand. Around him, were not only the members of his mercenary group but also a few members of the "inner council" and some random Inquisition soldiers, servants and anyone else who interested. These people, consisted of Varric who had taken to lounging on a box of crates and smirking, Blackwall who had allowed himself to relax and was downing a full tankard, Dorian who while seemingly part of the group seemed far less flustered then everyone else and Sera who had seemingly collapsed onto a table as she stared face up.

"Boss" Bull cried out merrily. At his cry, everyone bar Sera who was so far out of it raised their cups high and roared happily at her presence. "Come and join us" Valeyna happily accepted the offer and proceeded to scoot into the group grabbing herself a place in the middle before taking she started drinking again.

"So what were you all talking about?" Varric chuckled at the elf's question.

"I was just telling them about how Hawke escorted this Saarebas." Now with the necessary background information given to their newest member, Varric carried on. "Okay after we met with Mother Petrice, we were shoved into these underground passage's. Kirkwall's full of them, rumour has it they were used by ancient mages to steal a random slave when no one was looking. Nowadays they're simply used to smuggle goods or people in or out of the city, though they can be pretty good hiding spots. The Templars generally didn't want to come down to the slums since they knew that the moment they did, they'd be facing an angry bunch of sods with a lot of sharp knives. So as I was saying, we were shoved into this dark abandoned passageway where we were then forced to fight our way through as some asshole had tipped these mercenaries of our presence. Well we keep fighting, Hawke's blowing up the occasional spider when she sees one, Rivani would slash the necks of any mercenary that was stupid enough to get close to her, and Sunshine just like her sister would freeze any poor bastard too dumb enough to attack a pair of mages. Of course, while all this happens, our Qunari friend just sits there and does nothing at all."

"Oh, how come?" Blackwall asked interestedly.

"We treat mages differently to you lot" Bull interrupted. Grabbing the man's and several others attention, Bull looked at Varric asking him silently for permission to explain the differences. Varric nodded. "Mages who are born in the Qun have their mouths sewn shut and their faces are hidden behind a mask. They're also put in heavy read pauldrons with chains on them like a leash to make sure that they don't wander off and start casting magic anywhere." Valeyna alongside every other mage stared at the man in horror as the man informed them of the practices that happened in the Qun.

"That's evil, how could they do that?" One mage cried out in both anger and shock at the Qunari.

"The Qun puts them in chains and the rest to make sure that Mages don't start doing stupid shit like running off and summoning demons or Blood Magic. Those who do, have their tongues cut out if not killed for the crime they committed" Looking over to her right, Valeyna saw how one of the mages gulped and subconsciously began touching his neck. Despite her understanding the man's apprehension of being around such a man who would treat mages even worse than the Templar's and the circles did, she rolled her eyes as she witnessed the mage stare at Bull in unbridled fear until finally backing away from the conversation.

"Bull how are Mages seen in your society?" Valeyna asked curiously.

"Weapons" Bull replied disturbingly quickly. "They're not trained how mages are here in Thedas, the moment it's revealed that a member of the Qun has magic, they're taken away to have the correct work done and are separated from the rest of the kids they were with. After that, they're told to obey every single order that they are given." Dorian stared at the man his eyes glistening with a sense of abject curiosity like witnessing a dragon devouring a person, you wanted to look away but the sheer majesty of such a beast in action was too awe-inspiring to ignore.

"Ah yes, I've heard that despite your lack of sufficient education and training, that on average Qunari mages are in fact much more powerful than human and elf mages. Would you care to elaborate The Iron Bull?"

"Sorry, I can't tell you anything about Magic, you'd have to speak to one of the Tamassran's that look after mage kids on that" Bull replied calmly. Despite the lack of information, however, Valeyna found herself curious about Bull's society, initially, when she had gone in to talk to him about it, the conversation had only stayed on topic for about a minute before a moment later the two of them were stripping one another of their clothes and getting down to business.

"These Tamassran's, who are they and what do they do?" Varric blinked had he seriously been ignored for Tiny. Shrugging his shoulders, he put away his story for now and like the others focused his attention on the hulking grey man with sharp horns on his head.

"The Tamassran's are the brain of the Qun" Bull began slowly grabbing the interest of the group once again. "Technically, it's a branch of the priesthood, Their job really depends on where they're assigned, however, they have a large number of rolls to fill. You've got the ones who educate the kids who when they get to a certain age are given a role in society" Seeing confused looks Bull elaborated "The Tamassran's assign each person a role in the Qun that they have to fill out and name them. You also have the Tammasrans who just can't look after themselves like the old or those who just weren't born right, kids who can't learn like other's can't concentrate on task are always moving or those who have fought and might have lost a limb. Essentially, they just look after those who can't. After that you have another set of Tamassran's who work more with the mind, they look after and rehabilitate anyone who might be suffering. If they're struggling from things like going to war, then they talk them through it, help them sort it out. Oh sex here is different than where I'm from, if you feel the need, you just go to the Tamassran's and they sort out your urges"

"Just like that?" Blackwall wondered. Bull nodded.

"It's not like how it is here, more like I don't know... going to see a healer. Sometimes it's this long involved thing. It takes all day, leaves you walking funny... Other times your in and out in five minutes" Bull proceeded to click his tongue as if he had walked into a shop of some kind. "Thank you see you next week" Blackwall gawked at the man, his eyes blinked a few times as he tried to comprehend such a society where sex was just accepted in such a way. Sure there were prostitutes in Thedas, Maker knows when he was younger he had visited them on a regular basis, but then it was typically just a quick thing and you deposited the money on the side and left as soon as the allotted time was up.

Perhaps it was the fact that the act of physically paying for the act distanced the two individuals from one another on an unconscious level the thought. Both sides knew that there was a trade of services being given and that sex was equal to a certain amount of coin. But to just walk into a place say he needed sex and be given it seemed rather absurd.

"I could work with that" Valeyna commented with a smirk. Bull chuckled slightly as the elf gave everyone in the group a certain look.

"I know right, no drama. Still, it's more fun here, fewer rituals, more making it up as you go along. Plus, you folk have redheads" Bull sighed wistfully seemingly lost in his own little world. "Redheads" As he moaned outwards, the attention of the group was gripped by one of the soldiers who had been with them. Looking over to the source, Valeyna chuckled as she saw that the soldier had red hair and her fate had flushed considerably at Bull's words.

"So Tiny" Varric called out long having since given up hope on telling the rest of his story. "You got any plans for tonight?" Bull chuckled once more and rose his tankard high into the sky not caring as a small amount sloshed onto his arm instead much to the viewing pleasure of the ladies, he just licked it off his arm.

"Yeah get drunk, see what come after" A roar of cheers emanated from the group all of them raising their tankards high joining in on this sudden toast to partying and the unexpected. Valeyna laughed happily as she felt the warm glow of the fire illuminate her face, gone entirely as any semblance of daytime instead replaced only by pitch black and those few places that the light of the waning moon lit up.

"Herald can I speak to you" Blinking, Valeyna slowly turned her head to the new voice that had popped out of nowhere. She smiled however and offered the voice a sip of her drink when she witnessed that it was none other than Cassandra.

"Hey Seeker come join us and grab a drink " Bull yelled out.

"Maybe later" She replied gently. With a shrug, Bull returned to the festivities leaving her conversation alone. "Perhaps we could speak more privately" Gesturing towards a more secluded area, Valeyna joined the woman their feet scrunching in the light snow until they were at least a good ten metres away. They could both still hear the loud yelling and grunting that the group did, but otherwise, it was more of a background discussion.

"What's wrong Cassandra, want some private "fun"." Wiggling her eyebrows at the woman, Valeyna stumbled somewhat as she felt her mind go cloudily from the drink that she had consumed. She then raised the tankard in her hand and peered into the goblet nodding as she told herself to make a note of this brew.

"No" Cassandra rejected the idea without a second thought. "Solas confirms the heavens are scarred but calm. The Breach is sealed. We've reports of lingering rifts, and many questions remain. But this was a victory, word of your heroism has spread" Valeyna frowned, even now Cassandra seemed so... serious.

"Relax Cas" Valeyna replied with a drunken smile. "Grab a drink, find a guy and have a good fuck. We've closed the Breach, we can afford to celebrate for a night. Tomorrow when you wake up you can go back to being Miss Serious and think about how you're going to fight the Elder One. Besides look at the people," Valeyna gestured to around her. While they were now separated from the rest of the group, their high vantage point enabled them to see into the rest of the camp and witness that all were in high spirits. In fact, to Cassandra's disapproval, those soldiers of the Inquisition who should be on duty had either completely neglected them and instead decided to join the rest of the Inquisition in partying or they had their own small tankards in their hands and were taking their duties rather laxly. Only one or two soldiers were functioning how they should be.

"It's more than just the Elder One" Cassandra spoke tersely. "Leliana checked again, there is no sign of Nat and his companions anywhere." A jolt of fear ran down Valeyna's back as she heard that, Orzammar was closer to Haven then Redcliffe was; even in her drunken state, she knew that Nat should have been back by now if he hadn't been able to get into the city of the dwarves.

"I'll set out tomorrow and search for him." Cassandra nodded gravely. Breathing out, Valeyna raised her tankard again and began drinking the lovely alcoholic substance that laid within. As she finished and proceeded to bring her tankard down, Valeyna's eyebrows flickered as she gazed towards the mountainside. There on the snow-covered rocky formations that enveloped the encampment was a seemingly growing number of flickering lights.

Quickly, these lights grew rapidly in number, first, there were only one or two and only at the peaks of the mountains, but then that number increased exponentially. As the lights began to increase, she then noticed that behind every single light was a series of moving black things all of which were moving slowly. Squinting her eyes, horror-struck down her spine while her face went a deathly pale. Dropping the tankard into the snow, she spun to Cassandra and pointed to the mountainside.

"Bad Guys" She declared loudly, her voice ripping straight into not only Cassandra but also into Bull's group. Confused at first, Bull and the others gazed at the distant elf before then following the direction that her arm had been pointing. Once they finished tracking her line of sight, they too paled as horror shook around.

Cassandra was the first to act, unsheathing her sword, she sprinted away screaming at the very top of her lungs of an attack. Upon hearing the warning of the Seeker, Powerful bells rang out across the camp, bellowing and screaming of upcoming danger. A flurry of action followed immediately, civilians cried out in terror as they then dropped everything they were doing and began rushing around attempting to solve countless different problems. Some dashed towards their tent's to retrieve whatever possessions they belonged, other civilians instead began to hide behind the soldiers hoping that they would be protected whilst others began yelling for loved ones or friends. The smart ones that did not start screeching like a banshee as they searched for family, made a beeline towards the Chantry.

Unfortunately as the pandemonium of being attacked by some unknown enemy force made itself known to the occupants, those who had signed up to fight the enemy did a pretty piss poor job of it. Most soldiers either too frightened naturally or having it enhanced by the alcohol panicked and joined the civilians in an unordered display. Others while entirely drunk off their asses instead felt an unbridled sense of courage well up into them, the dashed out of the camp and towards the oncoming enemy with their weapons drawn and bellowing out some kind of war cry.

However, not all were so unlucky or taken by madness or liquid courage. Those who had not yet consumed or only consumed in small quantities of alcohol moved in a more orderly and controlled fashion. They ran towards where their stations were had been delegated and prepared themselves for the oncoming fight whereas others instead got to work rounding up the civilians and directing them towards the Chantry building asking for all people to abandon their tents and leave in an orderly fashion.

Valeyna's attention, however, was soon grabbed by the familiar voice of Cullen as he raced across the floor with a series of soldiers and guards trailing behind him while he shouted out orders at the top of his lungs. Coming to a halt, Cullen glanced at Valeyna and Cassandra concern etched on his face but it was then transformed to one of determination as he came to grips with the situation.

"I've already set soldiers on the secret path to get everyone out. In the meantime, we need to buy as much time as we can for the people to escape" Cullen grit his teeth as he previewed the chaos that was unfolding in the camp. More specifically, he shook his head, not in anger but worry as he realised just how poor their chances of defending Haven was. This point was made even more apparent as Bull and the other approached.

"So suddenly our free drinks are on hold" Though Bull joked, Cullen, shook his head at the man. The normal tough square stance the Qunari typically held was gone and had instead been weakened by the alcohol that went through the man's body affecting his mind and worse his ability to fight. It was the same with all the others, they weren't too pissed that they couldn't fight, well besides Sera who was currently draped over Bull's shoulder as if she were a towel, but they had consumed enough that fighting in the front lines would certainly mean sending them to suicide. It was the same thing with the Herald.

Once more Valeyna turned back to the mountainside. This time the small number of lights had truly increased to an uncountable number followed by an endless stream of soldiers that were walking down the mountain. There were thousands of them she realised, at least an entire armies worth. She grit her teeth worryingly as she turned that attention into the camp.

Already it was in shambles, children were crying, tents were on fire, yelling and angry screaming were taking over and some people she watched disgustingly had already begun to shove one another to get to the front of the lines of the retreating adults. In other places, she felt her heart almost break as a mother fell to her knees in front of one of the soldiers with tears streaming down her face as she pleaded for the soldier to help her find her son.

As she watched the scene, Valeyna felt her mind begin to clear. Where once her thoughts were somewhat lucid thanks to the alcohol in her body, the sudden realisation of a large battle taking place had at least for now temporarily shocked it out of place.

"Bull" Her voice cut through the air like a hot knife through butter instantly grabbing the attention of the group. "Take Varric and Blackwall, follow Cullen's men and help keep order as the civilians escape. Cassandra find Solas and Vivienne, Dorian and I are going to the front gate. We'll help those soldiers hold the enemy off for as long as we can."

Acknowledging her orders, Cassandra reacted straight away dashing through the snow as she made her way to where the two mages would be seen and hoped to bring them to the main part of the fight. Bull also got to work, with a loud bellow he and the rest of his mercenary group followed the instruction given to them by Cullen as he directed them towards the entrance of the secret entrance and prepared for the inevitable large amount of citizens that they would need to assist. Finally, Dorian joined Valeyna as they dashed away and directly towards the main gate whilst Cullen stopped any non-drunk soldier and old enough mage he could.

Gritting her teeth as she prepared her staff, Valeyna ignored the calls from the civilians as she brushed past them in her advance to the gate. They only had a very short amount of time before the first ranks for the enemy would fall upon them and start butchering everyone in sight. Of course, it didn't make it any easier with the fact that most people and especially those who could fight were mostly drunk out of their minds from the celebrations. Even had they been prepared and her men not drunk, they were severely outnumbered as she carried on watching the numbers stream in over the side of the mountain as the bulk of their forces were revealed.

Her eyes flickered rapidly over the encampment searching for anything that could help delay the enemy or be used as a forward line of defence to keep the enemy away from the screaming populace. It was of no use however as suddenly her breath hitches as a series of glowing orange objects were launched into the sky before then they started to plummet into the furthest row of tents.

With a burst of ravenous fury, small flames attached to what she now knew had been arrows earnestly began consuming the tents. Quickly to her growing horror, the fire spread leaping and from tent to tent gobbling it up and pressing forwards. At that moment previous screams of terror and fear became ones of death as arrows slammed into the fleeing mass of people impaling through their chests.

"Herald" Hearing a person call her name, Valeyna spun on her heel eyes narrowing as she attempted to find the source. Soon she found it.

"Fiona" She rushed towards the elven mage checking her over for any wounds or injuries. Luckily, the woman was perfectly fine or at least she was for now. "What are the mages doing?"

"I've sent the children and those who cannot fight up to the Chantry, the other's I have tried to gather up." She nodded firmly in the direction of the still rushing hoards of enemies. "The mages will fight with you. We can hold the enemy down and give the civilians enough time to escape, or we can barricade ourselves here and give a better defence. You need to make a decision"

Anxiously Valeyna felt her heart gallop at the choice. Turning her attention back onto the civilians, she saw that they were still running as fast as they could for the safety of the Chantry, however, others much to her growing horror had not run away instead of looking for something else. Alongside the civilians she noted, tepidly was a great number of mages who were also fleeing the scene as fast as she could.

"Defend the civilians" Valeyna replied firmly. "As soon as their clear, fall back here and take defensive positions as best as you can."

"Right. Good luck Herald" With a grim face, Fiona twirled her staff before slamming it down onto the ground with a loud thud before she looked back up towards the mountain. "Mages" She yelled as she turned around to the small number she had managed to gather. "With me" With a blast of energy, Fiona burst forth out of the gate accompanied by her mages and charged towards the enemy with their staffs glowing with magical energy.

"And what do you propose we do?" Dorian spoke quickly. Valeyna pointed to the set of nearby trebuchets. Unseen by the brave men and women who had started to man them, a group of Templars had crept forward.

"We need to protect the trebuchets" Not wasting any action, Valeyna sprinted out of the main gate but grunted as a few civilians smashed into. They did not care in the slightest if they hurt one of their defenders as they fled away in panic. Valeyna did not let that bother her though instead she simply called forth her magic and blast it forth in a concussive wave throwing the enemy Templar's off their feet and smashing them into the snow.

Shocked at what they believed to be an attack from their own leader, the soldiers of the Inquisition turned almost angry only to sigh in relief and terror as they saw the identity of the attackers and how close they had come towards ending their lives.

"Keep firing" Valeyna commanded. On her word, the soldiers did just exactly that. With a powerful heave and shove, two soldiers pushed against the large wooden poles that controlled the direction of where the Trebuchet aimed whilst another set filled the device was the rocks they needed. As this all happened, another set of soldiers began dousing the pile of assembled rocks in a thick black oily substance coating it as best as they could. Once the trebuchet had been loaded and primed to unleash its deadly present, another soldier took a torch and pressed it against the rock allowing the flame on the torch to catch alight the oily substance on the rock engulfing it in fire.

"Loose" A voice yelled. With a powerful and mighty whoosh, the arm of the trebuchet shot up with incredible speed creaking timber under the strain of pressure as the flaming ball of heavy stone was propelled vigorously into the air. Then with a great and mighty smash, the rock struck harshly against the mountainside shattering the snow and heavy ice blasting it down the mountainside with an awesome thunderous roar. Snow engulfed the side of the mountain smothering it in a cold embrace and entirely blocking all sight of the area from the ground. A brief few screams were heard from the Templar attackers as well as gasps of surprise from those of the Inquisition as the mountain began to tear apart soldiers in a blanket of white death.

There was a momentary pause then, soldiers, civilians and mages alike stood still inspecting the crash sight their faces grim with hope as they prayed to Andraste that it would be enough. Then the sounds bellowing of feet crashing against snow mixed with that of renewed war cries as the forces of the Templars emerged from the snowy abyss and advanced onwards.

A volley of blazing orange covered the sky as arrows vaulted into the heavens before then falling back under the grace of gravity hammering the remaining tents and all others in the local vicinity. Fire roared and bellowed like an angry volcano blanketing and buffeting the entire camp. Ash fused with snow raining down in a black ichor smothering and robbing those who still remained nearby of their local supply of oxygen.

People collapsed to the floor, choking and vomiting their own blood staining it dark scarlet and sickly yellow, others clawed at their blazing red eyes desiring to cry but unable to do so, many more clutched at their choking gurgling throats while others collapsed to the ground their eyes bloodshot twitching only slightly as they stared in agony in only one direction as they waited for the end to come. Come soon it did, as the raging fire stole the life or person after person, cooking their skin alive and internal organs alive while entirely stripping them of all organic matter for those snatched up in it's never ending deadly march forwards.

Valeyna's breath hitched in her throat refusing to come out entirely. Her skin both shivered and glowed as the bitterly cold breath of the intense wind gleamed over her desiring to glaciate her body whilst the smothering heat of the fire in the distance began to wrap over her.

"Loose" She called again this time louder as her eyes scanned the nearby area.

Fiona and her mages had been forced to pull back already as the fire kept creeping forwards quickly yet she could also tell that the battering bitter mountain winds were already crushing the fire under its icy wrath killing it slowly but surely. That with the fire spreading and threatening to kill anyone nearby was all that was required though for the Templar's to keep soldiering on towards them.

Now on flatter more movement friendly terrain, they moved faster beating their shields with their swords as they did so and boasting proudly about the need to kill all mages. Archers then broke out of their formation picking individual targets of the still remaining civilians and unleashing their arrows slaughtering them like countless sheep as they dropped to the floor painting the nearby snow with their corpses. Finally, when the more armoured sword-wielding Templar's moved, they then began gleefully sinking their sharp steel into the flesh of anyone they could find.

At her signal, another rock was chucked over the heads of the attacking Templar's and crashed into the mountainside. Yet again with a thunderous roar, the snow belted down the mountain covering those soldiers who were still making their way down the mountain. With this blow, however, the large shockwave of cold wind that followed raced over the blazing fire of the camp and extinguished it in an instant.

"What are these bastards made off?" Valeyna cried. "Keep firing until you run out of ammunition, then run back to the Chantry and escape" Valeyna shouted at the top of the voice before clutching it slightly. All the talking she had done with other people had tired her throat to point where now shouting was rather painful. Even so, as she glowered once more at the mountainside, she could only take a brief few moments of relative silence as the noise began beating again and those black figures on the cliffs rose out solemnly of the ground and kept carrying on. Another rock was then thrown repeating the same process.

A scream of pain took away her attention away from the mountainside back down to those who had been working the trebuchet. One of the soldiers had been impaled in the arm and was now bleeding profusely. A different soldier then rushed up to the downed soldier ripping off a piece of one of the many banners of the inquisition and started wrapping it around the man's wound and tightened it. The wound was rather bad she reckoned unless the soldier saw a healer soon, then they would almost certainly die.

Valeyna jumped from her higher up position that she had initially used to keep an eye on the nearby area and dashed towards the soldier. Their eyes were scrunched in pain and another soldier had shoved another piece of the inquisition banner in their mouth to shut him up. After a short amount of time, the soldier then opened their eyes to see the face of none other than the Herald close to his. Before he could question what she wanted to do, he bit roughly on the fabric in his mouth and gave out a muffled agonising scream.

With the arrow now yanked out, Valeyna raised her hand towards the wound and channelled her magic. At her actions, a bright beautiful sky blue glow encased the soldiers wound and began repairing the damage. It was both an incredibly beautiful and awe-inspiring sight yet also incredibly creepy as the soldier's friends watched the magic get to work. Before their very eyes, the soldier's skin physically began to stitch itself together again. It was almost like a gory puzzle, the two ends of the splint wound came together before it was then pressed as tendrils of skin and muscle grabbed one another reattaching and yanking at an accelerated rate. As the skin began to reattach, this included the arteries that started to stop spewing the soldier's blood and instead go back to work before being covered entirely by skin and muscle. Finally, after only a few minutes, the soldiers wound had vanished in its entirety instead replaced with a scar from the wound.

"Thank you" The soldier spoke gratefully after taking the fabric out of his mouth so he could address the one who had just saved his life. "However... I can't lift anything" Valeyna nodded understandingly,

"Then go, all of you and take anyone else you find" After being greeted a few looks of relief, Valeyna observed as the soldiers dashed away from the trebuchet and headed for the main gate.

"That was some rather impressive healing" Dorian commented.

"My clans hunters would come back injured so my Keeper and I would heal them whenever we could to save other supplies" The number of times she had to heal one of their hunters from a bear striking them or an aggressive human village hunting them down with bows and other weapons had long since taught her the skills she needed to heal.

"A useful talent, one that I'm sure a good deal of these soldiers will take the pleasure in once we escape. Because we are going to escape now?. Right?" Dorian looked at Valeyna slightly hopefully as he watched the streams of oncoming Templars. Already the first group of Templars had made it entirely out of the camp with a large train of corpses littered behind them and were now getting in striking range of the mages that Fiona had decided to lead into battle. And by the Creators, Valeyna thought, Fiona was well deserving of her title as Grand Enchanter.

Fiona was a warrior, there was no doubt about that. Spell after spell she unleashed in quick succession, each one was powerful and perfectly cast with a speed unmatched by any other Circle mage. Not even Viviene who she had seen practice once had the sheer ferocity and capability that Fiona had. Friona's staff twirled and moved less like it was a chunk of wood and steel, but more that it was an extension of her body. Even Dorian she noticed was visibly impressed with her performance.

A group of Templar's rushed the mage but didn't even get within three metres before they were encased in a giant wall of ice freezing them over and killing them in a heartbeat. Immediately after she gave a flick of her hand and chunks of the ice broke off with a shattering sound and were launched into the foreground of the Templar's impaling a group of seven with little effort.

Dashing from the woman's right was another group. There were five in total and all of the Templars were dressed in their typical heavy armour whilst they hit behind their shield. Fiona in a rather casual manner directed her staff towards the head of the group and cast spell. The spell that came barrelling out, was a chain lightning spell. Smashing into the first Templar, a brief scream of pain was muttered as the lightning was conducted into the armour electrocuting the man as he spasmed where he stood and then dropped to the floor with a thud. Straight afterwards, the spells zapped it's way to the next Templar in line and then to the next one downing every single Templar in a beautiful yet deadly blue light show.

Out of the corner of her eye, Fiona saw an archer that had crept up on one of her fellow mages, the Templar drew his bow hoping to deliver a fatal blow to one of her mages. Revolving her staff around with well-practised ease and skill, something that she had kept since her days as a Grey Warden, she engulfed the Templar mercilessly incinerating him into a pile of ash. Spinning on her heel, she pushed her hand forward and discharged a devastating wave of pure energy. Rock's, tents, trees, weapons and most importantly Templars rocketed off the ground as if struck by a hurricane flying tens of feet into the air before slamming with tremendous force onto the snow-covered ground. Rocks shattered, trees splintered into a million tiny pieces and the Templars squelched as they struck the floor and just obliterated.

Still, the Templars came, however, ever pressing onwards and seemingly uncaring of the casualties they had endured. Soon much to Valeyna's horror, the sheer mass of Templar's began to get through to the mages. They activated their abilities. Enabling them to take on and withstand the power of the fade as they restored balance, forcing the fade back where it belonged. They kept falling, but soon mages were among the group who did so.

Arrows pierced chests, swords slashed against poorly defended robes spilling guts everywhere as Mages either died or clutched to them their faces stricken in horror only for another Templar to finish the job. Those Templars who were of a far larger frame pushed ahead of the vanguard snatching up mages and pressed their fingers into the mages very eye sockets applying a constant stream of pressure as the mages screamed. Then in a bloody explosion of gore, their heads simply exploded outwards. Other mages she witnessed, were grabbed by the larger templars and with one quick harsh shoved their entire skull was twisted around so it faced backwards like an owl.

"There you are" Cassandra called her name out once more changing the direction of the Heralds attention and levelled it to the left flank. Her eyes widened and fear pushed down her chest as she saw the woman pull her blade out of the newly created Templar corpse. It had been a scout, but all the same, panic rushed through her. She and Dorian had been too distracted on Fiona that they did not notice the coming Templars on the left flank who had come to kill them.

"How many people have gotten out?" She yelled out loud.

"Cullen says that most of the civilians have already passed through the Chantry, he's just waiting for the rest of the Inquisition to follow through." Valeyna nodded.

"Good. Okay, we're going to defend this area as long as we can to buy as much time as we possibly can. Once that's done, I'll use the trebuchet and cause one last avalanche. We'll use that time to get away" With her orders given, Valeyna once again turned back to Fiona. Despite her and her fellow mages valiant efforts, they had been pushed back away from their locations and were nearly backed into a corner. "Fiona" She screamed herself hoarse grabbing the woman's attention to her. "Fall back to the Chantry" With a tired and bloody nod, Fiona shouted out her own orders to her mages commanding all of them to break off from their attack and just run.

Before she could continue on watching the First Enchanter, an earth-shattering deathly roar echoed throughout the valley. Valeyna went a deathly pale as she shared a look of understanding with Dorian. It was the same monster that had tracked them down back in the future when the Elder One had attacked them. Bracing against the now lashing snow as unnatural wind began to blast and shatter the old wooden building behind them whilst those tents that had not yet been decimated by a rain of fire arrows were instead thrown off the ground itself and sent tumbling through the air colliding with soldiers and civilians higher up and knocking them down like a woodsman and a tree.

Distracted by the unnatural wind, Cassandra nearly rushed towards the aid of those the Inquisition had sworn to protect only to be stooped by a firm grip on her shoulder. Twisting around viciously, she stared into the calm but also concerned orbs of Solas. The man's eyes had turned harder than any stone and she could more than easily see the build-up of magical power the man was beginning as streams of blue and green light streamed and curled around him in a fast dance.

"We will need your help for this battle Seeker" Solas spoke grimly his eyes narrowed; perhaps he was giving a prayer to one of the old elf gods or he may have been starting a spell, either way, Solas knew what was coming.

"Solas what is-" Another powerful roar echoed over the area this time causing a much smaller avalanche on the Inquisitions side. Snow and ice broke and cracked, it was just a small thing but within a matter of seconds before an entire ice sheet toppled from its stony prison and plummeted to the ground crushing everything it could get a hold on within its snowy grasp.

Horror bloomed on Cassandra's face as the entire left portion of the camp was entirely consumed by the avalanche covered in at least twelve metres of snow. Eyes flickering, briefly, she covered her mouth as a brief respite of silence fell upon them. They were not allowed to rest on their laurels as moments later another scream echoed one that Cassandra recognised, and even worse, was far closer than they were last time.

"Cassandra, what are we dealing with here?" Valeyna glowered at the black sky, she didn't know when, but the once previously clear starlit sky had vanished entirely instead being replaced by a black haze partly blinding all who saw in the distance. Another roar followed, this time it was followed by yells of victory from the Templar's as they raised their weapons high into the sky cheering as the sound approached every closer. "Cassandra?" Valeyna yelled angrily. Luckily, it worked as Cassandra snapped out of whatever stupor she had been in and brought her shield forward with a pained and even somewhat terrified look.

"It's, it's a"

"Dragon" An ear-splitting shriek resounded in the camp. Valeyna's breath escaped her entirely. Her eyes locked on the large incoming black object that barrelled towards them it's pain-inducing shriek amplified by the mountains that surrounded the camp.

"No, an Archdemon" Valeyna jumped out of her skin. Twisting around her staff drawn and a spell on her lips, she was just about ready to eviscerate the individual who had managed to sneak up on her when she saw just who it was.

It was a boy, couldn't have been more than twenty years old, short straw coloured hair, lanky and pale of complexion with features more seen in Ferelden than Orlais. He looked poor, dirty patched up leathers, a muddy face covered in blood in some places and a giant oversized hat that lay upon his head. Finally, in his hand, the boy carried a bloodied knife.

"Who are you?" Cassandra ordered as she pressed her sword close to the young man's chest her eyes not wavering in the slightest even with the big black thing in the distance hurtling towards them. The boy whoever he was, did not seem fazed in the slightest instead he walked past the Seeker briefly giving an odd look when he saw Solas until he stood next to the Herald.

"I saw an Archdemon in the Fade once, it looked like that. You need to run" Valeyna's heart pounded faster and harder in her chest. If there was an Archdemon, then that could only mean that Nat's initial fears of a full-on Blight had been realised. Was there truly a blight coming? Alongside a Mage Templar civil war, this supposed Elder one and an Orlesian Civil war there was now a host of Darkspawn that had to be dealt with?. She froze in fear where she stood. She couldn't defeat these Templar's, let alone an army of Darkspawn and anything that they brought with them, they had to do what the boy said.

"Who are you?" The boy looked at her strangely before answering.

"I am Cole, I came here to warn you, to help. People are coming to hurt you. You probably already know" The boy's tone was panicked terrified even, occasionally the boy would twist his head to the side his eyes flickering in fear as the Templars and Arch Demon approached.

"What is this? what's going on?" Valeyna grunted as the earth shook wildly beneath her feet like the edge of a lake after a thrown had been thrown in. A mage she realised, there was no other way to explain an earthquake.

"The Templar's come to kill you"

"Nothing new kid" Varric gestured to the encroaching armies of Templars seemingly moulded with chunks of red Lyrium and the many corpses of Templar's that Fiona and the other mages had created.

"Templars" A disbelieving Cullen cried out of nowhere. Valeyna blinked where were all these people coming from?. Her mind soon turned to more pressing issues. Glaring at the oncoming dragon, Valeyna was able to see more of its body. The dragon or Archdemon was built of powerful black scaly legs meshed together with the giant awesome frame of the top creature of prey. It was giant and intimidating, sharp wicked claws as long as spears, teeth and pointy and deadly as the sword the Inquisition carried and a tail larger than the average sized home that a commoner would reside in. Its large maw spewed out red magic and with the force of a powerful mage a ball of fire slammed into the catapult obliterating it into tiny pieces and splinters that flew in all directions impaling a few members of the group.

"Move" Without a moments delay, Valeyna jumped onto of Cullen shoving him into the snow covering his face with her chest. She breathed quickly and labouredly before her eyes shot up at the dragon. It had flown away. Momentarily a wave of relief washed over her only to be swept aside by overwhelming dread as it circled back around once more with its mouth still spewing magic energy. "Retreat" Another blast rained down on her location crashing and shattering the ground beneath her so hard that it physically lifted her off her feet and sent colliding through the air. With a loud thud, her head crashed against one of the wooden palisades previously built to defend the Inquisition from an attack with a loud of crunch.

Her vision turned to nothing but white as pure agony ripped throughout her entire body. She attempted to breathe in a gulp of air only to clutch her chest tightly as she felt nothing come in only out shortening her air supplies. Desperation forced her to beat her chest painfully only then for her to squint and cry in pain as her ribs ached and tore. Things only got worse as her she moved her left arm only to scream audibly as pain rocketed through her now broken arm. Wheezing, Valeyna was unaware of what happened after for a few moments, only the unclear voice of someone mentioning her name, the sounds of the Archdemon roaring and the feel of a person's arms clutching her tightly.

After a while, she didn't know when she felt herself being lowered to the floor. As she felt her body slowly apply pressure to the floor, it took everything she had not to hiss in pain. Thankfully, she was able to temporarily push the pain that racked her body aside long enough for her to open her eyes once again and view the disaster that was upon her.

In a vain hope that it may take away the blurriness of her vision, Valeyna squinted as she then clutched her broken hand close to her body. Things only continued to get worse for her as her lack of movement made the bitter freezing temperatures of the area only ever more prominent. When she breathed out, she saw her breath condense flowing away quickly as another sharp wrenching wind took her.

Cold didn't describe what she was feeling as her blurry vision finally with great effort managed to concentrate on what was going on. The other members of the inner council were fighting as fiercely as they could while they held off the ranks of Templars. Cullen or at least she thought it was Cullen, her mind was so cloudily and unfocused crossed blades with another Templar their swords glinting dangerously in the moonlight.

The Templar lunged at Cullen with a yell hoping to slice straight through the armour the man wore and reach his heart. Cullen, however, showed his far superior skill as he sidestepped the attack, feinted towards the Templars left leg and then shoved his blade into the Templar's lightly defended throat. With a spurt of blood and a gurgle, the Templar fell back onto the white backdrop. Cullen, on the other hand, exchanged blows with another Templar. A quick deflection of the Templars sword to the right before another expert flick of the blade then slit the Templars throat. Cullen still wasn't finished, however, as three Templars then ganged up on him all three with shields.

Rolling his eyes, Cullen attacked the first member of the group with a headshot. It came close, but with a loud clang, his sword struck upon not a helmet but rather the shield of one of the Templars friend. Feeling somewhat victorious or vindictive, the Templar who had just blocked his attack gave him a smirk behind his helmet in victory. It was his final mistake as Cullen sensing the lack of focus deflected a blow from one of the other two Templars and kept his blade going until the sword struck the small holes meant for eyes slicing them open just enough that the attacked Templar collapsed to the floor screaming in agony.

Without a seconds delay, Cullen with experience that only came from actually performing such a task kicked the downed screaming Templar with his foot before shoving his sharpened piece of steel through the visor directly into one of the man's eyes and into the brain. In revenge one of the Templars swung at his head only to miss as Cullen dodged down snatched the now dead Templar's shield and then bashed it with great force into the chest of that same Templar. Grunting in shock, the Templar toppled to the ground, not dead but certainly dazed. That was all the former Knight Captain had required however as he took the blow of the last Templar on his shield and then with incredible speed, feinted towards the head only to thrust his sword into the Templar's foot. The Templar had no time to react as the second he would have recognised the pain, Cullen yanked out his swords roughly and then shoved it into the open Templar's guard through the groin and into the chest and then pulled out his sword with the efficiency of a Veteran three times his experience.

Cassandra too fought with an amazing talent, like Cullen she was easily handling numbers of enemy Templars that outnumbered her. Templar after Templar fell to her devastating strikes decapitating anything she could place her blade upon. Arm's legs, torsos and hand's all became victims of her pinpoint precision leaving a large amount of blood stumps and body parts decorating the area. One Templar wearing leather armour, charged her with a blade only for the Seeker to handily hack his entire light armour to pieces and shred the underlying skin below releasing the man's internal organs to spill to the ground.

They were not the only ones who defended her as she failed in her quest to hid the pain she was in. Solas, Dorian and Vivienne worked as an efficient team. Without any spoken words or gestures for command, all three of them seemed to know which spell they had to cast and when. Two of them would assault the incoming Templar's as the two opposing flanks ensuring that Cullen and Cassandra would not be attacked from behind. Ice, fire and lighting alongside the typical magical blasts that a mage's staff made were cast on a regular basis. In the meantime, the other member would mix between casting a barrier on all three of them and joining in on the action depending on which side had more opponents to prevent an encirclement.

While it was going well, Valeyna could not keep her eyes of the dragon still flying around. Occasionally, it would make a pass at the group unleashing another fire blast in hopes of disrupting the group and make them scatter as best. It didn't work, well at least not at first. The first time the Archdemon attacked and unleashed it's fiery gout of destruction onto her friends and allies, the members of the Inner council dived away desperate to get into cover before it came back again.

Narrowly this worked although it did seem to cause pain to some of the members as they clutched different parts of their bodies and gritted their teeth. Some like Cullen would then proceed to curse the giant flying reptile or ask for safety from the Maker or his human bride. Once this was done the group would dash back into position and continue on fighting as best they could slowly fall back step by step until the dragon came back once more. The dragon would attack, the allies would jump, then proceed to curse before falling back into line and continue to fight against the Red Templars.

However as she and everybody else soon realised as they were pushed back into the stronghold and forced to eventually slam the gate shut while they panted nearly entirely out of breath as they desperately searching for any source of fresh air in the middle of their hypothermia-inducing environment, was that after every dragon attack they pulled back together slower.

"The rest of Haven is overrun, we need to take the Herald and run now" Cullen spoke loudly. He took the time to breathe in and out as calmly as he could, in out in out yet it wasn't doing that much as all he felt was the adrenaline still running in his veins forcing him to act far more on instinct then he would usually. Even so, Valeyna through her increasingly blurry vision saw the man concentrate on her. Heavy footfall followed as it crunched in the snow resulting in the next thing Valeyna knowing was her vision blocked off by a ridiculously ornate patch of clothing. Struggling, she went to open her mouth and rasp some kind of words out but before she could so she was stopped by the woman in front of her.

"Save your breath darling, you're going to need it" Like a gentle breeze on a warm summer's day, Valeyna felt herself relaxing as Vivienne's words floated into her ears. She felt tired, so very tired, her eyes became heavier and heavier and soon they had closed entirely as they seemingly became a ton of bricks. Perhaps she should sleep, yes just go to sleep. "Darling open your eyes" The voice was muffled and diluted in her mind it sounded like when the rain poured forth from the heavens, thunder would bellow proudly overhead declaring to the world that it was going to whatever it wanted and no mortal could ever change that. It was beautiful, something that helped put her mind at ease and relax her senses.

"Herald I implore you, open your eyes" A new voice cut into the conversation however just like the last one, Valeyna ignored it instead preferring to sink into sleep as much as she could. All this would be over she thought peacefully, she would close her eyes here and when she opened them again all would be right.

"Herald no" There it was again Valeyna started to think frustratingly, the first voice had been smooth and calm whilst the other was one of concern, however, this one was of despair and anguish. It was a woman's voice, loud and angry as it echoed into her ear. She tried to ignore it, the pain she felt was slowly fading away, instead of sharp jolts of excruciating pain, it instead began to thrum in one constant sense of dull pain.

"Herald you have to open your eyes, now" Valeyna ignored them, she was so very tired and she knew if she fell asleep now, the pain would disappear and she would be in peace. In fact, she was managing to ignore the calls and instead focus on the sweet bliss that awaited her if only she was willing to fall asleep and reach for her it. She could see it already, and it looked so beautiful, pure blackness, no sound, no sight just nothing but pure relaxation. She headed toward it.

She was so close when a sudden jolt of pain struck her pulling her away from her much deserved rest forcing her to concentrate on other things. Her eyes spat open and her hand flew to her cheek now stinging in pain. In front of her, Cassandra stared at her in horrified relief as her eyes flickered open.

"Thank the Maker" Cassandra cried out.

"What, what happened?" Valeyna rasped out, grimacing she rubbed her head clenching her teeth as she felt pain spike in the area. All the same, she went in for another try pushing through her golden hair and rubbing the back of her head as gingerly as possible. Once more pain shot through her as she did so, but then she felt a large lump that refused to calm down as she touched it like some kind of rabid dog and food.

"We thought you were gone" In a surprise move, Cassandra rushed towards her gripping her right shoulder in her hand and proceeded to hug as tightly as she could for a few moments before then releasing her. After her slightly bewildered blinking, Valeyna felt her thoughts rush back to her and she paled.

"We need to move" Hissing in pain, she slammed her staff into the bloodied ground that surrounded her and pulled herself up until she stood although just barely. Cassandra rushed to her side, gently wrapping her arm around her shoulder and giving her support to take the weight off.

"I've managed to heal the broken bones, but it will take weeks for you to heal again properly." Vivienne nodded towards the girl's injuries before then grimacing as with yet another roar from the dragon, the beast and its master circled around once more and headed in their direction.

"I'm afraid that we going to have to skin on the celebrations" Dorian spoke drily "We seem to have a more pressing concern". Valeyna would have laughed had it not hurt. Even though her bones had been repaired, the amount of pain she was in was still serious enough to hamper her ability to move. Should she be attacked directly in a fight by an opponent, then she would stand little chance in such a matchup. In fact much to her own embracement, she was unable to call upon the forces of magic to assist her fellow allies due to the pain that she still suffered from.

"Get the Herald out of here, we may have sealed the Breach but without her demons can still come forth the smaller rifts" Cullen grimaced as he stared onto the mountains. Even now the armies of the Templar's advanced towards what little shelter they had left. Their numbers were large and fierce numbering in the thousands as they planned to not only take out the Herald of Andraste but also wipe out the Mage Rebellion in a single blow.

The gate would fall rather quickly, already he could hear the sounds of hammers and axes striking against the wooden barrier. They hammered away quickly, bang after bag could be heard alongside angry shouts and yells from the Templars as they battled for a way in. It wouldn't be long he supposed, soon his former brothers and sisters in arms would break through the gate and pile in towards them. He and the rest of their small group were all that was left.

They could hold of the Templar numbers for a while he thought. So long as they made a fighting retreat to the Chantry ensuring that the Herald was behind them at all times, there was a chance that all of them could escape this sheer madness and live to fight another day.

Naturally, the main conundrum of this strategy was the giant winged creature that consistently and quite badly so far had attempted to kill them from the air. It attacks either went too wide or the inner council was able to evade just in time as they piled into the snow with a crunch gritting their teeth as the surrounding snow as forcefully melted by the Arch Demons fiery breath. They jumped and dived, danced and leapt, but he could see it as like experienced individual could see it.

This sudden surprise attack, the lack of preparedness had left them feeling tired and soon the adrenaline in their blood would begin to dilute until they lost that buzz and was replaced only with fear and panic. If they wanted any chance of escaping this situation alive, they would have to leave now, abandon the defences entirely and just belt for Chantry building and the secret passage that was hidden behind.

Nodding in acceptance, Solas alongside Cassandra followed the Herald as they dashed out of the small area in front of the gates as fast as their feet could carry them and headed directly for the Chantry building. Unknown to them, the figure on top of the Arch Demon had finally pinpointed the individual it was searching for and giving it's pet a command to attack.

With one more earth breaking scream, the Archdemon descended. Swiftly it flew, barrelling past the two defenders that the Herald had to defender her and igniting the very ground itself within a ring of red Lyrium coloured fire. Once more, Valeyna found herself blown off her very feet and slamming harshly into the ground spraying the floor in some more of her blood as it spurted from her nose.

Pressing her arms in front of her, Valeyna with an agonising grunt lifted herself off the ground slowly rising to her feet blood still dripping from her nose and now split lip and faced in the direction of the Temple. Pain shot through her side once more and again Valeyna wished that she could just sit down and rest. That was only momentarily however as she paused such thoughts aside and instead focused on the singular task of escaping the area.

A brief few steps she made it, her feet stung and ached and her lip stung as it did when she had been stung by wasps as a child and once more her vision started to deteriorate. Gathering up her strength, she managed a few more steps forwards before collapsing onto her knee once again. Sweat, and blood mixed with dirt grit and snow pouring down all over her as she stayed where she had fallen hoping to gain back some sort of energy or strength. That was when she saw it.

Emerging from the orange glowing fire that consumed and blazed over a previous set of crates was a tall man. This man stood taller than any other man Valeyna had ever laid eyes upon, taller than Cullen, taller than Blackwall and at least two feet taller than even The mighty Iron Bull. Valeyna's breath hitched in terror as she gazed upon his face. Burned stretched skin stretched tightly over a man's face as if it were an animal's skin on a drum, pasty and deformed it appeared with lines, cracks scars and metal all fused together. He was bald, or at least she believed him to be, the right side of his head was covered in the remnants of a once fine but now tattered torn and dirty hood that had since melted onto the man's skin. His tall lanky from indicative of those who studied magic was covered head to toe in a black broken and deformed set of clothing. His shoulders were covered in dirty mated black fury pauldrons that attached to a larger spiky chest plate in the centre of the man's chest like those non-magic soldiers of the Venatori had worn only decorated in some sort of faded fabric on the outside. His skin was a ghastly ghostly pale with inky black tendrils of blood that pressed against the skin so tightly that it threatened to burst out of its own accord.

Then there were the man's hands, long and like the rest of his body had a sickly tainted appearance to them. However what had grabbed the elf's attention first was the very shape of his fingers, other than being gnarled and stretched, the man's fingernails extended in a revolting way. In fact, they were less of fingernails and more in the shape of claws, long rotting black claws at least three inches in length and sharpened to an unnatural edge. Most assumedly in her mind, so that the creature could tear out the very skin from a person's throat if it so desired.

Upon stepping out of the red-hot fire, the creature focused it's disgusted gaze upon her and squeezed it's thin grey lips together tightly. Valeyna gasped in pain once again only to stop her small moan of pain as it lowered its irritated expression on her. Then by some force of will, she quietened herself as her heart beat faster than a galloping horse. Her lips quivered massively as she stared at the oncoming Darkspawn and every single hair on her body from her head to below stood up on edge shaking with panic. All this happened at the same time as she felt like she had been thrown down a whirlpool with no time to escape. Surrounding her was the dragon's fire trapping her in place like her clan's hunters would do to their prey.

All the same, she moved her left leg backwards and then her right leg soon it became a short run with her eyes never leaving the incommoding creature as she was too afraid of what it would do if she gave it the opportunity to strike her from behind. She made it a few steps when with a familiar yet terror-inducing cry emanating just a yard or two behind her alongside a powerful whooshing or large scale-covered wings, Valeyna braved to look behind her.

A sharp putrid breath of unwashed death, saliva and other gruesome parts blasted up into her face and wafted up her nose. Throwing herself forward, she nearly vomited there and then the breath of this death was so pungent it was if she had been dumped into an ocean of shit and was covered head to toe and then had poured rotten eggs on top of herself and then combined that with a mountain of other food and hadn't bothered to ever bathe in her life. It took all her effort not to collapse there and then as her eyes watered and transformed into a bright red complexion were they burned with the power of a thousand suns raining down on her. Desperately hoping to escape the sharp sword-like black teeth of the Archdemon, Valeyna reluctantly crunched her feet against the snow and turned once more to face the oncoming Darkspawn alongside blistery chills of the mountain air.

"Enough" Deep was the tone that resounded over the frosted former base of the Inquisition, deep and mighty, like that of a god commanding his worthless subjects in a booming tone that demanded not only respect but complete and utter obedience. With a casual gesture of his hands now cackling and glowing with twisting and winding turns of red light similar to that of Red Lyrium, the creature unleashed a mighty force of magic hurling forth all winds and snow and anything else that stood in it's way high into the air never to be seen again. Only Valeyna remained in place. Standing still, she removed her arms from her eyes covered by her hand, only to step back in shock when she witnessed the Darkspawn tall man standing not a few feet away from her with its face etched ever harsher then marble in unhidden fury.

"Pretender" The deep but still obedient enforcing tone began again. "You toy with forces beyond your kin. No more"

"What are you? Why are you doing this?" Petrified, Valeyna scanned the area behind the monster whilst also desperately listening for any sing or sound of movement. All that she could hear was the crackling of fire, the slow laboured breath of the Arch Demon and the methodical bored steps of the monster as it pressed towards her.

"Mortals beg for truth they cannot have. It is beyond what you are. What I was. Know me, know what you have pretended to be. Exalt the Elder One. The will that is Corypheus." Dread took over her form Valeyna felt as she stared at the evil that stood arrayed against her. She had hoped that what Nat had said all this time was a lie, a misstep in his thought process, some upstart Magister who wanted to conquer the world and was using the name and identity of one of the original Darkspawn.

No, it can't be. Her breath escaped not returning back as she stood there still as a stone unable to move as she felt her veins seemingly turn to ice beyond this creature of evil. Again pain struck once more like lightning forcing herself to lean heavily on her staff for support and to stay upright. Then a dark aura fell upon not only her she felt but also of the entire camp as the gnarled blighted finger of the Elder one extended outwards and pointed directly towards her chest to where he heart lay underneath.

"You will kneel"

"Fen'Harel ma halam" Valeyna spat.

"Your thoughts are irrelevant" Corypheus replied in a bored fashion slowly turning his attention to his other hand as it pulled out a perfect sphere decorated in swirling patterns that now danced cruelly like everything else Corypheus touched, in the colours of blighted Lyrium. "I am here for the anchor. The process of removing it begins now.

Corypheus swiftly lurched forward his hand blazing red towards in the direction of the Herald. On his mighty and fury, the mark of the Breach gifted to the Herald upon her ascension to the Fade reacted. Brighter it glowed then any magic she had seen before, coursing harshly through her body as every ounce of her remaining magic began to drain entirely outwards freely like a tidal wave brushing against flimsy wooden houses. Grunting in pain her voice already so hoarse, Valeyna desperately clung to her other hand and yanked back entering a brutal game of tug of war with the ancient magister as she fought to keep the mark under her control.

"It is your fault, Herald. You interrupted a ritual years in planning, and instead of dying, you stole its purpose." With another surge of his hand, Corypheus dragged the Heralds hand from her grip upwards pulling her across the ground no matter how hard she shoved her feet through the snow and into the dirt. With another grunt, of pain as her hand lit up like the sun, Valeyna called up what strength she still had in her body pulling it forward and with a great heave shoved backwards.

It accomplished nothing.

"I yet do not know how you survived, but what marks you was touched, what you flail at rifts, I crafted it to assault the very heaven" Snapping it's claw-like hand back irritated like how a master would slap his incompetent apprentice, the magic connection between the mark and the sphere of red light was cut off in a resounding blast of energy that collapsed Valeyna to the floor with a shaky breath and a continuously deteriorating vision. Yet through her ever worsening and cloudy mind, she could hear the constant thud of the dragon's feet as it circled around her, it's mouth was bared revealing to her the sharp looking weapons it would rip her to shreds with before screeching towards her seemingly taking delight as it watched her struggle on the ground like a cat that had caught a mouse.

"And you use the anchor to undo my work. The gall" Corypheus glowered at the pathetic little elf collapsed on its knees in front of him with its head in its lap. The elf thought it could fight him, to use his magic and plan against him, he would make the woman suffer for her crimes.

"What is this thing meant to do?" Raising her head, Valeyna acted on autopilot as best as she could. Everything hurt, her arms, her legs, her torso, her head and most importantly the mark. It was if the Magister was branding her hand whilst simultaneously shoving it into the coldest blizzards alongside holding it steady for a powerful storm to strike again and again and again.

"It is meant to bring certainty where there is none" Corypheus answered the useless elf honestly."For you the certainty is that I would always come for it" Corypheus snarled outraged at the mere elf girl on the floor in front of him, his eyes blazed red and his once cordial yet sadistic tone of voice changed to reflect that of what he was experiencing. Without any sort of notice, the next thing Valeyna felt was the clawed fingers of the magister wrapping around the hand that held the mark in a vice-like grip as the nails began to slice into her dirt covered skin and. Followed in her delirious mind was the sensation of something warm, wet and sticky that began to run down her arms and into the inner part of her clothes.

"I once breached the Fade in the name of another to serve the old gods of the Empire in person. I found only chaos and corruption. Dead whispers " Menacingly, Corypheus pulled up the elf he held tightly in his grasp until his cold black eyes looked into those pure a purer light. Squirming and kicking, Valeyna did her best to get away from the tall powerful creature only to no avail, instead what she did receive was for the claws of Corpheus's hand to squeeze in ever tighter into her pale flesh-slicing even more skin as he did so. Soon Valeyna could feel her entire arm and most of her hand drenched in her own blood all the while she felt her strength ever drain away from her. "For a thousand years I was confused. No more. I have gathered the will to return under no name but my own. To champion withered Tevinter and correct this blighted world. " Corypheus announced darkly. "Beg that I succeed, for I have seen the throne of the gods and it was empty"

Before Valeyna even had a chance to truly understand what had just occurred, she was sent colliding in the air with but a simple throw of the Darkspawn tainted arm. With a powerful crash, Valeyna felt her back scream in pain soon followed by her head as she smashed down below into the old defensive barriers and into the other trebuchet. Groaning and spitting, she attempted to stand back up, to fight the pain that threatened to overwhelm her entirely and to try and take another breath of sooty mountain air as the sounds of yelling Templar's became forefront in her mind once again.

"The anchor is permanent, you have spoilt it with your stumbling" Corypheus informed Valeyna as his black tainted form crunched in the snow and on dead bodies that littered the ground uncaring as ribs snapped under his weight or when his pet dragon lunged at another corpse and with a great heave launched it into the sky before falling back down into its mouth.

With a wheezing bloody cough, Valeyna once again pulled herself up this time on even shakier feet and grabbed an abandoned sword off the ground a foot away from her. She leant against the catapult, the sword held loosely in her hand as she directed it at the Darkspawn. One last attack she figured, if she was going to go down then she would do so fighting.

"So be it," Corypheus said. "I will begin again. I will find another way to give this world a nation and god it requires." Within her blurry vision, Valeyna briefly scanned the surroundings past Corypheus to where the rest of the Inquisition should have remained searching for any trace that they had made it out alive and had not been decimated by the Templar's larger armies. Nothing happened, the sky was still dark filled with the glimmering lights of stars above untroubled by what happened here in the world perfectly safe from anything that even this man could bring. She breathed out and turned towards the trebuchet with a grimace. So this was where she was going to die, just one more corpse pinned to the side of a trebuchet. In an instant, Valeyna'seyes widened slightly in shock and a sense of hope bloomed in her chest as she noticed what the Darkspawn had not. "And you" Corypheus continued not aware in the slightest as a glow of orange raced up from the sky behind Haven. "I will not suffer not even an unknowing rival. You must die."

Pushing herself forward with a grim but knowing smile, Valeyna brought herself closer to the Darkspawn ready to strike it. "Your arrogance blinds you," She said with a smile. "Good to know. If I'm dying, it's not today" Lunging to her side, Valeyna smacked her leg against the level for the trebuchet kicking it forwards and launched the loaded projectile towards the mountaintop where with a booming sound of thunder, it struck upon a fresh batch of snow hurtling down an avalanche at least a hundred times bigger than every other avalanche down the grey mountainside towards the very village of Haven itself.

Ignoring the burning stinging and every other feeling that wracked her body and threatened to kill her, Valeyna followed only her adrenaline as it led her sprinting away from the scene of the crime before Corypheus had even worked out what had occurred. Blasting past what remained of the outer palisades, she leapt as the snow prepared to strike her and fell through a narrow pit and crashed loudly.

Everything went black.

Later

Abandoned mine

There she lay in complete blackness, not a single thought crossed her mind as blood polled from her sliced wrist and damaged head. Cold her body had become, so cold in fact that had anyone been around to place a hand upon their skin they would have believed that she would have been lost. At the same time, they may have missed her heartbeat it was so slow as she lay there motionless waiting for death to finally consume her body and drag her to the side of the creators or at least that was what the Dalsih believed.

Death despite how hard it tried never came instead what did was the abolishing pain of the mark as it cackled green in the blackness illuminating the area with its light. This magic unfortunately for the elf who had she been awake would have wanted to do nothing more than cuddle up and grab some sleep was forced out of her rest and back into the realm of the awake.

Pale injured light blue eyes awoke to the dimly fade lit background around her. Panic struck her as no voice came out of her body. She tried to groan in pain however no noise came out, only an increase in excruciating agony as her chest clenched harshly around her heart threatening to pulverise it into small pieces. She tried again to make a noise but stopped the moment she felt the pain again.

Where was she was her first concern as she looked around herself? The area she was in appeared to be some sort of underground mine, the walls were made of stone rather than walls and they had been shaped more in the design of a general passageway with large chunks of stone jumping out this way and that way. There was no order to it, but she knew she would be able to navigate her way through the tunnels, which was good considering that she only saw one way out of this place.

Then the cold struck her.

Teeth chattering, her attention was caught by the state of her clothing and had she been able to, she would have groaned. Her dark green coat had been torn to tatters, in most parts it was peeling in places or had outright big holes in them. Her front area was the worst affected area, the sheer amount of damage that Corypheus had dealt to her with his magic, had nearly eviscerated it. It barely covered the front part of her body and she would very likely die in anything colder. Her echoes and trousers were also in terrible condition, however, both had holes in them and would need replacing the first time she could meet with a quartermaster. Perhaps something better suited for this warmer weather, or better yet something that wouldn't fall apart at first contact with a thousand-year-old Magister who now wanted to destroy the world as she knew it.

Despite everything, however, there was one thing that she was incredibly thankful to her gods for. By some lucky chance even though her body ached all over and needed to see a healer, she knew that her body was intact. Her previously broken arm while aching, could be used. She did not suffer from any new potentially death incurring injuries like a broken leg, she could only imagine how painful her death would have been if she had. Trapped in a mineshaft for days on end as she bled out or died from infection, perhaps she might have had a classier death like engulfing herself alive in flames to end the torture of living in such a manner. Luckily she did not and when she finally returned to the rest of the Inquisition, she would make an offering to Mythal to thank her for her protection in these trying times. So with her body aching like shit and desperately asking her to lay down in die in protest, Valeyna slowly began to pull herself up to her feet and travel through the dark tunnels.

How long had it been she wondered. These tunnels she walked through seemed to stretch on and on and on carving through the mountains that Haven had resided next to. So far, the only company she had to accompany her was the whistling the sounds of a menacing wind blowing around her becoming more and more ominous as she approached the direction that she believed the exit was in. The walls that surrounded her did not provide any warmth either, most of the time she was forced to contort her body in strange shapes to get past the large presence of icicles.

Occasionally as she ventured forth, she would come across a boarded section of the mine covered in old long since rotted wood which if she had her usual strength back, she could very easily punch her way through without a single problem. At other times, she was nearly struck in the mines for the rest of her life as she barely managed to present herself from tripping up over the surprising amount of loose stones that had been left in this mind entrance, or at worse times when she nearly slipped up over black ice. No matter what happened, she had wished that she still had her staff with her although where it was she had no idea, most likely it was buried under feet of snow. All the same, she gritted her teeth and used the small amount of light that her mark gifted her to navigate the cold stretching tunnels until finally, she found it.

There in the distance, she could see some light. It wasn't much, and certainly not the amount of light that she would have expected if it was currently daytime, but rather she recognised it as the light given from a full moon glimmering onto the ground enabling those who lived above ground to find their way. Despite the rather audible chattering of her teeth, she gave a small sigh of relief at the thought that she was not going to die trapped in some Gods forsaken hole in the floor. Acting on the small bit of hope and desire to survive her current situation, Valeyna pulled herself up the rest of the mine shaft until she happened upon a large chamber about fifty feet from the way out.

Only long experience in fighting humans and avoiding the many attacks of human archers kept her alive as she narrowly shifted her body to the side dodging the green spell that then crashed against the wall beside her. From there, panic took her. Calling upon the forces of magic that she would have at disposal, Valeyna once again narrowly avoided another spell although not before tearing something in her stomach. With a hiss of pain, she felt her concentration on the fire spell vanish in its entirety as no magic budged bringing forth again a petrifying reality for her as a mage. She was entirely out of magic and there was nothing else she could do to fight.

Another spell was launched from her blind side. Not seeing the spell until too late, Valeyna went ashen white ready to meet her fate only as she did so, her left leg still aching from being broken stepped on a piece of black unseen ice and sent her tumbling onto the floor on her back. Not content with seeing they prey alive, the small group of demons numbering about five strong in total redirected their attention onto the downed elf ready to give the final strike to take her life from the physical world with glee. Drawing upon their power, they readied their spells.

"No" As Valeyna cried extending her hand with the mark on it towards them in a sudden thrust also as to stop them, the mark shone brightly in the dark tunnel lighting everything in their nearby vicinity like a second sun. In the centre of the chamber a ball of pure magical energy in the shape of none other than a rift broke through discharging streams of twisting ragged light like an electrical storm. Striking harshly against the demons with enough energy to kill Darkspawn ogres if not a pride demon itself, the small-scale demons had no warning before in an instant they were eviscerated entirely not even leaving any sort of ash or goo pile.

Panting in relief, Valeyna's eyes switched continuously from the still glowing but rapidly evaporating ball of fade energy and to her palm in wonder. She didn't how she had just summoned up a ball of fade energy, but she was grateful to the thing nonetheless.

Ruthless blizzard style winds emanating from the exit of the mine shaft, however, pushed out any thoughts in questioning what had just happened. Rather for what seemed to be the infinite time today, she once again managed to get to her feet and pressed forwards towards the exit with her sole goal off being to escape the vicinity of Haven before Corypheus showed up and attacked her again.

The moment she stepped outside, Valeyna had very much desired that she hadn't. Inside the cave, she had felt like she would be frozen to death as the frost and cold crawled up her skin like a spider would up its web. Now she felt as if somebody had thrown her out into the ocean.

Chilly blistering snow ice and hail bashed against her in every direction, arms face, legs all of them felt as if somebody had thrown her into a place where the sun had never shone or that some powerful old demon had encased her in ice to be used as some kind of statue as a demonstration to other mages of what they could do to unwitting mages. Her entire body went numb while her teeth chattered audibly against one another whilst wind howled in her ear sounding more threatening then any sound a pack of wolves could make as they searched for their prey.

Despite their desire to fall asleep where she stood here and there, she resisted the urge. She remembered the times when young children in her clan would fall asleep out in the winter cold claiming that they were cold and all they needed to do was sleep. It was a trap by the kind, calling and calling out for the body to stop all of its functions and to lay down and die. Even so, it was an intoxicating feeling to resist and had she been able to think coherently instead of cursing poorly ion the aspect of staying warm as she trudged up the black and white mountain whilst gripping her body together as tightly as possible, then she would have compared it to a Templar going through Lyrium withdrawal. It was a truly horrible feeling and that only made it worse, was the constant sense of hope and disappointment she felt as she continued advancing.

Her first sense of false hope, was when she saw a small glow of orange that resounded in the distance. Desperate for any kind of warmth whatsoever, she had rushed towards it as best as she could and ignored the snow that now hugged up all the way to her waist. In her mind she had hoped that it would have been a campfire that the Inquisition would have set up, instead it was an old wagon that had been tipped onto one side mostly covered in snow while the small remnants of a flame consumed it as best as it could in its resistance against the ever-present tyrannical cold. Her next mistake was when she had believed to see another person and when she had approached hoping to have some sort of rescue, she was then met with the hard fact that it was instead a simple thin piece of rock jutting up that when viewed from a distance had the appearance of a person. Thing's only got worse when as she advanced upwards, imaginary howls that she had believed to be have been turned out to be actual howls in the distance. She gulped a frozen breath as she still stumbled through the fortress of snow pushing back against her, but ultimately much to both her pleasure and fear she saw no glowing red eyes in the movement that tracked her every move. Instead, the wolves wherever they were, stayed away from her never once even entering the peroh[ary of her vision.

After some time, Valeyna began to notice that the snow was getting thinner as she ascended upwards up the mountain. No longer did the snow come up to her waist but rather only up to halfway up her boots. Eventually, as she continued to move up the mountain, she saw something a few metres away from her nestled beside a snow-drenched rock that stuck out of the white ground in an odd but inviting way.

It was a camp she realised with joy, rushing towards it, she felt only more joy bloom like an excited puppy as she noticed that the embers were still warm. Whoever had been here had only recently left perhaps they were even close enough for her to catch up to. Despite her brief set of renewed energy made by the presence of the campfire, Valeyna felt herself once more slipping off the mortal world to go travel somewhere else, only this time she knew that she would never come back from this trip and would instead be relegated to wherever she fell for all eternity, nothing more than another corpse alongside the road.

She tried desperately to fight off the encroaching darkness, the echo of howling wolves and ripping winds. She focused on more positive things, things that made her feel slightly warm or happy, anything that would work to take the pain away was what she needed. Her mind flashed back to home, the warm fire she and the rest of her clan would gather around during winter nights, the stories of her people that would be told and the joyful laughter and mesmerised expressions that the children in the group would make at times. Even now she swore she could feel the taste of the meat that one of their hunters had pursued, the way it tasted and the juiciness and relaxed feeling after a long hard day of studying under the keeper. With a slight snow frozen smile that ached her lips as she tried to pull them together, she remembered all the times that she and her friend had shared together and all the times they had experimented.

Tears began to pour down her face, small warm tears that in the cool harshness of the blizzard soon turned to ice and threatened to jam shut her eyelids together. She didn't want to die, it was scary, terrifying the feeling of blackness smothering you. It was like the stories that her clan told of Fen Harel, the Dread Wolf would trick you into to something you wanted doing only for him to extract a price that was worth far greater than any reward. That was what she was falling now, Fen Harel or more specifically death was clawing at her, whispering sweet nothing's in her ear as it tried to relax her and do what it desired.

So badly did she want to follow it's advice, her body was nothing but pure gruelling agony. Already she had fallen to her knees in the snow and she could feel her body tilting forwards as al strength left her at that moment. Soon she would face plant into the snow and either die from the cold or drown in the heavens white gift of frozen falling water.

She didn't want to die.

Anger started to rise up in her, where were the others? Cullen, Solas, Cassandra where were they and why hadn't they come looking for her. Did they not care? She remembered that Cullen had only referred to her as the person who had the mark, the person they needed alive to close the Breach. With that job done had they abandoned her now that they had accomplished their objective, was this how she was going to die? Abandoned by people she had thought were friends as they ran away while she had sacrificed her life to save them. What about Bull she felt her heart tighten painfully and confused, the man was drunk yes but why hadn't he looked? He was a Tal Vashoth and a powerful man who could brave anything yet he wasn't here instead of leaving her to die?. Her rage jolted her body briefly warming her before it was pushed aside by the cold.

Then there were the others, why had they abandoned her. Did Solas detest her for being Dalish?, had Vivienne abandoned her for saving the mages?, Did Dorian detest her for killing his former tutor?, Did Sera not like her for being an elf? Did Varric not like her because- she couldn't think of a reason, what about Blackwall and Cassandra? Did Blackwall think that her death was better as it would help hide his secret better? and did Cassandra still hold doubts against her for being a Mage? Leliana she assumed probably only saw her as an asset like Cullen and Josephine she guessed was too scared to search for her in this blizzard.

That left only one person left and unlike the others, she only felt guilt. She knew where Nat was, she had sent him to Orzammar to negotiate a trade deal. At the time she had thought that it would be good for him, despite his skill and ability to kill opponents he was still a child. She didn't want to see him hurt or worse killed. He was the last of his people and she had connected to him on that level, she was Dalish, one of the last few elves who held onto their culture despite what everyone else had tried to do. Subconsciously she had never wanted to throw him into harm's way more than was needed as she had desired to protect his people's culture but more importantly him.

A grim smile graced her lips. He had always been there, giving her advice warning her on matters and always prepared to fight anyone who got in their way. She shook her head at the thought of sending him away, it was selfish of her to do so. Nat had wanted to do nothing more than assist her and the rest of the Inquisition in fighting Corypheus but she had always pushed him away relegating him to smaller non-essential matter as she was too afraid that he would get hurt. However thinking back to what had happened at Redcliffe and what had just happened here, she couldn't help but think that his presence could have prevented such calamities.

How many times had he warned them to leave Haven and find a safer location to set up as their main base of operations yet they had never really listened. Sure Cullen had eventually relented and sent a few scouts to investigate the area resulting in the discovery of this supposedly secret trail, but other than that nothing else had happened and now the deaths of hundreds of civilians mages and soldiers of the Inquisition now littered the ground in front of Haven buried under a heap of snow and unlikely to ever be returned to their families.

Yet through all this, she worried most about his safety. If what Solas had said in the future was true, then Nat was gone, nobody knew what had happened to him and nobody knew where he was now. Did he make it to the Dwarven capital? Or did he get attacked on the way or did something else happen? Her heart fluttered in guilt and panic.

Despite her concern for her friend, She felt her heart start to fracture as her thoughts turned to a more selfish matter. Had Nat been here then he never would have abandoned her to save his own skin. Nat unlike Cullen and the others would have forced his way through the fiery barrier of the Archdemon and fought Corypheus himself to give her time. Wherever it had been the blizzard, the avalanche an ancient Tevinter God or an ancient Tevinter would be modern god, then he would have stood by her side and fought to his last breath. And afterwards, he would have searched everywhere for her she knew. Nat would never stop looking for her until he found her and then did everything in his power to protect her.

She seriously wished she hadn't sent him away to Orzammar, she wished she had kept him with her. She wished she didn't have to die.

Her vision turned entirely to black and with a thump, she fell face first into the snow.

There it's her"

"Thank the Maker"

Camp

Waking up slowly, Valeyna shuddered once more as her eyes fluttered painfully. After a few seconds, she noticed that her vision as not cloudily as it once was nor did she ache all over as much as she did. Staring upwards, she wondered in confusion what the strange brown thin towering above her was, After a few seconds she recognised it, as none other than a tent. With a loud gasp, she sat up quickly her head pulling forwards to take in the sight in front of her.

It was a camp, or at least a makeshift one. Tents had been scattered around the warm glowing fire in the centre that was surrounded by many other people all trying their best to stay as close as they could to the fire in hopes of keeping warm and surviving the freezing temperatures. Soon afterwards, her hearing returned to her enabling the Herald of Andraste to listen in to the raised voice of Cullen and the others as they stood around the campfire arguing amongst themselves as loudly as they possibly could.

"What would you have me tell them? This isn't what we asked them to do" Cullen yelled furiously.

"We cannot simply ignore this, we must find a way" Cassandra replied in the same tone.

"And who put you in charge" Cullen demanded fiercely "We need a consensus or we have nothing"

"Please we must use reason" Interrupting the debate, Josephine pleaded as best she could with the rest of the group hoping for a quieter debate that would not send the other members of the Inquisition into a blind panic. "Without the infrastructure of the Inquisition, we're harboured"

"I can't come from nowhere"

"She didn't say could" Leliana reprimanded the handsome former Templar. Out of the four currently arguing, Valeyna would have stated that it was her who was the calmest of the group. Cassandra was pacing back and forth her face scrunched up as she thought of a possible solution to the problem that they currently face. Cullen was swaying slightly to the left and right his hand gripping his sword incredibly tightly, ready to pull it back and attack any possible attackers. Josephine for her part was making exaggerated movements with her hands completely forgetting all the training she had received as a child to ensure that others could not read her emotions and take advantage of them. All of them seemed quite panicked and pondering on what they had to do.

In contrast, if one was to gaze upon the red-haired Spymaster of the Inquisition, they would have only seen the woman stand tall with her hands crossed at the bottom of her back. Occasionally, she would swap her gaze towards the person who was currently speaking and then briefly to the Herald giving a slight nod of her hair in acknowledgement before then returning back to the more crucial efforts.

"Enough" Cassandra yelled, her voice sliced through the growing tension and grabbing the attention of the others. "This is getting us nowhere" Shaking her head slightly, Valeyna turned her head to the left slightly towards the brief flicker of movement she had seen. There she exchanged disappointed faces with Mother Giselle both of them understanding what this could mean for the very fate of the Inquisition.

"Shh," Giselle whispered. "You need rest"

"How long have they been at it? Hours?" Giselle smiled towards her warmly and made a note of the way the elf winced slightly as she clutched her side in pain.

"They have that luxury thanks to you. The enemy could not follow and with time to doubt, we turn to blame" Valeyna looked upon the other members of the inner council once more. All of them now had rage written across their faces as they walked in different directions fuming to themselves that they could not get that way and how they wanted to stay away from one another. Valeyna grimaced, if nobody prevented this, it could destroy the Inquisition far better than any old Magister and his pet Arch Demon. "Infighting may threaten as much as this Corypheus" Valeyna blinked how did the Chantry woman come across the name of their enemy. Perhaps it had been one of the soldiers proclaiming who they fought for, otherwise, she had no idea.

"Do we know where Corypheus and his forces are?" Giselle shook her head.

"We're not sure where we are. Which may be why, despite the numbers he still commands, there is no sign of him. That or you are believed dead. For without Haven we are thought helpless or he prepares for another attack. I cannot claim to know the mind of that creature only his effect on us" Valeyna sighed. She had hoped that her last ditch effort would have helped turn the tide in the battle. By dropping an avalanche on Haven itself where she had assumed soldiers were fighting, she had desired to wipe out a good chunk of Corypheus forces. On the other hand what she had seemed to buy the Inquisition was not the great devastating strike she had needed against the enemy, but rather only a small victory that had done nothing but bought them enough time to escape and get promptly lost in the mountains.

"If they're arguing over what to do next, I need to be there." Giselle shook her head.

" Another heated voice won't help, even yours, perhaps especially yours." Unable to help herself, Valeyna concentrated on Cullen. The man was rather obviously depressed, having sunk down to his knees so he was squatting before the fire, the man lowered his head until it was almost beside his knees. His face was scrunched up and his lips moved a quick pace as he gave off some prayer or another to the Maker. Unlike the usual tough former Templar man she had known, the man seemed entirely uncaring as his typically well-groomed hair was splattered in blotches of blood from when an enemies blood had burst from their body and covered the man. "Our leaders struggle because of what we survivors witnessed. We saw our defenders stand and fall. And now we have seen her return" Giselle explained. "The more the enemy is beyond us, the more miraculous your actions appear, and the more our trials seem ordained. That is hard to accept no? What we have been called to endure? What we perhaps must come to believe"

"I escaped the avalanche" Valeyna trembled as her voice cracked as she remembered what had occurred. "Barely perhaps, but I didn't die".

"Of course. And the dead cannot return from across the veil. But the people know what they saw, or perhaps saw what they needed to see. The Maker works both in the moment and in how it is remembered. Can we truly know the heavens are not with us?" Letting out another sigh, Valeyna allowed the woman to talk, whether it was what she was saying or just the sombre yet calming tone she spoke with, Valeyna felt the pressure and fear that was pressing down her shoulders seemingly threatening to crush her to the floor slowly dissipate. Not entirely, but she did feel better.

"You saw Corypheus, what do you think about his claims of assaulting the Heavens?"

"Scripture says Magister's, Tevinter servants of false old gods entered the Fade to reach the Golden City, the seat of the Maker. For their crime, they were cast out as Darkspawn. Their hubris is why we suffer Blight and why the Maker turned from us. If such is the claim of this Corypheus, he is a monster beyond imagining. All mankind continues to suffer for that sin. If even a shred of it is true, all the more reason Andraste would choose someone to rise against"

"Corypheus said he found only corruption and emptiness, nothing golden" With a soft rebuke, Valeyna scrunched up her eyes slightly as she tried to remember what the humans thought when it came to that old city. If it was supposed to be golden, the location where the Maker resided, then how did it have corruption already there when Corypheus entered?. What was worse, was that if he was correct, then the corruption which had affected him had to have been the Blight. That only raised more and disturbing questions about that horrible disease and ones she did not know if she truly desired answers for. Just thinking about those corrupt monsters sent a shiver down her spine.

"If he entered that place, it has changed him from without and within. The living are not meant to make that journey. Perhaps these are lies he tells himself, rather than accept the scorn of the Maker. I know I could not bear such" Mother Gisele spoke kindly as she looked at the poor elf woman who was seemingly feeling lost as she stayed where she was still reeling from the defeat that the Inquisition had just suffered from. It was a hard thing to accept defeat, even worse when the consequences of such a thing resulted in a large-scale loss of life and the near entire annihilation of what you had previously.

So many times had she seen it on man and woman, adult and child when they had been stricken by panic and fear. Most felt that there was no one to turn to, that nobody cared for them and others like the woman she could sense in front of her felt betrayal when there was none. Some attempted to carry on with their normal lives only to see that their work became worse gradually over time or they lost friends and family due to their anger. Others turned to alcohol in hopes that the brief temporary relief it granted a person could hide away their shame at being so poor as they fell deeper and deeper into debt and despair.

"Mother Gisele, I just don't see how what I believe matters. Lies or not Corypheus is a real physical threat, we can't match that with hope alone" Though she didn't shout, Valeyna felt her anger rise and promptly raised her voice to the woman. What did she know anyway, all she did was spout the same usual Chantry shit about this and that. Her words about that Corypheus had been tainted by the Maker didn't help in any way it just made her angrier.

What were they even supposed to do now? They had lost everything they once had. Haven their base of operations was now buried under several feet of snow, what supplies they did have likely wouldn't get them through the winter, in fact, she would bet that at best they would last a month with the number of people they had. Then there was the case of coin, she doubted that the nobles would be willing to support the Inquisition now that they had lost Haven and had nowhere to reside.

All their support would soon vanish, and those who had called out for her head on a spike for blasphemy were bound to get what they desired as some noble or another would attack her. She wondered how long it would be before her head decorated the plate of some rich Orlesian noble or even worse was forced to serve them as a servant or some kind, maybe she would even be shipped off to Tevinter. She grimaced at the thought, some personal Magister's sex slave is the best she could hope for in that land and most likely if Corypheus did indeed win the war and took mercy on her, she would be his slave.

Anger welled up in her as she thought about her family and clan. What was going to happen to them? She had only desired to do what was needed with her position as the one with the mark, nothing more nothing less. She still despised the very idea of leading the Inquisition as Nat had attempted to get her to do, yet all the same, she couldn't leave the Inquisition, not now at least. If Corypheus won, it would be the end of the Dalish, the death or enslavement of everyone she had ever known. Her mind flashed brutally back to that dark future where they had lost. All of her friends in the Inquisition were dead, enslaved or in Nat's case missing.

She could still predominantly remember that dead look that Leliana had in her eyes, icy and frozen, the expression of a monster with no remorse and only vengeance on her mind. Then there was the very woman beside her who had been tortured to death in multiple different fashions. She gave a sympathetic glance to Josephine as she remembered her fate and what awaited the pretty woman if the Inquisition lost. Was that what awaited her too if she lost, to be violated day after day in her humiliation as nothing but a toy for whoever desired her. Her temper flared at the thought.

Turning her head downwards, Valeyna thought back to what Nat had said before he had departed for Orzammar. He had warned them on multiple occasions that they could be attacked at Haven and how it was entirely indefensible. He had asked for the Inquisition to search for a more suitable base of operations and to split their assets up whilst they were at the small village. They may not have feared an army of mages as he had initially believed, but Haven fell all too quickly the same.

In fact, she was even surprised that they had made it out of the valley in the first place. Shuddering, she only wondered what might have occurred had she not spotted the torches glimmering over the mountainside. How far could the Templar's have gotten before they had any sort of warning? Undoubtedly, Corypheus had ensured to kill any scouts that the Inquisition had sent out to give an early warning.

As she then gazed over to the Bronto, large four-legged creatures with a dark grey complexion heavily built and had multiple sharp horns arising from all over its bodies that were now covered by a satchel for supplies, she realised that a lot more people would die wherever they were currently. Yet all the same guilt struck her.

A lot of people had died in that valley and she wasn't even thinking about the Templars. Even now she could see the screeching petrified faces of men women and children as they had fled for their lives from the blazing inferno that had been their camp. Elves' dwarves, humans, none of it mattered, they had all fallen to their knees their eye bloodshot as they gargled their last breaths as they rushed to escape the fire only to have their airways filled with smoke. Then there were those who had been slaughtered in the actual attack, cut down by sword and arrow or crushed underneath the mass of a mace as it crunched into a person's skull and scattered their brains all over the place.

There were going to be a lot of orphaned children she realised with a guilty conscience. Girls and boys would have to grow up without any kind of father or mother figure if not both at once. Their parents may have left the children somewhere safe like Denerim or their village telling them that they would be back and that they could spend time again. That day was never going to come, those children would wait anxiously at their small shack of a home waiting for mummy or daddy or perhaps their uncle, brother or sister to march straight through with their heads held high. Instead, the fields that most of them worked in and the shops that others had assisted in would go wither and die with eventually another person walking up to them and taking their belongings to pay for any debts and leaving. From there it was just the quick fall into poverty and death, nobody would care about the children of soldiers, nobody ever cared about orphans.

With a heavy sigh and heavy guilt-ridden heart, Valeyna pulled herself up off the frozen ground and took a few tentative steps out of the tent so that she could look around the camp that they were resting in. What she saw was what she felt, hopelessness. Leliana and Josephine had taken to resting nearby another bench. Both had their heads lowered and neither made so much as a peep as the fire in front of them occasionally popped. Cullen was in much the same way only he had started to pace up and down the path in an increasing tempo as his cheeks flared. Then there was Cassandra who unlike the others was attempting to focus on the task at hand as she narrowed her defeated gaze onto a map of some kind.

How were they going to recover from this disaster?, they had nothing, were abandoned in some gods-forsaken mountain and had an army led by an ancient Darkspawn Magister that wanted to kill them.

"Shadows fall, and hope has fled"

Out of nowhere, a sweet song started to fill the air. Curious as to what it was, Valeyna removed her head that had been leaning against the post of the tent that held the heavy sheets of cloth that made up a tent and focused on Mother Giselle.

"Steel your heart the dawn will come"

The night is long and the path is dark"

She was singing Valeyna realised in a slightly bewildered fashion. She didn't know what the words were, some religious song perhaps but one thing she did notice was that as her soothing voice danced through the air and touched the ears of those in the camp, all attention was brought to the woman.

"Look to the sky, for one day soon the dawn will come."

Raising her head gently so that she could see the mother singing, Leliana felt a warm tingling feeling in her chest relaxing her mind and filling her with a new sense of courage. Before she knew what had occurred, her song met that of the mothers.

"The shepherds lost, and his home is far"

"Keep to the stars, the dawn will come"

Out of nowhere, the two gentle and beautiful voices were met by another this time belonging to an average scout of the Inquisition. Valeyna flickered her eyebrows in shock as a seemingly unspoken command washed through the camp like a wave declaring to the people that they should also join in the art of singing. Within moments what had once been a long woman singing was now a graceful and melodious choir of people from all walks of life.

"The night is long and the path is dark."

Look to the sky for one day soon the dawn will come"

With blazing faces of nothing but resolution, resolve and reverence, those who had begun singing marched towards the Herald bowing their heads in respect as they did. Valeyna turned her head to Gisele giving her an uncomfortable look that was only exacerbated as the nodding and reverent looks turned to ones of pure worship. Down they fell, like dominoes one by one the men and women of the Inquisition fell down to their knees their heads bowed entirely and gave Valeyna a look that should only be given to a being of divine providence. In the distance, Solas eyes the Herald with a mix of emotions that flashed by in an instant. Disgust, impressed, Alarm, concern and slight amusement were all there and gone again faster than the Dalish elf could see.

"Bare your blade and raise it high".

"Stand your ground the dawn will come"

" The night is long and the path is dark"

"Look to the sky, For one day soon the dawn will come."

And with that, the song was over vanquishing the sour mood of those within their camps like a Templar might do with magic or how the rain would wash the blood away from a battle. With a proud look as she watched the followers of the Maker depart, Mother Giselle turned back to the Herald and spoke softly

"An army needs more than an enemy, it needs a cause". Leaving those words for the Herald of Andraste to think on, Mother Gisele slowly crossed the snowy terrain to join and look after those lying in other tents still injured from the battle. Taking this newly opened opportunity, Solas danced around the back of the people dodging guy-lines, weapons and even having to prevent one of the Bronto's from snatching his staff up until he made it to the Elf and spoke quickly.

"A word" Nodding, Valeyna joined the mysterious elf as he led her away from the main part of the camp and instead to one of the outskirts that looked over the main snow-topped mountains and valleys that dotted the area that they were located in. It was a beautiful sight, just like Haven had been beautiful before they had been attacked. Before Solas spoke, however, he gave a casual gesture to an unlit torch that had been placed into the ground for both navigation and warmth. Pale Blue fire burst forth at his command and illuminated the area better whilst also providing the two elves with some much-needed light.

"A wise woman" Solas began. "Worth heeding. Her kind understands the moments that can unify a cause... or fracture it." With a gesture, Solas brought the attention of the Herald back to the camp. Loud cheers had started erupting again and the once quiet people had also begun talking to one another about whatever topics please them. "The orb Corypheus carried, the power he used against you, it is elven. Corypheus used the orb to open the breach, unlocking it must have caused the explosion that destroyed the Conclave. I do not yet know how Corypheus survived, nor am I sure how people will react when they learn of the orbs origin"

Snapping her head back to the elf man, Valeyna inspected the man as he spoke. For some odd reason, Solas the typically calm and collected man unless he was being snarky sounded angry, furious even. She understood why he felt that way, if that bastard was using the power of her people against her, then she also wanted revenge.

"All right, what is it? And how do you know about it?"

"They were Foci" Solas explained quickly with the small wistful tone he used when he talked about the days of Arlathan "Used to channel ancient magic's. I have seen such things in the Fade, old memories of older magic. Corypheus may think it Tevinter, his empire's magic was built on the bones of my people." There she caught it. It was only for the briefest of moments, however, Solas's entire face had turned into a furious scowl at the last bit. Honestly, it actually brought a little warmth to her heart to know that Solas actually cared about her people, normally he might insult them or call them outdated, yet this time there was seemingly genuine anger at having Human mages desecrate their people. "Knowing or not, he risks our alliance. I cannot allow it"

"This whole mess is confusing, I can see how elves might be an easy target," Valeyna remarked with a grim expression.

"History would agree, but there are steps that we can take to prevent such a distraction," Solas said. Valeyna looked at the man confused, what in the names of the Creators was he talking about. Solas gave a light smile before carrying on. "By attacking the Inquisition, Corypheus has changed it, changed you." He explained with an odd sense of longing and familiarity in his voice. Scout to the north, be their guide. There is a place that waits for a force to hold it. There is a place where the Inquisition can build grow".

"What will we find there?"

One Month Later

"Skyhold" Solas stated with a smug grin as he took in the shocked and awestruck look of the Dalish woman beside him.


	17. Chapter 17 A Quite Expected Journey

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 17 A Quite Expected Journey**

Frostback Mountains

"Wait you're telling me that you had everything you ever wanted in the tower?" Gerald asked the young mage incredulously. The three of them were still on their horses as they trotted along to Orzammar, so far the only people they had encountered were refugees fleeing to the Capital. Aside from that, however, it was just him his commander and the pretty elf mage that rode alongside with them.

"Yes," Elyria sighed. "Though Ostwick was far from feeling safe, it was still better than a lot of other circles. We had a lot more freedom."

"What was it like?" Gerald looked over to the mage who was riding on the right of the commander while he rode on the left. Elyria shook her head in a tiresome set of boredom, ever since they had left for Orzammar, all the boy would do was ask question after question about her life. At first, it had been one or two and on the topic of magic when he asked her doubtfully if she had known what she as doing, since then it had become a full interrogation of her life.

"Fine, I guess. She stated plainly. "I woke up, had breakfast and then I would attend lessons or help out the other mages when I had free time, I would speak with my friends. We'd have lunch in the middle of the day, and then it would be back to lessons or whatever we were doing before until night came and we had dinner. After that it was mostly free time until we went to bed" Gerald granted her a jealous expression before gently tapping the side of the horse feeling up its fur and mane before giving a slight smile at the sensation.

"I can't believe you had it that good, I wish I had a life like that" Gerald gave a wistful look at the thought of living in a mage tower. It could only have been brilliant in his mind, a safe place to live day after day without ever having to wonder if you would be sleeping in the freezing cold, nice fresh clothing to wear in your everyday life, the ability to read, he could read, but only because his mother had been a servant and didn't want him to suffer.

"Good" Elyria spat back offended. "It was hardly good as you so claim. We were watched all the time. Rarely were we given a minute of peace to ourselves and when we did have them, there were always suspicious looks like we were planning on killing someone"

"Well, I can't exactly blame them" Nat broke the conversation with a light chuckle. Confused Elyria and Gerald stared back at him the former slightly agape, rolling his eyes behind his glasses, he gestured towards Elyria informing her that she had left her mouth open. Elyria quickly closed her mouth although she still stared. "Oh don't look at me as if I'm some kind of monster. Had I been dragged away from my sister and father to some giant tower where assholes say I can't leave because I was born with magic, then I would most definitely be planning an escape and failing that, a complete massacre."

"You would kill the Templars, but they protect people against magic," Gerald said in slight horror. Elyria grinned menacingly at him.

"Propaganda" Nat retorted swiftly "The Chantry spreads that lie so it makes it seem that their this nice group of people who look after ordinary folk and get people to trust them. In truth, the Chantry does nothing but oppress the mages by flinging them into towers, cutting off any mages that may be too powerful or weak from their emotions and effectively turn them into mindless zombie slaves who are to work forever until they die of old age."

"But, they do protect the mages, don't they? I mean Elyria just said that she had regular meals and clothing whenever she wanted. Most people I know couldn't afford that even if they had really wanted to." Gerald tried to remark calmly and state his case, however, he was unable to prevent the slight anger that rose in his tone alongside a mix of jealousy. It was a fair enough case In Nat's opinion. For all that he disagreed with treating mages differently from others because of the mages, he would not deny that for the average mage not in an overtly strict Tower and not one in an overly loose tower, the lives of mages were better than that of the average peasant.

Mages never had to worry about the oncoming winter and if they were even going to survive to see the next year. They also needn't have to worry and work themselves day after day in the fields harvesting wheat or any other type of food, injuries were also not as a concern as he was willing to guess that there were bound to be a few mages in each circle who could use healing magic to a decent degree. Then there was the matter of taxes, mages didn't pay them, in fact, had he been at home, they would likely have been getting benefits from the government. Also as Gerald had said they got free clothing made to fit and would be replaced without cost alongside their own staffs added to a massive library that they were given access to. Also, it wasn't as if mages were entirely restricted from leaving the tower either, it was certainly heavily restricted and only given to certain mages, but they still could see the world in some events with the most recent one being Wynne.

So for a peasant, such exceptions were likely to be seen as a very generous offer for mages so long as they kept out of the rest of the world if not too generous. There would be a great many peasants who would adore such a life if all they had to deal with was a few men with heavy suits of armour on who watched your every movement and prevented you from going to other places. Hell, they'd be a number of people back home who would desire such a deal.

"They only gave us those things so we wouldn't try to revolt before we did. Otherwise, they were more than happy to abuse us" Elyria rose her voice. Looking over to her, Nat saw that she was clearly upset by the topic being discussed, he guessed she was still remembering the fun times she had with her friends before the rebellion had taken hold and her friend had been killed by Templars.

" I thought you said you loved in a good Tower?" Gerald spoke with a slight amount of caution. He had long since learned to recognise the early traits of when a person got angry, their voice began to raise and their face might get slightly red as bad thoughts or memories were brought up. One of the best things to do when that happened wad to try and calm the conversation and if not possible run away. All of that was just with mostly angry humans and a few cutthroat elves, Maker knows what an angry mage girl could do. What he did not expect, however, was for the mage girl to lower her head in defeat and her voice to soften.

"It used to be, the Templar's may never exactly liked us. Still, there wasn't that much trouble around, typically we left each other alone as best we could."

"Used to be, what happened?" Gerald asked curiously.

"Anders" Nat replied quickly. "When he attacked the Chantry in Kirkwall and blew it up, forcing the mages to rebel, it sent a message to the other Circles." Valeyna nodded once again before squeezing the reins in her hands tightly while her face went extremely downcast.

"At first the Templars said nothing, things carried on as normal but quickly everything changed. The patrols became longer, small offences that were looked over began to be punished and then there were more Templars who patrolled. Our First Enchanter tried to tell the Templars that Ostwick would not do the same, that we wouldn't attack the Templars, but it was of no use. After a few weeks, our entire Circle had changed; the Templars were now our jailers instead of our protectors. Those who fought back were taken away or hit, I wasn't allowed to send my letters to my family anymore, instead, I was accused of trying to affect the politics of Ostwick and was told that if I continued then I would be punished."

Elyria's face went red almost as if she was surprised. Taken back by the sudden downpour of emotions that was happening, Gerald could only blink as Nat moved his horse closer to the girl and gently lay a hand on top of her shoulder. As he did so, Nat gave Elyria a small warm smile hoping that at the very least it would stop her from crying, the last thing he wanted was to arrive at the gates of the homes of the dwarves was a crying girl with her cheeks flushed.

"Elyria it's okay. The Circles are gone and you're with the Inquisition, so long as you stay part of it, the Templar's can't hurt you" Nat said soothingly as he gave her a slight warm smile. For the most part, Nat kept his eyes locked firmly onto the mountains in front of them. Towering above the rest of the earth as they pierced into the heavens below, Nat would admit the mountains were an impressive sight. On the other hand, they weren't anything special. In his short life, he had visited quite a few countries, nearly all of them had been for his duelling career, but in his free time, he had always pushed time aside to stare at the natural beauty of the nations. Ferelden was no different, in his free time when he was alone, he would wonder the local area of Haven and snap a few photos with his camera. The camera in question wasn't anything special in fact he didn't even know what brand it was but all the same, he used it to take photos in his free time. Hopefully, if he ever got back he could show his average holiday photos to his sister Kate, who just happened to be a professional photographer.

"Yes, sorry" Nat rolled his eyes at the grateful apology but all the same commanded his horse to keep going forward.

"Don't be, just make sure that you're prepared for when we get into Orzammar" Elryia blinked concerned as she heard that.

"You think there's going to be trouble?" Gerald asked quickly beating Elryia to the punch. Following his commanders gaze forward up the mountain path that they were on, Gerald noticed that the forest to their left had started to part enabling him to see the bottoms of the mountains rather than just the top.

"There's trouble with the nobility, that's bound to cause an increase in tensions between the nobles. If you combine that with what's on the surface, then there is a good chance that we could face a few enemies in there." At the word of enemies, Gerald subconsciously moved his hand to the sword at his side and lightly stroked the handle of the blade before giving a scanning look of the area. With so many trees around there was always the possibility of arrows flying in the air at any time or they could instead have spearmen charge out in a blind charge hoping to panic the horses.

"Like the Templars?" Elyria's back shivered at the idea of being near Templars close again but at the same time, she gave an almost bloodthirsty smile as the idea of being able to get revenge on those bastards who had killed her friends and had tried to kill her if not do something worse.

"Indeed, but there is always the possibility of the Venatori, the Carta, Antivan Crows, Dwarves, Orlesian's, Fereldens, the fact of the matter, is to be prepared for anything you may come across" Of course the one thing that Nat didn't say was Darkspawn, with how close they were to the mountains, there was always the possibility of finding some old or new entrance that the bloody creatures could pour through and start contaminating the world. His reasons for not stating such an opponent was mostly to keep Elryia and Gerald calm and on topic and not frighten them so much. Templars, Dwarves and Antivan Crows were easy to visualise, pale faces for the most part, and would swing around some sword or lose some arrows at them, Darkspawn, however, were corrupt maleficent beings that despite his own calm outward attitude did send Nat into a more cautious outlook than usual.

He first remembered when he had encountered the blight in those crystals of Red Lyrium, it had set his skin on edge and his magic screaming as it never had before. That corrupted form of Lyrium was pure evil and not the type of evil when people described villains such as Hitler and Stalin evil, those two men were assholes who if given a chance and set in the right year he wouldn't mind torturing for fun until they begged for death, but rather Darkspawn were evil in the pure black magic way, worse than even what he assumed Dementors would even feel like. It was hard to describe something that revolting, but the best analogy he could give would be like being strapped to a chair and forced to listen to Justin Beiber on repeat 24-7. Only you never got used to it, every time was like the first time and your mind would spasm as it tried desperately to escape the hell that had been thrust upon it.

That had only been his brief encounter Red Lryrium, encountering actual Darkspawn had been worse, far worse. A nightmare was one way to describe it, like some monster you read in a book but you never could understand the fear and trepidation that came with it until you encountered them for the first time and the horror was stuck in your mind. As ruthless and cold-hearted son of a bitch he was, he would not subjugate Elryia and Gerald to encountering that filth.

"If we do encounter Templars in Orzammar commander, what are we supposed to do?" Nat was grateful Gerald had asked that question, he was planning on telling them anyway but it was still good to know that they could make conscious decisions and wouldn't constantly keep to a doctrine he might set. He was a pessimistic person, for all he knew, any decision he could give them may inadvertently cost him his own life.

"Leave them alone for the most part, only and only if they attack us with the intent to kill do we fight to the death. Otherwise, we fight only to hamper the enemy. The last thing we need to do is give a bad impression to the people we want to trade with." Elryia scowled at the command and went to complain but before she could, Nat interrupted her. "Elyria I perfectly understand your hatred for the Templars and under most circumstances, I would agree with killing them, however international trade is rather finicky and Orzammar Lyrium is vital to the Inquisition. That is why I want you two to keep away from any Templars and in the case of my absence to stick together." Elryia gave Gerald a slightly annoyed look something that was promptly returned by the new soldier though neither of them said a word to one another, despite that, Nat could very much feel the tension festering between them.

"What if" Elryia started slowly while gauged Nat for his reaction hiding her own slight fear that he would leave them alone down in the dwarven city whilst he got up to other things. "We're approached by some Templars that harass us or insult us, can we defend ourselves?" Nat shook his head vigorously before giving her a stern look.

"No" He replied loudly before changing his tone to one that reflected the now sterner expression that he was levelling at the two of them. Elryia felt her heart race at the look, and not in a good way. Fear seemed to creep up her spine as Nat made sure he drilled his point into their heads even if he had to scare the ever-loving shit out of them.

"Any Templar you face in combat in that city will hold advantages over you two in close range. Besides their ability to shake off magic makes you defenceless, all it takes is one well-placed strike at Gerald's neck and you're both dead. Avoid conflict at all costs, if Templar tries to flirt or harass you then ignore them, if they try to touch you, again ignore them and leave as soon as you can and come to me. I'll handle any situation that may come up. Do you understand" A quick succession of nods from the two confirmed that they had indeed been listening to him and weren't just waiting for him to stop blathering had Nat once more giving them a smile to reassure them? "I don't intend to leave you alone, believe me, I'm just warning you in case."

"Okay," Elryia said slowly. "When do we actually arrive there, I mean we've been riding for hours?"

"Around now" Gesturing towards the left, Nat followed the others as they gazed up the road that would take them to Orzammar. Oddly at least in Nat's book, it wasn't a very good road, in fact, it was worse than the typical worn down road that crossed over the lands of Thedas enabling people from all backgrounds to travel between major hub points in whatever empire or kingdom they may have been in.

The path if it could even be called that, was a section of deep squishy mud that twisted and turned up the mountainside for about a hundred metres before then meeting a small stone bridge and then back into mud again before everything was cut off from view by another part of the mountain requiring travellers to go all the way up.

"Oh," Elyria said quietly. Hiding his grimace at the state of the so-called road, Nat allowed his eyes to follow the path inspecting every single piece that he could before he turned back around to Elyria and Gerald.

"Wait here, I'm going to check on the road ahead" Gerald gave Nat a firm nod of his head in response. Then with not as much grace as he would have liked, Nat attempted to get off his horse. He brought his first foot out of the stirrups and gently touched it down onto the floor a little away from the muddy area that was formed in front of him due to wet weather and constant movement of heavy carts and other foot traffic and then went to bring his other foot out of the stirrup. As he did so, he felt his foot twist in the saddle knocking his balance off and sending the horse into a bit of a shock. With a powerful neigh, the horse stood upon its back legs lifting Nat of the ground where the sudden action then managed to untwist his foot only to then promptly launch his still youthful and relatively light body into the air.

"Shit" Nat swore as he felt himself falling back under the influence of gravity as it sent him crashing into the ground with a loud thud. Nat, however, was faster than gravity was and with well-practised speed, he drew his wand mid-air, pointed it at himself and silently cast a spell. As soon as he had cast the spell, his body corrected it's position from that of Superman only flailing about, to that of a person standing up where then gently floated down to the soft snowy floor with all the grace of Mary Fucking Poppins.

As soon as he touched the ground, he then directed his still calm expression to the creature that had just attempted to throw him into a pile of mud and make an example of him. With a flick of his still drawn wand, a spell streaked through the sky faster then the horse could react and crashed into the typically noble beast. Then in front of Elyria's and Gerald's rapidly widening eyes, the horse twisted clockwise in a sudden turn and shrunk dramatically as well as changing colour, shape and form until within only a second, a simple hardened glass marble with swirls of bright brown colour gently floated through the air and into Nat's outstretched hand. Bringing the marble close to him, Nat then spoke to the marble as if it were still a horse.

"Do that again, and I swear I will turn you into a dildo and shove you up a homeless man's arse" The horse now turned marble did not respond. Turning his gaze back onto the other two horses, Nat noted with a small amount of sadistic pleasure that the two other horses that he had taken with him had now frozen entirely in fear as they stared up at him in a mixture of emotions that Nat was unable to comprehend. This was due to the fact that they were horses, on the other hand, he could easily recognise the looks on Elyria's and Gerald's face.

"You, you just turned that horse into-" Gerald spluttered indignantly as he stared at the small glass sphere that rested in the outstretched hand of the commander.

"A marble yes" Nat replied with a slight grin as he brought the small ball up to his eye to showcase his work. Even though he wasn't peering through the mind of the poor muggle, he could still likely imagine that the poor boy was now wondering to himself if that would ever happen to him.

"That was amazing" Elryia almost yelled. She tried to focus on the marble that was in his hand but before she had the chance, Nat pocketed the small ball into one of his internal pockets as if it were well like anything else. "You just pocketed a horse, that is just- wow you have to teach me how to do that."

"Perhaps one day I will, but for now, you two need to get off your horses" At the sheer mention of their riders being dismounted, the horses who had seemingly grown a certain level of intelligence, or who were working purely on their animal nature went to panic. Elyria's horse only managed to raise it's head an inch when it suddenly felt as if none other then a starving dragon had spotted it and was going for the kill. Typically on this instinct, it would belt for whatever safety it could find and screw anything around it, however, this time was different, this time instead of running for its life and flinging the small two-legged thing on top of it, the horse looked up to the other two-legged human.

Had it been human, it would have gulped in fear and its skin would have shivered, instead, it simply froze and stared directly into the odd black thing that covered the humans face. It didn't know why, but by sheer instinct, it knew that if it tried to run or tried to belt it would face punishment from the strange creature. Understanding that not panicking would keep it safe, the horse alongside the other one allowed their riders to get off without hassle. Once that was completed, two more flashes of light raced from the wizard and at that moment, the very fabric of reality had been changed as instead of there being two creatures of flesh and blood, there was instead two beautifully delicate balls of glass. Floating into his hand, Nat then pocketed the extra marbles alongside the other one.

"So as I said before, you two wait here, I'm just going to check up on what's happening at the front gate" Without a further word being said by the young wizard, Nat left Elryia and Gerald together as he quickly raced up the path.

"Sweet Merlin, you'd need a tank to get through all this" When Nat had initially seen the old road he had believed the situation to be bad, however as he got higher and higher, the once hard ground of the mountain road instead became deeper and deeper levels of thick black sludge called mud filled to the brim with holes of likely contaminated if not cholera inducing water. His prediction soon came true as after he had advanced high enough to see further up the path, he came across a series of carts that had all been stuck so deeply into the mud, that they could not move. It only got worse from their though.

Unlike him who was able to leap over large splotches of mud by staying to the side of the road where it was wet but dry enough to cross even if that area was less than half the size of a standard ruler, others had not been lucky. As he wandered up the area with a not notice me spell cast upon him, he was reminded that other people were not born as gifted as he was. Bodies, well corpses to be more exact became more prevalent in the ever-thickening mud as he advanced upwards and kept to the drier area. The victims of this mud had all died in the same fashion, whether they were man, human or elf, male or female, sentient of animal, they had all at one point or another taken a step too far and had delved into the sludge where over time their entire bodies became covered and they could no longer pull in oxygen to their severely depleted lungs. At one point or another Nat assumed that they may have accidentally swallowed some mud and in their panic for an escape, they had begun consuming more and more against their will until their hearts just stopped the vital function of bushing blood around the body killing them by drowning.

Nat held back his grimace as he walked by one particular young man who's mouth was covered but dead eyes screamed for help followed him for a moment. It wasn't a particularly pleasant way to go, drowning in mud, but it brought his thoughts back to home. Had this been what those men had faced and dreamed of every night more than a hundred years ago?

They would have been used to death he supposed, artillery firing, machine guns chattering, the flash and blazing feeling on their eyes, gas choking up your internal organs and liquefying them as you choked in your own blood with eyes bloodshot. All of those sensations would have been present for the men who had fought in the Trenches of the First World war, and at all times they would have been surrounded by mud, lived in it, covered in it and drowned in it day by day watching petrified as soldier after soldier passed you by never lending any hand to assist you as they dodged bullets and prayed to whatever god to keep them safe from the enemies bullets. It must have been hell.

None of that mattered at this current matter of time, instead, he kept advancing up the hill until he rounded the corner that had blocked his vision and scanned the sight before him. What he saw, was the equivalent of a medieval traffic jam. Wooden carts of all sizes filled what would typically be a large open area, those carts he noticed was filled to the brim full of different wares, clothing, mining supplies, iron ore, suits of armour, food, whatever a city could need to sustain itself was there.

What was more prominent than the sight of about fifty to sixty carts and merchants all squished together in a small area, was the pandemonium of loud angry shouting voices echoing in the small area with their voices amplified due to the semi-circle nature of the clearing in front of where Nat assumed the door was? Ultimately, however, he could not see the door due to a large amount of merchants and others that had gathered in front of the door and was screaming at the top of their lunges whilst their faces went bright red. Only with the time he had spent at Hogwarts of having to constantly hear certain conversations in a wave of loud but muffled noise was he able to perceive was the current conundrums was that the Merchants were faced.

First and most obviously, the merchants were upset at the state of the road. With the road in its current state, those merchants who had done business or had given up on the fabled city of the Dwarven race had given up entirely and simply wished to leave and pursue greener pastures. Others, on the other hand, were complaining bitterly and Nat was pretty sure he heard a few threats and insults being screamed out at the fact that Orzammar had in fact been closed.

How exactly an underground kingdom was going to keep supplying Lyrium or import the large quantity of food it was bound to need with its gate shut Nat only had one idea, favoured Merchant status. Even in a time of crisis, Orzammar would need a constant steady supply of food and without it, the people inside would starve. To combat this, it would make logical sense that certain Merchants who had proven their trustworthiness would still be allowed to continue trading with no hindrance Nat figured, two many people trading and you risked political interference, on the other hand, no trading at all meant a very dead population when you resided underground.

Pushing those thoughts to the side, the fact remained was that there was a way to still get into Orzammar, he and the others had to be people of special standing. Already he had a plan in mind. He wasn't going to dress up as a merchant, that would require more magic and guesswork then he was comfortable with not to mention, a certain knowledge of the trade that went into the city in case of the Dwarves asked for details. Rather he would disguise himself as an individual that the Dwarves would hold a rather large decorum of respect for. Although there was always the plan to sneak in with a trusted trader and hide the very fact that he and the others had even been seen entering the city, there was no way of saying how long it would be until one of those trusted traders came along. With his plan in mind, he raced down the mountain screed and met up with Gerald and Elyria at the bottom of the path.

"Commander," Gerald said with respect. Nat nodded towards the two of them however it was Elyria who with a small sense of trepidation had noticed that he had his wand drawn.

"Is everything alright?" Elyria asked in a concerned manner as she looked up the mountain path almost expecting some type of enemy to come rushing down and attack them.

"Gerald" Nat turned to the boy. "The snowfall this year, how has it compared to other years?" Gerald blinked confused, it was a rather peculiar question but he answered it all the same.

"Heavier than the usual commander, but not by some massive amount" Nat nodded slowly and turned back toward the mountain path that he had just descended, focusing on the ever-thickening mud as he did so.

"What's wrong with the snow?" Elyria questioned Nat as he reverted his attention back onto them.

"The path has essentially vanished, it's nothing but sludge and corpses" Elyria blinked in shock.

"Corpses? People have died? How?"

"They drowned in the mud" Nat explained. "Reason I was asking about the snowfall, it's the only natural reason as to why such a vital trade road would be in such a state of disrepair."

"How bad is it?" Elryia asked.

"All of the merchants are trapped at the top like mice in a cage, they can't leave at all. As for the road itself, even horses have drowned in it which makes me wonder if anything else is going on" Nat spoke slowly, as he did so, he trained his attention upwards to where the peaks of the mountains lay. It could be just a coincidence that some kind of avalanche had fallen recently, something the normally sturdy but dirt road into nothing but a sloppy brown goo that sucked in everything and did it's damnedest to suck anything that stepped into it. There was also that man who had stared up towards the mountain with a panicked expression which could again be an indicator of an avalanche.

"You think someone's behind this?" Gerald looked at his commander and followed his gaze upwards. The mountains to him just looked like mountains, really big pieces of stone that the Maker had shoved into the ground with force when he had designed the world before decorating them in the snow to make them look rather pretty, other than that though, he had no idea.

"Orzammar is facing a giant internal crisis, the king was attacked and nobody is sure whether he is going to survive or not." Nat began as he gestured towards the path and got them walking upwards. "Now the only surface road into Orzammar is in a severely damaged state, if this continues and the road is not repaired, then not only will Orzammar starve, but it will also have its economy in shambles"

Elyria's eyes went wide as she stared at the path. At first it was simply a disgusted look and grateful that she and Gerald were walking in a column behind Nat as they kept to the sides of the now boggy path, however that then turned to one of horror as she gazed upon the cold pale corpses that decorated the sludge as they were some shiny piece of jewellery for a noble to wear. It became even worse when she saw one of the dead horses with its once chestnut coloured snout entirely subsumed by the partially liquid ground.

"Why haven't they repaired the road?" Gerald asked. He had never been rich, but he always knew that whenever there was snowfall or heavy rain, there was always at least some attempt made by guards and tradesmen to repair the roads even if it was just to the market area. He'd asked one of his employers about it when he was younger once, they had said something along the lines that lost trade was lost money and that nobles hated losing money and therefore did whatever they could to ensure they could keep making it or so they could buy their little trinkets.

"Something is preventing them" Nat answered quickly. As he moved forward, he scanned the carts more intensely then he had before inspecting all the products that they had been transporting at one point or another. So far from what he could see nothing valuable had been devastated. There were a few carts of now rotting fruit and veg and a few other carts of other random pieces such as some fabric and clothes that had been entirely covered in mud and rain to the point that the once bright colours had entirely faded, but other than that nothing too worthwhile like Lyrium or gold.

"Perhaps it needs a king approval or someone else who is in charge," Elyria added hoping to solve the question that Gerald had poised.

"I understand that, but I would have thought that something as important as this road wouldn't need that to happen if trade stops-" Nat narrowed his eyes as Gerald kept talking however as he did so, he gave the kid a praising look. He had underestimated the boys knowledge of commerce, then again if he had been a thief, he had likely grown up to know what would affect his catch added with the responsibility of looking after his sister, then he likely had become more cautious to ensure she would have food as often as he could provide it.

"Then there would be an uproar in the city" Nat finished quickly "Such a thing could influence the current people in charge"

"But why would they want to do that, isn't it more important to ensure that trade keeps flowing? If whoever is responsible for stopping trade was found, they would suffer." Elyria responded in a confused manner. Though he gave no outward reaction to the girl, Nat made a small note that she didn't, in fact, have at least some education in the manner of politics although to what extent was yet to be seen.

"True, however, if they aren't found out until it's too late if at all, then those who might have orchestrated such an event could gain what they desire." Just what was going on inside Orzammar Nat wondered? There was the possibility that the avalanche had been all natural and the inner turmoil was indeed preventing the road from being fixed as politicians invested their time into other affairs, yet something didn't seem right.

For a nation so reliant on the outside world for not just general trade, but also to feed their people, there was seemingly nothing that had been put in place to mitigate such a disaster if not solve it. There was no new road being created, no set of dwarves scurrying out of their underground kingdom with shovels, wood, and stone masons to build over the mud, no guards to warn people of the blockage of trade. It was like if his country, an island nation who relied on importing food from elsewhere hadn't ever bothered sending the navy if pirates had started attacking trade or food supplies.

Even worse, this problem with trade wasn't like sending the navy to the Gulf of Aden and tackling the pirates there, this muddy road preventing transport was quite literally on their doorstep. He seriously doubted that every individual who would care about such a collapse of trade would idly standby as their livelihoods were placed on the line. Seriously, not one noble or merchant had sent for anyone to clear the road? Such a lack of action was just as probable as- well him finding an ancient glowing sphere thing that would open a hole to another dimension and chuck him through it, not to mention within a very short time period of arriving in Thedas of finding not only an elf but an Ancient Elf. Suffice to say, something major was going down in the city, something he drastically hoped would not disrupt the desperately required source of Lyrium.

"I would assume, that whoever is responsible, is banking on the fact that their chosen candidate will use the collapse in trade as an argument against the current political rulers." Advancing up the hill, Elyria's ears began to train on not only the growing murmurs and shout of discontent from the Merchants, but also scrunched up her nose in disgust as the scent of horse shit wafted up her nose.

"Oh that is vile," Elyria said as she stopped in her tracks repulsed. The reason for such action was that after turning the hill, the first horse she laid upon proceeded to raise its tail into the air and then proceed to empty its bowels on the floor. Not desiring to smell such a thing any further, she looked towards the one leading this trade negotiation silently pleading with her eyes to handle the situation.

Taking pity on Elyria, Nat gave a quick flick of his wand silently casting a spell that removed the scent of horse shit entirely and was instead replaced by the scent of lovely lavender dancing in a nice warm summer breeze. Gerald sputtered at the sudden vast change that his nose had endured, even so far as coughing once as he felt it seemingly force its way through his lips and down into his throat where he could taste it.

"Thanks'" Elryia said sighing pleasantly at the smell. "Do you think you could teach me that spell?"

"Perhaps one day, when I have time. For now though, just straighten your walk as much as possible" Nat replied quickly as he led them up the rest of the path that he had not walked up and into the large open courtyard.

It was quite an unusual experience for Elyria, despite the fact that she had been born and raised with her noble family when she was young, she had spent the vast majority of her life stuck in a Circle Tower never able to leave and only ever allowed to watch from a distance the general ongoing's of a city. On more than one occasion she had wanted to leave the confines of the structure and the guards that kept her there and explore the bustling streets of Ostwick. She had always wondered what it would be like, to see an armourer at the forge, a carpenter at his workshop, a clothes woman in her shop stitching together some clothing for one person or another to purchase. To walk the streets and laugh and play as a normal girl would and to ask a barrage of questions at traders about what this item was or where they had been and what stories they had heard.

Even today she would still like to visit an actual human city, to pretend that she was like any other girl and to have a friend to spend time with and perhaps buy her presents from time to time. However, as she stared at the faces of the majority of not only men but occasionally one or two female faces, she felt different about living her desires. These weren't the happy traders she had always imagined them to be, they weren't dressed in fine clothes and brilliantly posh accents and light smiles and perhaps occasionally hand out an apple to a passing child as simply an act of kindness, rather these traders were angry and depressed.

One young traders face showed an inordinate amount of panic and terror, not the type that screamed onto a person's face when they were facing death such as when a Templar came rushing towards you with their sword held high and gleaming in the suns light so brightly it almost blinded you, but rather the panic she had seen on other apprentices when they feared they would not complete a certain task on time. As she walked past his cart, she gave a quick peek under the fabric that covered the oddly shaped contents and saw a pile of apples. They were still in good condition, they could be eaten by a person without a problem, the question though was that how long that would remain the case before they began to rot and ruin the young man's life as he was forced into debt.

"All these people, what will happen to them?" Elyria inquired.

"Those who are selling food will likely have their food rot" Gerald answered slowly before then grimacing at the all too familiar sight of depressed and somewhat even petrified traders. "I dealt with a few back in the slums, when traders product get close to going bad they get desperate and try anything that they can. Those who can't sell their goods start selling on the cheap hoping to just reduce the amount of money they lost" There was a sad recollection in Geralds eyes that Nat noticed for an instant a time when he had been nothing but one of many poor orphan boys who none gave a shit about and had to do whatever was needed.

Personally, he couldn't imagine being poor in the more traditional muggle sense yet alone extremely poor as Gerald and his sister had once been. When muggle's thought of poor, they meant not having any food to eat, nowhere to sleep, exposed to the elements, no money for medicine and other things. In contrast, when magical's thought of poor, they typically meant no spending power but that was it. After all extreme poverty like a lack of food or shelter was resolved simply with a spell.

As Gerald and Elryia conversed with one another, Nat had noticed that the apparent owner of the cart had returned from wherever they had been located and was now staring at them with a suspicious look. Had he not been so careful about ensuring that nobody could read his facial expression, Nat likely would have rolled his eyes as the owner stalked slowly through shit ridden floor towards them.

They were a brave individual Nat would give them that, one of their hands had drifted to a small dagger at their belt. Once they got past a few other merchants who had taken to strolling through the rows of carts and a few metres away from them, the suspicious looks turned to that of fear. Good Nat thought it was always useful to know that the illusion spell he had cast over himself and the others had worked just as he had planned. With a nod of acknowledgement towards the owner, Nat reached into one of his pockets and produced a few silver coins where he then flashed them towards the individual.

Instantly as if Nat had simply flicked a switch, the owners once fearful face as saw a group of powerful individuals change to that of slight relief and greed as Nat gestured towards the apples. Rushing forth, the owner soon met with the young wizard eyes fixated on the pieces of silver that were held loosely between what he believed to be heavily armoured gauntlet fingers. So entranced was the owner at the idea of being paid some type of silver after panicking so long that he paid little attention to how much Nat bargained with the man until a reasonable price had been made. Then with a fake illusion induced smile, Nat gently pressed the few silver coins into the man's open palm before he then gave an order to the other two and gestured towards the cart of apples. Only once they had taken the products that they had purchased and was away from earshot did Gerald speak.

"You paid too much for those apples, they weren't even worth one silver piece let alone three," He said in a cautionary manner as if he was trying to warn his commander about scammers and others who would take advantage. Gently Nat shook his head, Gerald it seemed hadn't been paying as much attention as he initially believed he had been.

"I didn't just pay for the apples, I also paid him to head to Haven and tell our friends where we are" Elryia gazed at Nat slightly bewildered as she heard that.

"I thought this mission was supposed to be secret with no knowledge going back to the Inquisition in case of spies." Nat gave her a slow nod before then gesturing towards the owner of the cart. The owner was still grumbling about something or other before they then recovered the cart with a material in order to keep the rain of their fruit and spoil it.

"I never said that he was to alert the Inquisition, I simply asked him to go to Haven and tell the rest of the Grey Wardens that we were here."

"Wait what?" Now Elyria was definitely confused, what did the Grey Wardens have to do with anything and why would they even want to know why they were at Orzammar. All of them were children so the Grey Wardens would be equally confused as to why they would be there. She was entirely lost. Seeing this confusion, Nat scanned the area checking for any eavesdroppers before moving them closer to him and whispered gently.

"I sent him to Haven because when he arrives, he'll likely be asked to have his apples purchased. When that happens, the man will likely then move to somewhere else for a different good or maybe he might buy something from the Inquisition and sell it on."

"I still don't get how any of this is relevant," Elyria said.

"I'm getting there" Nat answered. "Anyway, when the trader then leaves for other places, he is likely to stop and discuss business with other people or trade companies and pass information across. With luck, he will state how the Inquisition was a lifesaver as they bought his produce before it was too late. From that the idea is then to have other traders to visit the Inquisition to see if they can trade other products since the Inquisition is a growing army, it needs vast amounts of recourses, but it's a case of finding them. So far, troops have been deployed just to gather up things like elfroot simply because they can't get a reliable supply of ingredients and that isn't even mentioning other vital supplies."

"Okay, but I still don't understand how one merchant is going to help send traders to the Inquisition" Elryia questioned in a dubious manner. Before Nat could answer the question he was instead beaten by Gerald who gave his commander a look of respect.

"Look at the merchant's clothes," Gerald said with a sly look at the still muttering and unobservant apple merchant. "Notice how their a finer quality then what most other people are wearing?" Sighing in an annoyance, Elryia wanted to protest but one look from Nat had her rolling her eyes and looking at the middle-aged man. The clothes he wore as pointed out by Gerald were in far better condition than what others wore, they were thicker, lighter and had no mud on them besides the boots that he wore on his feet. For some reason, the merchant wore an oddly shaped hat with a small white feather that had been pressed on one side.

"Yes, so what?"

"That feather is common in Antiva, it's a mark of an individual who works for a major trading company there. If he was to do business with the Inquisition, then he would be required to make a report as to why he could not sell the produce in Orzammar. When the Inquisition likely tells them that they need other things, that trading company is bound to take advantage and set up a very beneficial relationship because they were the first ones there perhaps they might even get a monopoly on trade with the Inquisition." Gerald explained the situation to Elyria as best he could, despite this he and Nat noticed that the mage girl was seemingly unable to understand the political meaning behind it.

Tired of all this talk on economics and trading, Elyria bit her tongue and scrunched her face up towards the former criminal and spoke simply.

"What does that even mean" Gerald gave out a long deep sigh as he shook his head, when he was finished, he looked the girl in the eyes with a slight smile.

"The Inquisition is seen poorly by those with power, they believe the Inquisition is trying to take control of the continent and the Chantry is imploring merchants not to trade because of heresy. However, if trade with a major company happens, then the Inquisition is seen as more official. Now other companies will not allow a major group like the Inquisition to give all trading to one company since that's a lot of money. That means, that other companies will trade with the Inquisition in order to gain their own share of the profits which only cements the Inquisition as legitimate downplaying the power of the Chantry. It works for both sides, companies get to make more money whereas the Inquisition gets not only recognition but also influence over trade"

Finally to Nat's amusement Elyria's eyes seemed to glow like Christmas lights as she understood the consequences. It was a bit surprising actually, he would have expected the situation to be different when it came to trade and economics. As a mage educated in a circle and surrounded by books effectively making her a learned person, Nat would have thought that she would understand something like the importance of trading power. In contrast, while he could accept that an average bandit might know something about trade, he would not have expected Gerald to know the complexities of trade and political power.

"Oh I get it now, if all the companies want to buy from the Inquisition, they'll have to lower their prices making it easier on the Inquisition allowing them to save money and soldiers." She turned towards Nat her eyes almost dazzling in awe at the plan he had devised. Her mind began to race as she thought of so many questions she wanted to ask about how all this worked and how he knew who the merchant was.

"Eat," Nat said quickly as he snatched an apple from her arms and shoved it in her mouth before she could begin. Stepping back in shock, Elyria blinked a few times however before she could carry on with her onslaught of questions, Nat gently gripped her shoulder and pushed her forward towards other people essentially preventing her from asking the questions she desired and stopping his range from building out of irritation.

With a rapid pace, Nat marched the three of them to the front of the doors although not before he had felt the anger of a great many other people. Pushing and shoving was all required from Nat as he brushed past the long waiting queue of merchants all who looked quite disgruntled. That look swiftly changed to one of anger though when they saw Nat simply jump the entire queue and dashed in front of the one merchant who had waited hours to finally get his turn to lodge their complaint.

"Hey what do you think you're"

"All right what seems to be the problem?" Bored out of his mind and having long since come to despise his superiors for assigning him this station, the dwarf guard who had been in charge glancing at a sheet of paper with all the names of people and traders he was allowed to admit got ready to deal with a bunch of troublemakers. "By the ancestors, Grey Wardens" Stepping back in shock the guard stared at the three individuals before him.

Just as he had exclaimed, there were three Grey Wardens standing in front of him, two men and a woman. All of them it appeared seemed to be in their mid-thirties and all of them appeared to be great warriors as they were equipped in the heavy blue and grey armour of the order. The lead one of them, a handsome looking human with short motley black hair and blazing emerald green eyes led the group with his head held high and hand on the sword at his waist. Behind him, the dark red haired woman carried a smaller rapier at her side while the more broody looking man on the handsome green eyes man preferred the great sword that was strapped onto his back.

"What, what can I do for you" The guard stumbled and his eyes almost seemed to glitter in awe at the presence of the three warriors while he spoke in an almost reverent way. Nat who had decided to use the appearance of none other then Harry Potter gave the man a warm noble grin.

"Firstly I and my companions have business with some other individuals of our order, they are to go on their calling shortly." The dwarf couldn't nod his head up and down fast enough at Nat's words which only forced Nat to hide his groan. It was bad enough back home with the fucking journalists and the few youngsters's who always asked for an autograph or to meet him or that they were his fans and they liked how he had defeated this person or that. Those fuckers were irritating as shit and he had forgotten how much he despised the hero worship and what he had to do to avoid those who pursued him. And here he was, in the middle of another world disguising himself as a noble warrior as a dwarf fawned all over him... Great.

"Of course," The guard said excitedly. "Grey Wardens are always welcome in Orzammar, ever since the Hero of Ferelden assisted King Bhelen in reclaiming his rightful throne, he decreed that Grey Wardens were forever exempt from restrictions on entering the city and the Deeproads alongside never having to pay taxes. You may enter and leave whenever you so desire."

Nat gave the man a smile before granting his two companions a cursory glance. Just as he had expected, both Elyria and Gerald were staring at the dwarf as if he was a madman who had just stated that something bizarre like the world revolved around the sun, everyone knew that the universe revolved around the world. Yet as they met Nat's ever calm gaze, they noticed that he was entirely fine with what happened although they were still questioning it.

Before they could ask him why the Dwarf was seemingly convinced of the fact that three teenagers dressed in well quite frankly a bizarre fashion, their eyes widened as for an ever brief moment they witnessed as the clothes around one another were entirely different. In fact, it wasn't simply just their clothing, but also their height and weapons at the same time alongside their face and other physical attributes.

In the corner of her eye, Elyria noticed that her hair was a dark crimson red and held in a ponytail, only that couldn't be as her hair was as black as ravens and held loose on her shoulders. She reached out to touch it only instead when she pinched her fingers together she did not grasp this errant amount of red hair but instead simply passed through it like some kind of ghost. It was an illusion she thought with some wonder as she stared at the handsome dark-haired man in front of her. Somehow Nat had cast an illusion spell that had painted an entirely different picture around them like she was wearing a painting marking her as a different individual, or more prominently as a Grey Warden.

All this passed by in a moment as she noticed Nat was giving her a cursory glance, making sure she wasn't freaking out she realised. Desiring to set his mind at rest, she treated him to a light smile and mouthed the words thank you to him which resulted in him then checking up on Gerald who with a quick reveal of the illusion also came about the same conclusion as her. Yet as all this happened, Elyria couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy well up in her chest as she gazed upon the boy she cared for.

She was no slouch when it came to magic, in fact, she was better than most people her age was and even better than a few students older than her. She could lift rocks in the air or cast a cone of cold spell and encase at least human size enemies in a wall of ice and she had started the basics of illusion magic. However, she hadn't found everything easy and illusion magic was hard in fact even most mages they struggled with basic illusion magic and that was something like pretending to turn an item a different colour. This though, what Nat had just done with apparently little to no effort going by the fact she had not seen any magic was well beyond anything she could do, he was years more advanced than her and not simply because of the sheer complexity of the illusion spell he had cast, but also because of the ease of which he had done so. Then there was the case of him casually transforming a living breathing creature into a small ball of colourful glass as if he was simply summoning up a small flame to light a fire with.

She stared at him in unashamed wonder, just what else could he do with magic? What had his people taught their children in magic? And more vitally, would he take her own as his student. If he could so easily cast complex spells, wipe out a bunch of Templar's and physically transform the shape of thing to another, then he had achieved more than any teacher she had before and that was a power she craved. What if she had that power, how many people could she have saved, her friends, her teachers, the other mages. If a Templar attacked those she cared about, she could become a force to be feared, to destroy any who opposed her. She gazed upon the wizard discussing with the dwarf in an ever more infatuated light, he was her salvation.

"Yes well, I'll make sure to visit there when I enter" Reverting out of her desires, Elyria refocused her attention back onto the two discussing people.

"Good they'll offer you a good deal, you Grey Wardens are the only surface folk who care about us," The dwarf said glad to actually be in the company of at least someone interesting that he could discuss matters with and of course the pretty redhead wasn't a bad thing either.

"It's a shame although I hope you don't mind me changing the topic of the conversation, however, do you know what happened to the road back there?" Gesturing back towards the muddy hell that was the path, Nat watched the dwarf slowly as he grunted in annoyance.

"Had some really heavy storms a few days ago, lightning, snow, sounded like a great battle with a Darkspawn horde" The guard shuddered slightly at the mention of the despised creatures before the then seemingly snapped out of it most assumedly due to some technique he had learned or through sheer experience. "Some bright lights as well, next thing we know sounds like a Lyrium explosion only instead of a giant blue blast, the entire mountainside just thunders down everywhere and destroys bloody everything. Since then the snow just melted and turned everything to sludge and no one can get out of here which leaves me having to here there yelling al day as they demand for someone to fix the roads or for someone else to reimburse them for destroyed property" The dwarf sighed out loud as he glimpsed past the Grey Warden in front of him and was once again reminded of what he was going to have to deal with the moment they left and did their business in fighting Darkspawn and other shit. It was going to be a long day.

"I'm sorry to hear that "Nat commented in a rare amount of sympathy. It was at times like this when he was glad that he had so much freedom to act however he chose most of the time. This poor sod was going to be forced to listen to whining and moaning for the next few hours. In contrast to him, whenever the scum of the earth (journalists) tried to tie him down and ask questions whether personnel or some other manner, he would simply ignore them or just apparate as soon he was safe to somewhere that didn't have those cock sucking bitch loving cum guzzling cunts. He felt his blood boil at those bastards. If only the murder of journalists was legal.

"Yeah well don't worry about me, I'm sure you have important business with whoever's been inside." On his words, the two other dwarfs stationed directly at the door and bared their long pikes forwards towards the merchants whilst they hid behind their shields and braced for the inevitable horde of people willing to risk their lives simply to enter the city. Recognising that the conversation about previous events had been finished before he desired it to be, Nat gave a respectful not to the dwarf and gripped the collars of both Gerald and Elryia and dashed away from the seemingly bloody hungry hoard of traders and into the underground city itself. As soon as they were across, the door closed behind them with a loud bang that echoed throughout the chamber.

Orzammar

The home of the dwarves, capital of the once mighty dwarven empire that stretched all across the underground regions of Thedas and for a time believed to be the only settlement left of their own civilization, Nat thought as he hid his curious looks as his eyes danced over the architecture lining this long hall.

"Fuck it's hot" Unable to contain in his language, Gerald raised his hand towards his forehead and swept away his hand brushing it against the beads of sweat that had suddenly emerged.

"How do they live like this?" Joining in on the young rifleman's actions, Elyria grimaced as she felt the sticky moistness of her skin. She was used to the unbearable heat for a period of time having grown up in the Free Marches, in fact, she found Ferelden freezing a good majority of the time and no amount of thick woollen magic robes protected her from the ensuing cold. Now things had been reversed, she wished she had instead dressed in the lightest possible clothing she could think off, maybe those white robe like things that people from Rivain liked to wear for their normal attire. By the Maker, if it had been socially acceptable she would have gone around naked it if would allow her to escape this heat bearing down upon her.

She turned to Nat wondering how he was dealing with the sudden blast of warm hair that had smashed into her the moment the doors to Orzammar had shut and the cold winds had been vanquished. Was he suffering like she was, her faced red and sweat pouring down his face while he felt his head begin to go numb?

No, he wasn't.

Walking forward more interested in the giant stone statue in front of him, Nat just felt sorry for Elyria and Gerald as well as fortunate that again he had won the genetic lottery. Oh, he could feel the difference in the air around him, and if not for his clothing, then he would be boiling but he was him and that meant that all of his clothing from the lone sock to his most prestigious suit and tie was enchanted. Upon sensing the massive disparity of heat between him and the area around him, the magic on his clothes got to work and changed the temperatures of what was essentially a small temperature force field around him to a far lower temperature keeping the temperature around him to a constant lovely temperature of fourteen degrees Celsius.

"How are you so cool?" Elryia almost demanded as she struggled to walk forward as she felt the sweltering heat inhibit her movements. With a grumble, she blanched when she figured that at some point or other whilst she was down here, she was going to have to get changed and that meant she would feel with her hands the likely soon to be sweat soaked fur-trimmed clothing she had equipped. She shuddered.

"My clothes are enchanted" Nat answered casually although he still inspected the stonework with a slight amount of fascination in his eye. "I like this style, strong, sturdy yet practical" Elryia shook her head at the stone.

"It's hardly anything special, there's not even that much detail in it" She rebuked without a care. It was a true comment though, while larger then statues back home, these statues had nothing on the detail and craftsmanship that was imbued into it. Dwarven statues were geometric in their design, symmetrical also with no special poses. Those who held a hammer would either hold two or hold one double-headed hammer, while the actual body of the statues didn't even seem to hold armour but rather bare, only the head had attention to it and that was for the helmet.

"There's an elegance in its simplicity," Nat said as he gave the statue his own nod of his approval, it wasn't anything he would personally decorate his house with, but it wasn't ugly to look at. "Then again, I would agree that I do prefer a bit more... detail when it comes to marble work."

"You like art?" Elyria asked honestly surprised that her saviour would be interested in such a thing. "Never thought you to be the type".

"Oh, and why exactly do you think that," Nat said in a teasing manner as he gave her a slight playful smile. Blushing at being caught out, Elyria struggled to meet her now calm again look of her crush.

"I don't know?" She mumbled quietly in shame. "You just seem so focused on reading or fighting or on other things that I wouldn't think you would have the time for art. Nat gestured towards the other side of the hall finished with analysing the stonework. Elyria happily accepted and gave him a big smile when she felt all the heat that had previously enveloped her vanish with no warning other than a quick flick of Nat's small staff. "Thank you" She whispered.

"I understand what you imply, you mean traditional art, paintings and murals" Elyria nodded. "Then you are correct, I have no time for paintings or murals, I find them ever so dull and boring, in fact, I even visited a few art museums, saw the most famous painting that was known to my people, the Mona Lisa and yawned due to the sheer boredom." Nat suppressed the chuckle that so desperately wanted to escape his lips as he thought back to that time he and Kate had travelled to France.

At the time he had a tournament coming up that he was to attend however as he usually did he ensured to give him enough time in the country he was in so he could admire the sights. Usually, he stayed away from art museums, he just found them boring, something that he would sleep in and he couldn't name any painters besides the very famous ones, only Picasso came to mind. Still, his sister well technically half on the maternal side (he resisted the urge to scowl as he felt his blood boil and his rage build for just a moment) had wanted to visit so he took her along.

He could still remember the way her face had lit up like the sun in excitement as she rushed around giving in-depth information about the painting in one form or another, all of which went in one ear and out the next. Most of the time he was just doing his best to not look bored, but that fight (one in which he didn't care if he won or lost) was finally over when he saw the coveted Mona Lisa and blinked once then twice and promptly said. "Is that it" He had never felt so many French people turn at once spewing forth silent anger at the Englishman for daring to insult the prize of the French art world or something like that. It was art, he couldn't care less.

Sadness punched his chest like a train going over a hundred miles per hour as he thought of home. It had been month's now since he had come to this world, months since he had left home and hadn't seen anything he cared about. He missed home, the verdant green grass, the hustle and bustle of a loud city and the blinding lights of electrical lights that illuminated the paths for millions of people. Every day without fail he would listen to the news in some form or another and ha ve an inkling as to what was happening in the wider world, whether it was just across the channel, in Japan or across the pond, he had an inkling what was occurring.

Here in Thedas, he almost felt blind or stupid for not knowing what was happening in the wider world due to his lack of basic information. There was no internet here, he couldn't just check up on what was going on with Tevinter or with Orzammar, any crucial tension that was going on in Orzammar he was about to discover shortly, but all the same, it would perhaps be too late to deal with the problem before it escalated.

How many lives were going to be lost because nobody had acted sooner? How many homes destroyed, pieces of work vandalised and scientific progress halted all because no one had acted swiftly enough. And while personally, he didn't care about the effects on the actual genuine people like children who were bound to be set on a rough path because of any violence, he was concerned about what this would cost the Inquisition and more importantly him.

There was a reason he had only put up a weak fight against Valeyna when she had assigned him here, She had given him the perfect opportunity to pursue some of his other goals.

All those thoughts passed by in an instant though without delay he turned back towards Elyria and continued the conversation.

"Architecture? What's so interesting about architecture?" Gesturing towards the heavy set of reinforced doors that lay at the other side of the hall, Nat directed the attention of the young mage towards the main place of the dwarves. Gerald followed soon after though Nat noticed the boy was rather cautious as he gently stroked the wood of the firearm in his hand as if he were to be robbed at any moment.

"I've always found architecture a greater reflection on the society than paintings ever did, it's design, the materials used, the height and the purpose of the building can all give you a view into an aspect of that society."

"I don't really understand, how do a few buildings reflect a people" Elyria eyed Nat curiously as they waltzed through the large doors. As theory kept moving she felt the ever-increasing wash of heat blasting against her face while the blazing orange brightness struck her eyes harshly forcing her to blink as she got used to the difference in scenery.

"I'll give you an example" Nat stated. "The simple castle, not the great majestic ones belonging to the richest of kings and queens of the land, but the average castle that the average noble may afford. First, there is the use of stone, to my knowledge stone is not such an easy material to work with, it requires stonemasons and a lot of other people who know their craft well. To have a building made of stone requires substantial monetary income to afford, yet there are many benefits to such a material. Gerald, can you name a few?" Gerald looked at his commander shocked and for a moment a bit of panic as he tried to think of the lone castle he had seen in his life.

"It's sturdy Commander?" He replied quickly. Not hearing an answer from his commander, has elaborated further. "Back when I was younger, we were told stories about how Fort Drakon had no outwards damage after the Blight"

"Anything else?"

"It's... pretty commander. Far nicer than the usual houses that people live in, imposing to" Seeing the poor boy not really able to comment much more, Nat left the topic of architecture from Gerald. The kid wasn't dumb, but he wasn't exactly an educated individual like he and Elyria was, rather he was street smart able to recognise the problems of common sense that either he or Elyria would miss.

Nat would admit that Gerald was far better then he was at noticing such things but then again that was to be expected. He was able to notice odd movements and expressions, but at closer ranges and most of the time, it was less about the faces themselves as it was the words chosen and the tones spoken. When most people your age are taught to conceal as much as they could when it came to political or business deals, it became a vital importance that one could understand language as best as possible.

Other body movement was far easier for Nat to notice, however, it was more related to the realms of combat then it was to other factors. Where Gerald would likely note the social standing of a persons gait how much gold they were carrying with them and how risky this person could be as well as any troubles they might be fretting over, Nat saw the combat ability of the individual. He would note the speed that they walked at how flexible the man was and how fast their reactions were. Strength was of far less utility to him however that was a magic thing, one rarely needed the physical strength to bash someone's head against a wall or win a grapple when you could simply eviscerate your opponent into tiny chunks and smear them on the floor.

Elyria, on the other hand, wasn't anywhere near as observant as either he or Gerald were. For the most part, her attention on the previous conversation she had held with Nat vanished entirely as her eyes went wider than a pair of dinner plates as they finally crossed the main threshold and entered the city of the dwarves proper.

"Wow" Elyria whispered loudly as her eyes sparkled in excitement as they dashed around her faster then a motorbike concentrating on one area and analysing it before then changing that focus to something else, first it was the statues, then it was the geometric design of the floor, then it was the shape of the houses and then the armour of the guards who hadn't seemed to notice them.

"This is amazing" Gerald spoke with awe as he too was transfixed with the city around him. Slowly the group continued to step forward so that they reached the centre of the main courtyard and proceeded to give the city a long fascinated gaze.

Unlike any other city that Nat had ever visited, the city of Orzammar had been built on entirely different parameters in its construction and it truly did show. The entire city was roughly the shape of a circle only instead of the city constantly in the distance ever expanding outwards like a bunch of soldiers on the march threatening to consume all nature, Orzammar had instead built with the land as clichéd as that might sound. Above towered the grand ceiling, at least a hundred if not metres above his head, it loomed over him craggy and dark brown lit by the rather apparent sources of light although not as much as the other rocks around it at a lower depth.

The extraordinary huge cavern that the city had been laid carefully on top of like that of a snake around its prey twisted and turned into multiple different levels that extended inwards the further they went down to the floor all in a ring shape. It was almost like a reversed castle, although considering that their main threat was to come from the lower floors, then the actual design did indeed seem to prove rather useful as each higher ring would likely enable certain parts of the city to be shut off and buy time for the defenders as well as give them an advantageous position for archers.

As for the buildings themselves, they like the rest of the dwarven state of building he had seen were rather geometric yet symmetrical in their designs. Constructed of thick grey stone, the buildings were certainly of a height that an average human could fit in which was something he found odd but not unwelcome. Aside from that, he noted very quickly that the dwarves seemed to despise circles or triangles in any shape or form, no house was built in such a manner with all those that were not sheathed inside of the side of the mountain having either a square, rectangle or hexagon design. Despite this, the houses themselves went boring generic things but just straight up, rather they had large thicker parts of stone in patterns that jutted out at once or rather the upper levels might step out bit by bit. A for the front doors, at the end of wall on either side, a seemingly large H shape ran from top to bottom with the line connecting likely being the divider in the actual house itself.

On each roof of every house was one of many different items, some in a symmetrical facing manner had large statues of paragons stationed on top seemingly guarding the current Citizens of Orzammar or perhaps observing them like silent watchers. Others were open up to their owners with only railings that were peculiarly the size of battlements on their side while many more had banners floating from the top as the symbol of the city in a proud sense of patriotism.

Around the semicircle design of the city, Nat also spotted where the vast majority of people lived their daily lives. Unlike the few buildings which old stood on their own, most dwarven structures were built into the actual rock itself revealing only a front door and maybe a front wall with a hole into to allow light in to see.

That was something that Nat would admit silently to himself he found quite peculiar. For a race that had apparently lived the vast majority if not the entire lives underground in vast deep dark caverns, he would have assumed that dwarves would have a decent standard of night vision, and hold no need for external light other than for places of trade, yet the light was everywhere.

Not a warm light like he was used to back home, but rather a bright harsh orange light that had it not been for his sunglasses, Nat would have squinted or at least been forced to keep his eyes swept downwards. The actual source of this light was just as fascinating as it was entirely ridiculous to Nat's mind when he saw the giant pools and rivers of lava that flowed through many access points bubbling occasionally and giving the underground city it's steamy sweltering dreadful heat.

"They built their city, by active streams of red-hot lave?" Nat said dryly as he continued to take in the aesthetic of the underground city. "Don't get me wrong, looks imposing and everything, but fuck me Health and Safety would have a fit. I mean seriously what are they supposed to do if there was a rock fall or something else happened? Toast marshmallows?" Nat made a note then and there that if he was stuck in this barbaric medieval world for the rest of his life, that one of the last things he was going to do was build a structure with flaming lava or some shit like that.

"It's truly amazing," Gerald said with childish awe as he took in the vestiges that was dwarven architecture. Nat gazed upwards again and repressed a slight shiver of fear at the sight. He wasn't scared of enclosed spaces, he was happy to lock himself in a cupboard so long as he had a good book and some light. He had also on his holiday's visited plenty of caves and other places undergrounds and he had never once given a second thought, but this place Orzammar was different.

"I prefer the sky," Nat said. "Less chance of the ceiling falling down on your head" Nat repressed another shiver as he stared at the giant cavern before him, it was the size of the place he guessed, too much of a big cavern for him to feel structurally safe.

"Oh don't be silly, this is Orzammar, the dwarves are the best stonemasons in the world" Elyria insisted the point upon her crush hoping that she may calm him down as he gave a blank stare at the roof again almost as if he was expecting it to collapse at any moment. "Being scared of the city is like being terrified of the oceans"

"Exactly" Gerald confirmed confidently as he tucked his rifle's shoulder strap a bit to the left, it had gotten caught a bit and he wanted to make sure that he could draw it in time if they came across any problems. His task was soon stopped when the turned with a slight amount of bewilderment when he realised seconds later Nat had not denied a fear of the oceans. With a slight amount of humour, he asked Nat a question. "You're not afraid of the ocean now?" Gerald spoke curiously.

"I'm not afraid of water" Nat responded swiftly. "I just don't like what's lurking in it," Muggles thought of creatures like sharks mostly when they considered the creatures that made the seas and oceans of the world their home, large sharp teethed animals that could swim far faster then a human and could easily tear chunks out of a person. Then there were the not shark creatures but still terrifying creatures like leopard-seals and Orca's as well as squid, electric eels and other fish that had lights stuck out of their heads. That was just muggle fears, when you were introduced to the magical world or grew up in it you learned of far more terrifying creatures that you know are real but are just hidden. If muggles considered lions terrifying, he would hate to see their reaction when they were informed of the Nundu or better yet the fact that Kelpie, sea dragons, krakens and other nightmare creatures from mythology actually existed in the world. Suffice to say, Nat didn't want to be in a situation where one moment he might be on dry land and the next he's in the water with Merlin knows what else. Land was man's natural environment and so too was the air after man had conquered it with both magic and technology, however, the seas and oceans were places where he dare not go.

If people wanted to study old powerful magically resistance creatures, then he would be happy to chuck the Gryffindors to them for dinner, just so long as they stayed away from him. Well besides dragons. Dragons were cool.

"I don't get what's to be scared off, it's just a few fish, and sharks rarely attack people or at least that's what I read in a book" Elyria commented cheerfully though it did nothing to quell Nat's opinions on the matter of sea creatures.

"Don't believe everything you read, I know of this one Fiction book back home that people took so seriously that they started killing each other over it. In fact, the book was part of three I think. Then again, there are now so many versions of it, that the whole series has essentially become one giant Fanfiction bonanza." Waving of the comment, Nat peered around him hoping to find some kind of sign that would point to the direction he needed to head in. Josephine had given him some basic instructions, but other than that it was up to him to not only find the individual in charge but also negotiate a trade deal. To accomplish such a goal though, he first had to locate just where the Diamond Quater was located. Thankfully much to the credit of this underground city, he found a signpost which just so happened to point in that exact direction, it was to the right of the main doors as you walked in.

"What was the book called?" Elryia asked cautiously. "I can't seriously believe that anyone would take a work of fiction so seriously that they would kill people over it, I mean it's a bit stupid, killing someone over an imaginary character.

"Oh they did more than fight over it, they went to war over it. The massacres, deaths, brutal punishments, persecutions, destruction of science and many other travesties had all been committed in the name of that a fucking book" Nat said calmly as if he was speaking about the weather entirely uncaring that he was drawing an almost horrified yet fascinated interest from his mage stalker. Then again in her position, he'd do the same, for a book to be described in such a way to have such power that it would cause people to fight over a handful of pages seemed odd and a very dangerous artefact that should be destroyed.

"You wouldn't find it, any examples remaining would be destroyed and I certainly don't carry any copies in me. Rather the opposite, in fact, I find great amusement in moving the book's to the fiction aisle in the library when no ones looking, the reaction is hilarious." Elryia blinked confused, why would people get so irritated over a single fiction book being placed in the fictional area of a library, surely that was where it would go anyway. Putting a book of fiction in the fiction shelf was like her placing a book on elemental magic in the elemental aisle of a book on Lyrium in a shelf to do with Lyrium. All the same, it made her even more curious about this book, she wanted to read it, to understand why so many people would treasure such a book so tightly to their hearts that they would be willing to lay down their lives on it.

"What's it called?" She asked a little more firmly. Suddenly she blushed in embarrassment and shame as she realised she had raised her voice in annoyance at not getting answers. Turning away suddenly, she gripped waiting to be scolded for her actions about speaking out of turn, instead Nat shrugged his shoulders and kept them marching through the streets of Orzammar.

"It's called the Bible, the other two are the Quran and the Tankah, Tanook, Tangiki, Tanzania" Nat waved it off. "It doesn't matter. Anyway, their religious textbooks, you know a different god and how they believe that society should be governed and all that jazz. "

"Jazz?" Elryia asked questioningly. Though she managed to hide her confusion, she would secretly admit that it could be difficult at times to understand just what Nat meant. Besides the strange occasional word like jazz and radar, he would also state some strange phrases that she had never heard of and couldn't understand most of the time even with context. Honestly, at times she wished he could just give her a book with all these odd peculiar words and phrases, at least then she might have an inkling to what he was talking about. One example was when he had stated that instead of telling her that they were going to complete this mission secretly, he had instead preferred the term "fly under the radar" Seriously, what in the name of the Maker was a radar?

"Type of slow music that's orchestrated by part of the brass family, mostly trumpets, trombones and tubas that give out this deep bellowing sound for the most part. It used to be rather popular a few decades ago but has since then severely lost interest amongst people. Personally, I can't stand it, then again I also can't stand country, reggae, pop, hip-hop and blues music although I especially hold a deep burning hatred in my heart that is the drivel known to the world as rap". He wasn't particularly a music person, then again he never had been, sure he liked to put on music when he was reading or on his own, but he hadn't ever cared about who made the music or what the band name was called. He held no interest in visiting concerts just so he could hear screeching music play in an open field and get covered in mud whilst others just used the concert as nothing more than an excuse to get high, hammered and fucked although not necessarily in that order. For him music was used in only a limited way, the first and most common was for him to listen to as background noise, that calmed his mind whereas the other was used to get his blood pumping in a fight.

"So what does all that mean?" Elyria asked confused as once again, she was given nothing but useless words that she now had to work out without any clue as to what it meant. On the other hand, she would admit that her curiosity had been peaked, whatever the strange instruments that Nat had mentioned were, she could only imagine what they looked and sounded like in person.

"It means we need to pay attention to the street, people are staring at us" Jumping out of the conversation, Elyria stared around her quickly and took in the faces of the inhabitants of Orzammar. Just as Nat had stated, they stood there, in their shops front's in the middle of the street and in the corners that they had been lounging in, different expressions met them as they crossed the open pathway. Some of them stared at her with dark suspicious looks as if she was a blood mage and threatening to take over their minds and force them to walk off a cliff, others looked relieved as if some humongous burden had been lifted off their shoulders by the grace of the Maker, some individuals stared at her with a sorrowful look that she guessed must only be due to them thinking that they were here for their calling and therefore there soon death where they would abandon the world to others who would defend it, finally, there was a look that Elyria had not seen on very many people's faces and it made her swell with pride, as a reassuring warmth set in her stomach, respect, these dwarves respected her.

It was a strange and very odd feeling, she had always been held to a higher standard by her teachers. When she had been a young girl still living with her loving family, the teacher had always been stricter with her, saying that she was gifted and that she needed to hone those skills so she could become a proper lady and one day find a good man to be the wife off. When she had entered the Circle it had been much the same, she surpassed all the other students and as a result, the older mages would give her harder tasks, thicker books and more responsibilities. Yet despite all that, she couldn't help but feel that they had always treated her as a child, sure they had seen the pride in her as a person would do with their essentially adopted child, but despite that pride and her accomplishments and new duties, she never felt that she was a respected member. The other boys and girls would tease her at times for being so advanced or would be jealous maybe hiding her items or calling her mean things. Soon, older mages would come to tell the other kids off and tell her to carry on with her studies, but it was never enough, it just didn't feel right, she wasn't respected, she was just a child.

Here though under the guise of being a Grey Warden and being an older woman in her thirties, she was instantly respected the moment others lay eyes on her. Dwarves would move to make sure the pathways were clear in front of her, older battle-hardened dwarves would tip their heads in respect to her as if she was an actual Grey Warden with superior battle skills and had sacrificed her life to keep her safe, and other younger dwarves seemingly saw themselves in her, that when they too became of age that they wanted to become a member of the Grey.

She relished the feeling as her eyes occasionally shot from stall to stall admiring the goods on display as best she could silently hope that perhaps, Nat may stop and purchase something for her. So many things were different here compared to what she had seen in the occasional village that she and her fellow mages had stopped in on their travel to Redcliffe and subsequent capture. One stall seemingly sold children's toys, only instead of them being made of straw and coarse fabric, they were instead made of thick grey stone etched in the form of a dwarven warrior with a sword in his hand. There were other versions of the models as well, one with a hammer in its hand, another with some sort of instrument that she did not know the name for but was aware that it was used by artisans in their own crafts. A different one had a pickaxe in its hand while another was held in a servant position, the form of a servant. The last and by the most heavily decorated with its geometric shapes running across its body was one with a crown on its skull representing the nobility. Leaning back to get a better look, she actually realised that there was a stone doll for every class in Orzammar, it was impressive and also quite sad. It wouldn't surprise her if the cost of each toy changed on the type it was, with the nobles likely being the only ones capable of purchasing the noble one.

"Huh, so they do that here too, interesting" Elryia nearly jumped out of her skin as she felt Nat's words whisp past her right ear and ticking her to her core.

"What's interesting?" She asked as she followed his unseen gaze back to the toys.

"Can you see those dark spots where the shoulders and kneecaps are?" Elryia nodded. "Well I would assume, that if you were to move the arms and legs, that they could actually change shape a bit, not by much but it would still allow a child to pretend their warrior is attacking" Despite his casual expression, Nat allowed his eyes to linger on the stone toys for a few more seconds before coming off them. This world was quite surprising in a few ways, different yet similar almost as if this was what his world could have been like only different.

"They can do that? How did you know?" Elryia asked her crush curiously before trying to hide as she saw the merchant lock eyes on her.

"My people could also make such things although they've grown less popular in recent times?" Passing yet another corner, filled to the brim with staring locals, Nat couldn't help but feel slightly unsettled, as both a warning and a manner to warn any would-be thieves in the vicinity that may think that stealing from "Grey Wardens" would be a good idea, he placed his right hand next to his word gently gripping it in an obvious way. Almost instantly one or two individuals averted their gaze no longer willing to steal from such famed warriors despite their current financial difficulties.

"Why would such awesome toys not be wanted anymore?"

"For the most part, they simply can't keep up with technology. A few businesses had tried to change their market strategy, and it did work to a certain degree, however, old-fashioned toy stores were vanishing for quite a while. " That confused Elyria, even though she had been a mage with her lessons and education, she still had time to play and especially so in her younger days. While it was all in the past now, the memory of playing with a few dolls and pretending that she would be swept off her feet by some handsome young lord who would tell her that she was the most beautiful girl in the world still warmed her heart. For toyshops to go out of business for what she assumed people not buying their toys, she could only imagine what type of technology her crush meant.

"What do you mean by technology?" Though he didn't stop his pace at the question or his movements in inspecting the denizens of Orzammar as they passed geometric house after geometric house and also made a polite nod of his head to the dwarven guards in a manner to show that he meant no disrespect, Nat's mind did wonder.

Should he tell them? Not about there being a distant world, that could very really blow his plan in a major way. If he was in Elyria's position and was given a brief description of the modern world, the first thing he would want to do would be to not only visit such a place but also to live in a world that likely sounded so brilliant compared to the one they were in now. Rather he was wondering if he could trust Elyria and Gerald enough to show them some everyday items of modern technology, things like his Ipad, kindle phone, iPod, laptop, all of these would be true marvels to them and items which would certainly grab their fancy and make them ask question after question.

He had no real concern about the information being leaked, even if the rest of the Inquisition was to learn about such amazing pieces of technology, there was not a chance that they could replicate them in the slightest, he himself had no clue how to make such technological advancements. Rather his main concern was with what these advancements could show to the world if just one picture was shown of home, one skyscraper, one quick glimpse of London then it was all over, he would be forced to backpedal, and escape the Inquisition before they considered him a great threat. That was the main group, however, not Elyria and Gerald.

Both of them owed him greatly for their lives and even more so for the opportunities presented and he would go to say that as he was a member of Valeyna's inner circle, these two were becoming his. He may recruit other people to his side in the future, more soldiers for them to be tested in the art of musketry and rifles and to march around to the sounds of drums beating and pipes echoing on a smoky battlefield whilst the smell of gunpowder heaved across the battlefield and bullets crashed into their opponents knocking them over like little flies, however Gerald and Elryia would hold a certain closeness to him.

If he were to show them some of the things that he had, in secret perhaps even an unbreakable vow or a blood contract that would prevent them from revealing things, then he could maybe gain their loyalty even more. In their position, if he was trusted with such vital secrecy about such little things, then he would feel special, respected and other emotions and would work all the harder for the one who trusts him to guard such a secret. Then there were the technical aspects of general living, if those two knew some modern technology then it could very likely assist them in their general operations rather than him having to act. Of greatest importance, would be securing their loyalty to him.

"Tell you what, when we find somewhere quiet, I'll show you" As Elyria's eyes seemed to sparkle for a brief moment with excitement and anticipation, Nat was sure he had made the correct choice. If he was going to get home, then he could use some help, and if he was stuck here in this backwards medieval world for the rest of his life, then he could most certainly use a few loyal followers.

"Thank you," Elyria said still slightly confused but feeling a larger warmth than she typically did when she was with him.

"Commander why does this place seem so... sharp," Gerald asked though he struggled to find the words to describe the feeling in the air. Nat knew exactly what he meant, although he had tried to take away the feeling with some general discussion in order to distract Elyria from the dark atmosphere that abounded them, he knew at some point Gerald would notice it and comment on it.

He had a point though, the feeling in the air was not one he would have expected to come across on a typical day if he were to visit the grand city. Empty, fearful and concern were the emotions he would have assigned to the place, there was a fake sense of normalcy that the residents were attempting to play up to the occasional human or elf who walked over the bone hard dry stone and sweat-inducing heat of the mountain kingdom. Guards held their weapons tighter then they should do and stand at more attention than they typically would, stalls, where merchants would ply their wares to those who required them, were left empty and as for the streets themselves, they were also empty with only a small number of individuals even walking too or from places.

"The people are concerned" Nat whispered gently to Gerald hoping that his voice did not carry to those who watched their every move like a hawk. "Their King was attacked recently and according to what Josephine said, he's been bedridden and is lucky to even be alive"

"So they're concerned over their king dying?" Nat shook his head.

"Yes and no, I don't particularly think they care too much about the king as an actual person, what I do think they care about is the consequences of him kicking the bucket and what that means for the rest of Orzammar."

"Why is his death such a concern?" Finally reaching the end of the path, they came across an old looking bunker. Like the rest of Orzammar construction, it was geometrically designed and was seemingly built into the side of the cliff, what was unusual about this door though was the presence of a rather heavily armoured set of dwarves who eyes them with suspicion.

"Halt Grey Warden."An older dwarf with a thick chestnut coloured bearded called out. Obeying the order, the three of them stood still with curious looks on their illusioned selves as the dwarves walked around them and inspected their appearance from head to toe.

"Is there a problem? I was informed that Grey Wardens were free to travel the city" The dwarf stepped back and gave the three of them a suspicious glance. Under the fear that they were going to be caught, Elyria began to turn pale in fright though before she could do anything drastic, Nat laid a comforting arm on her shoulder.

"The last time Grey Wardens visited in such a time they ended up choosing who the next king was and interfered when their code strictly prohibited it. Now when there again seems to be trouble, a bunch of Grey Wardens show up again. Tell me, are you here to speak to the king or are you stragglers who got lost on the way and was unable to meet up with your fellow Wardens who when on their calling?" The dwarf spoke in a baritone manner before crossing his arms against his chest as he kept a not quite calm but stern face.

"I'm not the Hero of Ferelden, we were sent here a few weeks ago from Nevarra to meet up with some other wardens. However by the sound of things they've already departed for their calling. I would appreciate it if you could give me any and all information on them, how many there were, what their names were and if they mentioned why they apparently just entered the Deep roads without orders" Lying was easy to Nat, one of the first things he had learned was how to lie and better yet how to do so convincingly, thankfully for him, he came from a family of people who knew how to lie to their advantage as well as how to manipulate others, then again so did most people in the wizarding world.

The dwarf, on the other hand, eyed him suspiciously, slowly he raised his hand to the beard on his face and began stroking it in a soft manner likely dealing with a sudden itch that had occurred but attempting to hide it in a soft manner.

"I see," He said slowly though he eyes the illusioned weapons Nat's hand almost as if he was expecting a fight to break out. Despite the illusion and his own self-discipline, Nat was more than wary of the possible consequences should this argument get heated. It was one thing to cast a complex illusion charm on himself and the others when there was no combat on, however in a fight that would be the first thing he would have to drop. "And just what was this mission" The dwarf continued.

"That is something for mine and my companions ears only. However I would ask that if you are going to refuse me entry to the Diamond Quarter, then I would ask that you do so now instead of wasting my valuable time" Clenching his teeth so tightly together that for a moment Elyria thought they may crack under the pressure, the dwarf gave them an angry suspicious look before he then gave a sharp motion of his head towards the doors that lead up to the higher portion of the city where those in the ruling class resided.

"Very well, go. Be warned though Warden, if you make trouble in this city, you'll regret it"

"I appreciate the understanding Master Dwarf, with any luck me and my companions will be out of your beard shortly "The dwarf said nothing in return instead simply choosing to follow their presence as they entered through the tunnel that led to the higher doors analysing them for any sort of problems until finally with a loud thud the great stoned doors closed behind them.

"What was his problem" Elyria muttered angrily as she marched up the stairs lit by the flickering of perfectly spaced out open fires that danced so magnificently that the shadows they cast upon the walls almost appeared to tell some type of story.

"Don't blame him" Nat countered quickly. "The man is simply concerned about ensuring that outsiders don't gain significant influence on the cities politics. It's just like how you wished that the Circles never had any Chantry influence over teaching, and besides he has a point"

"But we're Grey Wardens, doesn't that count for something," Gerald said quietly. For some reason the large staircase that ran upwards seemed to go on forever like a stairway into the sky, while it was made of stone and to an astounding quality, statues of many paragons lined the way up and fancy geometric shapes like squares painted in bright colours such as blue and green but high lighted in gold and silver indicated the wealth of those who would climb up these stairs, it also appeared imposing, like fighting a Darkspawn.

"That only raises the suspicion even more. When the Hero of Ferelden came here decades ago to ask for assistance from the dwarves, he found the city in a mess and on the verge of a civil war as the then Prince Bhelen and now deceased Lord Harrowmont fought over who should be king. The only way the Hero was going to get the assistance he needed, was if he actually solved the problem himself."

"That's why he went into the Deep Roads" Elryia spoke plainly. It had been a while since she had learned about the Hero of Ferelden, in her earlier years she had studied the text religiously as she like many others desired to know as much as physically possible about the recent hero had prevented a Blight, put a king on the throne and killed the traitor Loghain. "He was looking for the Paragon Branka but instead found Caridin, he then crafted a crown for Prince Bhelen and gave it to the Warden in order to save the city from destruction and civil war. Then when Behlen was given the crown, the Assembly voted in his favour and he became the new King of Orzammar"

"Wait so this Caridin person, just made a crown for the king because he wanted to? That sounds, strange" Commenting oddly at the story, Gerald's eyes went wide as they reached the top of the staircase, he thought he had just been his imagination at first or perhaps a trick of the unnatural light that fire produced distorting his vision, but now he was sure of it. As they ascended higher, the geometric pattern began to take on a far brighter pallet as more and more gold and silver was inlaid onto the walls itself. Each step had it thicker by a ridiculous fraction that it was practically impossible to see, yet when one looked down and then up, they would see that indeed the walls did become fancier the higher one ascended. So caught up was he with this new discovery that he almost missed Nat answer his question.

"If one reads between the lines, then a person can assume that the Hero of Ferelden warped his words to give favour to the King or perhaps he simply didn't have to and the Golem asked him to pick whoever should be next in line. Good choice he did pick the King though" After having read up on the story, Nat like most people were curious as to what had happened to the dwarven kingdom in the years that followed. At first, he had expected Orfzammar to go into decline after hearing about his temperament and how that could have perhaps led to stagnation if not a possible civil war due to harsher ruling practices. Instead, the opposite had happened.

Ever since Bhelen had taken the throne, Orzammar had prospered greatly. Under his leadership, the dwarves had pushed back the encroaching Darkspawn scourge away from the borders of Orzammar to many miles in all directions freeing not many but a few old Thaigs from the black scourge that was the Taint. Besides extending the nations land area and giving them a renewed buffer between them and the enemy, trade with the surface world had blossomed greatly increasing the revenue that the kingdom earned. New rights had also been given to the lowest class allowing them to actually fight for the nation rather than simply lounging around all day on their asses begging for food or coin or worse joining some form of organised crime. Then there were the other policies that the man had decreed which again increased the power and ability of Orzammar.

Bhelen was a progressive king who under his rule had seemingly brought something unthought of in Orzammar for a very long period of time, a golden age.

However, not everything was sunshine and butterflies as gaudy and depressing as that mental image was. Golden ages brought enemies, and ever since Kal Sharok had been revealed to the world, tensions had risen dramatically between the two kingdoms, tensions that Nat wondered might be the cause for the current problems facing the kingdom.

"Oh, I think I understand" Gerald replied his words slicing through Nat's mental thought process as and instead got him more focused on the task at hand and the purpose as to why he had been sent to a giant underground city with ridiculous amounts of lava.

"Yes, if one Grey Warden can choose the next king of a nation, then it sets a precedent. For all we know the dwarf could agree with the King yet thinks he shouldn't rule because of how he got into that position in the first place."

"But if the people agree with the king and think he's doing a good job, then does it really matter how he became king?" Elyria inquired curiously as to just what her crush was going to say. She hadn't much cared for politics, it was cold, cruel, calculating and only seemed to be played by rich people who used poor people as pawns to be moved on a chessboard and be bossed around. It made her sick to her stomach, people using others like that for their own game. It made her even more thankful that she had been rescued by Nat, he was nice to her and protected her and not once had done anything cruel.

"That's the problem, if we go on a purely moral basis with politics, you start to get really confused and stuck in a bind as well as potentially destroying everything you've worked towards as you only want the morally good option to come about."

"No, politics should be done on what is the right thing to do" Elyria argued insistently It was right for us mages to revolt because we were being oppressed by the Templars, it was right of the Hero of Ferelden to interfere with Orzammar and help bring stability" Nat hid his sigh as he heard that, it wasn't the first time when people tried to argue about politics on the moral high ground, they kept saying the same thing. We should send troops to this country to help them or send significant amounts of money to help a nation develop economically, or this regulation should be put into to help these people to stop this from happening. It didn't mean he always disagreed with what they were saying and it also didn't mean that even with his limited sense of right or wrong that he thought an option shouldn't be done because of moral reasons or the opposite, however, the world didn't and certainly couldn't afford to act like that. Then again, the almost innocence a person had in that type of thinking was almost cute, like a kitten was cute, or a baby rabbit was cute (not human babies, human babies were ugly as fuck and annoying little shits. The number of times they had forced him to reign in his desire to snatch the screaming little fuck and drop it from a hundred thousand feet just to get it to shut up was uncountable) Things that young and cute and innocent were adorable however sooner or later they grew up and the magic was lost somewhat.

"That wouldn't work," Nat said plainly.

"What? Then how do you view politics?" Nat hid his smile, it appeared that he would be teaching his young student a vital lesson in not only the world of politics but also life.

"The way to understand the world of politics is not to view it through the lens of right and wrong, but whether you like or dislike something. Such a view to life enables one who dabbles in politics to not suffer from feeling like that they are a hypocrite and entirely uncaring about another person's personal viewpoint. A moral disconnect if you will" Despite the strange cheery tone that emanated from her crushes small lips, Elryia noticed with a blush, she felt her bones begin to chill in a dreading sense of horror and realisation. It was like when everything was fine but then someone approaches you with a stern serious expression on your face and in an instant, you knew something had gone terribly wrong. You both wanted to know as dread filed your heart threatening to drown you with horrid anticipation, as well as your mind nagging you to run away and hide from the problem. Ultimately, however, she was forced to listen as Gerald asked the next question.

"I know what you mean, I always wondered, why people wouldn't help us when my mother died, nobody cared about us. I never thought it was fair, even with people saying that the adult world didn't act like that, they didn't explain how it worked. I learned on the way, but you've described it perfectly, politics is what people like not what they think is the good thing. " Muttering under his breath, Gerald was unable to hide the pained expression on his face as he remembered the initial emotions he had felt when he had witnessed the death of his mother. The number of times he had banged on peoples doors only to have it slammed in their face, begged in the food for scraps or coin only to have guards chase him off or others to spit in their face or a disgusted look. He could still see vividly as his sister had nearly frozen to death in the cold winter, the way her small body shuddered and how he had nearly lost his life by stealing a cloak from a stall simply to keep her warm or was again nearly killed when he took food that wasn't his to feed her. Stopping where he was, Nat looked over Gerald, ensuring that he was okay. His face had gone dark as he immersed himself in bad memories.

"Are you okay?" Elyria asked Gerald with concern her eyes glowing warmly.

"Yeah fine. Is it just me or is it hot in here." Gerald sniffed wiping away a tear that had nearly made itself known though he attempted to disguise it as nothing but an itch. Unbeknownst to either of them, Nat stared at them analytically, though before either of them noticed it, he turned away slightly nodding to himself.

"Now as I was going to explain to Elyria what the very basics of politics were" Quickly snatching their attention back onto him, Nat gave himself a slight smile as he saw them seemingly snap out of the bad memories that they had seemingly pulled themselves in. As their commander, it was his job to ensure that those under his command were looked after and could perform their duties correctly. That wasn't something he could achieve if they suddenly started crying about one thing or another, he'd talk to them later when everything was solved, make sure that they were fine. It was his responsibility, as was everything that he took part in.

"So if it's about how someone likes something or not, how does that affect things like relations between other kingdoms?" Elryia inquired. Nat shook his head, sure he knew that Elryia was the same age as him and hadn't also grown up in the same type of environment, but he would have thought that she would know more than she currently showcased on the matter of politics. Then again, it could be just him, from what he had seen muggle teenagers his own age weren't that fascinated with politics unless it affected them directly. It took a few years for them to gain that mindset, or again it could simply be the small number he had observed.

"Let's start with Lyrium for an example. Now in this hypothetical scenario, let's say that Orzammar supplies the Inquisition with Lyrium and Kal-Sharok supplies the Venatori with Lyrium. Now to the Inquisition, Orzammar are good people because the Inquisition like's Lyrium and Orzammar is happy to sell it. In contrast, Kal-Sharok sells Lyrium to the Venatori who are the Inquisitions enemies, this makes Kal-Sharok the bad guys"

"But the Venatori are the bad guy's, they blew up the Chantry" Nat resisted the urge to facepalm.

"It doesn't matter if it's the Venatori, the Templars, the Mages, Ferelden, Orlais or Bob the immortal fucking goblin, the fact remains, is that the moment another person does something you don't like in terms of politics, they become the enemy. In this case, you like Orzammar selling you Lyrium however you don't like Kal Sharok selling Lyrium because the enemy gets Lyrium. Or let's say Kal Sharok is the enemy and not the Venatori if that's the case you don't want them selling Lyrium because they can make money which is money they can use to further their own political goals which run counterbalance to your own. When that happens, you want to prevent them from achieving their own goals and so you could so any number of things like declaring war on them. It doesn't matter if it's the right or wrong thing to do or what your beliefs are on national sovereignty, you don't like the enemy and in most politics, it's not about achieving what you want, it's about preventing what you don't want."

"But isn't preventing what you want and achieving what you want the same thing?" Gerald blinked confusedly as all this information of politics began to swirl around his head in a very confusing and spinning manner. Already he had entirely gotten confused and was barely struggling to keep up with the conversation let alone understand it. Elryia, on the other hand, seemed to perfectly understand every word.

"Yes technically it is, but what can matter an awful lot in politics is the rhetoric used. Depending on the words you use can get you entirely different results at opposite ends of one another" Though she nodded slowly in a slightly understanding manner, Nat instantly saw Elyria's growing confusion. "Do you want another example."

"Yes please"

"Very well I'll use conscription for this. Are you worried about rising crime among teenagers?"

"Yes"

"Do you think there is a lack of discipline and moral values amongst young people"

"Yes"

"Do you think young people would welcome structure, morality and a sense of purpose into their lives"

"Yes"

"Do you think they would respond to a challenge, desire to see and experience new things"

"Yes"

"Would you be in favour of introducing conscription for all teenagers at the age of eighteen years old for a period of two years"

"Yes," Elryia said slowly though it sounded more doubtful than any of her other answers.

"Okay so that's one answer, now let's see how your answers change when I ask a different set of questions" Elryia looked at her crush doubtfully, how could changing the words in a few questions changed her answers. "Elryia are you worried about the danger of war?"

"Yes"

"Are you unhappy about the growth of armies?"

"Yes"

"Do you think there's a danger to giving young people weapons and teaching them how to kill?"

"Yes"

"Do you think it's wrong to force people to take up arms against their will?

"Yes"

"Would you oppose the introduction of conscription?"

"Yes." Elyria's eyes went wide as the words struck her like a dragon crashing down to the ground. For a few moments, her eyes flickered back confused and dazed as she contemplated what she had just heard. "Wait, what, how?" Nat chuckled slightly at the girl as they neared the end of the steps, soon they would ascend to the political elite of Orzammar, what he had just taught Elryia certainly would not be enough to allow her to survive in a pit of vipers, but it would accomplish his goals none the less.

"As I said, the choice of words or questions or tone can be the difference between life and death in politics, and this lesson I just gave you as well as the one before that about how politics is run is essential for what is about to happen" Bewildered, Elyria couldn't help but feel like her stomach was sinking into herself as she ascended higher and higher. She didn't believe in the slightest that she understood politics, and what Nat had simply done didn't do much to help. Instead, this whole thing about politics not being about morals but rather what a person likes or doesn't like made her stomach churn disgustingly at the thought that the whole reason she and her fellow mages had been locked away in towers was simply because, somebody else wanted them there. With a slightly fearful look, she gulped audibly and gazed at her crush dreading her next spoken words.

"What's going to happen?"

"Lyrium is Orzammar's main export, it's vital to their entire economy. The very fact that we're going to be trading for the Inquisition means there's an awful lot of politics that is going to be played in the background, Most likely any deal I negotiate will only be a temporary one until Josephine can organise a far more in-depth one yet, all the same, this meeting will not be like going to the market and buying a loaf of bread. You need to know the basics of what's happening so that while I am conversing that you don't react negatively to anything said or done. If you do, then we could be up shit creek without a paddle and a giant hole in the middle of our canoe." All of a sudden, both Gerald and Elyria felt a chill crawl down their spines as if some kind of snake or spider had decided to make it their home and any attempt to evict them would result in an inevitable deadly end. Despite this Gerald managed to brave a few words.

"Then why not just tell us to remain silent, or not follow you into the meeting place?"

"I was going to ask you to remain silent anyway, however, you both needed to know why certain things may be said or certain actions could be promised to one another. As I said before, we're not just buying Lyrium, we're making a very large financial contribution to the economy and that will immediately be looked into with suspicion. As for not attending the meeting, politics has an awful lot of show that goes behind it. If I just turn up as one random kid with no backup, no sense of intimidation, then it will go not only against me but also against the Inquisition who will be made to appear incompetent at best and disrespectful at worst." Though he kept it hidden through long years of training, Nat could feel the fear and dread start to grip him, his mind wondered far more into doubt and his hand edged closer to the hilt of the blade.

He shouldn't have been sent, he was a duellist, an individual who's speciality lay in magical combat, not the art of negotiation. Put him in a fight against most wizards and witches and probably the vast majority of mages, and he would have them on their ass or dead before they could even blink, politics was different and certainly not something he wanted to play. Every little move he had made until now had been against people who either didn't play or just didn't know the rules essentially rookies and amateurs, that was where he was comfortable, playing against weaklings, where he was the big fish and dominated. Here in Orzammar though, he was a very tiny minnow who's "experience" accounted to little more than reading a few books and playing some casual games, now he was going to go against proper masters and it petrified him. He wasn't ready for this, he hadn't trained, or practised for this.

When he had gone to Hogwarts he had asked exactly for the Hat to not put him in Slytherin as he had wanted to avoid the politics as much as possible. Being in Ravenclaw was the whole reason he had graduated early, it was only in that house where he wouldn't be bothered so much by other members in his house and allow him to focus solely on his education. Despite the outward position he constantly projected, he hadn't graduated Hogwarts because of some stupidly superior IQ that had enabled him to breeze past every lesson with just a simple read of the page and instantly able to do the magic. He was gifted sure in magic, but he wasn't that fucking gifted. His early graduation had come down to not doing anything in school besides education.

Other kids in Ravenclaw would sleep every night, make friends, go to quid itch games or go to the small village outside the castle. They'd enjoy the long nights n Winter and the long summer days, they'd joke, converse, plan, play pranks, do everything that kids were supposed to. He hadn't, every single waking second was focused either on learning his magical education, basic secondary school education, basics of Magical society and especially training for his duelling career as well as the occasional time he needed to do necessities like eating and rest. It was why his sleep schedule was so fucked, he slept rarely because he didn't want to risk failing his exams and he never took anti-nightmare potions in case it caused him to oversleep.

At the cost of this pure education focus came a severe lack of social education or real in-depth political education. Had he been in Slytherin, then a ridiculous amount of his time would have been spent scheming in one way or a fashion as he attempted to survive the political viper nest that was the house of Green and Silver.

He'd found it perfectly acceptable up to now, he'd graduate Hogwarts early, thus securing the fate of house Tempest and spend the other three years in a far more relaxed and casual manner but also learning what he had missed out on in politics. By the time that the others his age had graduated, he would be roughly at the same level as they would when it came t political experience, the only difference was that he would be a proper career duellist for three years straight and have a decent amount of cash in the bank if he hadn't already begun working towards at least one Mastery.

Instead of his initial plan of catching up in the interim years, he had instead found himself here in Thedas, on an entirely different world with entirely different magic. Even better he hadn't landed in a relatively peaceful state of the planet, rather he had instead arrived right when a giant fucking hole in the sky had opened up, a bunch of terrorists made plans, Knock of France was in the middle of a civil war, the mages and their brutal Templar abusers had also gone to war as well as some apparently evil immortal asshole tainted by the vilest blackest magic he had ever come across attempted to conquer the planet from the shadows.

Suffice to say it was not how he had expected to spend his two week holiday.

Currently, his main concern was creating a trade deal, a task that he was only sent on because he had managed to worm himself into the inner council and had somehow made his basic education appear like he was some type of super politician. Seriously, him being asked to negotiate an in-depth trade deal for Lyrium was like sending him to China to negotiate a trade deal. In both cases, he had neither the basic education such as a degree from university let alone the actual experience in politics to pull this off. All the same, he was going to have to find a way to make this work, it was his job, his responsibility, if he failed, then the Inquisition could fall and if that happened Earth was at risk.

Darkspawn, demons, Templar's, none of them posed a real threat with the current state of technology on Earth, but the Blight. Besides the sickness that it would induce in people, the real damage that would be dealt, was that of ecological damage. Time and time again he had read about how the blight can leave a once lush and beautiful place nothing but a barren desert, in fact, it was worse then a barren desert as some places where the Blight had ravaged didn't have even one single organism allowing for a corpse to break down and decay. At home, if the blight did enter the world and was able to hit agricultural centres, then there was the very real risk of another giant exodus of people from affected lands to safer locations flaring up the international stage.

His main concern if a permanent gate between Earth and Thedas opened up, was not what Thedas would give to Earth, but rather what Earth would give to Thedas and how that changed the balance of power. The thought of somewhere like Africa or China or Russia having the only open gate in the world could very easily change the power dynamics and worse, if the gate did appear in Egypt, right next to the middle east which was a hotbed of terrorism, extremism, religious dogma and even by Thedas standards, backwards social belief, then the devastation brought onto Thedas could be immeasurable.

The best logical choice was to make sure that there would be no permanent gate, or even better that nobody ever knew that there was another world. Without the knowledge given away, it could prevent some stupid idiot thinking that connecting the two worlds was a good idea and potentially causing some world rendering danger. On the other hand, if there was a permanent gate, it would be of paramount importance that it be located in British territory, that way his country would have first access to any recourses that may be exploited allowing for a further strengthening of not only British interests by being the nation who was able to relegate who traded with this less advanced world, but also strengthening national security by giving it possible depth and a safe location for agriculture and industry should another major war break out.

Whatever happened, if he failed, and this leader of the Venatori learned that such a portal was possible, then his country, his home was in peril and that was something he would attempt to prevent. It was just... strange, getting used to the idea that potentially, that not only millions of lives rested on his shoulders, but so could the future of his nation and so many other things.

He shouldn't have been chosen for a diplomatic mission.

Turning his focus onto the soon to be meeting with a very highly ranked dwarf, he steadied an ever so shaking hand as he reached towards the large thick stone grey handle. Once he pulled it, he would enter into an entirely different environment, one in which wars were not fought with metal and blood, but rather with words and every flowing amount of ink.

"Keep as neutral an expression as best you can, and don't react" Without further words said, he pushed open the doors once more being met by a flash of brilliant blinding orange as the once dimmer lights of torches was replaced by that of hot spewing lava as it seemed to cook them.

Oddly for a race of beings who seemingly valued, stone, crystals, gems, the Diamond Quarter or the area where the rich and mighty dwarfs lived, seemed to be rather lacking in diamonds. In fact, the entire upper area looked nearly identical to that of the one they had come from just below. The same architectural style was in use, geometric shapes with the occasional bit of decoration and a few windows here and there, but other than that, it was like they had simply crossed the street rather than stride over the land of those who lived luxuriously. The only notable difference was that the sizes of the buildings seemed bigger, but when one considered that most buildings were built into the side of the mountain, then one was unable to tell just how big these houses were and how they compared to normal dwarf homes. It was quite sad actually Nat thought, all that wealth and power, and the best these dwarves did to show off was a bit of a front porch. Hell, there wasn't even a single flower let alone garden to showcase to the plebs around that the rich had the money and ability to grow a flower underground. He made a note, if he ever built an underground house, have a garden out the front.

Thankfully for his rather deflated opinion of high dwarven society, the lack of architectural beauty and pompousness had not been replicated by the actual high-class people themselves. Just as he had gotten used to back home, those dwarves who walked around on this floor only wore the greatest quality of silk. Red, blue, green, purple, brown, yellow all these colours were worn in a myriad of different ways brightening up the rather dull brown and lava lit place, it was a message, a loud announcement to other dwarves that they were special as they wore materials that only the rich could afford. Instead where the average dwarf would wear a motley brown or maroon red to replicate the lava or other bland cheap colours, these high class dwarves so closely knit together in such a colourful manner gave off the impression that they had followed a rainbow to the end, smacked the leprechaun in the nut's stole his gold, cut of the leprechauns head, stole his clothes and then proceed to steal the rainbow itself and belch it over the dull clothes they may have worn before.

Nat's first thought was that either the French or the Italians would murder them in their sleep for such an awful crime that was the rainbow barf of clothing. His second thought was what disaster had fallen upon the nobles of this place if they had moved so radically away from the muted metal colours that they had worn back when the Hero of Ferelden had visited. Did fashion really change that quickly? He wore the same black casual clothes every day so he had no idea nor care what was fancy or not, quite frankly it all looked like the same boring piece of coloured fabric charged at an exorbitant price.

"Come on" He muttered as he gestured down at the path where the Lyrium office was located. Luckily for the rather pale young wizard, the most attention his group of inquisition agents disguised as Grey Wardens garnered was that of an occasional interested glance and the odd suspicious one, other than that, however, the Dwarfs paid no mind to them easily allowing them to cross the threshold their feet striking against the several-hundred-year-old stone under their feet.

Soon they came across the building that they needed to enter. Like the other buildings, it was built into the wall with only the entrance jutting out a few metres and covered in some extra pieces of stone through this time laid in a revere diagonal pattern resulting in a relatively large V over the front door. More telling of its job, however, was the intricate patterns inlaid in these diagonal stone pieces were words written in Lyrium.

In contrast to everything around it and especially to the often overpowering light of the lava, the words in Lyrium were a soft cool blue light that of a perfectly clear lake on a crystal clear sky. It was soothing relaxing, fighting back against the stark horrid of the often muted brows that Orzamar was covered in. This blue he noted carefully, was designed to attract interest from others, and relax those who were unused to the bright constant temperature of living inside a mountain that had an active volcano. This was done all in the effort to essentially disarm negotiators as they focused on smaller things.

If it was him though, Nat thought, he would ensure that the temperature of the building inside, was far cooler than that of Orzammar, again putting the visitors under trance of familiarity either to exploit any weaknesses that may be found by the certain but welcome feeling of a more reasonable heat, or to give of a method of friendliness.

Despite knowing of possible tricks, Nat would not say he would unwelcome a cooler temperature. For now, he was fine with his clothes relegating everything around him, but if he was forced to spend a night sleeping in this place, then he would struggle as the heat would blast him from all sides preventing him from getting any nights rest. With possible negotiation strategies in mind, Nat gently pushed open the heavier than he expected stone door and walked inside.

The room was how he pictured it to guess, incredibly high ceilings at least to a dwarf, around five metres total enabling even the tallest of people to not worry about smashing their heads against the non-existent rafters. In front of him, was a small hallway that went on for about two metres before it opened up to the far larger square room where directly in the centre stood a great stone table etched with dwarven marking. To the side of the hallway, were more statues of paragons, only smaller and human-sized all struck in similar serious poses although he was not able to read them due to the lack of expression on their faces. What caught his interest, however, was the sheer amount of Lyrium he could gaze upon.

A beautiful cerulean light hung from the ceilings in again an incredibly interacted display showcasing the artisan mastery of the dwarven races it's pale blue light illuminated the area. Other than that, however, Lyrium was placed in far more subtle ways, likely done in a manner to impress visitors as he saw the very pale glow of old dwarven runes glow faintly on a number of objects. One of these objects he recognised instantly as the equivalent of a bathroom sink going by its design only there were no taps for the water to pour out of but rather it filled itself through magic. Another device and on that instantly brought his respect appeared to be some type of kettle, constantly the water inside bubbled but not nosily and next to it was some small pristine white cups ordained in some Orlesian manner.

The rest of the room was also designed in an opulent manner since as he subtly cast off the illusion spell of him and made a quick effort to neaten up his hair and polish up the symbols of the Inquisition on his clothing, he saw very easily that the room was dressed far more in surface colours. The carpet he walked gently across was that of fine sapphire blue and bright glimmering silver, the majority of the furniture was also imported having been created by fine carpenters from across Thedas and off different makes. Blue banners hung from the silver representing the main trade of this office, old recliners that he was used to seeing in the Ravenclaw common from were also strategically placed next to a deep Ferelden oak bookshelf absolutely brimming with old tomes that didn't even have an ounce of dust upon their covers.

However even though the room was adorned with the wonders of trade, there were also some very notable dwarves inventions in this world, including the rather rudimentary by his worlds standards clock. It sat there on the wall, surrounded by fine sandstone as two thick pieces of metal slowly moved without a sound.

Without a word spoken and their illusions off, Nat repeated the same appearance cleaning on both Elryia and Gerald, vanishing anything that, may be considered undesirable such as the grime or sweat that their bodies had accumulated in their quick time in this roasting sauna of a city. However, despite this, he did not make an effort to change the appearance of their clothing to something that would be more suitable for a trade negotiation.

The primary reason for this was that despite having no experience or training in trade negotiations whatsoever, he was more than aware that negotiations would take days, weeks months and most often years to finish. This quick meeting here would likely be a simple greeting, say that they here and ask to organise a proper meeting and discuss what they mean fully, essentially like walking into a dentist and organising an appointment only the absolute fear and dread of some evil individual wanting to make your life a living hell and put the fear of God into you was not quite severe here.

Once said meeting had been set up, he was planning on exploring Orzammar and learning everything that he possibly could in the meantime. The current political climate, the views of those in the cities, as much information as he could about the miners and the Lyrium, the economic situation of Orzammar, the loyalties of those in power and learning all that he could about who was responsible for the road outside of Orzammar.

Something major was going down in Orzammar currently, he didn't know what, or who, or when or why, but something was going on regardless and as the agent of the Inquisition who had been sent to Orzammar, it was his mission to discover just what exactly that was and if it was in his power, to sort that out. Reaching the stone table in the middle of the room, he carefully struck the golden bell there three times with uncanny precision before then straightening up his posture and standing more still than a US marine during boot camp with every sergeant blasting down their ears. It took a few minutes, seven and twenty-three seconds to be exact, but eventually, he saw a small figure walking their way towards him.

"Yes, Yes what do you want" The long-bearded dwarf grunted angrily as it moved his stubby little feet towards the table not once bothering to give a look up at the three strangers standing opposite his desk. Then with a groan, as he snagged his doublet on one of the chairs, the dwarf turned towards them with a bored snarl on his face as he tugged harshly to get himself free. Finally, he plopped his large belly on the floor before fixing his beady little eyes on the young wizard standing before him.

"Are you lost, children? The stadium is several floors down" The goblin said in a slow long fashion allowing his eyes to focus upon the reactions of the three teenagers as they stood there. Two were obviously uncomfortable, twitching under his gaze as he narrowed his eyes at them in a suspicious manner. The other one, the one wearing nearly entirely black with long bright blonde hair that had seemingly been made of molten gold itself stood quietly his head bowed slightly in respect. A noble then.

"I'm afraid not Master Dwarf, but allow me to apologise on my employer's behalf for not being able to send a more dignified response. We only received word of the attack on his Majesty hours ago and fearing the consequences, my employer sent me to ensure that business could at least be negotiated before total communication was cut off" Had she not taken Nat's warning to heart before all of this started Elryia would have given Nat a look of total surprise as she heard his tone of voice.

There was still the calm and neutral tone that he always spoke with, never offering any emotion and especially never anger, yet somehow the tone sounded far more respectful, dignified. It was odd, when she had first heard him speak she had believed him to be a noble simply because of the way he spoke, it was clear, precise and made him sound educated and intelligent. At times she wondered just how dangerous that accent of his could be if he ever tried to attract female attention with it?. Yet now it seemed even more refined as if Nat was no longer speaking like any noble, but as if he was a wise yet softly spoken king.

dwarf thought briefly flashing his eyes over the strange clothing this strange wore. "The Inquisition," The dwarf said with a slight chuckle. "You must be none other than Mr Tempest, your clothing gives you away. I'm even surprised you managed to make it past the guards." The dwarf gave a slight smile in respect to him. "How did you do it, hide in a cart of food?"

"I'm afraid not" Nat returned the slight coy smile. "Perhaps I could lend you into the secret one day, preferably when there would be no loss of friendship between our peoples"

"Indeed, as you may have noticed, however, such an agreement may not come to fruition as of yet. Though, if I can arrange a time more benefiting for a more in-depth conversation, that would be much appreciated. In the meantime besides basic pleasantries the only advice I can offer is to pay your respects to King Bhelen, all deals regarding Lyrium require his express permission to be signed. However, if you desire, I have a few minutes to answer any questions you may have, I would ask you to keep them short, I have another meeting that I must soon attend to". Nat bowed slightly in respect whilst keeping his eyes locked onto the dwarf, he could still remember those lessons, always keep an eye on the opponent, always know where their eyes flickered too, even for the briefest moment.

"My thanks, I will be sure to that the courtesy is given to his Majesty though in the meantime I will take you up on your offer of asking some questions while I am here." Behind his glasses, Nat allowed his eyes to wander onto the man's appearance, another vital lesson was to see how an individual dressed and how well they treated their appearance. Everything from the thickness of one's hair to the shine of their skin to the smell of their perfume would give hints and clues as to what had occurred. Miss Bones the daughter of Susan Bones for example always wore a perfume scented of cinnamon however after a set time that had then changed to a lilac one. The cause for such a change as he took more careful note of her actions when he could, was that she made subtle movements towards Mr Davis, slight bumps to the hand or getting her hair closer towards his nose then would typically be usual. These actions she had done before, but only after the lilac had been applied did Mr Davis notice this female attention and one week later the two were seen walking next to one another with their fingers touching gently. As it just so happened, the lilac perfume that Miss Bones had worn was replaced by that of her Cinnamon one.

While this dwarf wasn't some young love-struck teenager stuck in a castle with many other hormone-induced young boys and girls, the man did indeed have a different scent to what he had come across coming here. Those guards outside had a cleaner more fresh smell as reflected off the fact that they had been stationed outside where the wind was blast across their face and send a shiver down their bones. In contrast, the other guard, the one who had confronted him smelt far more of his sweat and steel and again in contrast to that, this man had a clean yet light scent of Lyrium about him indicating that the man was used to handling the strange substance.

His clothing was the bigger tell though, not the actual quality though that did give some info, but rather the way he wore the bright colourful clothing comfortably as if he had done so for a while in his life. The man's doublet was immaculate with not one, rip, stain or flaw on it, the clothing was also tight and well fitted despite his large protruding stomach indicating that he very rarely got to exercise. Better yet, however, was the small set of glasses that had been placed behind a small box rimmed with gold, the man had begun to lose his sight in his age but did not want to indicate that fact to others.

The dwarf it seemed was indeed genuine and not a recent placement.

"Ask away," The dwarf said.

"The road leading to Orzammar, I was wondering why it had not been dealt with yet?" The dwarf looked up a curious look on his face as he stared the boy down. Unable to help himself, the dwarf squinted in anger as he met back with the strange pair of black glasses that he wore upon his face. They were oddly designed, black yet high reflective ensuring that he was staring into his own eyes, they were also rather protective in nature seeing how the tip curved around his eyes in a slight faction and extended more up and down than conventional dwarves glasses for assisting in reading like his own. The black tint he found curious especially as he noted that the glasses were made of some strange material that he had never seen before, they were made of neither wood, or glass or metal, yet the substance was hard and thin.

It was a material he supposed the boy's people had discovered or created. As an individual with large connections to the outside world, he had long heard of the boy and the peculiar story of his odd clothes, yet the strangest thing that was always mentioned was the black mask that covered his eyes seemingly hiding his identity yet giving him an air of intimidation. It appeared, that the rumours were true at least to a certain extent and going by the pretty young lady to his flank, that must have been one of the members of his harem that he had heard so much about. He shook his head in disagreement, those two weren't together, the girl might have had feelings for the boy, but they were unrequited as not once did the boy give even a single unconscious gesture of romantic entanglement with the girl. The boy was serious about this business, that was another important thing to note when they eventually had their meeting, even more, vital though was the question he had asked. This boy could piece things together, connect the dots, it was time to test him even more, see what he would be up against.

"I am responsible for the sale and management of Lyrium Mister Tempest, I'm afraid that I have no authority over the matter of infrastructure. If you wish to discuss matters with the one responsible, then you will have to speak to my associate, seven doors down to the right" The dwarf gestured with a smile yet Nat didn't return it instead preferring to keep standing and allow his eyes to dance among the many artefacts of this room. These recently added, ever since the man had taken the office likely from when his predecessor had been killed or retired.

"That's a shame, I'll have to discuss matters with your associate first. After all, we can't have any trade if the road is out of commission and neither one of us would desire that now would we" Slowly but obviously, Nat moved his hand into one of the many pockets he had on his person before then in front of the man slowly pulled out none other than a strange bright red thing that the dwarf had never once seen before. With a smile, he placed it on the desk in front of the suspicious dwarf at arm's length and allowed him to inspect it.

"Kit-Kat" The dwarf mouthed the words to himself, softly tasting them in his mouth as he inspected the oddly shaped package. Slowly he rubbed his finger against the soft material that held the words and closed one eye as he took in the strange composition, he didn't know how to describe the actual feeling itself, other then it was a new unique feeling one that dwarves had maybe never felt before. Opening his eyes, however, the dwarf could instantly tell what the product was going by the picture of a brown material snapped in half with other materials inside. "Chocolate?" The main chuckled lightly. "You intend to bribe me with chocolate?"

"Not a bribe good sir, but a gift, from my civilisation to yours. With the destruction of my people there is very little left however it won't last forever before it spoils so why not share some of the wonders of my people before they turn to dust and are forgotten for all of time" The dwarf eyes him suspiciously and then eyed the chocolate presented to him giving a very quick lick of his lips as he poured over the image of the broken chocolate bar in two.

"Very well, how do I open it?"

"You grab the top of the metal and tear downwards" Following the instructions, the dwarf did indeed quickly open the strange package and then paused only moments in as his face stared in amazement.

"This metal, what is it, how did you get it so thin, and the flexibility?" Tearing open the rest of the packet, the dwarf gently picked up the four bars of the kit-kat and placed it to one side and instead locked the entirety of his years of experience onto the inside of the wrapper analysing the metal inside. He stared at the shiny piece, easily making out a blurred image of himself as he gripped the wrapped and moved it into different locations allowing the light of the Lyrium to glimmer off it in different lights as he inspected it from as many angles as he could.

"It's called aluminium as for how it was created so thinly, I'm afraid I do not have the answer to your question. I did not work in such an industry in that it was used although I do know that should you set it ablaze, it has a tendency to burn quite brightly. Quite brilliant for fireworks"

"Fireworks?" The dwarf questioned.

"Explosives let off in the sky for decoration as when combined with a number of other things, they let loose loud flashes of brilliant colourful light" The dwarf nodded in understanding.

"That's unfortunate Mr Tempest, I'm sure that many blacksmiths would have been keen to learn such refined metal craft. I assume that it is to keep this chocolate fresh in its odd packaging. What an intriguing solution, your people must have lived in a very rich area if they had the ability to use metal in such a way." Metal if Nat remembered correctly was far more valuable in the medieval era than it was his own, typically there wasn't very much of it and was often only used for the most necessary of items like a cooking pot or armour and weapons. Iron nails were created, however much more work was done with essentially done by putting chisels in a rough line spaced apart and splitting the material whether wood or stone. Of course, metal was used in many other things, but it was often used sparingly and it was for this very reason why Nat knew he had caught the attention of the dwarf no matter how much he attempted to hide his surprise.

It was a sign of wealth, power and prowess to the dwarves, a mark of supreme civilisation if chocolate could be wrapped in such a valuable material simply to keep it fresh. The dwarves were apparently the most sophisticated race there was in Thedas and from what he had heard was pushing close to an industrial revolution which was why he was thinking of escalating his own plans. Whoever had the most machines and useful little devices could dominate the world for the next few centuries.

His own nation had been the nation to start the revolution and the effects had been astounding, his country had cemented its position as head of world trade and commerce for some time, it was the most industrious nation giving them the capability to build the most damaging and devastating tools of war such as iron ships, maxim guns, rifles, it had enabled them to grow more food increasing it's population and therefore by extension it's economy and military power.

It would be the same here, whichever nation started the industrial revolution would change the shape of the modern world for good. If he was struck here in Thedas and he did decide for whatever reason to stick around, then his first goal would be to ensure that whatever nation he took as his own would industrialise as quickly as possible. For this reason, he had come to Orzammar, the most advanced nation in Thedas and the nation that was currently pressing the bounds of technology and the one that could take that dominant position first. That was unless something was to happen to them, either a war or disease or just a few setbacks like the unfortunate deaths of their greatest minds could give him the time he needed to be able it implement anything he wanted. However to do that, he needed to find who the greatest minds were and he needed to see the extent of Orzammar technology, see where it was advanced and see where it was behind.

Plans would have to be formed he knew, first to cripple anyone that was too close to any advancement that he couldn't take as his own, and other plans in where he was going to set up shop and what advancements he was going to need. Certain industries required certain precedents for them to be effective and those precedents could only come from certain industries being built first. Time, however, had done the hard work of finding what those precedents had to be and nearly all of them came down to one key major factor, a disposable income.

The average person needed to earn enough money to not only survive in this cold cruel world of demons, Darkspawn, wars, death and magic, people needed to feel that they were financially safe enough to start spending money on other items. To create such money, certain markets had to be expanded upon, made far more economical yet vital enough and also have the natural recourses enough to be developed. Even better, he already had at least one market in mind that with the helpful use of the many books on history and technology, could advance his business into an incredibly vital one.

Steel production, even in the modern world, steel was a major industry used in practically every field for one purpose or another whether that be for constructing giant looming skyscrapers encased in thick heavy concrete towering over the people below or for simple things like ballpoint pens or better yet medicine for things like needles and hospitals bed. Steel and metal back home were used in many things back home, and if he could produce it here in Thedas in high enough quantises and to a high enough quality, then he would have people clamouring for his business.

Those who worked in construction would likely use his steel, not for skyscrapers as that type of advancement would take a bit of time, but for simple things like nails. The militaries of Thedas would be desperate to get hold of steel so they could outfit their men and soldiers in good quality weapons, again only the rich can afford such luxuries. Those were only two types of customers, but the real strength of steel production was the industries that required steel that he could create. , for instance, railways and trains, weapons, electricity, a possible automotive industry would need steel not to mention the agriculture world would need high-quality steel to help with crop production. So many things required steel and if he was the first one to break out into the market and use a fidelus charm on the production, then single handily he could become the richest individual on the continent dominating major industry over the major industry.

If he was stuck in this world, then he could become the equivalent of a king or emperor, he could influence the politics of the world, those he liked would be sold steel and those he didn't would be left out to be overtaken by others. It was political and economic power on an unprecedented level and a power he could use to help better the world to a significant degree.

If he gained that much economic money, then he wouldn't just keep it to himself, there would be no need, rather he would invest that money to not only gain more political and economic power as he slowly and subtly wrapped his grip around the economic heartstrings of each nation on the continent but also to build his reputation with the general public.

He could provide so much to the everyday man if he had the capability. He could build hospitals, schools, universities, houses, factories, he could lower the price of products only for the wealthy like that of chocolate, sugar also enabling him to enrich the diets of normal people with other foods. Such a thing could allow the nations of the world to go through culinary revolutions with people not starving. With the production of medicine, he could save the lives of millions, mothers and fathers would not be ripped away from their children because one of them conducted some disease or injury. With his control, any major industry would already have safety protocols put in place, a limit on work hours, mandatory holiday time, maternal pay. Long range cargo ships could not also allow for trade with distant nation's, but also food security with colonisation. He could put children through school, educating them and giving them possibilities that their parents could only have dreamed of and even better, they would create technology and industries that he may not know about or he may not understand. He wasn't a doctor or a nurse and had no education in medicine other than the basic secondary school education stuff, but people who did have an interest in such subjects could expand the understanding further and in turn, save lives. Then there was the case of poverty, how many people could he lift out of it if all that was required was a 9-5 job where they worked and brought back enough pay to help support a family.

How many lives could he save he wondered, how many lives could be made better? It wouldn't be some kind of grand utopia though, for him to achieve his goals, he would very likely need to ruthlessly decimate his opponents through whatever means required making him a hypocrite as he expressed a desire for free trade when in truth he wanted a monopoly. But even so, wouldn't it still be better, if he were to take power as a king or something in the same way, people would die in horrid ways due to war, yet if he could dominate the economic world, there was a chance he could make the world a better place, even if it meant blood toils, sweat and the inevitable wars and millions who would die in them.

It was just a shame that progress would inevitably lead to a lot of mess. Even then, it wasn't a definite that such a business would be created and any action he may take now could ruin Thedas's future. If he did screw over the dwarves to keep his technological edge and then proceeded to bugger off home, then he would likely keep the society stagnate and perhaps even possibly put it at risk from other powers like the Qun.

It was a gamble he would have to take, but for now, he would simply concentrate on what technology the dwarves did possess and see if he could either replicate them and give them to the Inquisition. For now, though he would get back onto the business of negotiating a trade deal.

"Indeed its, however, I can see that you have other affairs that you need to attend to, so if you could give me a time and date for our first proper meeting" The dwarf shrugged his shoulders.

"Very well how does 3 o'clock sound to you, two days from now"

"That is perfectly acceptable to me Master dwarf now if you don't' mind I'll adjust my watch" Before the dwarf could even react, his eyes sparked hungrily with greed as they locked onto the strange piece of metal that was wrapped around the wizard wrist. Rapidly his eyes widened as he saw one of the greatest pieces of dwarves society placed upon his wrist, it was a clock, but not just any clock, it was a highly advanced yet small clock held by what appeared to be platinum of all things. Adjusting his position in his chair, he got a better look, the clock was somewhat decorative, with a few little patterns, but other than that the watch was mostly plain yet well constructed. "Well Master dwarf, I thank you for your time and look forward to continuing these discussions with you at a later date." Then with a slight respectful bow of his head, Nat turned on his heel in smooth flowing action before marching straight out while hiding his smirk.

The dwarf, however, narrowed his dark eyes as he allowed a smirk to grace upon his old pudgy lips. There was more to that boy then there seemed, in fact, what he had initially believed to be an insult was not, the boy's people whoever they were had been incredibly technologically advanced, the very thin metal on the packet and the clock on his wrist confirmed it. Once they were out of the door, he chuckled as he picked up the chocolate wrapper and held it so that the brilliant blue light of Lyrium could shine through it.

"So the Inquisition sends their youngest, I wonder just how well he'll do." Rising out of his seat, the dwarf locked onto a hooded figure who emerged from out of one of the many other rooms. "What do you think, is the Inquisitions child a threat to our plans" The figure stayed still for a moment as he locked his eyes onto the spot where the boy had stood before. "

"Even if he is, we'll deal with him" The dwarf chuckled to himself.

"I've heard the stories, do you seriously think he'll be that easy to defeat?"

"As you said, they're stories nothing more. Obviously, the Inquisition desires to play up the feats of their members for intimidation. The Herald may have been dangerous and the boy can fling a few spells, but he won't live long, not when we get what we want"

"Of course then" The dwarf smiled. "Let's begin this game"


	18. Chapter 18 Demons in the Deep

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 18 Demons in the Deep**

Orzammar

The moment the door to the office of the dwarf he had just conversed with closed behind him with a small thud, Nat let out a small sigh of relief. He had done it, he had spoken to what he assumed to be an expert of the political game and hadn't come across as an idiot. Though he didn't say it, despite his calm attitude that he had kept, he had been rather scared the moment he entered the building, his mind had run rampant in anticipation and he had also then felt his heartbeat quickened. The moment they spoke, however, it calmed down a bit, not by much and considering what was going to be coming over the next few days, he knew he was going to be subjected to that fear once again. Yet for now, he would take it as a small victory, he had escaped from a field of battle he wasn't suited for and escaped to something he preferred. All he had to do now was speak to the King and then he could take Elyria and Gerald on a tour of the city, he wondered if there was anything really interesting to look perhaps a museum?

Then again, he could use this time to help advance his goals. He was in the capital of the dwarves so he supposed he could always try and see if he could sneak up on the blacksmiths and learn anything of actual importance that may assist his plans. As his eyes peered over the large brightly lit cavern, the deeper he felt apprehension when it came to actual battle. His usual direct combat spell repertoire relied more heavily on blasting and exploding spells. He didn't rely on them, but duellists had a tendency to find a set of spells that became their bread and butter or what their entire fighting strategy revolved around.

Personally, he tried to do his best to ensure that he did not lean too heavily on one style of magic yet he knew that if for whatever reason he did have to fight in Orzammar, his use of explosive magic would have to be limited. Skilled the dwarven people maybe and strong their creations likely were, but that didn't mean that Nat liked being underground in a cave. He wasn't claustrophobic, but it didn't feel right being in a place where the ceiling could come down on him at any moment. He'd had that once already and that had resulted in him landing in this world.

It made him wonder about the realistic side of fantasy and modern warfare. He was no general, but he knew that war was often thought with wide open spaces, the sky above you, lots of land in all directions, it was the exact opposite to the dwarven lands. He could only assume, that a modern war with Orzammar would be far more brutal and deadly in its conditions than that of the First World War. Soldiers would have minimal cover as their shovels could not dig through stone, aircraft a modern mainstay and decider of modern war would be entirely irrelevant, modern methods of communication like radio likely wouldn't work, neither would artillery besides perhaps an anti-tank gun. Speaking of tanks, could they work underground? He wanted to say yes, but with such limited room to manoeuvre, it would likely be a disaster and make an easy target for opponents, although given how this place had very little open space, if a tank had incredibly reinforced frontal armoured plating to take the shot's then it could decimate opponents. Logistics would be a bitch though, one small collapse of a tunnel and an entire set of men could be out of supplies and starve to death. Small –arms would still be the mainstay of the fighting and grenades would likely prove to also prove vital due to the limited damage he supposed they could do to strong dwarven walls compared to that of a tank blast.

Most likely, fighting underground would be like fighting in a skyscraper just without the light, communication, air and ground support. Actually the more he thought about it, fighting underground in the dwarf city and its other Thaigs would probably rely on having the superior soldiers as he could only see the sheer size and mass of WW2 armies to soak up bullets to advance a few metres as another possible course of battle. His mind turned to the idea of navigation, humans, elves and Qunari would severely struggle down here and one simple sign turned the opposite way could stall an entire campaign.

He wondered how a major country like the US would fare in such an environment if the dwarves had the same weapons as modern insurgents did, then the US would very likely fail. They could likely take Orzammar and maybe a few thaigs close by but anything that wasn't close to the surface would be too much. Without access to artillery, tanks, high explosive weapons and aircraft, they would be at the severe mercy of the dwarves.

What was even worse, was that he could see that with modern weaponry, that dwarves could actually become almost invincible and impossible to attack. If he was a dwarf general at war with a human nation, his strategy would be to take a defensive line around the closest source of agriculture and gather as much food as possible. If pushed back, he'd again try to store as much food until finally hold the line at the front gate. Whilst all that would happen, he'd have others dig hols underneath human cities and place a vast amount of explosive underneath the human foundations and just blow them to Kingdom-Come. Surface kingdoms could do little to prevent an attack and if it was successful, then the surface kingdoms likely would have to sue for peace so that they could rebuild.

Modern warfare against dwarves would be a bitch to fight he concluded, far more devastating for not only c asualty numbers but also morale, logistics and the threat at home. It actually made him thankful that these dwarves weren't a bunch of psycopaths that wanted to conquer the world, already they had access to explosives and while he was unaware as of yet how they compared to Black powder, the result would still be the same if enough was piled underneath a city.

Perhaps if he ever had a conversation with the royalty of Thedas he should bring such a topic up, warn them of the very possible danger of allowing the dwarves to expand too much. While he did think that the dwarves should take back some of their old Thaigs and treasures, the consequences of such an action could be devastating. More dwarves meant more food had to be imported, more food needed meant a higher reliance on trade, more trade meant more political interference and meddling- more meddling resulted in anger- more anger resulted in rising nationalistic sentiment- too much nationalistic sentiment resulted in giant war killing thousands.

He chuckled inwardly to himself, already he was applying English and later British Foreign policy to this new land. Divide and rule had worked very well for them for the past five centuries, besides the empire it had gained, it had also kept the British nation safe. It was the same policy that he could likely see Ferelden do here, make sure that there wasn't a nation in Thedas that was so overwhelmingly powerful that they could easily conquer the continent and impose its will. France had tried on multiple occasions, then Germany had tried twice and then it was Russia's turn. All had fallen eventually, but none of them had the potential future capability that the dwarves had.

As a result, he would say that from a Foreign Policy point of view, the surface nations could not allow Orzammar to expand its holdings too far, could not allow it to industrialise and should certainly never lend aid to Orzammar to fight the darkspawn. The best thing for Orzammar from a surface point of view was to leave it as the main enemy of the Darkspawn, with that the dwarves will have very little time to focus on other goals against the surface.

As for Orzammar, it was the exact opposite. They needed to boost their population as much as possible, develop and corner some key industries and also create significant political blackmail to gain significant concessions from the surface kingdoms.

That brought him onto the topic of the King himself, there could be a multitude of reasons for being attacked, Merlin knew that Politics was one of the most complex and confusing things of all time as it was. Yet if this attack was successful and only now, then it could possibly relate to the kings most recent policy decisions. Perhaps one of the surface nations had ordered the attack as they feared the consequences of a re-strengthened Orzammar, then again it could also be angry nobles who might be losing power or influence, or perhaps merchants with a new set of taxes.

Technically the business with the King wasn't his affair, yet as a member of the Inner Circle, he knew that he had a responsibility to take imitative and handle what he could. And he could see that if he was able to assist the King in finding out his attacker, then he could gain some political leverage, leverage he could use to either better the Lyrium deal or give to Josephine and allow her far more experienced mind use it. If it worked, then him assisting the king could also improve the budding relationship with the dwarves and the Inquisition, something which would only work in their favour.

Added to this, if he could go speak to the King of Orzammar, he could potentially add a high ranking person into his list of contacts. It was always good to have a favour or two in your debt, and one from the King of Orzammar was one favour worth far more than others.

"So did that meeting go well?" Elyria asked confusedly as she looked on the dwarves. For whatever reason, most of the dwarves that had been present had now disappeared, most likely she guessed into their houses or wherever they worked.

"It was okay, nothing good nothing bad," Nat answered as his eyes flickered behind the sunglasses. Unlike before when he and the others had walked up here as Grey Wardens, this time he had gone for a less flashy method of simply using a not-notice-me charm. Now that they had arrived and spoke to the individual in charge, the rest of Orzammar would soon know that they were here and after that speculation would soon wonder as to why they had arrived in the capital city of the old Dwarven Empire. "Makes me wonder what type of meeting he had been in?"

"Meeting," Gerald said. "There was someone else in there with him?" Nat nodded towards the boy before he reached into his pocket. Rifling around for a few seconds, he gripped the items he was looking for and then pulled them out quickly and presented them to both Gerald and Elyria.

"You did good work in there, have this" Gently, Elryia stepped forth and extended her hand out to accept the bar of chocolate that her crush had just presented to her and Gerald. Gently she pried it from Nat's hand before bringing it close to her body so that she could inspect it closer. Unlike the dwarf whop they had just met, however, she spent very little care in examining the bright red packaging and instead simply tore open the packet and broke off the first finger with a light snap. Then with a slightly curious look, she munched down on the chocolate her face smiling as she tasted the very strange food. Unlike Gerald however who simply ate it quickly with a content look on her face, Elyria allowed herself to savour the taste before she finished and gave Nat a grateful yet blushing look.

"Thank you," she said.

"It's no problem" Nat replied as he led them over the old stone pathways. In truth he could give them an infinite amount of chocolate thanks to the beauty that was the gemino spell, however, he still had to consider the health of Gerald and Elyria and that meant he couldn't give them sweets and chocolate often. When they behaved well he'd give them treats like this, chocolate, Sweet's, biscuits going by the face they made when they tasted the food, they rather enjoyed it. He might have offered coin but the fact was that he needed what coin he had and the two were still being paid by the Inquisition as they were part of its forces. "To answer your question though, there was someone else in the other, a mage to be exact."

"A mage, how do you know that?" Elyria clutched her staff slightly tighter as she heard that. There were very few people she could see who would need or even be able to buy Lyrium in such large bulk; only the Inquisition, Loyal Mages, Tevinter, Templar's and the Venatori would have the coin for such a large purchase and none of them was their allies.

"I can sense magic, compared to everyone else around me, mages have a tendency to stand out like wearing a brightly coloured shirt. Here in Orzammar though, it's like that mage has decided to set his bright colours on fire and is running around in the middle of the night screaming. I noticed their presence even before we entered the building." Elyria blinked in surprise before shaking her head, Nat seemed to be full of surprises today, if he was able to feel the presence of other mages that far away, then what else could he do with magic. At the same time, she felt her heart sink, if one of the other factions mages was here to buy a large amount of Lyrium, then that could be very bad for the Inquisition.

"Why do you think they're here Commander?" Gerald stroked the barrel of his gun as he walked past the occasional dwarf, who was seemingly both aware and unaware of his presence at the exact same time as they swerved around him like little ants and an obstacle.

"It could be any number of reasons, but the fact of the matter remains that we are likely going to be dealing with at least one enemy. Stay on guard and as I said before, make sure to keep out of trouble, if something happens-" Nat stopped his sentence as he felt himself be torn in two ways, on one hand, the logical fashion would be to abandon them and carry on with the mission, yet he held a responsibility to them. He wasn't operating on his own anymore, he simply could not leave those who worked for him to die, not when if there was a chance he could rectify the situation. "I'll come for you don't worry," He said reassuringly. "However politics can be a nightmare so you may be trapped in a situation for a while."

"That doesn't sound reassuring" Elryia snarked as she tried to hide her apprehension. Why was Nat acting so concerned, most of the time he was straight and seemingly was convinced of everything, yet now on this simple mission to buy some Lyrium he was telling her to be careful. She wouldn't say that she didn't like the feeling of knowing her crush was trying to take care of her, yet it only made her internal fears grow larger. Just what was he expecting to happen?.

"I will come for you," Nat said again this time with a more reassuring tone. "For now though, let's just speak to the King and then I can give you two a proper meal" Without a further word being said, Nat kept the group moving forwards through the streets until they made it outside the house of where the King supposedly slept. Again however Nat was surprised at the state of Orzammar.

At home, multiple soldiers guarded the palace of His Royal Majesty King, William Windsor and there was at least a police officer outside Number Ten Downing Street. In the case of the former, those soldiers were constantly patrolling and had their weapons out and proud as they wore bright red uniforms and really big black fluffy hats. Outside the actual house of the King in Orzammar, was nobody. There wasn't one guard on duty, not one man who looked intimidating in a physical fashion, no fancy words like the goblins did at home to threaten people with being trapped in banks, just nothing.

Nat's eyes narrowed and became harsher then steel, subtly he allowed his wand to drop from its holster on his wrist into his hand. Silently the tip began to glow with a red spell, seeing his movement's Elyria reached around for her staff however before she could even feel the tip of the metal with her pale fingers, Nat's hand clenched her shoulder and he shook his head. Before Elyria could reply, Nat gave a light gesture tapping his thigh to where the flintlock pistol lay to Gerald.

Gerald understood in an instant, drawing his fine pistol out of the black holster it had come fitted in, he reached around into one of the many pockets that his uniform had and slowly played with a few of the cartridges. He would have one shot if they ran into a fight, one shot and then he would have to reload or be forced to engage in physical combat with his shorter bayonet sword.

"Elyria go grab the nearest set of guards. Gerald, you know what to do" Dashing over the stone with his long blonde hair bouncing behind him, Nat leapt to the left side of the main door and pushed his frame against the door whilst the previously dim red light energised more and more in his hand. Following straight behind, was Gerald as with a far less dignified thud, his body slammed into the wall while he took cover and directed his pistol towards the door.

What's going on?" Elyria asked as loudly as she could hoping to draw Nat out of his sudden set of actions and get him to answer the question. Nat turned to her and in a quick sharp motion placed a single finger over his lips gesturing for her to be quiet. Once that was completed he turned back to Gerald silently casting a set of privacy charms around the location to ensure nobody heard him speak, already he had applied such charms around himself and Gerald to ensure that nobody heard them.

"There's two on the right, three on the left and another five in the centre. Once I blast open the door, I'm going to cast a powerful light spell, as soon as that happens, you rush in, find cover and keep shooting. Understand" Nat spoke resolutely as he gently guided his other hand into the pocket of his jacket and summoned up two more sets of his iconic sunglasses. Then with a casual flick, he launched them at Gerald and Elyria where with a quick use of magic they corrected their flight pattern and flew towards their faces opening up and then attaching themselves over their eyes.

Elyria blinked behind her glasses and touched them experimentally, her set of vision had changed instantaneously. Before the bright glowing almost blinding light of the lava dulled quite considerably turning it into a still noticeable light source, but one she could easily stare into without any harm. Aside from that, the other tones and textures seemed to sharpen, she was unable to see further than she normally could, but what she did see was far sharper, she could see the tiny cracks in walls that she couldn't before, the slight dust on one passing dwarfs face. In the corner of her eye, however, she noted something she had never seen before in her life.

It was an image of her, naked but not in a sexual way, her legs and arms were spread apart and she seemed to spin around in a circle. Next to this diagram was a strange line that kept moving up and down every few seconds in a constant yet recurring beat, besides that was a series of strange numbers that she was unable to work out. She would have asked for more, but before she could, Nat gestured to her to go get the guards again. With a huff, she left her position and ran towards the first set of guards. A few moments later, she came rushing back with a set of five bored and irritated guards.

"All right," The head guard said with a bored strain as he gazed strangely at the kids standing outside the palace of the king. "What are you three kids doing, tell me now before I have you arrested" Elyria felt her heart jolt at that, arrested she thought, what was Nat doing and why he had dragged these guards here to do such a thing. She didn't have the time to ask such a question as Nat turned to the dwarf with the same calm but now serious look.

"I'm a mage" He announced to them, "And there's a demon inside the palace"

"A demon?" The Guard captain scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "Are you mad boy? Now, why don't you scatter off and I won't think of killing you for daring to breach the palace of his Maje-" The Captain was cut off as with a sudden roar, the front doors of the palace exploded outward in an explosive fury. Rock, stone metal were hurled into the air in a broken mess with a loud booming noise followed by a powerful shockwave that blasted the dwarves backwards high into the air so high that those who had been further back missed the edge of the platform and screamed in horror as they plummeted to their death below.

With a grunt of pain, the captain smashed into the floor so hard that he actually left a small crater. He coughed loudly as he felt his organs churn from the blast and ache in agony. Slowly he lifted himself, up, coughing up blood out of his lips where it promptly spattered on the floor much to the guard captains horror. His head throbbed painfully as if someone had just slammed it with a hammer and everything he saw was in a dazed and blurry manner. Looking over to his side, the Guard Captain, just about managed to lock eyes onto the other child.

Elyria unlike the dwarf captain stood up quickly and drew her staff on her back with a snarl on her lips. She didn't know how she had gotten out of that situation without injury, but one minute she was hurtling backwards as if hit by a fire explosion spell and the next she landed against a stone wall that felt like the most comfortable of pillows. Directing her attention upwards, her snarl turned to worry as she panicked about the state of her crush and Gerald. only for her to sigh a breath of relief as she saw them where they were entirely unhurt.

"Elyria, heal the dwarves" Nat commanded as he turned his attention briefly on the downed dwarves. A few were missing he noticed, however, the loud petrified screaming soon alerted him to where their next destination was. The others, however, weren't in a good state. Broken was how he would describe their current condition, blood pooled on the old dwarven stone likely on top of where blood had pooled before. Arms and legs had been ripped off some dwarves sockets where as others were missing heads or most of their skulls from where the debris had struck them. A few dwarves looked to be okay, however, their armour had been torn through again by high-speed debris and they were now barely holding onto their wounds.

As for him and Gerald, they were perfectly all right. With him having enchanted his and Gerald's clothes, they were practically invulnerable to anything that wasn't of magical origin and even then most spells that mages would use would either not be effective or entirely worthless. Because of this, he had been able to save Elyria's life without any problem thanks to quick thinking, but for now, his attention was focused on the cause of the explosion.

Thundering out of the now blasted and ruins remain of the front door of the building came the familiar sight of a hulking grey hued beast that was Pride Demon. Behind his sunglasses, Nat locked his own dull violet eyes onto the monsters six and stared it down with his wand already glowing. Behind the demon however emerged a set of walking thin shambling corpses, some type of black ichor that was not the blight but still ugly none the less poured from their eyes sockets as they tumbled forth. Followed by these corpses, Gerald gasped in fear as the newly seen remains of dwarven warriors speared and cut through, rose on their dead legs and joined the shambling corpses with their heads bobbing from side to side.

"You know," Nat said as he made a show of brushing off nonexistent dust of his shoulder. "It's rather rude to just destroy someone's house without permission. I'm afraid I'm going to have to see your permit" Keeping his head up, Nat gave a slight politician smile, the one where you knew it was fake but required none the less and spoke in a calm tone as if he was speaking about the weather. Much to Geralds amazement and confusion, the giant demon stopped it's careless stomping a metre away from his commander as Nat stood in the doorway looking up at the monster expectantly with his left hand extended outwards. "So go on then, show me your permit for controlled demolition and I can go on my way." Slowly the Pride Demon locked it's many black eyes onto the young mage in front of it before with a deep and menacing voice it spoke.

"What an amusing little mage you are for you to dare to demand such a thing from me" It grinned revealing it's gaping black maw in a show of strength. Gerald gulped in fear and that fear only turned to terror as the Demon turned it's attention onto him and gave a deep belly laugh as it saw the tiny piece of wood in his hand. "You would threaten me with a measly little twig" It roared again so loudly that it's voice carried over the entirety of the Diamond quarter and onto the streets below. Gerald felt his arms shake and his breath hitch in his throat as he saw the demon chuckled. This was what he was going to fight? His attention was soon snatched by the menacing sounds of corpses shuffling towards them as their metal armour clanged and ringed. Quickly one of them raised its weapons and banged them against a shield it had, soon it was followed by the others resulting in a symphony of banging that soon drowned out any noise.

Rolling his eyes behind his glasses, Nat simply kept up his smile at the Pride Demon. "So you're saying that you don't have a permit for controlled demolition work?" The pride demon chuckled once more before leaning down so that its head was only centimetres from Nat's.

"Oh I can show you some "demolition" little mage, all you have to do is remove your clothing and present your rear and I can show you. It would beat anything that any pathetic mortal could give." It grinned maliciously as it expected the child to stand back repulsed at the very idea, it soon growled however as Nat shook his head with a notable look of disappointment.

"My, someone has a bit of a narcissistic streak; you should go talk to a therapist about that. I've been told it's bad for one's mental health. " The Pride demon glared at the child in front of him however instead of frightening the poor little mage as he had done countless times before when they had wandered into his territory, this mage didn't look scared or impressed in the slightest.

"You dare to question me" The Pride demon roared. As it focused the entirety of its attention onto the young mage, the Pride demon was entirely unaware as the sounds of heavily armoured metal boots and clashing sounds of metal got closer and closer at speed. Neither did the demon notice the terrified set of dwarven nobles who were quickly running away in alarm, it was especially unaware of the fact that Elyria had healed to the best of her ability the downed dwarven guards or the few nobles brave enough to watch the currently unfolding events.

"Well you know what they say, without criticism one can't grow, and you, my tall ugly seven eyed freak show really need to do some exercise, have you seen the state of your stomach" Just as Nat had expected, the Pride demon instantly looked down to its stomach and began patting it's large belly proudly before it looked up into the sunglasses covered eyes of the wizard with a haughty laugh.

"Yes it is quite large, just a showing of my magnificent power"

"Magnificent you say," Nat said as he tilted his head to one side and pretended to stare in interest. "Well I guess such a size does indicate that you are powerful enough to gain so many meals, however, would that not affect your chance to get with the female demons?" The demon sniffed in indignation its belly rippling with fat as it did so, then the demon took its meaty slabs that were supposedly a set of arms and pushed his stomach outwards showcasing just how fat it was.

"Please, the demon's can't get enough of this" The demon then bellowed in laughter again before a large smiled ripped across its face. "I like you mage, I think I'll spare you, keep you as a toy to entertain me or better yet, you kneel and swear yourself to my service and I'll let you have any bitch you want, demon or non demon" The demon smiled in a cunning way at the kid, there was no way that some young mage who had grown up in some small tower guarded by Templar's would refuse his offer of any bitch he wanted. "Think about it kid, I've seen the dreams of you male mages, it's hilarious at how limited you are in scope. It's always the same action, laying on top of a bitch and then humping for a minute before finishing, it was utterly pathetic. If you follow me boy, you'll never have to worry about finding your next fuck ever again. All you'll have to do is simply command the next bitch to come in and then you can do whatever you want to them."

Nat rolled his eyes, was this seriously the best a Pride demon could do, offer him an unlimited amount of sex slaves in return for service. Honestly, it was rather dull just how unimaginative these demons are. Not that he would ever take up a demon on such an offer, but honestly if one was going to offer him something, it would have to be either power, wisdom, knowledge or a way back home. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that the nobility that had been streaming out of the building was now gone besides the few which had decided to watch the exchange. Good, he could finally end this.

"Before I make my mind up, could you answer me a question?" The demon chuckled once again before proudly allowing its belly to jiggle, it had won it though, soon it would have an army and then it could conquer the mortal world.

"What do you want to know little mage?"

"King Belen, what happened to him?" Smiling, the demon gestured to himself before allowing it's cruel eyes to dance over the assembled dwarves. In the crowd, the demon saw a young human girl, dark black hair beautiful eyes and a nice supple body, oh it was going to have it's fun with her. Reaching out its arms it announced so loudly that even those on other levels could hear it speak.

"The dwarves beloved king was my host, now his flesh is mine and with it, I will take over not only Orzammar but also the world. Kneel and obey"

A sound of blasting thundered roared through the lava lit cavern followed promptly by a loud thud as the newly created headless Pride Demon smashed into the floor dead. Red ichor that had once been the blood of King Bhelen poured out of the corpses open neck and pooled around the demon. A moment later, a series of other quick thuds sounded out as the small group of shambling corpses crashed into the opposing wall held by shiny steel spears in their now gaping punctured stomachs.

"No thanks" Without a care in the world, Nat turned on his heel his wand already hidden back in its holster and then with his arms held behind his back, he granted Elyria a soothing smile and Gerald a calm look. "Come on you two, I think it's time we get ourselves a room to sleep in, I have a feeling we're going to be here a while" Still in shock, both Gerald and Elyria stared at their Commander and then back at the corpse of the Pride demon that now littered the floor. The dwarves weren't in much of a better solution, they gazed upon the bloody corpse of a Pride Demon that had once been their beloved king in unmasked horror. So much terror ran through the dwarves that when Nat simply gave a nod to them, they all felt their hearts jump and some had jumped in fear. Slowly and not saying a word, Elyria and Gerald removed themselves from where they were and followed Nat without a word. "Oh I'm sorry about the metal that's now stuck in the ceiling, however, I'm sure you can handle it." With a calm look, all the dwarves could hear for the next few moments was the sound of military boots treading on the floor as a mage walked away from the scene. Finally, when he and his companions had left the Diamond Quarter, Pandemonium struck.

Dwarven Tavern

Nat had never really spent his time in taverns or pubs, there were a few reasons for this, one was the fact that he was underage and therefore not legal to drink in such an establishment, the second, was that from the occasional time he had visited such an establishment with his sister in the very limited free time he had, he had noticed that he didn't like pubs or taverns. Such places were loud, reeked of alcohol, filled to the brim with shady looking people and often filled with far more people then he would like. It was even worse when there were young children or babies in such an establishment, the way they screamed or had a temper tantrum, tormented angered him to such a degree, that he was seriously tempted on more than one occasion to dispose of the annoying sound box without a care for it's well being.

Why in Merlin's sweet name, anybody would desire to have annoying little Gremlin he'd have no idea, it got even worse when his sister had stated that she was looking forward to Ant's proposal and planning how many kids they wanted. Kate could sweet talk about how he was going to play the big protective uncle over her future kids, but the fact of the matter was he wanted nothing to do with kids whatsoever.

He had thought that coming here to this world and working with a military organisation would spare him from the nightmare that was little sentient beings running around screaming their lungs off but instead as he sat at an old ale covered table that smelled like piss and all he could hear was one annoying brat screaming its lungs out.

"I swear to Merlin I'm going to rip that little shit's rib cage out and feed him to a Darkspawn," Nat thought to himself as he resisted the urge to use the power of magic that he had been born with to sort out the annoying little shit that was running his day. Somehow, without smashing his head against the table in annoyance, he managed to pick up his steaming cup of tea and bring it up to his lips and took a nice long sip before gently placing the cup down. "I am never having kids"

"How could you say that kids are adorable" Elyria admonished her crush as her eyes locked onto the young dwarven child who had taken round to running after another dwarf child through the assortment of tables and chairs as they played some kind of game with one another. She smiled beautifully as she imagined her own little children running around, occasionally her make-believe daughter would rush back to her and ask to be held and cuddled before her son would then jump into the arms of his dad and play a game. Nat held back his grimace and instead nursed back another cup of tea.

"If you say so," He said dryly before then refocusing his attention onto the other patrons in the tavern. Most of those who were currently in the tavern with them, were ordinary folk, blacksmiths who were taking a quick drink in their free time, merchants whose lips had become parched and the miner who wanted to eat something warm rather than some cold piece of overly salted meat to keep it from spoiling. The more interesting people were those of the guards still dressed in their uniforms and knocking back a cold one with the boys as they shouted about the size of some woman's cleavage. It was a very droll subject.

"What are we waiting for Commander" Swilling the ale in his tankard around, Gerald peered in bored at the drink attempting to see if he could find anything in the beverage that may take his mind off the boring state of affairs that he now found himself in. Nat pinched the top of his nose and leaned back though he made a very subtle practice of flickering his eyes over towards the front door. Checking that no guards were nearby and nobody was watching, he with a long series of practice allowed his wand to spring into his hand and then cast a set of privacy charms around them.

"You heard the demon, the Kings dead which means that Orzammar is going to fully shut down, no traders, no Grey Wardens and no messengers. In the meantime the assembly is going to have to pick a new king however considering how long a democratic process can take, that may be a while which means that we are trapped in here." Gerald nodded understandingly before sighing loudly to himself. Elyria on the other hand grimaced as she recalled back to when the Hero of Ferelden had entered a similar situation, back then the Hero had arrived at the last stages of the shut down however this time, they had physically caused the shut down meaning it could be quite a while before they were allowed to leave.

"What do we do?" Elryia asked.

"For now, the same as before. We negotiate a price for the Lyrium and stay out of trouble as best we can and hope that the Assembly is quick to find a new successor although that could take even longer than last time". Flickering his violet eyes towards the door, Nat waited expectantly for a few seconds. Already a good chunk of Orzammar would have heard the demon speak with how loud it had broadcast its voice, but most likely they were still in a state of confusion and would wait until those in the proper authorities alerted the civilian populace what had just occurred. When that occurred, chaos would erupt and the city would enter a panic as those in charge began procedures to deal with the situation.

"What... what if it takes too long for the Assembly to choose an heir if we aren't able to leave. Are we trapped in here" Slowly, Nat moved the direction of his wand towards the front door, he didn't know just yet how the dwarven guards were going to treat them? On one hand, they had killed the demon and the rest of its miniature demon followers, but on the other, the Pride Demon had taken over the body of the King of Orzammar and seeing how he had just killed that demon, that technically meant he had just killed Royalty.

"If we aren't able to get deal or we can and we can't leave then we may be forced to involve ourselves in the local politics. If that doesn't work, then the Inquisition will need to notify within a short time period, and that will require leaving the city through the back door. That is unless of course, we're willing to start a war with the Inquisition and Orzammar." Elyria blanched with fear while her face twitched with the unsaid but nagging and terrifying realisation that was threatening to burn a hole through her.

"When you say backdoor, you don't mean" She murmured so quietly that Nat almost didn't catch her words as her fearful face joined that of Gerald's and peered into the tankard seemingly hoping that the beverage could give them the answers to life's greatest questions.

"That we'll have to leave via the Deep Roads," He said with that ever calm look on his face. Elyria nodded grimly. "While it isn't my first course of action, there is the possibility that we very may well have to leave through those dreaded tunnels in which case we will likely encounter Darkspawn. That is if we aren't forced to flee through that method in the first place or enter for some other purpose." Elyria gulped before gripping her tankard and pouring down the contents down her throat and into her stomach, perhaps the drink might wash away her fears and make everything seem better then it would be. With a somewhat loud slam, she looked at her fingers and saw that they were still shaking slightly.

"Is that even a wise idea, entering the Deep Roads" Gerald questioned.

"It would depend on the scenario that would force us to such a measure. If we're being pursued by Orzammar soldiers who want to kill us and put our heads on spikes right next to a deepstalker, then probably. The front entrance would be too far guarded and even if I could wipe them all out with ease, it would only raise conflict. Should things go sour the most logical solution is to escape to a position of strength and allow Josephine to handle the matter of diplomacy. Not to mention that while the dwarves may have pushed back the Darkspawn the occasional Thaig or two, they do not have the recourses or the ability to pursue us that far away from safety. Of course, that naturally means that the further deep we go, the closer we get to the Darkspawn and maybe even something else."

"Something else?" Gerald spoke uncertainly not at all reassured by the way that his commander was able to keep himself entirely calm. The Blight may have ended decades ago, but he remembered the look on one of the older men when he had run with the gang back in Denerim, the way that man's face had gone a deathly pale and his eyes flinched occasionally when he saw a shadow in the torchlight. What could be more terrifying than a creature that could put that type of fear into a person so long after the danger had passed?

"I've heard rumours," Nat said slowly as he thought back to the books he had read in his first few days here after the Breach had been closed temporarily. "I don't know how true they are, it could have been a trick of the light, or exaggeration or something else entirely, but there are stories that the Old Tevinter Gods, the old Dragons are buried underground." Elyria rolled her eyes and scoffed at him before granting him a slightly haughty smile.

"Oh please, everyone knows the old stories, the Grey Wardens hid the Arch Demon dragons underground, I don't see why you're so concerned. "

"You remember what I told you on the road here, that the Grey Wardens are panicking because of a mass fake Calling" Elyria nodded slowly. "Well if every Grey Warden in Southern Thedas was affected, then that's bound to cause a great deal of panic among their ranks. What if in their panic they believe that with their imminent departure from the world in a mass group Calling, that they leave Southern Thedas undefended against the Blight and what if that fear drove them to do something that perhaps they shouldn't do." It was just speculation at this point, but Nat remembered back to his original training about consequences, he had always been taught that one should try and think about the possible, social, military, tactical, strategic, economic, political outcomes. That combined with a realistic view of life made look at the possible crisis that the Wardens were facing from their view and the result was not looking good for the rest of Thedas.

"What do you think they're going to do, hunt down and kill the Old Gods to prevent another Blight from happening," Gerald said haphazardly. "That's a good thing right if they kill the dragons whilst they aren't Arch Demons, then there will be no more Blights and the threat of the Darkspawn will be gone forever. Makes me wonder why they didn't do it centuries ago?"

"I have a few theories on that, but without any proof, there isn't much point in pursuing it just yet. As for now, our concern is getting a trade deal, once we have that we can go back to Haven and report about the actions of the Grey Wardens." Everything was just speculation at some point, an analysis of what he had access to and what it could possibly point to. Personally, he'd prefer to investigate such speculation simply for peace of mind however with the city on Lockdown and him refusing to showcase his ability of apparation just yet, that let them stuck in the city.

The Grey Wardens might be in a desperate state, but they weren't idiots and they knew far more about the blight than a few firsthand accounts from Leliana and the occasional set of words written in a book. Acting out of mere speculation when he didn't even know how this was going to affect the trade talks was rather detrimental to what Josephine wanted. That Lyrium had to be obtained to close the Breach whatever happened and even in the case of some major calamity like the start of another Blight, it could be handled.

"So what are we going to do the next few days?" Elyria sighed as she leaned her head on the table before quickly pulling it back as she sniffed the revolting stench that still lay upon it.

"Well, a quick tour of the city will be in order, get to know our way around and see any important locations or individuals, but for the most part we'll be concentrating on the local investigation" Elyria sighed, stuck in one of the only remaining dwarven cities in the known world and all she was going to be allowed to do was investigate. It would have been nice if they could actually stay and enjoy the city, pester blacksmiths about how they worked with metal, watched a jeweller as they worked, but now she was going to be spending her time investigating a demon.

"Can't the dwarves do it, it's their city after all" Nat raised his cup of tea and had a sip.

"No, this sets a very dangerous precedent. Whatever way you look at it, somehow the leader of a nation was able to taken over by not just any demon, but a powerful Pride Demon. Combined with the demons smaller host, there is a very serious problem with security here, even worse when one considers the fact that Dwarves cannot enter the Fade so their security should have been top notch. If so many demons can climb so high into Dwarven Politics, then it makes me wonder just how safe the rest of the Royalty in Thedas is. For all, we know they could be hosts for demons and we don't even know it"

"That was a powerful demon," Gerald said in surprise. "But you killed it and the rest of its group like it was nothing. I mean one spell and the things head just exploded, how can that be a powerful demon?" Gerald remembered the time the commander had first thought him and the rest of the gang he had been in, the way he had effortlessly beaten them within seconds had been terrifying and even now he could still remember how cold that metal had been when the commander had placed his sword against his neck. He had been terrified then and even more so now, ever since he had arrived at the camp he had asked as subtly as he could and that type of skill was actually rather rare. Mages apparently hated fighting in enclosed spaces as it made it easier for Templars to gut them like fishes.

"Things have a tendency to do that when struck by a heavy metal ball larger than a person's head, with considerable weight and moving at several hundred miles per hour" Nat said dryly as he still remembered in a slight amount of amusement as what had been once ugly beast was quickly transformed into a red mushy paste decorating the back door. He wondered how the building looked now, likely still splattered with the king's blood, that was going to be a bitch to get out of the walls. "But yes, the demon was actually a rather powerful one. Had I gone for a more typical elemental spell like flinging fire at it or maybe even a boulder, then the damage would have been done but the creature still would have remained. A cannonball has the luxury of giving substantial force to a relatively small area and at a sufficient speed and distance that the demon would never have had a chance to react."

"Oh I get it, instead of using a normal combat spell, you used your magic in an inventive way to get around its natural defences. That's very clever" Nat gave Elyria a light smile as thanks.

"Not particularly, the problem is that nearly every mage uses magic in the same exact way. All they think about in a fight is pure power, how powerful is the spell, how hot is the fire, how much lightning is there, how much area does the blizzard take up and how many people can this swirling vortex pick up and toss around like ragdolls. You all act like jackhammers using nothing but brute strength to decimate your foes. Occasionally you might use a little strategy such as a fire blast to shock the enemy followed by an ice spell to freeze them, but again it's all about brute strength." Elyria frowned at the comment, she did more than just use brute strength in her training, when a group attacked she always encased them with ice so she could concentrate on individual targets at once and when that couldn't happen, she would summon a blizzard to harass her enemies giving her time to escape. That had all be training up to now, but she still used magic strategically.

"But you need raw power to do spells" She countermanded.

"True" Nat nodded "However even the most powerful of mages can be taken down by even weak mages given enough time to prepare and imagination to utilise."

"How I don't understand, I mean how could a mage barely able to conjure a small flame be able to beat a First Enchanter who can summon a firestorm and wipe out large amounts of enemies" Nat chuckled lightly to himself as he saw the girl, it wasn't the first time people had asked these questions and he still remembered that time back when he was in Hogwarts when Flitwick had asked him to help teach the newly formed duelling club as he had felt a little ill. Five minutes in and he had every single club member on their ass panting heavily while he sat casually on a chair drinking tea.

"Time is essential to any battle, the amount you are given can affect the entire battle strategy, from the spells that are used, the environment fought on, the amount of magic used, as well as the amount of physical energy you give. All of these depend on the time you have in a battle. For example, you are in a scenario that you are trying to escape a section of the Deep Roads with Darkspawn trailing after you, what type of spells do you use?" Elryia leaned back on her chair and thought about what spells she knew, if she was trying to escape Darkspawn then that meant she had to get rid of as many as possible to prevent them from closing in on her and her friends.

"I would use more powerful spells, anything to push the horde back long enough until I could find something I could use to close off the entrance." Though she had never encountered Darkspawn personally, Elyria remembered the stories she had read, the exploits of the Hero of Ferelden amongst others and they all talked about how it was near suicide to fight a horde of Darkspawn in such close and confined quarters. Each single all said the same, the first set of Darkspawn would be defeated, but as their numbers grew, the defenders soon became overwhelmed forcing them to retreat and not always with their full number.

"Good, you also have a strategy but as for your answer, you are right. When you are running away from an enemy, time is short on your end and therefore you are more likely to use higher powered spells to increase the distance between you and the enemy and therefore by extension increasing the amount of time you have. However how would you deal with a scenario when your goal is to delay the enemy for a force on your side to arrive, how do you fight then?" It was only the beginning Nat thought, but if he was going to trust her with the secret of his people's technology, then that meant she was becoming a more valuable asset to him. If he wanted to keep that asset, it meant he had to ensure she could fight properly and the only way to do that without throwing her into the fray of combat, was to teach her the basics. And for combat, that meant the theoretical side, to begin with.

"It would be the same, wouldn't it? Big powerful spells to keep the enemy away and buy you enough time for them to arrive" Elyria looked at her teacher questioningly before she took another drink of the ale that she had been consuming. It wasn't the nicest stuff, but at least it didn't taste ghastly.

"Yes and no, again it depends purely on the time allotted to you. Should your reinforcements be nearby, then you can use a more powerful spell to wipe out some of the opposing forces numbers, but that is only if you know how far away your reinforcements are and how long they will take to reach your position? If you do not know these options, then your best decision is to use less powerful spells" Elyria frowned in disagreement as she touched her staff, she still wasn't on the level of Grand Enchanters, but she had seen how the firestorms they created could hold back a number of scared Templars as they thought about cooking in that hulking metal suit of armour of theirs.

"But powerful magic is needed even more if you use weaker spells than you might kill only a few enemies and they could overrun you," Elyria argued.

"The problem with flinging so many powerful spells at once when you're in a delaying action is a case of stamina. Once you've thrown all your spells and you're out, that leaves you exposed and if the enemy has mages, they could wipe out your force out quickly if nothing can be done to counter. After all, if they start sending fire blast's and ice walls into your front rank and there aren't any mages to stop those spells from reaching, then you're numbers are essentially going to start getting wiped out. And even if they don't soon you will get tired, and when you're tired you're more prone to make mistakes, your strength weakness and your speed slips whilst that ever crucial battlefield awareness could alert you to a threat just too late. In a delaying action with no idea as to where backup is, your goal is simply to fight but conserve as much energy as possible"

"Then how would you deal with such a scenario commander?" Gerald asked with a keen look in his eye as he imagined the battlefield scenario that had been thought up between the two mages. He would have made his comment, but that was before he realised that there wasn't anything he could comment on. Despite his use of killing people and fighting, they had been quick skirmishes nothing like that of a war front. Everything in those battles was about overpowering your enemy as fast as you can and then to leave the area before guards came.

"Nat nodded at Gerald before he turned his wand to the table wiping the filth off it before then summoning a few models of wooden design. Elryia blinked at the craftsmanship as quickly she snatched one of the small models up and saw that it was a Darkspawn Hurlock. Grimacing, she placed it down and then picked up one of the three other figures that were located at a bit of a distance away from the ever-increasing horde of Grimm. It was quite impressive actually, there were Hurlocks, Genlocks, Shreiks, Ogres all in little miniature form. Rapidly then before her eyes, large panels erected on each of the sides of the Darksawn resembling a series of tunnels leaving only the top open to see.

"It's us," Gerald said in an impressed tone as he picked up the wooden miniature of himself and inspected it for a few seconds. A pleased expression appeared on his face before gently he placed the miniature back to where it had been.

Grinning mischievously at the models, Elryia threw her hand forward in a rapid dash hoping to grab the small figure of Nat in the centre. Before she even got close, however, she felt her hand get slapped away, with a stern look, she pouted before placing back the miniature of her back where it belonged.

"That's supposed to be the Deep Roads isn't it?" Nat nodded to Elyria before with a flick of his wand, the models came to life with little movements of their own such as how small little splurges of black bile ran down the Ogres moth or the way that a Hurlock threw its arms backwards with its swords.

"Now in such a delaying action, the first plan is to form a basic line of defence" As Nat spoke, the models moved on their own, in this case, the Model of Nat who was the leader of the group summoned up a small stone wall just over head height with small holes in the centre that could be used to fight out of them. Just on cue, the Horde of miniature Darkspawn charged the models with a miniature Darkspawn battle cry that would have sounded so cute had the models not looked so real. "As you can see, the models are not attempting to beat the Darkspawn back, but neither are they trying to put too much distance between them and the enemy. What they are trying to do is keep the enemy roughly in one place and prevent them from moving too quickly"

"Yeah kill that ogre mini Nat" Elyria cheered as she watched the small figure of Nat point his tiny wand and then blow its miniatures head off into tiny wooden red chunks before then turning on the other ogre and then smashing that one's head in. Gerald for his part was currently in the middle of thrusting his rifle's bayonet into the skull of any Darkspawn that tried to jump through the holes. Mini Elyria though was more focused on shredding a few hurlocks with a wall of ice.

"As I was saying" Nat interrupted the gleeful expression on Elyria as she watched in awe as the miniatures began butchering their way through Darkspawn after Darkspawn. "However, there is always the risk of being overwhelmed. Should this occur, then you need a number of fall back lines, locations that you can run away to and start the fight again at? If you don't have such defences when fighting a delaying battle and your line breaks, then you can be in severe danger. As the model will show you, the figures are having to fall back to a new defence" Just as Nat said and much to Elyria's annoyance, a group of Genlocks managed to break free into the first defensive line and began advancing on Elyria. With a quick few streaks of bright light, the model Nat grabbed Elryia and then pulled her back about five metres from the original wall and summoned up a new one. Shortly after an ogre picked up a convenient boulder and then hurled it at the first gate smashing it into tiny miniature rubble.

"Wow, these effects are quite amazing. You could make some type of board game with this" Gerald spoke as he admired the swift yet flowing movements of the figures. On more than one occasion he had panicked over mini-him that he would be stabbed through the back by a Hurlock, of course, whoever something like that looked like it may happen, either Elryia or Nat was there to save him from his ultimate demise.

"You should try wizards chess" Elyria peered back onto the specific miniatures on the table, it was incredibly advanced magic, the way the little lights and movements that each of the figures did to the small spurts of blood that erupted out of a Genlocks neck after it had been impaled by one of her ice spikes .

"What's the difference?" She asked.

"The basic version of wizards chess is nothing really special, the pieces move on their own and have a few animation scenes but that's it, however, the true joy of wizards chess is the more advanced levels." Perhaps it was just him, but despite being a Ravenclaw, Nat had never particularly liked basic chess, he could play it well, but the basic form was just so boring and was why he never played on the basic level. He preferred the most advanced version of chess which in truth wasn't chess how it was known to muggle's and was actually more like one of those Grand Strategy games that muggle's played on their computer. But even the most advanced version of chess had nothing compared to a different game. "Advanced wizards chess, however, is far more complex and complicated, for instance, you cannot see the entire board"

"What, then how are you even supposed to play? I mean the whole point is to look at the board and think several moves ahead ?"

"Each of your pieces has a certain line of sight to them, anything that isn't in the line of sight, is black which is to represent the fog of war. It forces a player to send out pieces in a different order then they might do otherwise. For instance, a popular strategy is to send out your knights to scout out the area whilst then using your pawns as a forward defensive line followed by the rooks to hold up the rear. " Nat chuckled internally as he saw the expression that Elyria was making on her face, she was managing to understand the rules, okay, but he could see that in her head she was trying to work out how such a strategy would work. It was almost fun, but he was looking forward to the face she made when she learned about the other vast changes that were made. However, that was going to have to wait for a time when they weren't waiting for the inevitable reaction to the king's death.

"But the board is quite short, or do the pieces have very limited sight" Nat gestured back towards the little animation of them battling the Dakrspawn Hordes. Whilst he was having fun with answering the questions. Class was in session and Elyria did need to learn these tactics less anything occur to them.

"The game has a lot of different rules, and if by some chance I manage to get some free time, I will play a true proper most advanced game of wizards chess with you. As to your question though, the smallest version of advanced Chess has a board five times the size then a normal one" Elyria stared in shock as her mind tried to contemplate that, she had heard of some games lasting entire hours on such a small board, she could only imagine what a far larger board would do and all these extra rules that Nat said Wizards chess had, she couldn't help but wonder how much more of an advanced chess player did that make a person.

"Wait then what are we going to do" Nat pointed back towards the models desperately fighting for their lives against larger models of Dakrpsawn. By now, the group had been pushed back from the first defensive line, had created a second defensive line and was pushed back from that, and were now defending as best they could a third defensive line as spells whizzed into Darkspawn and made them explode into little chunks.

"Back onto the subject at hand, the fact of the matter as you can see here, is that in a battle, where you are trying to prolong time, you need to focus on using only enough power in your spells to take down the opponent and that's it. Anything more is overkill and could get you or an ally killed in a fight. As to why I'm showcasing a fight against Darkspawn, there is the possibility that we could encounter them and you need to know how to act and behave should we come into that type of situation." While Nat spoke calmly, a loud well loud for the miniatures horns flared in the background, moments later the sounds of heavy metal armour clanging loudly against one another as a battalion of dwarves wielding a bunch of heavy spears appeared from nowhere and rushed past the miniature Nat and crashed into the Darkspawn lines as the fight continue to go forth. Spears slammed into unguarded Dakrspawn Hurlocks and arrows flew through the higher then average ceiling of the Dakrspawn striking the Genlock archers then another group of dwarves charged forward and-.

"I was watching that" Elyria complained as Nat removed the entire set of fighting miniatures with a wave of his wand vanishing them into a place unknown and leaving their table clean but back to the condition that it had been in before.

"They've arrived" With a short rap, the door slammed open revealing a whole troop of dwarves dressed in heavy armour and wielding wickedly sharp looking weapons. With their plate armour ringing on the warm stone, quickly the bunch of dwarves piled in with their faces hidden behind their helmets that would protect them from an attacker. Silence fell upon the tavern as all patrons stepped where they were and swivelled their heads around to face the group. Some men gulped either in fear of guilt of some crime that they had committed but had not been caught for, children rushed to the sides of their parents and hid behind them or clutching at their mother's skirts. Others stood still gently placing their drink on the counter and placed their hands in plain sight to indicate that they were no threat to the oncoming group of dwarves.

For about three minutes silence reigned over the entire area as the guards stood there with their spears pointed upwards for those who had them and those who did not have their weapons presented in a threatening way, warning anyone that should they dare to approach, that they would have limbs cut off or even worse. During this session, the leader of the squad although Nat could not tell his rank having any experience in dwarven military customs, slowly marched through the twisting bends of the tables and chairs that made the tavern. Upon getting closer, Nat could see the man's cold eyes glanced over every individual, narrowing slightly as they took in the appearance of certain others. For a brief moment, the dwarf looked over to where Nat and the others were sitting but soon focused his eyes on something else as they saw nothing there besides a few empty seats. With a loud audible sigh, the dwarf raised his head and locked eyes with anyone who dared to and declared loudly to those in the tavern.

"His Royal Majesty King Behlen is dead" The dwarf gritted his teeth and the once loud silence became so echoing that had dwarves of humans hearing been better, one could have heard a heartbeat. "His majesty was killed by a Pride Demon and henceforth the city of Orzammar is fully shut down, none shall enter or leave this city until a new king has been chosen. In the meantime, should anyone see the ambassadors of the Inquisition, they are to alert the guardsman immediately, the Assembly wishes to speak with them."

Slamming his foot onto the ground, the guardsman turned on his heel in a sharp movement and marched back towards the rest of his men, his hand gripping his sword tightly while his other clenched in anger. Then with but a simple nod of his head, the guards made way for their commanding officer to take the leave and with military precision followed him in a single long continuous march, the last guard closing the door behind him. Only when that door had been closed and the residents and others of the tavern had been left alone did pandemonium erupt fully.

"Well, there it is, the panic that sweeps a nation. Cue the conspiracies." Nat said with a slight chuckle as he watched with mild amusement as the dwarves all seemed to enter panic mode. Some of the dwarves had gone ashen white, those with businesses Nat expected, others began celebrating loudly and proclaiming today to be a good day and swearing on the Ancestors, others mourned the death of their kings. Another type of individuals, however, had already processed the death of their kings and their thoughts lingered onto the topic of the murderer of their king while a different group blinked surprise at the mention of the small human religious group on the surface world. All sorts of opinions were expressed, and those who had kids were the first to take off, bundling them in their arms and whispering about how it was becoming too rowdy for such innocent things. Other topics were whispered as well, and Nat did his best to listen to all of them.

"How can you be so calm about all this" Elyria spoke as she saw the utter pandemonium that was going on, all around them the citizens of Orzammar were freaking out desperately with a myriad of emotions. Yet through all this, Nat seemed entirely unconcerned by the consequences that his actions had led to. "A demon killed the King of Orzammar; surely this is going to affect the trade deal"

"Yep, it will. If the assembly knows about us, then the dwarf we spoke to has already informed them of our visit and knowing the other dwarves, they're also bound to know how we entered Orzammar dressed as Grey Wardens" Gerald gulped in fear, if they knew they were here, in Orzammar, then that would very likely mean that the dwarves would be searching for them and if that was the truth, they would have to get into a fight with actual dwarven soldiers. He still remembered the way the room had gone cold when the guards had come in, those weren't typically scared guards of Noble birth, these were battle trained warriors who actually knew how to wield the weapons they used.

"Yes, but how are you so calm? Why aren't you panicking?" Without a lone care in the world, Nat sipped at his tea and allowed his eyes to gaze upon the residents in the tavern, there was a reason he had come to such a public place, and that reason was espionage. While the vast majority of dwarves were debating the death of the king, one individual dressed in a cloak occasionally gave a confused and mysterious glance their way as they had been doing ever since he had applied the privacy charms. Nat turned his attention through the continuous harsh orange glow of the torches and back to Elyria.

"Because there isn't any point in panicking" He replied before taking another cup of tea.

"That's not an answer" Elyria demanded, back in the tower if something like that would have happened then every mage would have been running around in fear and yet here you are drinking tea" Nat chuckled as he heard the mix of disbelieving yet also panic that infected Elyria's tone, it was to be expected given the situation, everybody lost their heads went something bad happened, it was a natural response. Taking another sip of his tea, he turned his eyes so that they gazed into those warm lovely eyes that Elyria possessed and answered in a clear manner.

"There is no point in panicking because it only leads to mistakes. Action is being taken by other people, but it's rapid, and it's knocking individuals off their game leaving them vulnerable. Yes the King is dead, and that is a severe setback, but what is panicking going to do? Is it going to bring back the King? is a new king going to be declared simply because I'm panicking, is my panicking going to magically solve the situation? No. Panicking solves nothing and is only bound to make a person act hastily likely meaning they are going to miss something and don't even talk about the sheer stress panicking causes a problem." Elyria's eye twitched, how could he stay so cool, she understood that panicking could b bad, but it also means that a people would do things, every time there was a surprise inspection back at the tower, the panic she had experienced and kicked her into action and soon she was cleaning as quickly and efficiently as possible. However this wasn't her room being messy, this was the death of a political leader, something that would cause massive political ramifications, action had to be taken to prevent the resulting damage and yet Nat was just sitting there, in a tavern with a cup of tea with an ever calm expression on his cute pale face.

"We need to speak to the assembly, we need to speak to the Inquisition, tell them what happened with the demon, we also need to see if there are any more"

"Relax Elyria, there is a six-part process to dealing with any problem," Nat said as he put the tea down. "One recognise that there actually is a problem," He said soothingly as he outstretched his left thumb. "Two, see what that problem actually is. Three, determine the effects of that problem. Four theorise solutions to that problem. Five figure out how to implement such solutions. And finally, six, implement those solutions. Should that fail, then repeat from step one."

"That's it," Elyria said as she stared in indignation at Nat. "That's all you have, go through a few steps. How is that even going to help us, we're not being taught magic anymore with some cute steps, the king is dead and the Inquisition could fail if we don't get the Lyrium to close the Breach" Elyria cried in panic, everyone she knew could die if they didn't solve this problem, her teachers, her friends, so many people would lose their lives if this failed. However despite this, despite the lives that lay on her crushes shoulders, he was calmly collected and spouting something along the lines of what one of the older mages would state to a newly commissioned mage as they prepared to cast their very first controlled spell.

"Think about it Elyria" Nat spoke slowly as he refocused his attention on the hooded individual, it was a shame he couldn't afford to cast a spell on the cloak to reveal this face, doing so would very likely reveal that he knew who the cloaked individual was possibly destroying any counter espionage before it began. "I've already gone through the first four steps, currently I'm on number five"

"What, how do such steps even relate to what's happening" Nat resisted the sigh, he really wished he was back at school, if that had been the case then he would have been talking to a fellow Ravenclaw and they would have understood what he meant straight after speaking to them about it. Instead, he was stuck here, with a girl who was advanced for her age but didn't seem to understand the more theoretical constructs of non-magical ideas. Now he had to play teacher to her.

"One, I have recognised that there is a problem, two I know what that problem actually is, the king is dead and there's no one to succeed him, three I know how that is going to affect things, the city is closed and the Inquisition will not get the Lyrium, Four, to solve this problem we need a new king to restore peace to the city. Now we're at five, how do we actually go about putting a new king on the throne? Gerald any ideas" Jolting out of his own shock, Gerald scrunched his face up, after a few minutes he found himself unconsciously tapping his leg on the floor.

"We need to find who is next in line for the throne, and we also need to know that they will have friendly relations with the Inquisition to help bring down the price of the Lyrium"

"Exactly, we find who is next in charge, put them on the throne and hopefully that will solve the main problem. That will only leave us with the other small problems that we will have to contend with. Such as working out how in Merlin's name the king of a country managed to get possessed by a Pride Demon as well as repairing relations between the Inquisition and Orzammar. To accomplish such a thing, we need to access the Shaperate and ensure that there is indeed a successor to the throne because if not," Nat chuckled good-naturedly "We then have a small trifle of a problem to deal with."

"You mean civil war," Elyria said blandly. Nat nodded and went back to drinking his tea. "Then what are we waiting for, we need to go now not to mention speak to the Assembly, they could help us with this?"

"Few reasons, the first is that this type of event would never occur if someone with a decent amount of power wasn't going to gain something. The second reason is that the kingdoms of Thedas have had good relations with Orzammar. As for the third, using a demon to kill the king of Orzammar is remarkably unique, none of the kingdoms would go with such a plan. Kingdom's would have gone with typical assassination methods, knives, arrows, a mysterious fall, sickness, poison all of these would be right for a surface nation. The only group of people that w know has strong links to demons and could possibly pull something like this off is the Venatori the question is why would they use a Pride demon?"

Narrowing his eyes behind his glasses at the figure at the bar, Nat watched subtly as the individual gently touched his arm and rubbed it ever so slightly as if it was itchy. Promptly, the figure stood up in a casual manner, called over the barkeeper and handed over a decent sized pouch of coins. Slowly, the figure leaned forward and whispered something in the barkeep's ear for a few brief moments, then he pulled back and proceeded to head to the door. Unknown to the figure, as they spoke to the barkeeper, Nat had reached into his pocket and grabbed one of the many marbles he carried for transfiguration and other purposes. With a quick neat flourish of his wand, he applied a tracking charm to the marble before then applying a camouflage spell on it and then a sticky charm where finally with yet another flick, he sent the small glass ball catapulting through the air and collided with the cloak sticking to it.

"I don't understand, wouldn't a pride demon be the obvious choice to kill the King, their the most powerful?" Gerald said as his confused face glowered in the orange light of the lit torches.

"No, there's no point at all in sending a demon to kill the king. Any decent assassin could get close and already one had. If a demon had possessed the king's body, then the only reason would have been to impersonate him and take control of Orzammar. If that happened, then he could have prevented any trade from the Inquisition and perhaps even orchestrate a conflict between the Inquisition and the dwarves. That would cut off Lyrium supply entirely" Elyria reprimanded Gerald though her mind began to race as she thought of everything that could happen. Nat had informed her that there had been an incident in Denerim that he had needed to sort out, something about smuggling weapons and an elf rebellion. She didn't remember the full thing, but the point of the matter still rang true.

"The Venatori are splitting all possible allies. Not just from the Inquisition, but from anyone point blank. Their leader has planned this well, by causing enough instability in each nation nearby and strong enough to lend assistance, he limits the number of enemies he has to face. That must have been the same thing here" Nat said calmly, he had already expected such a thing, but this was only confirming it, whoever they were facing knew what they were doing. They knew the Mage-Templar war would keep both groups of powerful individuals fighting against one another rather than a common enemy, and with the Orlesian civil war, no side can offer concessions due to the political consequences. As for Ferelden, an elf uprising would have divided the nation into not only war terms, but other divisions as well possibly allowing the Venatori to take over the elves unknowingly. And then there was Orzammar, the limitation of only dwarves being able to mine Lyrium meant that the nation could not be thrown into chaos like it was with Ferelden and Orlais however it also needed to be prevented from supplying the Venatori's enemies. It was a decent plan, place a demon inside the king of Orzammar and then turn against the surface, yet to go from such a free training individual to protectionism would require a major event to change a person's worldview. Nat, nodded to himself in understanding, of course, everything made sense now. The attack on the King was staged, it had limited the King to one location making insertion of a demon far easier then it would typically. Also if the attacker happened to come from the outside world and just so happened to confess to some sort of fake conspiracy to limit Orzammar from the surface kingdoms, then it would give perfect justification for harsh actions against the surface world.

The death of the King, however, was unexpected. It could have been a mistake, the king resisting possession too much or perhaps the demon had no desire to share power with the individual who had promised itself a host and acted out on its own. The exact reason as to why the king was dead didn't matter and it was doubtful he would get answers considering that he had promptly turned the kings now demons skull into a red mushy paste that just so happened to be decorating the wall of the kings home. What he did know, however, is that this plot to fill the king with a demon was bound to have at least an extra three people involved.

The first his suspected had to be a mage, this would be to gain the attention of the demon and to perform whatever ritual might have been required. The second was bound to be some other skilled individual with a weapon, likely responsible for the initial first attack. The third would have had to be somebody on the inside of nations politics, somebody who could give them vital information into what was happening not only with the king but also with other vital things that could be occurring.

This was an entire conspiracy, something that he would expect out of some kind of novel or on something like one of those many Crime shows that was on TV. If that was the case, then he knew what their course of action had to be. They had to find the individuals who were responsible for the conspiracy, bring evidence to confirm their involvement and bring them before the relative authorities and have them pass sentence. If they could do this quickly, then they could cement the relationship between the Inquisition and Orzammar now and it would be incredibly strong. If it failed, however, then this would be the perfect excuse for the Venatori to turn Orzammar against the Inquisition.

With rapid speed, Nat tapped the shoulders of Gerald and Elyria and rose out of his seat with his wand still in his hand.

"We're leaving now" Gerald gestured towards his drink with a loud sigh.

"Can't we finish these first" He complained

"No" Nat bit back quickly. "We need to find the heir before the Venatori can put a demon in them"

"A demon?" Elyria gulped in concern her lessons on the topic of those hostile spirits in the fade coming back full force and centre.

"I know what's going on, I'll fill you in on the way there" Without another word given, Nat rushed away from his table and with an elegance and skill that came from navigating quickly through a gaggle of school students managed to zip his way through the patrons of the tavern and reach outside within mere moments.

"Race you there" Elyria teased

"As if you can beat me "Gerald smirked before dashing off into the mix of drunk dwarves and began to make his way to the front door. With a tsk, Elyria joined straight afterword.

Diamond Quarter

Brushing past the dwarves who came and went, Nat, focused his attention on what he supposed was now a crime scene of an area. Currently, he had disguised him and the others as typical dwarven guards enabling him to bypass the security that was now surrounding the outside of the Diamond Quarter.

Before when he had first approached the stairs. There had only been about six dwarves in total guarding the area and only with a small group of weapons. Now though, that number had quintupled resulting in no less than a group of thirty heavily armoured dwarves all staring coldly at anyone or anything that approached them. Behind their heavy helmets protecting them from possible injury, their eyes tracked Nat's movements carefully like a panther. They were attempting to make sure he was real he realised.

Typically humans could never pose as dwarves due to the height difference, however, with him being young he might pass as a rather tall dwarf. To contend with that issue, Nat had decided to go for a full Tolkien dwarf disguise, heavy metal armour, a big two-handed axe in his hand and a thick dark beard extending from his older chin. Calling upon the training that Cullen had given him before he had left for Orzammar, he remembered to change the posture in how he walked. With the enchantments in all his clothing, it was very clear to the observant that it appeared that he was not wearing anything underneath is fancy looking black clothing. In contrast, though armour did not weigh a person down or hider their movement as much as typically depicted, it did have a tendency of changing the way a person moved or how their feet sounded when the touched the floor.

With an illusioned grim look, he approached the head guard who had now fully drawn his weapon and shield and was hiding behind it carefully as though expecting an ogre to charge into the main foyer and attack them instantly. "Halt," The captain said in a gruelling tone. "State your purpose"

"Reinforcements to the Assembly" Nat said quickly. The captain narrowed his eyes the warm torch a few metres to his left hanging from the stone floor illuminating it brightly and more prominently than usual. Swiftly the guard's eyes swept over the appearance of the three of them inspecting every single thing about them as best they could. Nodding his head, the captain nodded towards the pair of giant doors behind him allowing Nat and the others to pass.

"Be careful, there's a bunch of Inquisition agents sneaking around this place. Apparently, their children of all things, if you can believe that" Nat shook his head as if he had entirely given up on attempting to understand things with all the years his illusion showcased him to be.

"It's got to be that sky over their heads" The dwarf agreed with Nat but said nothing further as he returned to his duty of guarding the main front entrance. With a clang of armour, the lead dwarf pointed his long sharp spear towards the next group of individuals who approached his gruff tone demanding for them to answer his questions or face the consequences.

"How do you do that?" Elyria questioned as they hastily began climbing the stairs up to the higher floor.

"Do what?"

"The lies, you sounded as if you were a real dwarf, were you taught or something?"

"It's a necessary skill" Gerald interrupted before Nat could even get a word in. "If you can't lie well, then you get stabbed in some back alley and left to die in the gutter. The commander has to be able to lie well so he can complete the missions he's given"Elryia frowned at the response irritated at the fact that the commander himself had not been the one to provide her with the answers required. She was about to ask another question when up above the door to the Diamond Quater creaked open followed by the emergence of a few nobles.

Swifty the brightly covered men and women of Orzammar upper class sprinted down the steps, those who were younger regularly took longer strides avoiding some steps entirely whereas those who were older struggled somewhat with the problem. Curious, Elyria went to turn her head but midway she felt a hand gently tap her shoulder before subtly pointing back upwards. Despite this, she took the time to eavesdrop as best as she could.

"How did a demon get here in the first place"

"I'll have to alert my traders"

"Finally the bastard's dead, with any luck we can restore Orzammar back to the good old days without his stupid liberal policies.

From her position, Elyria could make a few other things out, but the result was that nobody seemingly had any information about how the Demon had gotten into Orzammar in the first place. Soon they reached the top of the stairs and for the second time in only a few hours emerged into the Diamond Quater.

"By the Maker" Elyria's eyes went wide in shock as she covered her mouth at the scene before them. Whether it was because she had not really had the time to see the scene before or because somehow in the last few hours it had changed drastically, the sight of the demon incident seemed far different now.

Guarding the entire area with stoic faces and weapons at the ready, was what Nat assumed to be the Palace guard, or what was left of them. In less dire times, the guards were likely an intimidating yet aesthetically pleasing sight to see as one would walk around the area of the King. Far in contrast to the bright ghastly colours of the nobility and the harsh brutal glow of Orzammar, the fabric Palace Guard were dressed in, was a rich navy blue uniform. Their armour was made out of plate covering the head from the bottom and matched that of some images he had seen of the Legion of the dead with their more symmetrical pattern. The colour of the armour as well as the actual quality also reflected the wealth of the now dead King and the importance he had placed in his own personal guard. It was a beautiful matted silvery blue inscribed with glowing blue Lyrium, the symbol of Royalty and a few other geometric designs.

They were also very much geared up for war Nat noted quickly. The smaller standard circular shields that dwarves used had been abandoned for more human looking shields in the shape similar to that of a Roman shield. On their lower belt lay a short sword, followed by a longer blade next to that, a dagger. Located on their back was a quiver of crossbow bolts which the actual crossbow they used then tied around yet easy to reach in an altercation. Finally were the spears that the dwarves held upright with no problem and made of the finest oak and steel whilst a small ribbon r perhaps it was a flag hung from one side though it had become draped with no readily accessible source of wind to make it flutter gloriously.

None of those who made up the contingent of the Place Guard could be recognised with their helmets covering their faces leaving only their eyes to shine through menacingly. That soon changed however when one of the guards, the leader Nat supposed going by his bright silver sash tied around from his left shoulder to right hip was any indication, removed their helmet and marched sternly towards them.

Instantly Nat moved to attention, the same stance that he had seen the other dwarves be in when he had spied upon them earlier. Beside him, Elryia and Gerald also repeated the pattern but did so in a sloppy manner clearly indicating that they weren't at all used to such sharp movements. The Palace Guard glowered at them clearly indicating his distaste.

"What are your orders?" The dwarf said bluntly.

"To join forces with those already inside the Assembly where I shall then await further orders, Sir." Snapping his voice out quietly, Nat remembered what little he could of soldiers back home, they had to speak loudly and sharply in a manner that their commanding officers could hear them. He had no idea if he had done it right, and quite frankly shouting orders for no apparent reason was more trouble then it was worth. The Palace guard seemed to think entirely different however as he gave an acknowledging nod of respect before then turning his attention to Elyria and Gerald who had not managed to get anywhere near the correct level of respect needed.

"Guardsman" The dwarf yelled. "You are aware that you are to stand at attention and pay the proper respect to your betters. I hope you have a good excuse." Paling a deathly grey, Elryia gulped and stepped back in fear as the Palace Guardsman promptly invaded her personal space and had his bearded mouth a few centimetres away from her chest as if he was attempting to shout it down. Of course what the Place Guard did not realise is that the illusion around them made the scene look somewhat comical like a goblin demanding that a giant put down a toy and behave. Thanks to his training and education Nat easily kept up his stern outward demeanour, Gerald on the other hand, giggled.

Nat resisted the urge to facepalm.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? you little statue humping prick arse. I should have a word with your commanding officer, tell him about how you've treated me a member of his Majesties palace guard. I wonder how much you'' be fucking giggling like a girl still suckling off her mother's teat when I shove a spear so hard fucking arse you'll be shitting so much stone that even your great-great- grand shits will feel it. You think this is fucking funny do you, you pathetic shit, His Majesty is dead and if you don't show me some Stone veneration level of respect, then I will pull you out of that crappy armour and I will throw you to the rest of you disrespecting scumbags. How do you like that, to become a casteless piece of shit" Finally the Guardsman turned back to Nat, diverting his eyes upwards slightly as the illusion was ever so slightly taller then the actual dwarf was.

"Now Guardsman" The harshness of the one dropped the slightest smidgen as the dwarf turned back to Nat. It was a mark of respect, likely as the Palace Guard laboured under the belief that the illusion was not only real but had seen some real shit as it severed the nation of Orzammar. "Would you care to tell me why those under your command have been so disrespectful. Not only do they giggle when a superior speaks to them, but they can't even stand at attention for fuck sake. Tell me why I shouldn't just throw the lot of you with the Casteless. "

"I have no excuse, sir, their behaviour was inexcusable and as their commanding officer, it is my responsibility. I only ask that you do not commit such action as they are only recent recruits and haven't even truly begun their training. By sparing their commission you will save more than one life, Sir, my our assigned area was dust town, once the Casteless get word of this and notice that we're missing, they'll be up to something"

The guard sighed loudly, soon the man began walking in a slow circle around them, his head held high and mighty as if making this decision was one of the hardest things he had ever made in his life all the while his heavy armoured boots crunched against the floor almost like the ticking of a clock.

"Typical, even the briefest murmur that something's wrong and the rats emerge from their holes. Take the recruits and head to the Shaperate, assist them with whatever needs doing: I'll find someone else to take over your post. In the meantime, I expect that you two recruits will do better in your Studies. Fail to observe protocol again and you'll be begging on the streets " Snapping to a sloppy attention, Elryia and Gerald kept their eyes on the dwarf hoping desperately that the dwarf would not interrogate them any further or worse figure out that they were the ones currently in disguise. Rolling his eyes in disgust, the dwarf turned rapidly on his heel and joined his fellow comrades in guarding the corpse of what had once been the king.

"Wow, it's massive" Elyria whispered as she slowly began to navigate around the ruins of the street. She hadn't noticed it before when she had left, but the damage done in such a short amount of timer had been rather immense. For instance, everything with a ten-metre bubble of where the front door to the Kings quarters was located was covered in rubble. Cracks covered the floor, chunks of giant stone were smashed haphazardly demolishing other buildings into more crumbled rubble, a thin layer of rock lay scattered across the ground and blood was spilt all over the place emanating from a great many deals of dead bodies.

"You saw it right before the commander killed" Gerald asked. Elryia shook her head.

"Well I wasn't really concentrating on it, to be honest, I don't even know what I did it just went past so quickly. One minute I'm standing at the bottom of the door and the next I'm flying through the air and land into something strange as if the entire wall had been turned into something sticky yet flexible. And when we left, all I could think off is that a demon had attacked, not the actual shape of the demon itself. How do you remember it?" Gerlad scoffed at the question but all the same, he followed the mages girls eye onto the bloody corpse that hours earlier had attempted to kill them all.

"It's so big," He said to himself. "Not like anything back home, It looks like it could pick a man up and tear it in half. " Elryia nodded slowly as she inspected the dead creature. Though it was very much a corpse and its head had been turned to a red pulpy mush that now decorated the armour of a few present guards and the rest of the local scenery, it was very obvious that this creature was a dangerous adversary. It was of similar height to that of a Darkspawn Ogre and while its muscles seemed less pronounced than that blight spawned creature, the muscles that pride demon was all the same impressive. She shuddered at what a creature like that could do if it managed to grab hold of her, with a simple flick of its wrist it likely had the strength to snap her bones like very taught string. Should it have done that, then the wicked looking sharp claws its hand on its hands could have torn through her robe and flesh like that of an eagle on a fish? Or if it were feeling crueller, perhaps the creature may have tossed her young body onto its large antler-like horns and worn her on it skull as some type of blood crown, perhaps it might have crushed her under its foot.

So many ways she could have died against the creature had it reached her, it was the scourge of mages, a demon to be feared above all, devastating and ruinous, absolute it's powers and yet despite all this it had been felled without effort. She glanced towards her crush, the one who was entirely uninterested of the corpse he had quickly made of one of the most feared creatures in the world. Fully grown mages would struggle against such a demon, most would fail but Nat had killed it with a lone spell.

"Remember what I said back in the tavern, it's not about raw power. That spell I used, is a relatively simple one to do at least compared to other things, but it worked because of what it was. Had I tried to chuck fire or lightning or ice at it, then the demon surely would have resisted and the same would be true if I had attempted to impale it with a few spears. A cannonball though" Nat gave her a slight smirk as he gave the creature a quick kick where it's head would have been. " Can quite easily obliterate undefended limbs and flesh, in fact, it can easily smash down castle walls. This thing had no chance, still makes me think"

"Makes you think what?" Elyria gazed at the physique once more and shuddered as she remembered the deep tone that had emanated from its mouth and the promises it had said. That thing touching her like the Templars had tried to do, she would have had no chance to fight back, only closed her eyes and wait for it to stop as she fought back tears.

"I really need to up my game with weaponry." Nat made a note as he stared at the body to look into something more powerful then what he had initially planned to use against the Venatori. Cannon's weren't really practical, they had the firepower, but the Inquisition wasn't operating as a full army with thousands of soldiers fighting another force with thousands of soldiers. It was more like small task forces, holding the area around a Breach clear long enough for Valeyna to move in and deal with the situation. The plan did work and cannons could be used on larger enemy formations, but they were far too supply and resource heavy for such light units to transport. Realistically for artillery to be of any real use besides breaking down siege walls, such weapons would have to be placed down in a single spot to give far away cover to a larger area. "The first moment I get I'm hitting those chemistry books"

"Why would you want to hit your books?" Elyria spoke as she blanched in shock.

"It's a phrase back home indicating that we are going to concentrate our time and energy onto a particular task. As for the reason why? Some of my... experiments are going to require a much bigger understanding of Science then I currently possess." Gerald shared a look with his commander. If Nat was planning on updating the experiments, then that likely meant a new more powerful version of the rifle that he had been given. Honestly, he looked forward to such an event, the feeling of a rifle in his hands was utterly foreign yet a very welcome experience that he wished he had more time to spend with.

"Okay, but what's science?"

"Science is the term used by my people to explore and learn about how the universe works. Typically it is divided into three main groups with hundreds of subdivisions coming of that and even more subdivisions from those, but the core of Science are Chemistry, Biology and Physics. The first is exploring things like rocks, acids, explosives how the non-biological material world works. Biology is how living creatures work, this can be things like Photosynthesis in plants, electrical stimulation in the brain, The Food chain. Physics is exploring the forces that control the material world, gravity for instance, how heat rises, atmospheric conditions." Elryia nodded her head slowly as she wrapped her mind about separating the world into three main ways.

"It's a bit broad isn't it, just three, what about maths or magic or what about emotion" Peering down at her, Nat gave something he very really gave the girl, a look of approval. In an instant, Elryia felt her body burn as pride fulfilled her, finally she had done something that had gotten his approval. It felt nice she thought as Nat for a small amount of time gave her a genuine smile and stared at her as if she was something like a little sister who had just beaten some kind of harsh competition.

"Finally, You're thinking like a Ravenclaw. As for your question, emotions are a subset of biology, Maths is a crucial part in science especially so in the case of physics, but at least where I was from, it was treated as a separate thing."

"And magic?" Elryia interrupted with a hopeful look as the desire to know more about the secrets of magic burned within her.

"Magic is the fundamental ability to warp the very fabric of reality to one's desire. However, it is not a science, because magic is the study of the supernatural phenomenon and science is the study of natural phenomena. Whilst magic can be studied, have theories tested around it and so many other things that make it similar to science, the crucial point to magic is that magic can't really be studied by science."

"What do you mean studied by magic?"

"That's too much to go into right now, but be assured that again when I have time; I'll give you an insight into Science. For now, we have a Shaperate to protect" Returning the group back onto topic, Nat was gladder than ever about the use of illusion magic, besides being used for pranks such as making false images to confuse a person in combat, it has the very useful effect of hiding a person's actions from those who would be watching them. In this case had it not been for the use of illusion charms, then the Palace Guard would have been screaming down their ears for not having already arrived at the Shaperate and helped evacuate. Yet as he gave Elyria a sideways glance, he smiled slightly, she was interested in learning.

He didn't often show it, but he also held an interest in learning subjects. It was just a shame that with how concentrated his entire education had been until the last few months before he ended up in this world, it had left him with a rather notable lack of knowledge on other topics. So it was fun to finally be given the time and opportunity to read up and experiment with things he never would have been able to back on Earth. If Elyria continued down this path and should he be forced here in Thedas forever, then he could do with an assistant. Pushing those thoughts aside, he quickly marched up the steps of the Shaperate and gently pressed the doors open revealing the contents of the building that supposedly held massively vital cultural artefacts and knowledge of the Dwarven people inside. As he did so, the illusion covering him and the others changed their armour from that of the standard guard to that of those dwarves sworn to the duty of protecting Royalty.

"Shaper" Nat called out in a commanding tone. Within an instant of speaking all heads that had once been locked in all kinds of scrolls, books, and other methods of knowledge turned swiftly and with somewhat creepy robot efficiency towards Nat. Silence echoed in the building for a few brief moments as men and women alike watched in fear and trepidation as the individual who was supposed to answer only to the king and his commanding officers stood at attention in the doorway like one of the giant paragon statues that lines the ancient city.

"Palace Guard" One of the younger members breathed out sharply whilst another gulped loudly as their eyes flickered over the weapons currently on show.

"I need to speak to the Master" With a booming tone, Nat made an effort of making a slow methodical tone allowing his illusion dark deep eyes to peer into the defenceless souls of those dwarves who dared to stare at an individual beyond their station. Beside him, Elyria and Gerald remained silent attempting to look as intimidating as possible.

"And what would you want with me, Guardsman" Waving his hand towards the back of the shaperate towards where Nat assumed there were going to be some sort of room he could speak to the Master in private. The master did not resist and with a silent nod of his head towards his subordinates ordered to get back to working on their jobs. As far as they were concerned, the danger was past and there were not going to run away from their jobs simply because a few guards with weapons were demanding they leave for the safety of their lives. This was made very abundantly clear to Nat as he fitted inside some small room with the Master and stared him down.

"I will not be bullied Guardsman, our work is too important to risk being destroyed. Speak quickly as to what you want to leave this instant" Nat resisted the urge to shake his head, were all dwarves this rude? Varric wasn't, then again, Varric was a member of a major criminal organisation and had broken the law on numerous occasions so that didn't clear the man. Still told good stories though.

"I've been assigned a secret mission" Nat made a move of moving his eyes towards the direction of the closed wooden doors, looking for any sight of anyone attempting to eavesdrop on their conversation for their own goals. "I need to reach His Majesties Heir and ensure their security before anything else occurs. My commander said you would know where to find them"

A moment passed between the two of them as the dwarf started to tap his fingers onto the side of the wall that closed the two of them in almost as close as sardines, barely did they have enough too to breathe without touching one another as darkness surrounded them.

"You require the present location of his majesties heir" Quickly the dwarves eyes flickered downwards and a look of panic set over them for a moment. As soon as the dwarf realised what he had done, he attempted to get his facial expression back in order however it was too late, Nat had already seen the problem and sighed loudly in his mind.

"Where were they last seen? What's their name?" Scrunching his eyes close together, the Master averted his eyes in glaring shame before squeezing his fist so tightly that his nails bit into his skin and drew blood forcing a pained hiss from the man. With a defeated tone the Master spoke

"Harrian Baleful, He was leading an outward expedition to explore lost Thaigs. We only recently learned off his disappearance"

"Why was his Majesty not informed?" The Master sighed.

"His Majesty was too bothered by other important matters of state, the Inquisition, Templar's, Venatori and so many other groups have been sending in letter after letter asking for assistance in the war. Then he was attacked and would not wake up, we never had a chance to inform him."

"Brilliant. How long ago did he go missing?"

"One week according to the report he was leading a scouting trip to the Dead Trenches"

"Great so the heir to the throne is now lost probably killed by Dakrspawn and even if he was alive, he's likely knee deep in Darkspawn" Nat yelled in mock anger imitating the same type of tone that he had seen the other guardsman use on them when they had encountered something they hadn't liked. With a grunt, he shoved the door opened locked his mock angry gaze onto Elyria and Gerald and yelled so loud and so angrily, it was like a fighter jet had just screamed past and suddenly smashing the sound barrier.

"We're going now" Pushing aside one of the younger dwarves so hard that they crashed into a bookcase, Nat grabbed Elryia and Gerald by the scuff of their collars as if they were animals and proceeded to yank them out harshly throwing them onto the streets outside. With the thundering sound of his own boots hitting the stone, he slammed the door shut and offered the two a smile. Extending his hand towards them, he helped them up and apologised for the actions that he just had to pull.

"Bad news" Gerald quipped.

"Change of plans were heading into Darkspawn controlled Deep Roads," Nat spoke gravelly.

"What" Elryia Blanched stared at Nat as he began heading quickly to the other side of the Diamond Quarter. "You can't be serious, the Deep Roads are full of Darkspawn, giant monsters, the Blight, Dragons" Waving her arms in the air frantically, Elryia felt her heart dip as Nat didn't deny any of this, instead he simply kept walking for the stairs dropping Elyria's petrified heart even further into the abyss. A shiver ran down her spine and she gulped. "What about the murderer here, doesn't that take priority" Nat shook his head.

"Above all things, the heir to Orzammar must be protected, if we lose him then Orzammar is lost and so is the war against the Venatori. We have to ensure his safety, anything else is secondary and if necessary expendable"

"You can't be serious, you're threatening a civil war, what if the Venatori has another candidate to put on the throne, what if this is all a distraction to get you out of Orzammar," Elyria yelled after him but Nat didn't stop his movements instead he actually quickened his pace rapidly weaving through the slowly rising numbers of guards. There wasn't any time to waste on such matters, if the heir to the throne was in danger, then that had to be the first course of action taken. As the Shaperate did not mention another candidate or at least to him, it could mean that they had some time to find the heir. Then again it also gave the Venatori to secure their foothold.

"Then we move fast. We cannot risk splitting up and we also cannot risk the safety of the heir, if he is alive then it's the best shot we have."

"And if it isn't. What if we're arrested and the Inquisition is proclaimed an enemy" Her heart beat rapidly and she felt a few drops of sweat begin to appear on her hairline all in anticipation and fear as she questioned her commander. "We'll lose the war, the Inquisition can't fight Orzammar whilst fighting the Venatori, not to mention the dwarves have a resistance to magic so even if the mages are recruited, they'll be less useful"

"Well, should the Inquisition become an enemy of Orzammar and the dwarves threaten to pour forth from their underground halls, spears and swords sharpened on a whetstone and silver armour glimmering in the moonlight?" Nat cackled to himself. "Then I'll just have to sing one little rhyme and everything will be okay"

"What does that mean exactly? You can't fight them all?" She asked louder hoping for a more detailed explanation on how Nat was actually planning on defeating a powerful enemy such as the dwarves. There was no way he could fight them single handily, he was powerful, but he'd have to fight thousands of dwarves on his own in a tightly confined space that would be nothing but the home ground for the dwarves. They would know every nook, and every cranny, they could tunnel around him or collapse a passage above his head., perhaps they might decide to unleash some of their animals on them if they could muster them quickly enough.

"Again Elyria, you think in raw power, how many individuals can I shove a cannonball down their throat or how many heads I can lop off with a single spell or something along the lines of turning the dwarves to ash with a firestorm. I'd do nothing so trivial as that" Nat gave a teasing grin to her, it was actually quite enjoyable watching her as she attempted to think of his plan in how to deal with a city. She had the exact same problem that all muggle raised individuals did when they wondered who would win between a muggle nation and a magical nation in outright war. They always came to the result that the muggle world would win in a heartbeat, that little to no effort would have to be made and that the magical world would be made their bitch. Pah, muggles.

"Then what would you do?"

"I'd target their vital infrastructure, remove the pillars on which their society stands and watch chaos unfurl around them"

"That doesn't mean anything. I mean Gerald can't understand that" Nat smirked as he saw the rapidly paling face of Gerald. An emotion appeared on that boy's face that he hadn't shown since when he had first encountered Nat and was pleading for his life beyond anything else. It was unbridled primal fear mixed in with that of horror like one who would stare down a darkspawn for the first time. "Gerald, what does he mean?" Gerald slowly turned his eyes towards Elyria revealing a hollow dark look.

"You don't want to know" His whisper barely reached Elryias ears but before she could even question what he meant by that Gerald diverted his gaze upwards to the ceiling of the ginormous cavern that surrounded them. They were vast and supported by the sheer weight of the mountain applying its pressure around them. It was strong, impressive a showmanship of the dwarves might and skill, and also of their culture and history. A history that could end very tragically should the leaders not step too carefully.

"Okay so we're going to save the king, how are we going to get maps, what about food, transport.?"

"I have that sorted and do you remember those horses that we came in on" Elyria blinked.

"Oh yeah I forgot about them"

"Well we're not going to use them, I have something better"

"Really, what could be better than a horse" Nat smirked joyfully, finally after months, he got to play around with one of his toys.

Hours Later

Scenery blasted by beside them at an extraordinary rate, peering her bright blue eyes out of the immaculate clear glass in wonder, Elryia simply stared in amazement as the strange vehicle they were in proceeded the race down the old dwarven roads at a breakneck and unthought of speed. Tunnel after tunnel zipped by, old dwarven patterns that at one point would have been read by travellers as they traversed this deep dark and mysterious passages entirely ignored in favour of the sheer experience as Elyria felt some type of force seemingly push against her.

"So this car," She said quietly as she heard the strange rumbling noise that it made as it zoomed past another old indicator at a speed that even the greatest warhorses couldn't have ever imagined off. "It's how your people got around isn't it"

"Yes, back home before the war, horses have been entirely abandoned as a major form of transportation. Those that did exist were for other reasons, ceremonial, old-fashioned, entertainment, but horses just aren't used any more to transport people from one place to another." Flickering his eyes off the road briefly to the right, Nat locked onto the map that thanks to the use of magic was now acting as a Sat Nav for him as he continued to hurtle down the Deep Roads. Already they had passed a few dwarven outposts but as his car like most things was owned was magical, he needn't worry about anything at all that was required was to hit the invisibility button.

"I can understand why, this thing moves so quickly, does it not get tired and how does it work" Pulling her head away from the window, Elryia allowed herself to lean back comfortably on the chair behind her. This entire vehicle as Nat had called it was a marvel entirely unseen before, in essence, it was a cart, but one that required no horses, made entirely of metal and ridiculously comfortable and could outpace anything on land by a ridiculous degree. "Does that wheel have anything to do with it?"

" The wheel is simply used to direct the direction in which way the car moves via turning the direction of the wheels. As for how it's run, however, it's a bit of chemistry and physics but I can't really describe it to you right now, not without an image" Nat replied quickly as he kept his eyes on the road. For the majority of their journey, the Deeproads were relatively empty allowing for him to take the car at a fast but reasonable pace as they belted down the old transit tunnels. Preferably with the current situation, he would have preferred to go faster, but there were far too many turns and he was no racing driver who could drift his car effortlessly. Then there was the possible case of the obstacles that they could run into, cave in's deepstalkers, Darkspawn or other dwarves. In such a tight confined area, he'd likely crash into something.

"Then why don't you just make one as you did back in the tavern?"

"Engines are a complicated thing to describe without a visual guide. It's not like describing a sword of a wheel, it has a lot of moving parts each with different roles and for most people imagining such a thing doesn't help as they likely either get it wrong or simply don't come up with a picture at all. As for summoning up a picture, it's dangerous to keep one's eyes off the road for too long."

"How come?"

"Too many accidents" Nat answered in short order. "People were crashing because they weren't paying enough attention to the road. Eventually, though the government got it's act together and implemented some new laws when it comes to driving. It's illegal to drive under the influence of drugs and alcohol, it's illegal to drive and look at your phone, it's illegal to drive past a certain speed, illegal to drive without insurance, illegal to drive without a license. Trust me when I say that cars are very dangerous to drive if you're not concentrating as much as you should be" Nat rolled his eyes as the thought of driving reminded him of home. As much as he missed it, he couldn't deny the fact that driving at times could be a frightful experience, there were a lot of twats on the road. Speeding down a thirty-mile road, not indicating when they should be, dangerously overtaking, getting too close, zooming past far quicker then they should be, not looking where they were going. Despite the law, he couldn't count how many times he had seen some asshole driving down the road with a phone to their ear. On the plus side, however, driving on one's own like he was doing now without any traffic could be a rather relaxing experience, especially as he knew that there likely wasn't another car in the world.

"That sounds restrictive, shouldn't people just be allowed to drive down the path," Elryia said. Had he not been focusing on the road that kept zipping by them and the new signs likely put up recently by someone to indicate where the reclaimed Thaigs were, then Nat would have looked at Elyria s if she was an idiot for spouting such a thing.

"No" Nat replied quickly. "Roads can be dangerous enough as it is and these are cars were talking about, not wagons."

"What's the difference?"

"On average, wagons move about ten to fifteen miles per hour. On the other hand whilst the speed on roads can vary depending on where they are, Car's will move around thirty to forty miles per hour in more populated areas and on motorways sixty to seventy miles per hour. However car's can travel much faster if needed, whether that is to overtake another individual or to race, but all the same most cars can travel around or exceed one hundred miles per hour. There's a bit of a difference between a bunch of people and carriages going between en and fifteen miles per hour and a bunch of people in metal boxes going at least double that.

"Oh, that's fast" Gerald's tone dropped to one of shock. Quickly he diverted his attention back onto the tunnels that they were moving down. He had never been on a carriage so he didn't know anything of their top speed or how fast they travelled, still he had imagined that carriage was an extremely fast method of transportation easily allowing a group of individuals to cross the entire country of Ferelden in a few days giving their owners the prestige of viewing different parts of the world that the average individual never would. "How fast does this car go?"

"Well, this is the most recent model and had a whole lot of development done on it, pressing the boundaries for what's possible, perhaps even seeing if it can be used in a military role. Well, that's what I was told when I bought the thing." Nat remembered the face Kate had made when he had first shown her this thing, typically when kids got their first vehicle, it was a small hatchback several years old and only used for running around places. The insurance was highly expensive, as was paying for the fuel if one didn't have a decently paying job for that age, still it was considered a mark of respect amongst fellow young people. If you were in your teens and owned a car, you were doing good and it was a symbol of pride, as soon as Kate had gotten her license she had been quick to get a car and have some fun with it. He remembered the way her face had gone into utter disbelief when his first car had been a brand new state of the art and top of the line newest Range Rover costing about £170,000 with all the extra features added on.

The benefits of being a world class duellist and winning tournament after tournament.

"Anyway, besides the whole new updated electrical systems, the upgraded version came with a better more powerful engine. If I member correctly, top speed on a continuous flat road is about 220MPH."

"By the Maker" Elyria swore loudly as she attempted to calculate that in her head. Despite not peering inside her mind with the power of magic, he was pretty sure he could tell what she was thinking about. With such a high top speed, this car could travel vast distance in a manner of days rather than weeks as the typical horse and carriage would require. He couldn't blame her though, the car was like some type of technological marvel to the people of Thedas, something that could entirely revolutionise the way people lived if it could be replicated on a large scale. It was true though, one simply had to look at Earth to see how the motor vehicle had affected the world's culture by its inception.

America had a massive driving culture from what he had seen, it was an extension of who they were, a symbol of their loves and desires what they wanted to be and the ultimate form of freedom enabling them to leave home and make their place in the world. Personally, he didn't feel the same way, sure he liked his expensive car, but he hadn't bought it so he could drive from one end to the country to the other. It was fast more practical to apparate and walk the final distance, not to mention it was healthier. For him, the car was more of a toy, an expensive toy, but none the less he didn't treasure it very highly. For the most part he had got it because Land Rover despite being owned by a different foreign country was none the less British and it was also an off-road car, oh and it was also taller on the road, had a good speed, looked quite decent and seemed far more sturdy then something like a small dinky car, not to mention it was also big enough to transport people if shopping if required. Finally, though the was the fact of the matter that though his house was small and inconsequential when it came to the matter of, magical politics, he was still of noble blood and that meant he couldn't exactly get away with driving something like a mini.

"The first moment a noble see's this, they're going to want it" Gerald warned his commander carefully. "I've seen what happens to people when they refuse to give something to a noble and I've heard it's even worse with Chevaliers"

"Don't worry, if they try to take it, then I'll make sure to smash into them at over a hundred Mph and then reverse just to ensure that they're dead. If that doesn't work, I'll tie a rope around them, attach it to the back of the car and race of, see how long they can last having their skin grafted to the side of the road." With a cheery smile on his face, Gerald gulped in fear as flashes of what Nat had done crossed back into his mind.

His commander was a very strange individual, most of the time he showcased little to no emotion whatsoever, he came off as calm, collected and reasonable. At other's, he seemingly had the ability to instil a bone-chilling fear deep within any soul with only a few words and only the smallest smidgen of emotion on his face. It was like he was a stray cat, at a distance they looked adorable, soft and cute, you wanted to be their friend and enjoy time together. However, the very moment you got close you felt as if you were engulfed entirely in ice as your life flashed before your eyes. It was a terrifying experience.

"Graft their skin to the road, do you mean when a person has their skin go red and sometimes has a few small pieces come off when a bandit races off on a horse with a person tied up"

"Shred is likely the more correct term. At the speed, a car can go and the roads I'm used to driving on, raw flesh at speed sliding along the floor is more likely to eviscerate the entirety of your skin and muscle into a bloody pulp all over the place and would probably even grind bone down into a white powder." Elyria blanched backwards as she looked outside, true she had no idea if such a claim was true, yet she had a feeling that Nat was not lying. Still, the very idea that a humans skin could be shredded simply by being dragged along a piece of road was a rather revolting image and preferably something that she would prefer not to see in her life.

"Let's just hope that doesn't happen to us" Muttering darkly, Elyria attempted to take her mind off the mental image of some poor person being tortured by a noble via being dragged across a hard ground until piece by piece their skin was flayed from their skin until only blood remained and a person could see the muscles that lay beneath the skin.

"We're in a car, the chances of that happening is slim. If it were a motorbike, however, that would be another story. Then again, you would never catch me on a motorbike in the first place" As they progressed further and further, Nat began to notice that as they advanced forwards the typical light that illuminated the old stone pathways began to dissipate. It was slow at first something the average human couldn't even notice, but with the sheer speed that a car travelled, the lack of light rapidly became more and more noticeable.

"There must be some type of cave in up ahead, can you stop and set up a torch of some kind" Nat flashed Elryia a smirk before with a casual flick of his hand, two bright beams of white light appeared suddenly in front of the metal vehicle illuminating the path before them with a brightness entirely unsurpassed by any torch in the world. It was so bright in fact, that Elryia was of the mind that it would require at least a million candles if she wanted to create a light source that could compare to the luminosity that was provided by this vehicle.

"That's useful," She said in surprise. "What else does this thing do?"

"Samantha" Na t intoned in an incredibly clear manner forcing both Gerald and Elyria to blink in confusion before suddenly some strange noise came from the sounds. Jumping back shocked as their eyes transfixed onto the doors, both humans glared uncertainly at where the sound had emanated from.

"What was that? Some sort of spirit?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand your query?"

"By the maker, this car is cursed" Elyria screeched as the car seemingly spoke to them with a strange sounding female voice out of the window. Acting on fear, Elyria allowed her magic to flow through her body, summoning it forth from the fade as she mentally thought of the image of a giant icicle that she desires to throw at the car door now that it had seemingly been infected by a spirit. "Name yourself spirit or I will send you back to the Fade"

"I'm sorry I don't understand, please repeat the question"

"Commander why is there a spirit in your car and why is it called Samantha" Gerald tasted the words on his lips, he would not lie and state that he understood anything of the Fade, but he had always been under the assumption that demons did not have names, nor did they desire them. Instead, demons would only refer to themselves as the types of demons they were and the same would be of spirits. Had his commander captured one and forced it to work as the car, fuelling this mysterious device with the power of magic. It was an amazing feature if that was the truth, but hoe could his commander trust such a flicker creature to do the correct thing. It sounded like a foolish thing to do yet his commander was sitting still driving with- an ever-increasing smile on his face as if he was observing something hilarious.

"Samantha," Nat said again clearly. "Play all music on shuffle please"

"Music?" Elryia stared at the door again this time with a face full of suspicion.

"Shuffle?" Gerald added.

Before Nat could even give them an answer, there was a sudden quietness that overtook the entire vehicle before in a sudden burst a strange voice echoed out of the door. The voice started of gentle accompanied by the sound of some strange high pitched tone being repeated in a steady note, then it was joined by a few more high pitched noises similar to the first coming from some kind of invisible unheard of instrument that had apparently managed to be replicated in every single one of the doors of the car.

"Maker where is that noise coming from, how it is being played with no instruments. Is it Samantha? That spirit you have taken captured and what are these strange noises? What instruments have your people invented" Questions rattled out from Elyria's moth at such rapid speed that it was almost like a machine gun being blasted at a force of enemies, so many questions were being asked each demanding an in detail explanation. There was a hole mountain of questions, so many in fact that after only a few brief seconds, Gerald had lost track and was just cautiously staring at the door as if it would bite him and chew him up.

If this Samantha, the name of the car he guessed could use such advanced magic that it could forcibly start singing music on its own without any showcase of instruments, just what else could it do. Maybe it would lock him in her and suffocate him via a lack of air, perhaps it might try to kill him. He trusted his commander, but that was before the supposed machine had started talking with a feminine voice, let alone began taking orders, he needed answers, just different ones to that of his companion who wouldn't shut up.

"Okay, let's clear this up, Samantha is not a real person, nor is it a spirit. Samantha is an advanced computer, a machine used to calculate things. She is not sentient, she does not have feelings, she is less alive than a tree. All Samantha is, is a highly advanced device that takes an input and gives out a result. In this case, when I said her name, she heard and became active allowing for me to issue other commands such as when I asked her to play music." Nat answered the question as best as he could, however, his attention was taken away from the main topic of the conversation as the entire pathway before they ended blocked entirely by a series of boulders, old dwarven statues and other artwork and a few random pieces of metal. It was hardly any bother however as with but a quick glance towards the map he had, he saw that there was a side passage that he was meant to drive through. Following the instruction's, he kept going but not before ensuring that the flintlock pistol he had on him was indeed loaded and ready to fire. The old Dwarven tunnels were one thing, giant caverns that had likely been filled with Darkspawn was another.

"How can Samantha not be alive, she spoke and she followed your commands" Nat sighed, as his eyes kept wandering over to the passages. He was rather glad of two things as he shifted the car into the correct ode to deal with the very bumpy terrain in front of him, for as far as the eye could see, the cavern had uneven ground going up and down, there were large holes, stones that could break tires and quite frankly a great many other things which would make a journey uncomfortable. Despite this, he ensured to answer Elyria's question, the last thing he wanted was for them to be concentrating on Dakrspawn. He was the one to drag them down into this hell, the last thing he wanted to do is constantly remind them of where they were and what they might possibly be facing as they traversed the area.

"It's hard to explain, the problem is that I've grown up with all this technology as basic nature. I know what all of this stuff is in basic form but I can't really describe it without you either having a visual or prior knowledge. The best analogy I can give is like explaining fire to a fish that lives at the bottom of the ocean. For now, just accept the fact that Samantha is neither a living creature nor a spirit of any kind. She is simply a machine, a piece of the furniture, albeit a piece of furniture that can achieve a great many things.

"Okay, but what about the music, how is Samantha playing music and what even is this music anyway, I've never heard anything like it"

"That one's far easier" Nat replied casually hiding his grunt along with the others as the car went up particularly steep rock and then slammed back onto the floor again jolting the occupants forwards. Elyria grunted as she felt her body be lifted up with the sudden force and then seemingly thrown back onto the seat without any care in the world. "Sound is a form of energy that is transmitted by variations in air pressure that the ear can detect, what my people could do, is record those pressures and store them. This included the pressures that each instrument made, the sound of the individual singing and everything else that could be going on. Once recorded, that sound is then edited typically on the computer to affect things, like the pitch and bass as well as anything else needed. When all of that has been completed and the song is ready, then via digital means, the song is distributed where a person can then buy a copy of the song on one of their devices and then play it to their heart's content. Do you understand?"

"No" Gerald shook his head vigorously and stared outside the window trying to comprehend even the slightest what Nat had stated. Changes in variation of air pressure, recording such a thing, bass, pitch, none of these made any sense to him in the slightest. It was just typical he thought, those who always had any kind of proper education always spoke in strange confusing ways that the average individual had no idea to understand all in an attempt to appear better then they were.

"I think I'm missing a lot of background information" Elyria replied.

"Okay in simpler terms, think of it as a book. Instead of a person getting all the paper and the ink to write, an artist instead used technology we have developed to record the sounds they make. When a writer writes a book, the artist will play and record the music, after that when a writer will edit their book to look for any mistakes, an artist will edit their work to sort out their own problems. When it comes to sales, a writer will find an agent or a shop to sell the books on their behalf whereas an artist will approach a company in hopes that they will distribute their music. Finally, where a writes book will then be published and shipped so it can end up in shops, an artist's music will have the exact same thing done only in different versions. In this case, you're listening to a digital version which is simply the song downloaded onto my iPod which can hold a lot of data ranging fr4om music, to images, to videos, games, documents and other things"

"Oh I get it, the music isn't being played by little musicians or a connection to the Fade, it's simply like a story that has been recorded and is being played back to us like I would a normal book. That is really advanced technology, I had no idea that something like that could even exist. Your people were amazing" With her brilliant blue eyes glimmering with intrigue, Elyria stared at the door from where the music was emanating from. She couldn't say that she really understood what Nat was going on about, but obviously whatever his people had done had worked and it was truly an amazing thing.

The only time she could only really remember listening to music was when she was a little girl back with her parents. Occasionally they would pay to have strangers with instruments come in the house and play music for a while, it wasn't often and most of the time it was when there were parties, but it had always been an exceptional experience, a rare treat. However now hearing music being played on demand with it having been recorded seemingly just as easy as it was writing a book, she couldn't help but desire her own one of these supposed music devices for her own. The ability to just sit down somewhere private and listen to someone play music whenever she wanted, sounded something utterly impossible. However as the song ended and a new one began to play, she only drew more jealous of her crush.

To grow up with such a luxury, to know that one could listen to music whenever they desired, that he could one day own a vehicle that would enable him to travel the world if he so desired, not to mention safe being in a society that allowed magic to flourish. Just what had his society had been like if they could make technological marvels that seemingly surpassed that of the dwarves and ancient empires. Could all this technology that Nat had grown up with be replicated? Could one day the people of the world know that whenever they desired they could listen to music, that if they got bored of their place of birth that they could simply travel until they found a new one?

She had thought she understood Nat at least a little bit, she had been under the impression that he had come from a place that wore strange clothes and was seemingly fine with magic being cast. A nation of mages that hid away from the world so as not to be troubled with Templar's that what she had thought they were but instead only more questions were raised. Had his people hidden away to jealously guard their advanced technology against the world, to keep what they had discovered for themselves?

"Nat you said that you were involved in a civil war that destroyed your people, what was it about?"

"What's there to say, some asshole wanted to conquer and enslave people. I alongside a few others had a problem with that throwing us into a deadly civil war."

"But what did they want to put in place beside slavery?" Na resisted the urge to sigh as he heard that. Curiosity was a useful thing something to be admired until one got into substantial problems because their curiosity took them too far. He couldn't just describe the intricate details of modern politics to her, it required a basic understanding of how modern life was run. Elyria likely would understand things like the housing crisis, immigration, ideology and other things if explained, but she would ask further questions, questions that he currently could not afford to answer.

"The same things that most dictators desires, ultimate power and authority, dissenting views silenced, those of "lesser races" either wiped out or enslaved, complete domination of the way people lived, and likely knowing those fuckers, committing genocide on all muggles. You know bad guy stuff"

"Oh" Elryia muttered dissatisfied with the answer, yet unwilling to test the patience of her crush as he seemingly preferred to keep his mind off what had occurred. "What's a muggle?"

"Non-magic folk and before you ask, it's not a racist term its purpose is to distinguish those who do have the power of magic from those who don't, it's just like calling a person with magic a mage."

"Thanks' but I don't understand why you had to clear that up" Nat sighed loudly as his eyes narrowed as they progressed down the road. According to the map they were still in dwarven territory ad though the car was moving at a fast rate, the old empire had stretched over all under Thedas so it should take a few hours before he reached the Dead Trenches. Despite this though, there was a severe lack of dwarves in the area, no guardsman, no traders, no ordinary citizens. It was very... suspicious.

"Sorry, it's just been that in recent times there have been some pricks attempting to frame the term as some gigantic racial slur and not being inclusive. It's bullshit and they have no fucking clue what they're talking about, but all the same, I'm used to assholes calling me some type of evil bastard for daring to use such a term. Fucking political correctness bullshit" Mumbling the last bit angrily to himself, Nat gently brought down his left right away from the wheel and towards his thigh where his pistol lay. Gently he tapped his finger against the weapon in a repeating method as he eyed the scenery around them.

Rapidly the scenery was becoming far darker, no longer did the burning lava illuminate the floor and neither did the smokeless torches crafted by some type of genius dwarven engineer burn brightly, instead of the bright beams emanating from the vehicle break through the ever-thickening darkness. If it were not for the invisibility charm around the vehicle, then they would be spotted rather quickly if anything else was in the local area.

"How come we haven't seen any Darkspawn yet?" Gerald peered into the vast darkness that quickly encroached around them, with no lights active in the car besides the small colourful ones that illuminated small buttons and dials, it was as if he was travelling with a blindfold on only this time there was the knowledge that at any time they could be jumped by Darkspawn of all creatures.

"The dwarves have supposedly cleared out this place, how long it will last nobody knows. With King Bhelen dead, it's very possible that everything he has achieved could be thrown to dust. It isn't uncommon in history for a golden age to suddenly capitulate with the death of their ruler, large spanning empires have a tendency of breaking up if power is too centralized. Then there's the fact that the heir will always be compared to Bhelen, every glory achieved every mistake made will always be compared to Bhelen. Being the ruler of a nation during that time is bound to put some severe stress on an individual."

"You seem to know an awful lot about it," Elyria said with a quirked eyebrow.

"History is one of my most favourite non-magical lessons; I always enjoyed learning about past events, their interesting reads. Should you read enough of it then you start to notice patterns that emerge, one of which is that fact that all empires fall."

"And what was your other favourite lesson?"

"Geopolitics" Nat answered quickly

"I'm sorry what?"

"Geopolitics is the study of how geography limits politics."

"You're going to have to explain that one to me"

"When a nation develops in the world, everything from its wealth, allies and culture all eventually comes down to its geography in the end. For instance, if a nation resides on an island, then it is likely that it will come to develop an island mentality which is when a culture feels like their isolated from their world, this can, in turn, to lead to a sense of superiority among that culture. However, this all comes down to the fact that when one lives on an island, it's harder for the outside world to communicate leaving you alone. Also bloody useful, when people try to invade" Nat, smiled to himself, there was no better defensive barrier than having a large amount of water between you and the people that are trying to invade. The French, Spanish, Germans learned that and had the Cold War ever gotten hot without nuclear Armageddon, the Russians also would have learned.

"I thought all cultures at some point came to believe that they were superior to others" Nat nodded his head.

"They certainly do, they just like to pin it on islands mostly because while continental nations are running amok with constant wars, invasions, revolutions, immigration and other types of strife, island nations get to lean back and thank whatever deity they have that they were put on an island away from all the fuss. It enables said island country to develop relatively freely as the threat of invasion is lower allowing for less acceptance of dictatorships allowing the country's economy to develop quicker. A nation bordered by a large body of water on all sides is a lot safer than one who consists primarily of flat grassy plains"

"Oh, that would explain how Tevinter with all its magic hasn't been able to beat the Qun yet, even though they're powerful on land if they can't beat the Qunari at sea, then their forever forced on the defensive. The problem is that Tevinter can't afford to take away recourses from its army because f it does, then it would be invaded by one of the other nations in Thedas. Who do you think will win the war in the end."

That war had been raging for centuries now Elyria thought, it was like two giant walls pressing against one another for dominance only for nothing to work. Instead, the two nations kept fighting, losing men, lost and then gained territory but never achieving victory. Every other nation in Thedas had a peace treaty with the Qun but Tevinter hadn't as it refused to hand over sovereignty of Seheron which have heard about how they treat their mages, Elryia would reluctantly say that Tevinter were the good guys in the Tevinter Qun war, if there could be any good guys that are.

"In the end, I would probably say the Qun. Tevinter is decaying, it's strength is lost, it relies to heavily on slavery, it doesn't innovate, relies too far on magic. In all honesty, I don't even think the Qun is taking the war that seriously." Elyria felt her eyes widen in shock as she heard that, she had never seen war until recently, but every report she had heard from Tevinter always stated about how it was a brutal fight against the northern savages and that if they didn't do better they could lose. It was propaganda to be sure, exaggerated to make more people sign up for service, but if Nat actually thought that the Qun would win, then that didn't bode well.

"How come"

"The Qun has total naval dominance whether that be the technological, tactical, professional or the amount of manpower and ships they have at their disposal, the result is that the Qun can prevent any nation it is at war with from reaching their home shore. In contrast, no nation in Thedas besides perhaps Antiva has a strong enough navy to defend their coast from such a force. If the Qun attacks, the coastline of Thedas is far too large and the Qun can likely secure a beachhead and push in from there, quickly capturing small seaports where a far larger force can then be deployed and supplied."

"How would you beat them?" Nat breathed out slowly as he mentally pictured a map of Thedas in his mind, quickly he analysed everything he knew about the nations of Thedas and how easily they could fight against Qun aggression. It didn't bode well.

"If the Qun's goals were to conquer the entire continent, I would draw them into a protracted war. Draw them inland away from the strength of their navy and then slowly whittle away their numbers and engage in divide and rule tactics. The Qun's greatest weapon may be their navy, but their soldiers are highly competent and very talented, engaging in large-scale open warfare in hopes of a few decisive battles is too risky."

Gently tapping his hand against the steering wheel, Nat tried to keep his mind on task as he gave his answers as Elryia continued to ask him questions about possible defensive scenarios. In all honesty, he had no idea if any of his ideas would work, he wasn't a soldier and he wasn't a general. His knowledge of warfare tactics was limited to book, the odd thing that Ant had said and the occasional time he had watched him play one of his strategy games. His own personal tactics weren't very applicable, he was a highly skilled and powerful individual fighting against another in one on one combat, in contrast, war was large scale and there were things like tactics, disease, politics and reaction time to think about. He could think of plan after plan, but with no experience and true understanding of warfare tactics, he was no better than an armchair general.

Yet he couldn't help but feel that perhaps he should actually draw up some proper war plans. The Venatori were impregnating world leaders with demons or attempting to bring them into the fight. Should the Qun join and become enemies of the Inquisition, they would be a very deadly opponent if they were not planned for. Their numbers, experience, technology and leadership were better than that of the Inquisition. Yes, he thought when he got home he had to substantially push forward the weapons building test, rifles and muskets as he saw it had only just been crafted but they were obsolete.

If he wanted the average man to be able to fight demons, Darkspawn and the Qun, then they needed a weapon to do that and quite frankly a metal tube that could only fire about two to four shots a minute depending on the shooter could not perform that task.

"Okay onto a brighter topic of conversation" Gerald spoke quickly hoping to get Elyria to quite herself as she continued to spit out question after question as if it was from out of Varrick amazing mechanical crossbow. "Commander, how come you don't have a girlfriend?"

"Shit!"

With a sudden jerk powerful jerk, the occupants of the car nearly flew out only restrained by the seatbelt around them as the car ground to a sudden rapid stop. Tires screeched loudly into the tunnel as treads of rubber burned against the cold hard ground, in front the bright white lights of the vehicle struck through the darkness to slowly illuminate the form of a tall gangly creature oozing with the power of the Blight. From that figure, two milky eyes stared curiously straight through the illusion charm that the car held and directly into those of the occupants.

Elyria felt her blood chill to unheard of levels while Gerald froze in place too afraid to even lift his weapon as the figure stared at him with the same type of curiosity that one would an animal.

After a lone minute of silence, the figure spoke.

"Greetings"

* * *

 **Hello I would first like to apologise on how long this chapter took to create. While it isn't unusual at times for me to have deleted a few hundred or maybe a few thousand words at a time, this chapter, in particular, has had over ten thousand words created and then deleted resulting in a lot of waste time. Even then I'm not too sure of the content.**

 **Secondly, this will be the last chapter that is going to be uploaded before the new year. I never keep a schedule, but I know for certain that with how long these things take to write, it will be next year when the next chapter comes out.**

 **Thirdly I have a Poll on my profile if you want to check that out**

 **Fourth and most importantly I would like to thank everyone who has read, favourited and followed this story. While it does have it's ups and down in its quality, I would say that it's my best work so far and I am very grateful for those who have taken their time to read it.**

 **Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year**

 **BattleshipVytalia**


	19. Chapter 19 Down, Down in Darkspawn Town

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 19 Down, Down in Darkspawn Town**

Unknown

Slowly like the rising of the sun on a cool winters day, the pieces of skin that covered a set of dull violet eyes began to unfurl allowing gradually for light to pour through them giving the person the ability to see again. Bit by bit, Nat awoke yawning loudly as he did s and repulsed the feeling of tiredness that hung to his body. With his eyes now fully open and the feeling of tiredness gone, Nat froze as he peered around himself.

Wherever he was, it certainly was not in his miniature apartment. That place when he awoke had a nice blue hue on the wallpaper, on his left would be a series of shelves all filled to the brim with actual books ranging from magic studies to more mundane fictional pieces of literature. In front of him would be one of the many televisions that he kept in the room, specifically one for watching entertainment. Usually, he had five, three were part of his computer setup, one was watching normal television if he desired and the last was always tuned into news stations and was used to inform him of any new events.

This place wasn't that. He was in a square-shaped room made of thick grey stone with the occasional piece of a geometric pattern indicating that the dwarves had been the one who had built it. The dwarves?. His mind flashed back to the incident. Of course, he must have captured.

Quickly turning his eyes to where he felt his legs and arms were, Nat gritted his teeth as he saw them stretched out spreading him eagle as they were held in place by some steel restraints that had been bolted into some old table.

"Great" He murmured sarcastically however his heart rapidly increased it's pace as he peered down Back onto himself. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me." The reason for Nat's growing frustration, was due to the fact that the reason he could not feel anything on his skin whether it be his clothing or even his hidden wand holster, was because there was nothing to cover his skin. From the head down he was entirely naked, stripped of all clothing and decency. Unable to help himself, Nat felt not only his anger start to boil for such an act but also his face blush as he saw the state that he was in. It was entirely indecent, an invasion of his physical privacy. "When I find that lanky son of a bitch by Morgana I am going to-" With a powerful slam that echoed through the candlelit room, the door to this chamber swung wide open revealing none other than the figure that had caused this entire set of events.

It was tall, far taller than a human was and likely even taller than the average Qunari was. Formed of pale grey corrupted flesh, the bulging veins on its arms could be seen clearly as the creature glided towards him with a strange grace to its steps, though it could never match that of humans. As he had noted the first time he had seen it when the creature had stepped out in the middle of the road, the creature's appearance was not that of a warrior. While it possessed some muscle, it was lanky and obviously not made for engaging another in close combat, its choice of clothing cemented that position.

Upon its old corrupted flesh, the creature long since lost to the taint wore a set of robes to cover itself. Unlike the diagrams he had seen in the books back at Haven, however, these robes while well worn and likely in need of a good wash, were still of a far higher standard then what the average Darkspawn would own. In fact, their exceedingly high quality of rich purple, brilliant gold, and light absorbing black indicated that this Darkspawn had at one point or another obviously been very wealthy before it's corruption. Actually the clothes the creature wore informed Nat of quite a bit more vitally useful detail, for instance, the type of robes it wore was not any old set of robes, rather they were more similar in design to that of the robes of a mage only far fancier. The intricately made gold patterns that weaved around the shoulders of the creature's shoulders and the seeming spider web design of leather made pauldrons stuck out a few centimetres above it.

On its head, Nat could see not one trace of hair though from what the books said about corrupted individuals losing their hair after long enough time period he supposed that was to be expected. Instead fused onto the creatures upper skull was some type of tall curved gold inlaid hat giving the creature yet another foot in extra height to peer over people in a menacing manner. Oddly, however, the creature, unlike other Darkspawn, had its eyes covered by some pure gold mask and he did mean pure gold, there was no eye slit or anything else.

"The Architect I assume?" Nat spoke in an ever calm manner despite the fact that he could not move from his captures position. No matter how subtly he attempted to pull his hand through the restraint that bound him.

"You know of me?" The creatures spoke clearly with a voice that was deep, threatening yet also had an odd soothing capability. Slowly the creature continued to step forward slowly it's shoes if it wore ant gently striking the stone beneath it.

"I've heard rumours" Nat answered. "Most people may play it off as fearful Fereldan's, but there are hints of truth in every story. And if those stories are any part true, there's a reason I'm currently alive rather then being in the stomach of some ogre." Locking his gaze onto the creature as it came to a comfortable halt, Nat searched for any small unconscious movements it might make. At the same time, he called upon his training.

Always remain calm, never show any kind of weakness and if captured show a certain amount of respect toward your jailer. Throwing insults around would achieve Nat nothing, rather if he wanted to escape this situation he would need to play it smartly. From what he remembered before, the creature seemed to control a group of Darkspawn meaning that there was no pint bursting out now. If a Hurlock was behind that door, then in his naked state, he would likely end up skewered.

"Curious, but you are correct. I was hoping you could assist me"

"Oh, and whatever can a simple apostate mage ever do to help one such as yourself. Obviously given by your appearance you were a mage once, most assumedly from Tevinter by the style." It was a strange thing seeing the Architect smile, it was only a small thing, a slight upturn of the lips yet, all the same, it was a terrifying thing to see, like that of a cannibal that had tied up a bunch of people and were advancing on them slowly.

"You surprise me, the others are not as cooperative as you are." Nat quickly filed that piece of information away inside his mind for later use. If there were others alive, then perhaps he could find them and together they may plan an escape together. More vitally, however, his concern flicked to that of Elyria and Gerald. His stomach dropped and he felt his head go light headed for a moment. They were his responsibility, they had trusted him with their lives and now they were either dead or captured because of him. He'd have to find and rescue them if they were alive, put an end to them if they were tainted or. He didn't want to think of what would happen to Elyria, the books didn't paint a positive picture.

"Well, I was raised correctly. A proper young gentleman if you will. Speaking of which while I do perfectly understand your concern over the safety of denizens of this place under your care, I would very much appreciate if I could have something to cover myself up. It is considered very rude where I'm from to just go parading certain of one's body unless of course two or more individuals are going to become more... intimate." Nat said as he did his best to both turn away his head in shame as he felt his entire burn red from not only the embarrassment of the situation that was his lack of dress but also lock onto the gold mask of the Darkspawn so as to pay it the proper respect required in such a discussion.

"I'm afraid that we have no clothing to give you. The last time I gave my guests such comforts, they used it to conceal a weapon." With a sad and upset tone, the Architect tried to smile reassuringly, but it did the complete opposite. Nat gave as best a reassuring smile as he could hiding the growing concern he had over his position and current location. He was most assuredly in the Deep Roads and likely far into them going by the fact that the Dwarves hadn't known of this place and had them, he was sure they would have attacked, eager to strike a devastating blow.

"Well, then you'll have to forgive me for presenting myself in such an uncouth manner" With the typical fake political smile that he had honed on the few times he had been forced to give it, Nat did his best to set the creature at ease. Seemingly, the Darkspawn was put more at ease given how its shoulders softened slightly.

"I appreciate your cooperation and you need not concern yourself with your appearance. You are a very fine specimen" Despite there being no sensual tone that Nat could detect from the creature, the very fact that after it spoke he could feel its eyes pressing down onto his young exposed body sent a shiver up his spine. Briefly, it hovered a hand over his chest before slowly dragging it back as it took in his muscles and other parts with an unseen but obviously appreciative look.

"You'll have to forgive my cluelessness, but I'm afraid I don't match your expectations. I'm simply another mage" Holding back his growing anger, Nat resisted glowering as the creatures hand got lower down his frame, never touching but always inspecting his entire physique as if he was a painting and him a critic.

"You are unaware of what you are?" The creature sounded surprised, shocked in fact. Quickly to Nat's relief, it withdrew its hand to stare at Nat in confusion. "You are not human" It stated. "You look human, sound human, your blood is human, however, you are not. You are something else" It elaborated "When I drew your blood to test it, my assistants lost their mind. They charged at me for the bottle and drank it whole as if had been overtaken by the song again. It then wanted more, charged at you with the desire to consume. I was forced to kill it to defend you. Afterwards, I also tasted your blood and that was when I uncovered the truth"

"I'm not human?" Nat said as he mocked surprise and shock. Calling upon his acting skills, he was able to pull off a remarkably realistic depiction of confusion and disbelief. "That's impossible, even if it was true, then what's so special about my blood. You yourself said that when you studied it there was nothing different"?

"I hoped you could tell me, I have never encountered one of your species before. Your blood could be the answer to my problems." Nat resisted the urge to scream as he heard a slight tinge of hope appear in the creatures tone. Being captured was bad, being stripped naked and then told he was a "fine specimen" was nightmare fuel, then having his race discovered was borderline panic worthy and now being said that his blood could solve this creatures problem was a whole other level.

"Yes, but what exactly is wrong with my blood" Slowly the creature looked up with an excited face before then producing a clear container filled to the brim with something Nat recognised. His blood, the bastard had captured him, stripped him of clothes, tied him to a table and had now stolen his blood. Besides the issue of privacy, it was fucking panic-worthy. If this creature knew anything about blood magic, then with a vial of his blood... It wasn't pretty.

"You're blood is magical" The Architect pronounced with pride.

"I thought all mages blood was magical, elves especially so?"

"That is true, but I have discovered over my investigations that this is because normal mage blood is connected to the Fade, that is what gives them their power. However, yours is different, entirely independent from the Fade, like that of Lyrium but also entirely different." Great Nat thought, he had to be captured by the one creature that was able to analyse his blood to the point that they were able to detect the magic that flowed through it. Just his luck.

"So I have magic blood that's independent of the Fade. Does it do anything?" The Architect smiled before it then frowned as it then eyed the restraints holding Nat spread eagle. Slowly it locked a suspicious face onto him and turned slowly.

"Are you uncomfortable?" It inquired.

"It's just a bit of stretching although I will admit I'm gaining this itch on my nose, it bound to drive me crazy sooner or later. I assume you're pondering on whether you should allow me to release me?" The Architect nodded.

"I would be willing to allow you to walk so long as you try not to escape, and remain in your current state." So he got to stretch his legs so long as he couldn't wear anything and didn't try to run away. It was a fair enough deal Nat supposed given the fact that he was at a serious disadvantage. That bastard had taken everything, his wand and four other spares leaving him defenceless, he could always hurt a Hurlock and see if he can steal its equipment, but the more likely result was his death. If he couldn't reach his wand, he was dead.

"Any particular reason you're so concerned? Have you had other prisoners escape before?" The silence confirmed the answer and Nat grinned inside as he realised that there was a way out. For now, he would do as the creature asked, listen to it speak, learn what it knew and cooperate as he gained knowledge of what was happening here. This far underground would require him to be armed to the teeth to escape and considering that while apparation was still on the table, ultimately without his wand he was useless. Besides, he was stark naked and he didn't want to be the one to explain to Valeyna and the others just why that was. Then again knowing the Herald he'd be pushed onto a bed before he'd even get the chance.

"We captured them, but the wounds they received resulted in their demise. You should be careful, if my brethren were to gain a taste of your blood, they would go berserk in hunger"

"Great so I'm an all you can eat buffet. I'll make sure to leave the more expensive bit's at the end and give out small plates" Nat joked. Taking that as acceptance of the terms, the Architect advanced towards the restraints that held him and then with a flick of his hand they suddenly burst open releasing Nat's limbs back to him.

"Ugh" Nat groaned as he stretched himself out gently patting his sore muscles before then sliding himself off the table he had been on and back onto his feet. "Much appreciated. Now would you care to explain why my blood is such a big deal to you? I'm, just curious"

"You're blood will assist me in bringing peace between my brethren and the surface world."

"That sounds more like a Grey Warden thing and I'm not a Grey Warden. But I can guess by your seeming intelligent nature, and the past rumours, that you want to free your fellow Darkspawn from the Calling in some manner/"

"You are remarkably perspective for one so young"

"I'm a Ravenclaw, Wisdom our fame, Wit is our game"

"A unique saying, if irrelevant to the scenario at hand." This Darkspawn was far more trouble then Nat had initially thought, already he could make a guess at just what it wanted to do. The magic in his blood strengthened the human body in a number of ways, from strength, speed and endurance to that of complete immunity to muggle diseases. It could also be used as a catalyst in some things such as ritual spells or wands, or just enchanting or spells in general. It was what gave him the courage to enter the Deep Roads in the first place, he didn't know if he would be immune to the taint, but he knew that the magic in his blood would allow him to resist the corruption far greater then anyone else could. Magic has a tendency to fight fiercely against things that desired to corrupt the body.

"And just what is your grand plan anyway? See if you can find a cure in the Grey Wardens blood that would turn your brethren into more surface race creatures." The Architect shook it's head sorrowfully.

"The taint cannot be cured, only transmitted. I desire to create peace between our two races by making all equal. If all life was infected with the Taint, and all Darkspawn underwent a new ritual to make them immune to the Calling, then it would ensure that every creature was of the same race. Darkspawn would have no need to attack the surface and humans and elves would no longer need to fear my Brethren as all would have free will."

"You want to infect the entire continent with the Blight?" Nat said hiding his horror. The creature nodded.

"My Brethren are bound by the calling, unable to have free will. If that was to be stopped, then my brethren could live their own lives no longer controlled by an outside power." There was a strange set of optimism in the creatures tone he recognised, this Darkspawn most certainly did want to create peace and free its brethren from the call of the Blight, yet Nat could only see the bad things.

"That's why you need to infect the continent, Darkspawn even if free would corrupt everything around them unless of course they're already corrupted. If everyone is corrupted as you say, there will be no more difference between Darkspawn and the other races. It work's in theory, but practically, have you considered for a moment the fact that those who are infected with the taint essentially become sterile." It wasn't impossible for Grey Warden to have children Nat knew, there was the occasional report that a Grey Warden had gotten pregnant or was given the news that they were going to be a father. Still, it was incredibly rare, not the norm in the slightest and certainly not enough for population replenishment. Without a doubt, if such a plan was enacted then the non-Darkspawn race's population would plummet entirely down to zero after only a short few years after what would be a massive catastrophe. Then there was the case of growing food, wherever Darkspawn stayed for in a long enough time, all life died and never came back. Some places in the Anderfells had been struck so hard that a person could die and not decompose simply because of a lack of bacteria.

"Indeed, that was one of my concerns. I had made no progress in solving this situation until I discovered you in your strange metal wagon. The tests I have used indicate that the magic in your blood is powerful enough to bypass the taint." As he spoke, Nat really wished he was a turtle, at that moment he could have just tucked his arms and legs into his shell and hide there until the predator went away or picked him up and dropped him against some hard rocks. However, he was not a turtle and instead he was forced to listen as the agonisingly plan that this creature had thought of was told to him and the plan that he would be forced to play in it.

"Bypass the taint, what does that mean practically, there aren't enough of me to do strange magical experiments or whatever you want me to do" The Architect nodded with him seemingly also accepting that as useful as Nat would be for his blood, there was not that much of it to be useful. Nat already knew that and was trying no to widen his eyes as he subtly moved his body around to the other side of the table so that his lower regions were not in view.

"Your blood would enable you to sire children with those who have the taint. You and your descendants could allow for the surface races to survive" And there it was, the thing that Nat had expected from this creature. It was a known thing that magical blood did enable one to bypass things in biology, whether or not that meant he was strong enough to bypass a large scale amount of magical corruption was something Nat had no desire in finding out.

"You desire for me to sire children?" Nat quaffed at the creature, his skin shivered as his mind was brought back to how close the creatures hand had been to his kin. It was a revolting thought, not just the idea of that thing touching him which he would most certainly make sure that the monster pay for, but also the act of him doing... that... with... anyone really yet alone some person who's been tainted by ancient black magic.

What was that phrase that some people said online when it came to fictional character's, don't stick your dick in crazy. Well quite frankly, if a person desires to be corrupted by ancient black magic in order to fight it, then those people were crazy. There was no way he was going to go through with his. He was a healthy young wizard, not some fucking stallion or purebred bull to be used in such vulgar activities that were breeding.

"Yes, we have a few female Grey Wardens that you could try out first and confirm my theory" Try out, Nat hid his twitching eyebrow, they were people, sentient beings not some fucking fish fillet at a cheap restaurant. This monster was going to fucking suffer for what it had done, first capturing people, then capturing him, then everything that had happened and was bound to happen. When he escaped, he would take great joy as he slit its throat with a fucking dagger but not before he had carved off its balls and shoved them down its throats.

"What if they do not consent to such activity?" Nat said though he dreaded the answer.

"I have fed them a concoction that another has called an Aphrodisiac, it will ensure that they consent to the experiment" Add drug charges to that list then.

Right there and then, Nat knew he would have to speed up his plans for escape. Initially, he had considered going slow to learn his way around, but this creature seemed particularly eager for him to assist it in its plans only those plans were pure evil. It wasn't bad enough that it wanted to kill humanity, now the creature had captured him and was asking him to rape people in the name of its goals.

Still, he could not show any resistance here, this Darkspawn was ridiculously powerful it was also old, very old. In fact, as he took in the appearance of the monster, he couldn't help but notice certain similarities to when he had seen that ghost image back at the Conclave. They were different in appearance yet also very similar. Tall, pale almost melted like skin that had fused with high-quality robes and bizarre senses of fashion. Taking in a calm breath, he relaxed as he pulled the pieces together.

This creature, this Architect he realised, it was one of the old Magisters.

That explained how he had gotten captured, no normal mage could take him down with so relatively little fight from him and no normal mage would have the ability to remove his clothing from his body against his will. When he had first met the figure, he had been shocked at the fact that the creature had somehow managed to suppress it's power to such a point that it was able to hide from his advanced senses in magic. It didn't matter at the time however, he simply put the car back in reverse and had planned on swinging around and escaping for all dear life. That was when the ogre had come charging in. At full speed, it had struck the car sending it flying through the air with a mighty crash knocking out both Gerald and Elyria in the process from the shock as well as covering their bodies in shards of glass.

That shouldn't have been possible in the first place considering the enchantments on the cart to not only make it invisible but to also make it indestructible. The glass should not have shattered and the car should not have shaken not to mention go catapulting through the air. However it did, and only his quick thinking had enabled him to solve the immediate injuries that his underlings had suffered. First had been the glass shards, he pulled them out with a somewhat powerful Accio charm and then healed the more grievous injuries first, after that came the spells to ensure that their bones were not damaged or any other internal organs. He was just grateful that healing magic was an essential toolkit for any duellist, as doing so had allowed him to keep them alive and intact even as he pulled them away from the wreck of the car.

Then came the fight. It was ferocious yet brief, Darkspawn after Darkspawn attacked and each one fell before him like a hot knife through butter. Unfortunately, the horde that swept out from nowhere was gigantic and by the time he had to ensure that he had gotten Elyria and Gerald out of the car, the monsters had approached leaving him no time to heal his own wounds. Still, he was dam sure he'd killed over a hundred of the fuckers before this pale skinned lanky fuck took the lead and beat him down with nothing but with such ridiculous amounts of raw power that it broke his shield charm giving enough time for its minions to rush behind and whack him on the head.

He hoped Elyria and Gerald were alive, he really did. Soon as he escaped and found them, he'd apologise to them for his actions. It had been his stupid decision to bring them into the Deep Roads and now they were going to have to pay for it. Knowing this creep though, he had a sinking feeling that it would experiment on his two subordinates.

Just looking at this old Magisters face forced his blood to beat faster around his chest as he felt his magic begin to stir once again. It was calling to him, to give in to his anger as he so desired to do, to unleash his magic and tear this son of a bitch in two, to roast him alive, to force him to suffer as he had suffered. To make it scream in raw agony as he forced his will onto it. But he couldn't, wandless magic could only be done by the more powerful witches and wizards of Earth besides Africa and even then it was limited in scope.

He could do wandless magic, but it was exhausting and highly limited to only a few basic charms and one more advanced one. Those spells were the unlocking charm, a light charm, a release charm and an Accio. He couldn't cast a single piece of combat magic wandlessly, at least not yet. It was why he had focused on spells that in theory were supposed to allow him to escape capture and gain a weapon to defend himself.

This monster, however, had destroyed the enchantments on his car and got past the enchantments on his clothes indicating that it was rather competent with what it could do without some kind of staff. Then again, that was the main advantaged that mages had over wizards, they did not need their staffs, they only preferred to use them.

"Okay, what exactly is going to happen to me whilst I'm down here". Frowning, at the question it became obvious to Nat that the creature had not seriously thought of what it was going to do with him when at least according to its plans, Nat wasn't being "productive" "After all, you can't expect me to get up to much if you just keep me refined to a table, I need to be able to run, exercise ensure that I'm in healthy condition. Who knows what would happen to my previous blood if it didn't get the right amount of nutrients or exercise" It was a gamble, one that Nat hoped would convince the creature that it was best not to leave him stuck to a table all day and used as some kind of dispensing machine. Sweet Merlin knew that if the creature had drugged some women with a form of Aphrodisiac, then it was likely willing to use less savoury methods of getting what it wanted to achieve its plans.

"If you co-operate I would be willing to allow you use of your clothing and would also allow you to access my library for leisure" More important notes to be filed away for later used.

"How long have I been here? What happened to my friends?"

"It has been two weeks since we first discovered you, as, for your companions, they are with the others. The female will be infected with the taint and will carry your child once it has been proven that you can perform the deed" With the others, that meant that Elyria had also likely been drugged and... Oh, sweet Merlin. She was bound to be in a panic, likely huddled up in a corner going through relapses of what had occurred before all this happened. The Templar's, her friends. Now the monster wanted him to be the one who would commit the deed. He didn't think of her that way, but that would be the ultimate betrayal of friendship. If he were to perform such a deed on her, all faith she had would be gone.

He had to rescue her, Gerald as well. He wasn't going to allow these Darkspawn bastards to infect them with the disease and neither would these Grey Wardens who had also been captured. Despite this though, he couldn't help but think of Orzammar, if he'd been gone for two weeks, then he could only assume it had been a lost cause. By now the Venatori had likely been able to cement its position in leadership and turn the dwarves against the Inquisition.

He had failed.

He felt his heart drop, everything he had attempted to prevent was stopped by this old Magister. That couldn't stand. Merlin knows what was happening on the Surface right now, but he would not allow some old should-be fucking skeleton to achieve its goals and he would also not allow another ancient fucker to conquer the planet.

The moment this bastard left him alone he was escaping. First, he had to find his wand, with two weeks of inactivity, his body had more than healed enough meaning he had every advantage, after that he would then dress and gather the others equipment. Once that was accomplished, he'd find the others bust them out and kill everything in sight.

"Very well I agree to your terms. Show me the first woman" Not to sure, the creature narrowed it's unseen gaze onto the young wizard searching for any sign of deception. How many times had it failed to hold others, The first time he had captured the Grey Wardens and told them of his plan all those years ago, they had escaped to the surface. The second time when he had captured the Hero of Ferelden, the Hero had then escaped and then proceeded to kill him. After that more had escaped including one particularly daring human who had managed to hide a dagger in-between her breasts forcing him to have all future prisoners stark naked and guarded constantly.

This one could escape too, yet unlike the others, it had been polite and also unlike the others was far too vital for his plans to allow to be injured. He could always grab more Grey Wardens at a different time, they always ventured into the Deep Roads, but this strange human-like creature was different. Finally, he had found a solution to his problem. With its blood, he could breed a new generation of people allowing for surface race and Darkspawn to coexist with the blight.

On the other hand, the boy was a very talented mage. Despite being highly injured, he had killed countless scores of his brethren to defend himself and his compatriots. Only by his own intervention had he been subdued. If it managed to escape, then it might be able to deal more damage then it already can. It would assign more guards then it normally would, this child could not be allowed to leave, not when he was so close to achieving his goals and making all equal in the world.

"I have to check some information in my library, my guards will show you the way" As soon as they heard their name, the presence of two gnarled corrupted human-like beings entered the room armed to the teeth in weapons and armour. Unlike that of the surface races, however, the Darkspawn had no access to skilled smiths and this was very easily notable by the sheer bad appearance that these monsters had.

In all honesty, it was less of weapons and armour that they wielded as it was scraps of leather and metal hastily thrown together and made sharp enough to do some damage. Against proper weapons and armour, however, these Darkspawn were obviously at a severe disadvantage. Oddly however Nat noticed with unseen glee was that their weapons had been held in poorly made sheaths at their side rather than in their hand. He could use that.

"Well, I hope we can converse at a later date" With a smile Nat allowed himself to be pulled out by the guards and walk along the barely lit cold stone pathways. As he did so, felt the urge to comment on the temperature. When one was so used to not feeling it, the sensation of having the occasional cool breeze brush past against one's skin was a rather unique experience. However, after a few seconds of feeling freezing cold on his skin, Nat remembered why he wore clothes on a usual basis and prepared himself for an escape attempt. He wasn't going to do a dam thing that creature wanted.

"So you two" Nat spoke cheerfully. Turning around the corner so they were out the immediate line of sight of the Architect, Nat gained the attention of his two guards drawing their attention towards him with a confused face. "How do you prefer your dead bodies, pierced, slashed, boiled, frozen. Accio sword" With a sudden whoosh, the left guard had no time to react as it's sword flew out of its sheath and into the hand of its prisoners. Unused to such activity, the other guard which still had its weapon was given no time to draw it as with a powerful swing Nat brought the poorly made blade across its neck slicing its head off its body before then in the same move plunging it into the second Darkspawns chest.

With a deep breath, Nat nodded as he brought the blade back to his side. Wandless magic was far more exhausting then he remembered it being worse the first spell he had used was a more advanced one forcing him to stay still a few seconds as he caught his breath. Once he caught it though, he grimaced as he looked at his still bare body now covered in black ichor from where the monster's blood had splashed upon him.

"You're no Excalibur, but you'll do the job" Bending down, Nat quickly grabbed at the two corpses poorly made belts and pulled them off. Already he could hear footsteps coming to approach the noise leaving him very little to escape and certainly not enough to hide the bodies. Still, with a powerful tug, he grabbed the belts which held their weapons and fastened it around him. Ignoring the discomfort of the harsh leather chafing against his skin, Nat belted down the hallway with the darkspawn's weapon in hand.

A few minutes later, the Architect remembering some questions that it had wanted to ask turned around the corner hoping to stop the Darkspawn before his guest begun his job. At his side, stood a tall man. Once he had been handsome, sharp chins bones, large powerful muscles, toned abs and anything else that would have grabbed the women's attention. Now, however, they were far more like a Hurlock, their hair had entirely fallen out, their once invisible veins were now bulging as black corruption flowed down them. Equipped in Grey Warden armour, the man stopped suddenly as he saw the two dead forms of the Darkspawn with blood pooling around them,

"I told you that he needed to be restrained, you saw what happened when we captured them" Anger blazing in its eyes, the man only saw sorrow in the eyes of the Architect as it took in the form of its dead brethren.

"He was polite and offered no resistance" The Architect replied meekly as it started to walk forwards again, obviously their prisoner had made a run for it and the result of what had to be done was immediate.

"He sweet talked you?" The man sighed loudly as his hand wrapped around his face in both shock and disbelief. "That was all it took to get past the new defences. I told you time and time again that too many people break out of this place, first, there was that King and the others before the Fifth Blight, then there was the Hero of Ferelden and now you're letting some Inquisition brat get away? It's a surprise that you haven't been hunted down and killed yet. Oh, wait you were" Lowering its head in shame, the creature alongside with the man stepped over the corpses of the Darkspawn leaving them for some other creature to deal with when they got back. Currently, they had to capture the missing link in this plan before he could escape to the surface.

"Hey fuck face" With a choking sound, the two gunlocks that had been standing around still bored out of their minds turned rapidly to the sudden cry to see none other than a naked human armed with a weapon charging right at them. With evil smirks, they drew their weapons and followed it's action hoping to be the one who first stabbed and then got to eat the human. Nat with an ever calm face however still charged them his sword raised in front of him as Cullen had demonstrated him in their battles. He got closer, a five metres, then four, then three, two, on. The Genlock took a swing with its dagger only to strike thin air as the human disappeared entirely. Suddenly a sharp pain emanated from its rib cage and it heard a thunk as the next moment it's fellow gunlocks head flew across the room. "Thank Merlin for apparation" Without looking back, Nat continued to sprint down the road.

For some reason that nobody had yet managed to work out yet in the magical world, apparation while being not only a form of wandless magic but also a highly advanced and complex form of magic did not drain one's magic as other magic did. Personally, as he turned yet another corner and saw a group of five hurlocks all with bows raised at him, Nat didn't care. Apparating yet again avoiding the resulting volley of arrows, Nat appeared behind the leftmost Darkspawn. Swinging his sword painfully, he ignored the resulting squelch as the Darkspawn sword tore though corrupted flesh and bone alike separating its disgusting head from its revolting body. Straight after the swing, he rolled past the turning darkspawn cutting it's right leg off as he did so and then trust the blade into the hurlocks skull.

Shocked at the death of its comrades, the other Hurlocks drew two new arrows and raised their bows only for the furthest one back to just feel the tiniest of vibration in the air before a cold piece of metal was slammed into its neck and pulled out again. Again the Hurlocks were two slow as before the next one could fight, it had already been pushed to the floor allowing the second Darkspawn blade to pierce its chest whilst the first only gave a slash to the final darkspawn's armour.

Again Nat wasted no time in escaping the area after the enemy had been defeated. As he sprinted along, he allowed his magic to fo form and spread out around him, moving invisibly but quickly acting as not only a sonar for him but also with hopes in discovering where his wand was. That was what he had to find first, with only these two swords he was limited to surprise attacks using apparation and attacking the enemy in close quarters. Still, it wasn't desirable as the sounds of roaring and groaning and other nightmare inducing noise that the Darkspawn made could be heard moving all throughout the old halls that he so desperately raced around.

Get his wand, find Elyria and Gerald, kill everything in sight anything else was secondary. His mind raced terrified as he thought of those two, what had that bastard done to them, what was he planning on doing to them. He'd been unconscious for two weeks and Merlin knows what could have happened to them, yet he feared for Elyria more. That creature had wanted to breed him like a prized bull and to do that one needed creatures to breed with.

Those thoughts were pushed aside as he just kept rushing hoping to discover anything that could assist him. Clothes would be nice, it was bad enough that he could constantly feel the occasional breeze on his body, but the constant splatters of blood were something else entirely different. He was so going to need a really long shower once he was free. His thoughts were taken over however when with a large roar, an Ogre smashed open a door with a mighty slam, roared then beat it's chest as it lowered it's horns and charged him.

He couldn't waste time, already he could feel the presence of that creature advancing down the same corridors that he had also just traversed only with a growing horde of Darkspawn behind it. Get his wand he repeated in his mind, get it and he can escape this place, get his wand and he can bring every single dam corrupted creature in this place to its knees and begging for forgiveness.

He kept sprinting, as fast as he could. Instead of confronting enemies however as he had done before, he instead simply apparated to the other side of the room avoiding their blows as his lighter and more experienced frame gave him the speed to keep ahead of the others. Countless doors he noticed as he raced, all of them were of dwarven architecture and likely all had belonged to some now dead dwarf at one point or another. None of them though held anything of significant value that he could sense. Most old rooms actually just held more Darkspawn that created a more realistic threat than the group that the Architect was bringing.

He needed something soon, Gerald, Elyria, his wand or a magic staff or simply a set of clothes, anything would be better than engaging a horde of Darkspawn in nothing but his birthday suit. Speaking of which, he was wondering how he was going to defeat the Magister. He could not kill the dam thing, if what he believed was correct, then it would simply come back negating the whole point of ending its miserable existence.,

"Five Hurlocks" The old Grey Warden stated with shock. "He only has a fucking sword. You two" The man yelled towards a pair of Hurlocks beside him. Grabbing their attention in an instant, the ugly monsters stopped where they stood and stared at their commanding officer waiting for them to be given a new set of orders or preferably finally told that they could partake in the breeding that some of the Alphas were allowed to do. "Turn the other way and secure the weapons, make sure that he isn't able to reach them" With a disappointed growl the Darkspawn turned and did their job. Grimacing, the man turned to the Architect shaking his head in derision. "I told you that using this place to hold prisoners was a poor choice. It may have only one way in or out, but the circle shapes mean that so long as he keeps running and killing, he'll find the entrance soon enough.

"It was the only place big enough to hold my experiments and prisoners" The old Grey Warden shook his head. Despite the old Darkspans capability when it came to its work, it was rather lax in other places. Ever since he had earned its trust, he had managed to make changes, improving the quality of the individual Darksapwn like teaching them tactics. He like the Architect also desired to see a world free from the curse of the Blights, a world where men and women wouldn't be slain like animals because some old dragon who had been infected had demanded that those infected with the taint follow it in destroying all that was good with the world.

He wouldn't say that he understood what the Architect was doing with the kinds blood, but he did manage to understand that it would be the kid who would repopulate a corrupted world and best of all the kid had the honourable position of being the one who had to sire an entirely new generation. It was an honour to be chosen for such a task, let alone the most fun out there would be, guarded on a constant basis and would have been waited for hand on foot as some great holy figure. But of course the very moment the kid was out of sight he had managed to escape and go on a killing spree.

How many people were going to die because the kid had decided to escape, because of his selfishness? All that was being asked of him was to sire new children and it wasn't even if the breeding females were ugly, most of them were Grey Wardens meaning that they all had exceptional figures because of their age. Maker knew that he and his boss had to prevent other Darkspawn from bursting in and taking a go at them for their own desire.

"If your prisoner manages to get to his staff, then a lot of us are going to be dead. Last time it took him injured defending his friends and tightly confined space. By the Maker, we've lost all our sedative just to keep him unconscious for two weeks. Even if we do get him back, we can't keep him under for long"

"Yes, he truly is a remarkable specimen is he not. I look forward to seeing what else I can do with his blood" With a smile, the Architect allowed one of the ogres to rush past him knocking hit hat just slightly askew. Adjusting it, he couldn't help but show some delight at the current situation. All the others he had captured had attempted to escape, but it had taken time, some took days before they tried, others weeks while a few more took months. That was just to try and escape, this specimen, however, had managed to slay it's captors the very moment it was out of sight and then proceed to quickly slay a great many deal more.

"Can you stop admiring the boy who has just killed nine of your brethren without any problem."

"You have slain hundreds when you were young Kalvin yet you admonish one younger" The Architect rebuked taking joy in the way the old warrior rolled his eyes as he grabbed his steel sword from its sheath.

"That was when I fought against you and did not know the true way. Now, I know better, now that brat is threatening everything you stand for. If he escapes, your peace is over, he will tell the Inquisition and they will tell the world. Every Grey Warden will come down looking for you not to mention the Hero of Ferelden. Don't you remember what he managed to do your plans"

"Do not be so alarmed Kalvin, even if the boy does initially escape our hold, we are far enough away from any assistance. They will never escape the Deep Roads" Laying a gentle hand on the old warrior, The Arcitecht ignored the way Kalvin gritted his teeth angrily at the nonchalance that his master was having towards the entire fiasco of having one of their most promising assets escaping without any problem.

Time and time again his master had tried to complete his objective and time and time again he had found those plans stopped all because his prisoners had managed to escape. He had been so close before the Fifth Blight had been started accidentally, but all the same, his master had managed to survive and put plans back on track. Then the Hero of Ferelden a man who his master had desired to bring onto his side hadn't even bothered to listen to him and simply decided to kill him then and there.

And now, when Grey Wardens were entering and dying in the DeepRoads like crazy, his master had another chance and was given a special reward for his patience when the strange human creature had come in. According to its companions after interrogation, they had proclaimed that they were from the Inquisition and that they were looking for the Heir to Orzammar. But now that reward was not only fighting back but was making ridiculous process in such a short time as demonstrated by the sheer amount of corpses they were finding.

He could not allow his masters plans to be pushed back, not again not as they had been. His master's plan was a good one, turn all races into one and there would be no peace no longer any need to save the people of Thedas from the Blight. The others had been too blind to see his masters plan. They were prejudiced against anything with the corruption, foolishly they had believed that they could stand against the growing tide, that they could fight against what should be the way of the world. He had proven his loyalty to the cause by killing the non-believers and now he would also capture his masters greatest present, even if he had to kill one or two of his master's prized companions. Growling in fury, he ignored his masters calling and joined the rest of the Hurlock's all desiring to get some kind of reward for being the one who captured the escaped mage.

"Come on" Nat groaned. "Give me something, anything" Constantly he could feel his magic pulsing all over the place desperately searching for anything he could recognise. More and more often he was just feeling more Darkspawn that were joining the fray. Whatever their plans for him were, he wouldn't allow them to do it, but even as he felt physically fine despite not being awake for two weeks, he could sense that if he stopped running or got bottlenecked, then he would be done for.

He could apparate to the surface he knew, but that was it. He had no clothing to help him survive what was likely to be snow and even if there were some clothes ready and available, that time could be used to hurt Elyria and Gerald if they were alive. He grit his teeth tightly, his eyes twitching with fury as he thought of what the creature had wanted him to do.

Capturing innocents drugging them with an aphrodisiac. Had he been female, then it would have been the men who were drugged and he would have been forced to create children. Had it been anyone else in his position, then who knows what could have happened to those girls. He refused to take advantage of them, just the very thought made his skin crawl and his desire to go on a killing rampage increase.

That was what he was certainly going to do when he got his wand, kill every single Darkspawn filth there was. He was going to burn them, incinerate, them, electrocute them send their innards shooting out their asses and turn them to tiny meaty chunks. But Elyria and Gerald were his main concern, they weren't him they weren't ready to endure creative punishment.

He pushed those thoughts aside, he had to keep running the two of them relied on him to bust them out of this prison and lead them to somewhere safe, somewhere where they were not some ancient Darkspawn Magister that wanted to corrupt the entire world with a Blight simply so he could put his ideas to the test. It was a bit surprising though, for a creature to be called the Architect, it was seemingly rather bad at maths.

While he didn't have any numbers to work off, Nat was dam sure that despite the number of people who were killed in a blight every two centuries or so, that it was far less than if the entire world was infected with the taint. That would be a phenomenal disaster, equivalent to when Europeans had discovered the new world and promptly wiped out those already living there with no hassle. Then there was this whole thing about wanting him to kick-start an entirely new race because the magic in his blood would be able to bypass the corruption and allow for the reproductive system to still work. It sounded like something from one of those strange bizarre porn movies he had caught Ant's friends watching the one time he had visited him.

That aside the result was that far more people would die in the Architects plan and far less born afterwards then simply allowing the Blights to occur and ravage the continent for years at a time. Millions would die, there was no doubt about that. Men, women children all of them would contract the blight and all of them would die slow painful deaths as they caved into the madness that was the Blight watching before their fellow eyes as their loved ones died in front of them.

It had to be stopped. The question was how did he deal with a creature like the Architect? He couldn't kill the dam thing less it just takes over the form of some other Darkspawn or Grey Warden to keep its form. He'd have to capture the thing and keep it permanently under stasis, the old castle in the Vindmark mountains by Kirkwall could work, but that had been designed for another of the creatures leaving him and the rest of the Inquisition of the question of where they would then have to keep the other one.

The Grey Wardens would want the creature, but if what Varric said was true when he and Hawke had visited the other Magister back in the Vindmark mountains, Then that exposed the Grey Wardens that would be guarding it to the threat of having their minds overtaken and used against them. And should that not occur, then there would be other Grey Wardens who would agree with the monster's plans and decide to bust it out of its jail cell.

He could take it he thought, while he wasn't any master in the magic of this world and had never attempted such a thing before, he was perfectly aware of the magic that would be needed to keep a monster contained. It would be work, first, he'd have to find a suitable place, located on the surface and far away from any civilization to prevent the influence of the monster affecting the nearby surroundings. Once such a place was found, he'd have to create some type of tomb, nothing too fancy and nothing that would stand out to the people.

Creating some kind of fortress over it would be entirely pointless, he wanted to ensure that no Darkspawn could learn of its location and frankly having a giant castle with a bunch of Grey Wardens guarding didn't exactly scream subtle.

It would have to be layered in defences, first a series of wards to act on the subconscious level for people to stay away then there would have to be more active wards designed to hurt and eventually kill anyone or anything that searched for what was in. Should they actually make it in, then the entire tomb would be a death trap, golems, mechanical machines, explosives, bullets, giant rolling boulders, poisoned dark, monsters of some form or the other? Surrounding the creature would be a lake of fire and should they get past that and anything else there was, then there would be a few final traps. The first and foremost would be a defensive apparation to get whatever container the creature was in away from the tomb and into safe hands. After that, a well-placed series of portkeys would then activate acting essentially as teleport gate as they would then pour forth water from the ocean's floor to rush in. At such a pressure, the water would slice anything in half or batter it to death. However, even should that fail, then there would be a giant explosion, powerful enough to blast away a mountaintop.

Despite all these precautions he would put in place, Nat knew it would come down to one spell that would be the most important thing in preventing any monster from discovering it's prison... The Fidelus charm. He could cast it, he already had to ensure that the knowledge of how to get magic and electricity to work together without the former short-circuiting the latter like an emp. The spell was powerful and ultimately unless somebody revealed the secret, it would work brilliantly.

As for the problem of a secret keeper, that was easily rectified. There was a lot of scumbags in the world, all he needed was one of them. They would the secret keeper and the moment the spell was active they would be killed leaving the secret to him, never to be uttered to anyone. There would be no hint, no clue, not even the tiniest remark about wherever he decided to hide the Architect. If he were to die, then he wanted to ensure that nobody could find where he had buried it, just the thought of someone actively searching for the creature made his skin crawl.

Good, he thought to himself, apparating as he came across another set of confused looking Darkspawn. So he knew what he was going to do with the creature when he had beaten it, that simply left the case of beating the monster. He was going to have to act fast, even though he was up on his feet, he did feel groggy from being asleep for so long. There wasn't a chance he could allow the monster to call up reinforcements in a battle, forcing him to deal with the creature quickly.

Explosives were the answer. Once he got his wand and clothing, he could then use a spell to make an infinite amount of gunpowder from the supply he had and from there begin creating grenades and timed explosives. Using such a method he would cut off the main group of Darkspawn away from the leader and then take on the leader using as many underhanded tactics as he could.

Confronting it in an outright engagement was foolhardy, he did not know how skilled the opponent was and this was not a duel but rather a war. He needed to knock out the creature in a definite way which would be hard for it to prevent but he could. Gas his mind realised, he needed to find and formulate a chemical gas that could be used to knock out a person.

In a confined area, gas would be sure to enter the lungs of the creature and if not knock it out, certainly weaken it enough for him to deliver a debilitating blow.

The question was how did he find the ingredients and then formulate such a weapon. Apparation he realised. He had to throw out his cautious leaning out the window at this moment, not doing so would result very poorly. Yes, that was it, grab his gear, apparate to Denerim, take what he needed, create the gas and then deploy it.

Time was of the essence, he growled in frustration as another set of Darkspawn rushed through an open door. There were even more of them now, their numbers were growing to exceptional levels which were rather bad but on the other hand, it was a relief to know that the direction he was heading was a way out.

Elyria and Gerald were bound to be this way he computed, the Darkspawn had taken him this direction when the Architect his asked him to get on with his job. Sooner or later he would feel their presence and when he did, he'd have to ignore them. Trying to save them whilst he was in no position to fight would not only slow him down but could also be deadly for his objective.

With a wand, he could save them even if they were held at gunpoint, without, he was a sitting duck waiting for the enemy to give out their revenge for his stunt of escaping from them. But that led to other questions he needed to find answers for.

Was this Architect related to the incident at the Conclave? He wasn't the one who had been in that memory, that Magister had a more rounded skull, the Architect, in contrast, had a big pointy head that must have made it impossible for him it to do well at hide and seek. However, the fact remained, that were both were ancient Magisters and both could be in cahoots with one another even if it was only a limited partnership destined to end in tragedy.

It would make sense he reckoned, a large scale Calling could have been created by the Architect drawing away the forces of the Grey Wardens and bringing them underground where the Architect could then experiment on them however he wished in the pursuit of its goals. In return whoever was responsible for the Conclave incident would get a surface world free of those who could likely do the most damage to its plan.

On the other hand, it could be purely incidental, the rumours he had heard spoke of this Architects activity going back from before even the Fifth Blight. If that was true, then this Magister predated the others activities and plans for quite some time. Even if the two were unconnected and unaware of each others presence, then Nat could only see it only as disastrous should the two of them ever meet.

The Architects power was enormous, greater than his own. It had been awe-inspiring when he woke up, almost as if some giant ocean was pressing down on him, he'd never felt the power of the great witches or wizards before. He'd felt Mr Potters magic once when he came and taught Defence and that had bee quite powerful, but he'd also sensed the power of Minerva McGonagall and even his own teacher Filius Flitwick and they had been even more powerful then Potter. However, they were nothing compared to the sheer volume of might and power that Dumbledore, Grindelwald and Voldemort had been.

According to history, Voldemort had engaged in a duel against McGonagall, Flitwick and Slughorn all at the same time and all there of them boosted by some exceptionally powerful magic that was supposedly suppose to make them impossible to beat. All the same, Voldemort had beat all three of them at once with ease. It was astounding and quite frankly, Nat was jealous of such power. He was more powerful than average, though that was a given since every single professional duellist was, part of the uniform and all that. But still, that type of raw power was incredibly and ultimately very rare.

They were the greats the wizards and witches destined to lead the magical world in one direction or the other. There was no way of beating them in outright combat unless one had the same amount of power which frankly Nat didn't have and it was for that very reason why he did not want to engage the several-thousand-year-old Darkspawn in an outright fight.

Had he been able to meet Dumbledore or any of the other's he may have been able to compare their power to the that of the Architects, but for now he could only compare it to that of his own teacher Filius Flitwick. Frankly, the Architect was more powerful then Flitwick which only had his stomach dropping more with concern as he thought of other backup plans on how to engage it in a fight.

Relying purely on some type of gas to knock out the creature was folly, if it didn't work, then he was buggered unless of course, he had something else. Explosives could work he guessed. Create grenades, engage in a fight with the monster and using that fight as a distraction, attach the grenades to its arms and legs. If he could blow apart it's limbs but still keep it alive, then, in theory, he could get close enough to knock it out. If that didn't work, he could always try to shoot it and incapacitate it that way. Perhaps he might drown it, use port keys to drown this section of the deep roads, or then again he could always grab onto it, apparate high into the sky and use oxygen asphyxiation to knock it out. If that didn't work, he could then use port keys in other ways.

Magic could give him so many options to defeat this bastard, it was just case of getting the ability to use it and that was likely why it was so keen on preventing him from discovering his wand. It was too late, however, as finally on his most recent pulse of magical energy, he detected a familiar presence and upon feeling his magic after so long, he could feel his wand pulse back excited and eager to be held again. That was not the only thing he could feel though, to his right, he could sense the familiar and much welcome presence of both Elyria and Gerald. Neither of which had been corrupted by the taint although neither were moving for whatever reason.

Growling angrily as they saw him appear, a Hurlock Alpha pointed its gnarled finger at him, roared in some ancient Darkspawn language and charged. Nat as ever apparated several behind it and kept running until finally, he discovered what he wanted.

It appeared to be a relatively big room from the outside, two guards were standing outside, however a quick series of apparation and then slash quickly dealt with that problem. Quickly rummaging around their corpses, Nat smirked as he felt the key. Pushing said newly discovered key into its hole and twisting it, Mat pushed open the large heavy dwarven doors and entered upon what he could only call a treasure room.

Not taking any time to dawdle within lest he gives his pursuers more time to catch up and perform horrendous things upon him, Nat rushed towards his wand. Stored in some kind of safe, Nat was of the feeling that his capture was likely of the belief that he would never escape, despite this, the Architect had taken some precaution by holding it behind a heavy old safe likely designed to keep valuables in back when this place belonged to the dwarves. It was of no use, however, as limited as Nat's wandless magic was, he had always specialised in spells that could assist him in case he was ever captured.

"Alohamora" Pouring his power into the spell, the safe span with sudden life, clicking loudly as it did so before it swung open on its old hinges allowing one to see the items that lay within. Not desiring to be apart from his beloved wand for any moment longer, Nat snatched up his wand up more possessively then Gollum with his ring chuckling darkly as he did son. As he held the familiar piece of wood in his hand, Nat feel it begin to warm up comfortably, pouring his own magic back into him reaffirming the bond that they had formed all so many years ago. "Yes I missed you too, I know you love me, I love you as well but we have more important matters to deal with" As Olivander had told him all so many years ago, a wand chose their master, and as he flicked it to the side vanishing of all the grime and dirt and blood of his body before followed by some other cleaning charms, Nat felt his blood begin to rush.

Adrenaline pumped through his veins sharpening his mind and confirming his plan of attack as clothing zoomed out of the room. Flying at ridiculous speed, the clothing he had worn before being captured was thankfully still enchanted and without a delay wrapped around Nat's form dressing him head to toe again before finally his glasses opened up around his face and deposited them down. Immediately afterwards, another flick of his wand had his magic speeding forcing every other possession and other collected items and item flew out from where they had been holding and into his inside jacket pocket.

With all things of value back in his possession, Nat got work as with a turn of his heel he vanished ready to take revenge on the creature that had dared attack him.

Female Cell's

A loud clanging awoke Elyria out of her sleep. Blurry eyed, she was barely able to concentrate on the source of the noise as she felt her eyes scream in agony as the harsh light contrasted vastly with the utter darkness that had just been in her mind previously. Ultimately in the end though and despite fighting of tears if pain, she was able to lock her eyes into the centre of the room.

She grimaced, was it time for breakfast? Or was it lunch? She had entirely forgotten how long she had been down here. One moment Nat was reversing the car to get them out of trouble the next it felt as if her entire life had been crashed into as glass shattered and a powerful force struck her knocking her out cold.

When she had finally awoken, it was to some type of tall Darksawn staring at her as she lay entirely bare for its eyes to take in tied to a table. She didn't know how long it had been since then, it was so difficult to keep track of something like the time when she could not see the rising and the setting of the sun. Instead, she had spent her time hanging by her wrists and legs, attached to the wall like some form of decoration.

At times a Darkspawn would enter and provide her and the other captives with food and water as well as unleash their manacles and taken them for a small walk to ensure that they didn't lose their physical legs strength capability. That was it though, they refused to answer any questions and she had only rarely seen the monster that had been named the Architect.

Other then that, she had gotten into a pattern over however long she had been in this rat hole, she would wake up, eat and drink when given food, go on the mandatory walks, then use the privy after which she would spend the rest of the day conversing with the other prisoners of this creature. Like her, these other prisoners had been captured by the Architect, but unlike her, they were all Grey Wardens.

While none of them was happy about their current circumstances and others had attempted to escape only for that to end poorly, all of them had become aware that if they were going to be able to cope with what was going to happen to them, then they needed to work together. Unfortunately for Elyria as she felt her once soft skin chafe under the rusty manacles, her companions were still asleep gaining some kind of respite from the troubles that they faced on a regular business.

Was Nat alive? Nobody had told her anything forcing her to stew in her own panic as day after day went by forcing her mind to less pleasant thoughts. Nat would never abandon her she knew that he had promised, but where was he? Had he been captured too and if so was he with Gerald and the others, or had they also been killed. He wouldn't let her continue on day like this day after day if he could prevent it.

Just the reminder of her usual routine, of the way that those Darkspawn creatures entered her cell every day and leered hungrily at not only her but also the other captives. They never touched, according to one of the older captives that were because one of them had tried before, the result was that Darkspawn and it's companions getting its head cut off. Still, she was nothing more than an ornament now, her a daughter of noble birth, a member of the Inquisition and a mage now nothing more than a delectable piece of flesh for the Darkspawn hordes to admire day after day. What would happen to her the moment the Architect no longer needed her or the others alive? Would she simply be given over to the horde, like some toy? Or was her fate even grimmer?

She saw it, day after day the corruption on the Wardens spread across their bodies, teething and mauling at them. Young women who had once only just gone through the Calling appeared twenty years older, hair had fallen out leaving large bald patches, their skin had become a deathly pale and black spiderlike veins weaved under their skin as the corruption took hold of them. It didn't take long for them to lose the battle, she still remembered the way how one of the Wardens had begged to join the Architect. She had never seen them again.

It wouldn't be long she reckoned before she caught the taint herself. While she had shown no signs of contracting it yet, the Wardens had been very active in telling her, that she likely wouldn't have long before she felt the changes. It was this place they said, so dark and corrupted by the taint that it easily managed to jam itself inside of people corrupting them slowly as they were forced to undergo the process. As for the Wardens, they informed her that if she did become corrupted then her best shot would be to join the wardens if she wanted to survive otherwise it was a very quick but painful demise into madness eventually turning her into a ghoul.

She sighed loudly uncaring if she did wake up any of her companions and forcibly take them from the one relief that they had left. It was going to happen she realised, she was going to die down here, in this hole, forced to turn either into a Darkspawn or be used by them in whatever way. The Wardens had told her what happened to females they captured, how they were forced to eat the flesh of their companions, how they were violated day after day. Bit by bit their forms changed into they became large horrid monsters called Brood Mothers whose job then was to pop out Darkspawn after Darkspawn.

Before she could think any further, the familiar sound of the lock to the door resounded round the reaching her ears. Brilliant she thought gloomily, the Darkspawn were here, ready to either take them out for a walk as if they were pets or to feed them some horrid tasting sludge that gave her stomach cramps. She closed her eyes tightly, screwing them shut in the hope that when the monsters entered they would believe that she was as asleep like all the others.

"Please chose someone else" She repeated in her mind silently as she gave a prayer to the Maker hoping for salvation any kind of salvation. It didn't seem to work as quickly she heard boot's press against the floor in a rapid and hastened movement. They got closer and closer, she could then hear the sound of metal sliding against a sheath as it was withdrawn. They were going to kill one of them she realised. "Oh, Sweet Maker no". Her silent calls were unheard however and her heart sank as she noticed much to her despair that the footsteps were getting closer and closer, they were coming to her. She tried to keep a calm face, do what Nat would do, show no fear to the enemy yet it was impossible. Who cared if she showed, fear, the enemy had already won and she was their prisoner for the rest of her life or however long she had before the Taint took her.

The footsteps stopped directly in front of her, soon she felt a breath dance upon the nape of her neck. It was cool and crisp, entirely unlike that of the Darkspawn she was used to. Then again it could be one of those Wardens who had sided with the monster and had not entirely been corrupted. A snapping sound was all the warning she was given before she felt herself taken by the force of gravity as the manacles that held her in place opened with a fierce yet silent force. Clenching her eyes shut, Elyria prepared for the ultimate harsh feeling of either feeling the rough calloused hand of a Darkspawn touching her, or the hard ground floor sending cold sensations into her body. What she felt was entirely different.

Soft was the very first word that came to mind. Whatever Darkspawn had released her had decided to play around with her some more, firstly it had caught her in its arms holding her still with little effort and the next it then brought her form to his allowing her bruised and battered skin to push against some odd soft material.

"Thank Merlin you're alive" She froze still. That voice, it couldn't be. "It's me Elyria, you're safe" Mustering up what mental strength she had left, she managed to slowly open up her eyes revealing her own brilliant green ones where after flickering for a few brief moments locked onto the familiar sight of two black pieces of plastic.

"Nat" Her voice whispered uncertainly. Quivering with both fear and a desperate look of hope, she leaned back further, gently raising a finger so she could trace the outline of his face. Quickly less she be in some Fade dream controlled by a demon, she allowed herself to feel the form of her saviour as he simply held her there. Only a few moments were needed before like a car she slammed her head into his chest and wrapped her arms around him as warm tears began to flow freely from her eyes and soak the black t-shirt that he had been wearing. "Nat, you're alive".

"I'm here" He repeated, with a thankful smile, he returned the hug, dragging her into his chest as he wrapped his own arms around her. " She was alive, he thought a bright smile bloomed on her face, even better she was not yet corrupted by the taint. It had attempted, he could already feel the blight that had tried to enter her skin, but as of yet, she was uncorrupted, free from its taint. However, he didn't care at that moment instead just bringing her in even closer as he began to hear her sniffle into his chest. Gently, he rocked her back and forth in his arms, allowing her to take comfort from him as he searched around the room.

As he did that though, he also summoned up her old robes and entirely unnoticed by the girl, he used magic to cover her body up. When that was completed, he pulled her away from him. As smoothly as he could, he conjured up a handkerchief and wiped the tears away from Elyria's now red puffy eyes.

"You came" She whispered as she felt her heart desire to let loose her feelings again.

"I just woke up about ten minutes ago, but yes I did." He smiled reassuringly at her hiding his own guilt as he felt his head begin to go light headed at such a large failure of responsibility. "They didn't harm you, they didn't" He couldn't spit out the words, in shame he moved his head.

"I'm okay" She sniffled. "They didn't touch me like that" Nat nodded slowly as he reassured himself. She was mostly unharmed then, the manacles may have hurt, but the Dakrspawn hadn't done that to her, at least not yet.

"Good" Changing his attention back onto the other Wardens, Nat flicked his wand commanding the power that flowed throughout him to release the other captives. As metal was forced opened seemingly against it's will let go of their captives as they thunked to the floor awakening them from their slumber, a mix of clothing flew quickly through the open air towards the captives. Still asleep and not entirely awake, looks of confusion were given by some of the Wardens as they felt pieces of fabric then followed by metal and armour moulded to their shapes. Finally, their weapons joined the fray when the women had woken up. Snatching them up quickly, all of them focused their attention on the new arrival who still had Elyria held bridal style in his arms.

"Good morning ladies, I'm terribly sorry for the rude awakening, however, this is a breakout. I would politely ask you to accompany me as I escape this wretched place and assist your fellow gentleman in their evacuation. Considering where we are, I don't think it will be too long before our fuckwit of a jailer realises that I gave him the slip and comes back to said jail." Donning his ever calm demeanour as he turned to the now dressed and fully armoured women who served the Grey Wardens, Nat twirled his wand subconsciously as he thought of the coming battle ahead with a growing sense of both excitement and pure joy. Heads were going to roll and he was going to love every part of it.

"No need to apologise, young man, it's these creatures which will be begging for fogginess once we're through with them". With a commanding voice that demanded both respect and obedience, a woman with brown now greying hair gripped her offered long sword tightly as she shuffled her shield about to the right place. Offering their saviour a quick dangerous smirk, she turned around before then with a sassy tone looked her fellow Wardens in the eye and spoke "In the meantime, let's go save our boys"

Without a further word being given, the group of Grey Wardens all seemingly cheered up now that they had weapons in their hands and armour on their chests, happily rushed out of the room that had been their prison with a bunch of war cries. Only the last one, a Dalish elf Nat would guess going by her markings took the time to stop by him and actually speak although she didn't seem to happy.

"Yes Miss"

"Velanna" The elf responded quickly though she tried not to scowl as she did so. "The creature that keeps us here is more dangerous than the other wardens know, it cannot be allowed to live or escape. If it does, then it will cause another catastrophe"

"Another" Elyria mouthed slightly confused. Nat, on the other hand, nodded in confirmation.

"The fifth blight. So the rumours are true which means that you were one of the Grey Wardens in Amaranthine back when the Hero of Ferelden was in charge. " Velanna scowled as she thought back to those times, life had been different before she met the Hero of Ferelden and changed permanently after she had become a Grey Warden.

"It has been ten years since I became a Warden and I... the Wardens believed that this creature was dead when the Hero of Ferelden killed it" So the rumours were becoming truer Nat thought with ever-growing concern. At first, he had treated them as he treated all rumours, with restraint. Living at Hogwarts for any period of time quickly taught a person just how quickly the rumour mill worked and what the results were. Sometimes the rumour was somewhat accurate, most of the time it was blown out of proportion and very rarely it would be true. With that kind of experience and all Wardens gone preventing him from confirming such rumours, Nat had put them aside. Personally right now with what had happened, he wished he hadn't.

"Wait a Grey Warden killed it" Nat felt his mind race in slight worry as he thought back to what he had hypothesised earlier. If that was true, then one of the Inquisitions biggest concerns was indeed a very big gamer changer.

"Yes," She said confused although realisation soon bloomed across her face. "Elyria said you were with the Inquisition, she said something about a bunch of Tevinter Shemlen. What do you know?"

"The Architect isn't just any Darkspawn, he's one of the Ancient Magisters that breached the Fade and entered the Golden City in Chantry lore. He can't be killed, doing so only forces his essence into the closest corrupted vessel and unlike Archdemons, his soul cannot be captured and destroyed."

"Great so the Shemlen legend is true." With a heavy growl, Velanna paced back on forth swinging her staff widely as she did so. She tried to think of solutions to the problem but none came up. It changed everything she knew about fighting Darkspawn and all she had learned over the long ten years since she had been recruited. In that time she had learned that an Archdemon was destroyed because when a Grey Warden killed the Archdemon, then Archdemons soul bonded with that of the Grey Warden destroying both of them at the same time. "If it cannot be killed, then how do we capture it? A monster that powerful can likely destroy most magic we can throw at it.?"

"I have multiple solutions on how to take it out initially, that's not the problem. Our main concern is keeping it knocked out long enough so that prison can be made to not only contain it but also keep it asleep."

"So you have a plan, Good. But just what type of prison or magic will be needed to contain the monster and how long would it take?" In the background, Nat heard the sound of fighting, steel clashed against steel ringing out into the old dwarven hallways as two old enemies clashed against one another for supremacy. They were never going to make it out of here, with the Architect, at least not through the traditional means of transport. If they captured the monster, then the Architect could likely send out some kind of message that all Darkspawn were to come and rescue it. Suffice to say that would be one giant horde that had to be fought through and in that confusion, the creature could very likely slip away.

"There was a Grey Warden prison in the Vindmark mountains by Kirkwall, used to hold one of the other two before an incident occurred. Even if we can't use it, then we can surely copy the magic. In that time I can probably keep it under at least for a period of time."

"But the car, you said that it had enchantments on it yet the monster managed to get past that "Moving Elyria out of her arms because she could feel her hair start to itch on his neck, Nat turned to the girl and gave her a slight smile.

"They had enchantment's sure, but they weren't the most powerful ones I've done, in fact, it was a rather quick job. Give me the time and ability and I'm sure I can keep it under for a while in the meantime, I'll also build it a prison once we escape here."

"Build a prison" Velanna scoffed at the words. "Even if that Darkspawn can be contained, what do we do then, we'd have to find a way to escape this Creators cursed place and make it back to the surface. If the Darkspawn doesn't kill us here, then they certainly will in the tunnels. And then there's it's scheme"

"What scheme?" Nat spoke quickly tough as he did so he could feel a sinking feeling in his stomach. Just the mention of another plan already had his mind racing onto possible things that the monster would like to achieve. Re really hoped that wasn't the case, along with finding the heir to the throne and capturing an ancient Darkspawn, he didn't need some other world-ending plan.

"The monster recognised me when it first captured me, it said it was going to try again in defeating the Calling."

"Defeat the calling" Putting things together as best he could, Nat resisted the urge to scream as his concerns became reality. "Don't tell me he wants to bring one of the old gods under his command" The silence that resounded around the room was more than telling to the wizard as he began on thinking of possible ways to combat such a plan. "How close is he to finding them, I thought that only top Grey Wardens knew of their location?" Velanna grimaced angrily as she recalled her "discussion with the Architect. According to it, that was because she had been in the party when the Architect had been killed therefore to keep itself safe she had been trussed up like some prized pig waiting for slaughter.

"Before the Fifth Blight, it told me that a bunch of Grey Wardens searching for one of its human companions who had gone on their calling. Apparently, that companion was a high Ranking Warden and had joined the Architect giving it the location of where all the Archdemons are buried. The Hero of Ferelden when he was the Commander of the Grey in Ferelden discovered that the Architect had desired to use the Archdemons in its plans. However, something went wrong resulting in the Fifth Blight"

"Well today just keeps getting better" Nat muttered sarcastically as the orange flames flickered dark shadows onto his pale skin. "First I wake up captured by some monster, then I discover that it wants' me to join it, then I learn it's some ancient Darkspawn which wants' to infect the entire world with the Taint and now I discover that it intends on bringing it's corruption to an old Dragon. Next thing we know, the Architect had created some kind of army to march on Orzammar" Despite joking, when Nat turned to Velanna, he stopped midtrack as he realised with an ever-growing sense of concern that just seemed to keep growing and growing as the minutes of his consciousness gained. "Let me guess, he does have an army doesn't he"

"Our reports indicate that it may be in control of all Darkspawn for about two hundred miles in all directions of Orzammar" Velanna reported.

"Well, at least I can't say that it's boring around here. Anyway, we have a job to do. Let's find our lads, capture this lanky bastard, kill an old god, escape the deep roads and work out a trade deal." Ignoring the incredulous stares of his teammates, Nat despite the actual pressure pushing down on him actually felt a spark of excitement in his chest grow. Perhaps, it was the adventure, or maybe the challenge or just the fact that unlike other in the many fantasy novels he had read, he was actually looking forward to the task. When he got home and could speak to Kate again he'd have some interesting tales to say, then again it would also make a good book.

"You make it sound so easy" Velanna commented negatively her face hued with an expression that showed obvious disbelief that they were even going to escape from the prison let alone finish any other goal.

"But where would the fun be if everything was easy in life. Besides when I was young, my teacher once told me a certain phrase, always gave me the push I needed to achieve my goals" Velanna looked at him doubtfully as she brushed an errant strand of hair back into its place frowning as she felt just how badly she needed to wash what was left of her hair when she escaped this place. Not that she would mention such a thing.

"And what's that?, that you can achieve your dreams" She snorted derisively.

"Nah fuck that bullshit, that's nothing but a bunch of fucking lies peddled off to kids in order to make them feel better about the fact that most will never be anything more than a small unimportant cog in the capitalist machine" He replied without a second thought.

"Then what?" Nat smirked dangerously as he turned his attention to the open door. In the time that the other wardens had been gone and started their fight, a few Darkspawn likely wondering if there were any who had not escaped yet came rushing in hoping to take some pleasure of any possible prisoners. The very moment they came into view, a series of streaks dashed across the air faster then they could blink and struck him in their chest.

Slicing into their forms, the cutting curse, slashed straight through the shoddily made Darkspawn armour ripping it in two as the spell carried on through the resulting corrupted flesh severing it and then rough the bones and internal organs and straight out the back. Before anyone had any time to react, the charging group of Darkspawn dropped to the grounds in two blood pieces, their swords clanging loudly on the stone floor.

Turning back to Velanna Nat answered her question.

"It's never too early to fuck shit up"

Then without even waiting for a reply of the Dalish Warden, Nat turned on his heel, his wand in hand and marched out of the door that held them, prisoner, over the newly formed corpses of Darkspawn and shot out a spell towards another pack of rampaging Darkspawn. With a sound like an artillery shell exploding, fire swept the hallways for a moment as Darkspawn were entirely eviscerated by the spells, blasting their bodies into little chunks while the walls beside them were scorched black with soot. Shortly behind him came Elyria rushing into the breach with her staff raised and launching a powerful ice attack that froze an Ogre solid where it stood. Not desiring to be left behind in the action, Velanna threw her own fire spell blasting the ogre into tiny ice chunks that seemed to glitter as the light from the torches hit them.

"Okay which way now," Nat asked as he rushed back onto the main pathway. There were two directions he could go, left or right. From what he could remember, left would mean going back to the test chamber that he had awoken in and tied to a stone table entirely bare of any decency, whereas the right led to the way out.

"It doesn't matter, the men are housed on the other side. Just pick a direction and keep following it" Not needing any further explanation than that, Nat alongside the other sprung off into s sprint their feet rapidly striking the floor sending loud footsteps that were only drowned out y the ever increasing sounds of combat up ahead. Soon, they found the path that the others had taken as demonstrated by the copious amounts of blood, dropped weapons and dead Darkspawn that lay on the ground.

One of those downed Darkspawn who had seemingly managed to survive a death blow outstretched its hand whilst gurgling towards Nat, it's eyes burning angrily with nothing but hatred. Not even bothering to give it the time of day, Nat as casually as he would command a window to close pointed his wand towards the creature and cast a cutting charm at its chest. A squelching sound was heard for the briefest of seconds before the Darkspawn thumped it's head back as it's pathetic life left it's corpse, and flowed onto the ground beneath it.

"This isn't right, where is the Architect, where is Kalvin?" Narrowing her eyes in worry, Velanna tried to feel as best she could through the taint using it to search out for as many Darkspawn as she could. With her experience with the Architect and it's power as a Darkspawn, it should have been relatively easy to spot that monster, yet she was unable to, as it had seemingly managed to vanish from her sense.

"I used illusion magic to set him on the rest on a goose chase, should give us enough time to get the lads and escape the prison. After that though, we're fighting our way out." It wasn't going to work forever Nat knew with the numbers the Architect had at his disposal, he would soon catch up with the golem he had quickly created and then hid under an illusion charm. Once they did realise that it was all a hoax and they had been led on a chase taking them away from their base, then they would rush back as soon as they could to prevent the actual escape of prisoners.

"You said you were only awake for ten minutes yet you have managed to escape, bust us out and lead the enemy on a goose chase" Velanna looked at Nat doubtfully.

"I can be very efficient when I want to be" Pulling out a series of small black marble sized coloured balls in his hand, Nat quickly chucked them behind him scattering them all over the floor in a mess. He repeated the process a number of times seemingly to Velannas eyes holding an infinite amount as the balls struck hard against the floor. As he threw the marbles, however, Nat flicked his wand casting a few large-scale animation charms as he did so.

Upon the orders of his spells, the balls raced of their own accord down the hallways at an insane speed before stopping in several places as they did so. Some went into the old unused rooms of this prison, others preceded to crawl up the wall like spherically shaped spiders, depositing themselves out of the way while others more took solitude in the cracks and crevices of this place. More decided to hide under the corpses of Darkspawn entirely hiding them from view.

"And those are?"

"Insurance. Even if this breakout fails, that bastard will not be able to work here again" Shaking her head, Velanna said nothing rather preferring to go along with her rescuers plan as they kept racing. Soon with their fast pace and the slight slowdown that the Wardens had experienced with them having to fight their way through a number of Darkspawn, Nat, Elyria and Velanna met up with the rest of Wardens.

Caught up in a fight of the Darkspawn the Architect had left behind after promptly rushing out of the prison as he followed the golem, these few guards were supposed to prevent any other guards from escaping. So far they were doing a piss poor job considering that quite a few of them were dead and the Wardens were advancing on their position with anger blazing in their eyes. They would not survive this altercation they knew, yet all the same, they followed the orders given and attempted to delay the Wardens.

That all changed however as one moment the Darkspawn were fighting as best they could with their shoddily made weapons, and the next the brief sensation of harsh metal rubbing along their palms informed them of the magic cast. Weapons were snatched from their grip, flying out of their clenched hands and behind the line of Grey Wardens. One Darkspawn who had been in mid-swing ready to deflect a blow suddenly felt the sensation of sharp metal slicing into its upper shoulders and down into one of its lungs. Others soon followed as now entirely defenceless with no weapons, the Darkspawn guards soon were made an example of as arrows, swords, maces and magic slammed into their corrupted frames killing them instantly. Then once the battle was done, the group carried on further, until finally, they reached the door that held the male prisoners.

After pushing his way through the front of the rabble, Nat was able to direct his wands attention to the lock. With a pale white glow as the charm was used upon the device that kept their comrades locked away, the sound of the lock opening automatically resounded open and Nat pushed his way inside followed by the leader of the Wardens.

"All right wake up lazy shits' Yelling at the top of her voice, the commander of the Grey who Nat didn't even know the name of just yet soon had her voice broadcasting louder than a bunch of football hooligans then on the night of a busy match. Suffice to say as others quickly grabbed their ears in pain, those men who had been tied up was soon finding much to their horror that the first thing they saw was their commander officer smirking wildly at them. "Well good morning me, did you sleep well?"

Blushing brightly, the men used to being forced with sharing their nakedness with their fellow prisoners attempted to hide their parts from their commanding officer as with a flirty and teasing smirk she made a visible motion of ranking them in her head. "All right ladies, now's you're chance to have a look at something you likely wont otherwise" Much to their growing mortification, the men could only turn their facer away in shame as their female counterparts piled into the building and began parading around with a myriad of emotions as they "checked out the goods". Only one of them, however, was spared from such an embarrassing fate, and that was because Nat had rushed straight towards him, unshackled him and then dressed him back in his combat gear.

"Commander" Gerald whispered in shock as he saw the familiar long haired blonde boy hand him his rifle. "You're alive?" He said in shock.

"It'll take more than some lousy, thin-skinned, lanky, shit eating, arse licking, wanking, horse cunt to kill me mate. " Giving him a reassuring smirk as he beat his hand hard against Geralds' shoulder, Nat quickly cast the effective spells on the other tied up men releasing them and then giving them their weapons and clothing though much to the displeasure of the women who had had their fun stripped away from them. "Now I'm terribly sorry for interfering in on your nap time, but before we need to escape, we need to search this place as quickly as we can for anything useful"

"Useful?" Gerald questioned as he felt himself shake out of his dozed state as the hustle and bustle of escaping a Darkspawn prison got to him.

"Fucker stole some of my blood and perhaps some of yours as well. If we want to prevent that thing from tracking us down we need to destroy it"

"Right, just give me a sec, my heads still spinning"

"It'll do a lot more then that if they capture us" Nat replied quickly however then much to Gerald's surprise, Nat patted his shoulder again though this time as if he was a friend. "Sorry about this, both of you. Your safety was my responsibility and I failed, when we escape I'll get you a new commander, someone who can actually take care of you properly"

Confused, Gerald stared at Nat before then with a sigh and a shake of his head, he went to punch Nat reassuringly only to have his fist caught mid-air. Sighing again, he lowered his arm. "You said you'd rescue us, and you have. For now, though, let's kill some Darkspawn"

"Right" Turning his attention back to the commander, Nat raised his voice grabbing the attention of the female commander. Despite her own teasing rhetoric, the woman was quick to look over the men's injuries, determining who was strong enough to carry on and who would need assistance in escaping. It was a long road ahead of them to escape and she could not afford to leave her and the rest of the group more exposed to the enemy then they needed to be. "Commander, I'm taking my two to find and destroy any phylacteries that bastard might have. I'll catch up with you later"

"Got it and good luck" With the mission parameters now set, Nat alongside with Gerald and Elyria pushed through the Grey Wardens as past as they could before squeezing out the door and pelting into a run as they followed Nat's lead.

"Sorry about taking so long to rescue you, Gerald, I only just woke up. Are you okay, you're not hurt or tainted are you" Gerald shook his head vigorously at the comment hoping to hide the shudder as he remembered some poor dwarf who had been taken away one night and was forcibly turned into a ghoul.

"Just a few bruises, but I don't think I'm tainted. The Architect wanted me as some sort of quality assurance whatever that meant. You know what that means"

"Good to know that you're not injured, as, for quality control, it's a principle in science used to make sure that samples are too special in any way. It's like if you tried to forge a weapon using three new methods, the quality control is to compare them to the current method."

"Simplified please Commander" Gerald called out uncharacteristically quickly.

"You weren't tainted so the monster can compare your physical condition to those who are. Thank Merlin it was you"

"Commander?"

"Just glad you're not dead mate" Shaking his head in slight confusion at the comment, Gerald turned his attention onto what they were supposed to be doing. Having been locked up in a cell for the last two weeks, constantly forced by Darkspawn under pain of death to do what they said, he was just rather grateful that he was out of that situation. Still, as he found himself running in the opposite direction as everyone else, he couldn't help but feel a slight amount of panic and anger creep into him.

His commander had just rescued him and instead of joining with the others, he had instead decided to volunteer them for the more dangerous mission of destroying that creatures toys. It made sense he guessed and if his commander had been kept under for a while, then he would also like to make sure that the creature couldn't use his blood for its own nefarious purposes. All the same, he wished he was running the other way.

"So once we escape this place what do we do then?" Gerald spoke quickly as he felt his breath stagger harshly. He needed to walk more, the Darkspawn may have prevented his legs from feeling asleep, but they didn't allow any of them to do more than that lest they try and escape.

"First step is to find the car, after that, we repair it, once that's done, we deal with the lanky bastard otherwise he'll just go straight through my charms again."

"You want us to fight it" Elyria sputtered out between exhausted breaths. How Nat was able to keep ahead of them seemingly unaffected by the ordeal she would never know. Was he in much better shape then she was, probably yes, but there had to be something else he wasn't showing, perhaps some spell that he had cast or maybe using magic to enhance his physical capabilities. Then again, perhaps he was running on the adrenaline that was pumping through his veins.

"No, I have plans to deal with him and despite how I may look, I'm still groggy. I wouldn't be able to win in an outright fight. Which is why I laid a trap for the bastard" If it were not for the fact that he was more concentrated on getting to that creatures experimentation room, then Nat would have crossed his finger with anticipation as he hoped that his quickly made plan would work on the creature. It was one of the best things he could think of on short notice without putting himself in further danger then he needed to be in.

While he could feel his magic becoming stronger and returning to him by the second as the effects of whatever sedative was used on him wore off, he didn't want to push his luck with that monster. That creature was one of the original Magisters that breached the fade and when the boundaries of magic were far more loose in the land of Tevinter then they were now. It was bound to know of powerful ancient magic that likely wasn't limited to the blight, powerful magic that could very likely be used to hurt him. Considering the fact that the creature had the ability to destroy the enchantments he had on his car even if they weren't of high quality, then that certainly meant that the protections he was used to were gone entirely.

Every battle up to now he was pretty sure he would win with no problem. All of his clothing was enchanted with basic spells for not only normal stuff but also to defend against something like a muggle trying to rob him at night and him being unable to use magic to defend himself. Fire, water, wind, lightning, ice, earth, mother nature could throw what it wanted at him and would do bugger all, as would be the same as with any muggle. There were enchantments to stop his clothes from ripping, others to take away the shock of a hit and even more to prevent a stabbing motion from going into his chest. He was practically invulnerable to this worlds muggle's killing methods, but magic was another story.

The enchantments would prevent him from being hurt by basic spells, at least to a certain degree, but against someone who actually knew they were doing, the spells were inadequate. They were basic in their regard, slapped on haphazardly compared to what his duelling robes could take. His robes could take a pretty solid magical beating and despite his own skills in acrobatics, duelling and other techniques that could get him wins against his typical more youthful opponents, against those who were higher in the totem pole, the adults; then his robes were a life saver.

He was willing to take on the might of the best that the Circles had to offer because he was better them then in every way. He had more power then they had, he could cast faster then they were, he had more experience then they had, he had more training, he had a larger variety of spells, had more protection against them. Circle mages while having a large amount of skill and power when they achieved a higher rank such a Senior Enchanter, were all the same nothing compared to a professional wizard who had spent their entire life learning the art of magical combat.

The Architect was something else entirely. It's power outweighed his, at least currently. Perhaps as he got older he might become an equal or maybe even more powerful than the creature, but that was not now. It experiences very likely outweighed his own with thousands of years to hone it's magical and muggle skills until they truly became a very deadly weapon to be used against its enemies. It's knowledge and especially of spells and more vitally powerful ones very likely outweighed his. After that came numbers, perhaps the creature would be unwilling to use the might of its power or maybe it couldn't giving him the ability to fight it. Neither mattered as something like that would require his full concentration and he could not to that if he was forced to fight the Architect, defend Elyria and Gerald, fight Darkspawn and escape all at the same time. If his concentration slipped for just the tiniest second it was game over.

He had seen it happen enough times in less rule heavy tournaments. A loved one or a fan called out to their champion distracting them for the briefest moment only to their horror to watch as their champion ducks to late or is unable to conjure a shield fast enough and was then sliced into ribbons as a cutting curse struck their chest.

He could not afford to take that chance, already he had failed Elyria and Gerald, getting them captured and likely also tortured in some form or another as he laid asleep due to his inability to defend them. He could not risk that, he wouldn't fail again.

Then there was the other reason, one that Flitwick had taught him and he had taken to heart. There was no point in fighting an engagement with the creature if it was a professional duel sure, he had to engage it in a one on one engagement, but this wasn't a duel this was war. Engaging the Architect was a cost-profit base analysis and frankly, it was too risky to go through as the first plan.

If he fought it one on one and won, then his magical reserves would surely be drained leaving the group heavily exposed to the enemy when the Darkspawn regrouped and counter-attacked. However, if he used more mundane means to defeat the creature and thereby preserving his strength, he could hopefully prevent a disastrous outcome later down the road.

Besides, that fucker hadn't fought fair, all it had done was destroy the enchantments on his car allowing for the ogre to smash it to pieces inuring him and forcing his attention onto Elyria and Gerald in order to save their lives so that they would be able to fight another day. Had it instead decided to call him out and engage him in a fair fight like some Orlesian with their false sense of chivalry, then he would have called it an idiot and tried to blow it up with explosives.

Moral of the story, fuck honour, fuck chivalry, fuck fairness and fuck anything any other feeling that one may have towards to individuals fighting in a one on one fight. He fought to win and if that meant using dirty underhand tactics to win so be it.

The end result was that he won and the enemy had lost.

"Trap what kind of trap" With a sudden feeling of magic that swept over him, Nat smirked.

Architect

"Catch that bastard hurry" Breathing in hurriedly, the Architect panted as it's breath escaped the confines of its thin tall form. Never could he remember ever running like this beside when it had first come across that old god entombed deep in the earth, in a hollowed save where it slept peacefully. Upon its corruption and wakening, however, the monster had not been too happy to see him resulting in his use of sending his brethren to fight it whilst he retreated to formulate a new strategy.

Now though, it was starting to regret the choice of clothing it had awoken with all those years ago as it's long dress like robes hindered its movement compared to that of their quarry. Speaking of the said quarry, the Architect watched with clear fascination and respect as he observed the human-like creature rush past hordes of Dakrspawn without ever once seeming to lose breath. I scrambled up old ruin's it bare ass shining in the in the orange glow as arrows whizzed by its head from Darkspawn who had decided to ignore his call for it to be captured. Behind on its trail, a pair of shrieks sprinted as fast as their hind forms could hoping to get close enough the captive to land a blow that while not killing would most certainly incapacitate.

Quickly it clambered over old rocks and places that the Darkspawn had long since tread, occasionally it's feet would strike an odd puddle fo water from where earlier a Hurlock had tripped a fallen with the prisoner's supply of water and split it all over the place soaking the stone beneath. But it was losing the Architect knew.

As fast as the creature was, pelting past Dakrspawn and backflipping over Hurlock's with surprising grace, it would not be able to outrun forever and it would almost certainly run into the reinforcements much farther down the line. Then as if to confirm his thought's the whooshing sound as an arrow was unleashed with a twang from the bow that it had belonged to, flew through the air, pushing all molecules out of its way before with a sickening sound, pierced directly into the calf of the back leg.

A loud crashing noise followed by a grunt resounded as the boy fell to the ground face first, it's skull striking hard against the rock. Blood pooled from its forehead yet even more to the Architects growing respect and confirmation that the boy was of utter importance to its plans of creating peace between the surface races and the Darkspawn, the boy attempted to get up. It was a very good specimen, one that could surely father a new race of men and women corrupted with the taint. Still, it was all for nought for the boy as seconds later, two hurlocks shoved the boy onto the ground and with a heavy thunk, pressed it's feet onto its chest holding it down as more came and proceeded to help the effort as it struggled.

"That was a noble attempt," The Architect said slowly as it's pace of running became that to the more familiar one of walking as it approached the down boy. Seeing their master approach, the Darskpawn with a disappointed look, gripped the boy's forearms and brought him up to bear but kept him kneeling. "However I'm afraid you still need to come with us, I will not allow you to hinder my plans for a better future for the world" Softly as if he was trying to cradle a small child in comfort after it had fallen down and scraped its knee on something, the Architect allowed his long gnarled finger to gently wrap around the Childs' face and gently point it up towards him. "You will be treate-"

Blasting out of the mouth, a thick green gas spouted out quickly and struck the face of the Architect. As that happened, the sudden shock of the unseen attack, jolted the Darkspawn that had held him down backwards in self-preservation. That mistake, however, allowed the child to jump from its prone position entirely uncaring about its injured leg as it gripped the head of the Architect tightly and shushed its lips against the architects whilst continually pouring gas out forcing it down the lungs of the creature.

Staggering back, the Architect had no time to cry out in alarm as unseen by it in the thick gas, the illusion around the child vanished revealing none other than a clay-like form who's arms morphed from that of hands to that of a single sharp blade. With a powerful downwards slice, the now revealed magic golem sliced off the hands that the Architect had before then dropped to the ground and sliced off its legs. Finally, with its actions still hidden by the thick smoke, it's blades formed into hands again where after tightly gripping the now unconscious Architect, it vanished with a powerful crack louder than any blast of thunder.

Nat

"Oh, nothing serious," Nat said contently as he patted a hidden pocket on the inside of his jacket. "But we should be able to escape now without having to worry about that thing pursuing us" Elyria gazed at Nat suspiciously, by now she had come to understand that Nat knew magic that the circles didn't, if he was now seemingly relaxed about the situation, it stood to reason then that it had been sorted out and there was less to panic about then before.

"I'll take your word for it, but what type of magic are you so concerned about the monster using besides just Blood Magic" Dashing past a set of unsuspecting or lazy Darkspawn, Gerald wasted no time in bringing his sabre to bare. Thanks to the enchantments that had been placed upon it by his commander, the blade was sharp to an extreme degree easily being capable of slicing through the Darkspawn blades and armour as if they were nothing and ending their lives in the process.

"Blood magic has been known to be able to control minds, to make things easier for demons to cross into the material world and take over other hosts, to poison others" Elyria elaborated as quickly as she could.

"Oh it's that bad" Gerald whispered terrified at the prospect of what the monster that had imprisoned them wanted to do with them.

"You need to read up on your history" Elyria said quickly. "Blood magic is what Tevinter used to collapse Arlathan into the ground, and it is also what the Magisters used to breach the Fade and enter the Golden City. If this Architect is really one of the Old Magisters, then it has to be a master of blood magic"

"Shit, then we need to hurry up before that creature gets back" Calling upon what strength he had left, Gerald, managed to inch out a lead quickly gaining the vanguard.

Unknown to him, however, the creature that he feared so much that had now been captured by none other than his commander. As he ran along, Nat just hoped that he could keep the thing sedated for as long as possible. He'd had to quickly conjure a special room, that he could store the monster in as many quickly conjured traps as possible whilst it was continually sprayed with the knockout gas he had quickly developed. It wasn't particularly strong, just some stuff that he had stolen from a smugglers warehouse, however, it was all he had until he could create a proper tomb for the thing. If it woke up though, he hesitated to think what would happen to himself if the monster managed to escape.

"Hold up you idiot, you're more likely to get yourself killed if you keep rushing off like that" Following his example, Elyria also quickened her running pace so that she could catch up to Gerald leaving Nat alone to continue his insurance plans.

The good news was that all his little black marbles were quickly getting into place. The bad news was that the alert spells he had placed outside were alerting him that the Darkspawn now released of the control of the Architect were rushing back towards the prison. They didn't have long though, only a few minutes. Still, the golem had done its job and taken the vast majority of Darkspawn out of the prison and into the Deeproads long enough for him to rescue the Wardens and his subordinates.

Fighting their way out without the assistance of their ancient and most powerful member would be a dam sight easier, or at least it would be if that was his main concern. If what Velanna said was true, and the Darkspawn had found one of the other dragons, then it was too dangerous to allow them to just leave. That dragon had to die.

Breaking into the experimentation chambers, Nat was met with a sight that belonged to a science fiction film. Large stone beds doted the floor in a repeating pattern other tables that had multiple vials of different substances had been neatly arranged and filed for use at a later date, there were cutting tools like knives and other devices. The area was also lit far more brightly then anywhere else down here via a great number of torches ensuring that the Architect would not lose something of value if it were to drop something.

Despite all of this, however, Nat didn't have the time to waste in picking his way through the lab and discovering something here or there. Instead, he extended his wand, called upon the magic that resided around him and unleashed it without a single sound or light show made. Instantly, the sound of glass and other materials could be heard scraping, as, within seconds, a mix of vials and other contraptions that currently held Nat's blood was forcibly thrown from its purchase and launched towards Nat. With incredible precision and speed due to not having the time to go about the correct procedure with disposing of his blood, Nat simply held back his growing anger as he saw the amount that flew into his pocket. "Use me as a fucking blood bank" He muttered to himself. Promptly after getting back his blood from the creature, he then repeated the same process with every other source of blood and body parts or juices that the creature might be keeping.

Cloning technology likely didn't exist in this world, but Nat still had no desire to later learn down the line that somehow he had some sort of clone or child because of what the Architect had decided to do in its free time. Finally, once everything had left the experimentation room alongside any books or notes that the creature may have been keeping, Nat threw in five entire sets of of the black marble balls. The rest of the place didn't matter compared to dealing with the lab and anything else the dam thing had. If the Architect escaped which was possible, then he would have to hinder the creatures prospects as much as possible.

"Are we done now?" Elyria shouted uncertainly as she observed the black balls rush into the wall and start to climb up it like small creepy black spiders. She suppressed her shiver as she wondered what the strange black things were going to do, yet instinctively she knew that she probably didn't want anyone to use those black balls against her if a fight broke out.

"We're done, it's time to get out of here" Nat replied quickly, grabbing both his subordinates by the shoulders tightly and then yanking them away as he rushed away from the lab.

"Thank the Maker" Elyria cried as she got back into her run, returning the way that they had came to make sure that they didn't run into any errant Darkspawn who may have been a little slow on the uptake. "What now?"

"Find car, repair car, find old God, Kill old god, drive away"

"Kill old god," Gerald said confusedly before his eyes then lit up in panic. "You mean an Archdemon, you want us to kill an Archdemon?" Gerald's angry voice resounded down the old dwarves halls before forcing him to catch his breath as he attempted to run and hold a conversation at the same time. "By the Maker, how do you expect us to kill something that powerful?"

"We don't," Nat said sharply as they turned another bend. His warning charms were informing him that the Darkspawn weren't that far away from the entrance, if they got in, then it was a very brutal fight in very confined underground quarters. "We have Grey Wardens for that, all we'd do is lend assistance, make sure that they don't get killed"

"For what" Gerald roared so angrily that his face started to turn pink from rage. "It's bad enough that we were captured by the Darkspawn and that it took you Maker knows how long to escape and get to us, but now before we even escape you want us to fight some Maker Forsaken Archdemon. Are you out of your fucking mind commander." Nat didn't dare stop his pace, despite this, he managed to raise his body into a higher more dignified position as he gave his stern reply.

"I am an officer of the Inquisition, it is my duty and responsibility to ensure the safety and well being as Thedas as a continent and to use whatever power and means I have at my disposal to do so. While I do perfectly understand your contempt for having to perform such a deed after the stress you have been under the past two weeks, the fact of the matter is that an Archdemon is more important than your wellbeing. If the Darkspawn corrupt that creature and it escapes, then Thedas is well and truly fucked and even I won't be able to help then"

"You're supposed to be some kind of expert mage, cant you imprison its soul or something. You already said that you have a plan for the other creature" With a heavy growl, Gerald panted in and out struggling to catch his breath having expended too much energy with his show of emotions. Nat, on the other hand, patted his pocket to where the Architect currently resounded. It was a stop-gap method currently, knockout gas was continually being sprayed on the monster and the actual prison had just enough oxygen to keep the creature alive but not active. Combined with it's limbs being cut off to cause it agonising pain that would hopefully disrupt it's concentration, the black body bag that was enclosed around it and then being imprisoned in the best, mummy coffin he could create on short notice and then tied up in chains, the monster was prevented from using it's powers, at least in theory. An Archdemon though, that was far too big to keep it under control without the proper knowledge. At least the Architect was, for the most part, a tall humanoid.

"No, I can't trap its soul. I neither have the knowledge nor the experience to deal with soul magic in general. Which is why we need the Wardens, if they die before they reach the Archdemon, then it could take weeks, maybe even months before we can come across another set of Wardens to kill the Archdemon. Of course, by then the dragon would have escaped and have a horde at its beck and call" If absolutely required, Nat knew he'd have to use apparation publicly if it was to stop the Blight.

The Architect was a very deadly threat and was why he had taken the dam thing down as quickly and as subtly as he could, but all the same, the Architect was a long-term threat. He'd have to be taken out eventually, but it gave time to the Wardens for coming up with ideas. An Archdemon and a blight n the other hand would wrack untold havoc for years if they couldn't be nipped in the bud quickly.

As for soul magic, he hadn't told the whole truth to Gerald. He knew some soul magic and had even cast some in the form of the Fidelus charm. He also knew about Horcruxes even though the Ministry of Magic had attempted to ban or destroy any literature relating to their existence. There was also Animagius magic which was believed to be connected to the soul as well as the Patronus charm. The former he hadn't taken up learning yet and the latter he could not cast anything more than a weak shield due to its requirement of strong happy emotion.

Perhaps with time, he might be able of trapping another creature's soul into some kind of object or destroy it entirely, but that was way beyond his current skill range. Point Blank the only way he could personally defeat an Archdemon is if he were a Warden himself, something that he would never do.

What type of magic did you train in then" Gerald argued back derisively as the fear crept in?

"Combat, I can fight my way through people easily enough, kill them if required, but soul magic is very powerful and very complex. It's not something you're just randomly taught beyond the occasional useful spell, it's a massive field of study and one that's highly regulated due to the danger involved. If I try to fuck with that things soul, I'm likely to do some sort of irreparable unforeseen harm. Best let some suicidal Warden have a swing at it first." Gerald sighed angrily however before he was able to comment any more, they met up with the Wardens forcing him to close his mouth tightly less anything be revealed that hadn't already been.

"Good to see you made it out Captain, I'd celebrate but we have an Archdemon to stop and a bunch of Darkspawn heading our way. What's your suggestion?" Things went as silent as could be despite the ever-encroaching sound of thundering heavy footsteps mixed in with nightmare-inducing screams in the background as all eyes turned to Nat looking at him expectantly.

"We can't fight our way out, we don't know where we are in the deep Roads and any extended period of combat leaves us only more exposed. Beside that our first goal is to check on the Archdemon. I'm willing to lend my aid to deal with the one that the Architect planned on corrupting, but after that, I have to return to Orzammar and then back to the Inquisition and report in."

"Then how do you expect us to get past the oncoming horde?" A dwarven Grey Warden asked as she looked doubtfully at her saviour. The kid might have gotten them this far, but after that, he was bound to be less useful. Before she could receive a direct answer though, Nat turned towards the Wardens and quickly singled out every single mage there was.

"Anyone with magic, start blasting a hole in the rock, make it big enough for us all to fit in, once that happens, we'll create a barrier that should protect us when the fireworks kick off"A look of doubt crossed the faces of the mage, hoping for confirmation they turned towards their old and greying commander who with a quick nod affirmed the order. With very little time to spare before the group was set upon by the Darkspawn, all those with magic turned their attention towards one of the broken pieces of the walls and rapidly got to work.

With devastating power, raw magical energy in what Nat would call telekinetic form blasted hastily against the once smooth but damaged wall. The area shook around them as they worked, the ceiling rattled sending small shards and chunks raining down on top of them while other Wardens feeling the earth seemingly shake beneath them steadied their feet as best they can in hopes of negating the effect. Concerned with the speed at which they were working, the Commander ordered all those who fought in melee, to form a ring around the mages to allow them some form of protection.

It was unneeded however as much to the slight jealousy of some of the Warden mages, Nat quickly began carving out a path into the rock as explosion after explosion rang our sending clouds of smoke, shards of rock and dust catapulting into the air at a rapid rate as Nat moved like some kind of dwarven machine moving away the rocks with sheer force of will.

"Get inside quickly" It wasn't a very large hole in the stone, barely enough for people to squeeze in and even then armour chafed against skin whilst others complained about someone stepping on their toes. Bodies pressed more tightly together then lovers and it took some serious willpower as they ignored the musky scent of each other's bodies but they managed it just in time. Finally with the sound of stone flying in behind him and crashing against each other as it formed a large solid mass with only a small hole able to view the outside world, before then like some magical door out of fantasy, the newly shaped door slid in and closed tightly, then followed by all light vanishing as the window slammed shut leaving them all in darkness.

Before anyone could complain, however, a bright white light of magnificent stature, appeared on the tip of Nat's wand as it was held in place allowing for all inside to see the way that their bodies had been cramped like sardines. It was most certainly uncomfortable, for all involved but rather so for Elyria who attempted to hide her blush by looking over Nat's shoulder as their chests pressed against one another.

"You couldn't have made this place a little roomier" One of the Wardens spat out. It would have been a funny sight usually with the way one man's hair had now become a sprawling birds mess, but the humour was gone considering on the other side there were bound to be hundreds of Darkspawn rushing into the old prison. "What's this place for anyway. We can't hide in it forever"

"We're not hiding" Nat replied as he brought out a small push button that he had summoned. "We're taking cover"

"Cover, cover from what?" Unbeknownst to the Grey Wardens who when later questioned would say it felt like hours, the time the group stayed in the tight small claustrophobic confines was only a few brief moments as Nat paid attention the sounds of Darkspawn pouring over the solid stone and into the prison.

"Mages, cast a shield in every direction possible and as strong as you can" Nat commanded fiercely. "Everyone else, cover your ears" With a glowing blue beam, magic shout out in a brilliant hue, as every single individual gifted with magic created the best shield that they could, enveloping the group many times over in the power of magic. Then with a nod of acceptance and uncaring for any command, Nay pressed the trigger.

No warning was given to the Darkspawn as they entered the prison and searched for the prisoner that had gone to escape, the only rage induced them as they saw the corpses of their brethren. They rushed in weapons bared, ready to rescue their commander and kill anyone who helped the prisoner, but all they saw were their own dead comrades, blood and the occasional strange black ball. Before they could even question what the strange balls were, a magical signal shot through the ancient stone and activated.

Fire burst forth from the small objects, fire and power. A heavy thunderous roar louder then any storm, or any cannon or any spell echoed through the halls followed by a shockwave of such unaudited power that it shattered stone, melted flesh, incinerated bone, and turned all around it's immediate to ash. Everything else was turned into a pinball machine, launching off the ground at speed faster then the ear could hear with more force than a hurricane, blasting not already dead Darkspawn into the sides of the stone with a quick smash and squelching noise, entirely crushing the weak meaty frame it had. The wall's around the explosions, collapsed to the floor with an earthshaking and teeth-rattling boom.

The area where Nat and the mages stood, shook and shattered, rocks falling upon their shields battering them more then the ocean did to a rock, The world shook in around them as the ceiling gave way, entirely obliterating under the strain of shaking under such tremendous pressure, blasting through all layers of defence threatening to crush the denizens underneath of not for Nat's more specialised shield that transfigure all that entered into marshmallows. When the floor around their bodies cracked around their shield like a pane of glass threatening to take them all into the abyss, Nat repaired the very ground beneath them and held it tight. Soon though, their protective shell that had been three metres inside of the solid stone, simply crumbles, revealing to them the former chamber they had ran away from as the explosion and shockwave soon passed over their location and onto other places.

Coughing like an old street beggar, Elyria on her hands and knees managed to push herself back up to her feet and gradually with wide horrified eyes dragged herself off the platform now seemingly surrounded on one side by a deep vast chasm into the abyss. Shortly after the Grey Wardens followed with Nat being the last to leave as he sneered the safety of the group.

"What the fuck do you think you were doing?" The commander roared as she rounded up on Nat as with a leap, he joined the others in taking a look around the area. "Creating an earthquake underground, are you fucking mad boy" She glowered

"The Earthquake wasn't me," Nat said quietly before then approaching the abyss. "That was something else, natural phenomena. My explosions should have blown up the prison and all the Darkspawn in the area, but it certainly wasn't powerful enough to bring a cave down on our heads"

"Really so you expect me to believe that the very moment you trigger an underground explosion, an earthquake just naturally occurs. What's your fucking problem"

Nat ignored her, instead, he simply kept peering down into the blackness. Had it been a mistake, a strange feeling in his gut as it shook violently. No. He was pretty dam sure he had felt it, something old, something powerful, he didn't know what it was, but it was connected to Lyrium somehow. He continued his gaze downwards with a sense of uncertainty, was there something else down there? Something he didn't know, and why did it send that Earthquake? Just as he backed away, he managed to glimpse in the corner of his eye, the familiar sight of glowing blue Lyrium before vanishing entirely.

"Luck is the most likely solution" Nat replied as he turned around and faced the Warden Commander. "And I had countermeasures. For now, though we have to find that dragon and take it out before it can do any more damage" Still furious, the Commander glowered at the chid for a few brief moments before turning away in a huff as she focused on the more important problem. "You can take us there can't you?" The woman turned away in a hastened movement her eyes not daring to lock onto anyone else's in the local scenery. Quietly she whispered.

"I don't even know where in the Deep Roads we are. The Architect and it's Darkspawn beat us in a fight and we awoke here"

"Okay, let me try something, but first I'll need a map" Shrugging her shoulders in response, the Commander handed over her map and walked back a few metres, working out that the mage was going to try some type of spell.

With the map hovering in the air around him, Nat remembered back to the image that he had seen describing the Blights back in the Haven Library. It was a relatively simple spell he was going to cast, very basic first year thing, yet it wasn't highly known. Developed during the last war, some bright spark had decided to make a variation of the typical point me spell, though instead of acting like a compass, it instead acted like a holographic map. It was a highly useful spell for every day and especially for military use but required a bit more visualisation compared to others. With an item or object in mind, he could get his magic to reveal the location of items or people on a map. When he'd first cast the spell, he'd done something simple and use a vague term of cars. Suffice to say his magic just turned into one gigantic light show as entire countries just glowed. If more specific terms were used such as "Type 45 Destroyer" Then he could track a limited amount of items on a map.

In this case, he thought back specifically to the image of one of the former Arch Demons. That would give him the best thing he could use as a reference point until he actually saw the dragon that was going to become the next bringer of death and destruction. So with his wand giving off a brief shine as he cast the spell and looked at the map, he was rather happy when no glowing spots came up.

"What does that mean, what's happened?" The Warden commander demanded.

"No glowing dot means no Archdemon and unless the Wardens put powerful magic around the prisons to magically prevent others from finding the location of the prisons, that means that s of currently, the old god is still just a dragon" Sighs of relief swept the area as they heard that knowledge, however, the Commander still wasn't relieved. Instead, she stared at the map of the DeepRoads that she had presented the child, noticing a blue dot in a certain place and from that blue dot there was a line of green trailing all through the map, changing directions sharply at some times and at others staying still.

"What's that blue dot and green line?"

"The blue dot is me, the green line is the way back to Orzammar" Nat replied casually although he did take a small amount of pleasure as he watched the commander attempt to snatch the map out of his hands. He stepped back quickly, preventing the woman from doing so, yet he still allowed her to view the map as he focused on the map.

"Where's the Archdemon then?" She asked.

"I assume then that your commanding officer was killed at some point" Nat rebuked. Scowling, the Woman stared at the map attempting to work out from all the tight corners and spacing as to just where such an old and powerful creature could be kept in the area. Unfortunately, though, there was nowhere which was obvious and certainly not anywhere that said "Old God Lair" on the map.

"Can you find the creature or not?" The earth trembled around their very feet and the once terrifying sounds of the walls around them shattering returned. More stone crumbled and roared under the strain of the pressure that it was undertaking and quite a few people fell onto their side as the grounds shaking increased dramatically to the point that it felt. With a grunt, the commander fell to the floor, giving a slight hiss as her unprotected head struck against the heavy stone and smashed her neck where she stood.

Moments later as the grounds shaking came to an end, the cry of some old ancient creature, bellowed from down below from a newly formed deep black cavern. With a plume of blazing hot orange flame scorching towards the wardens which dared to look down, a powerful wind rushed out as the powerful form of an old deity raced out and hovered above the group's head, fire blazing in its throat.

"Bugger"

* * *

 **New Poll up**


	20. Chapter 20 Hidden Knowledge

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 20 Hidden Knowledge**

Deep Roads

"Take cover" A voice cried out as nearly all within the cavern froze and took in the form of the monster that now hovered above their heads. The Warning did not come quick enough however as two Grey Wardens stunned by the creature were promptly snatched up in the dragon's jaw then with a loud echoing snap, the dragons sharp teeth skewered past the armour and carved into the soft flesh. Cleaving them in two. Throwing its head back violently, the other wardens could only watch as their comrades were then forced down the throat of the monster.

"What fucking cover?" Another Warden screamed out despairingly. It was a terrible mistake as the sudden rise in noise alerted the dragon to its next target. Shivering, the Warden dashed to the side, throwing his weight on his legs. Rearing it's muscular head back, everyone did their best to take cover before a plume or blazing hot fire blasted forth from the monster's mouth, and onto the Warden who had just yelled out. It was over very quickly, with the sheer heat of the Dragons flame thrower, the Wardens felt not an ounce of pain as they were simply transformed into piles of white ash mixed with a small number of molten metal flakes that stuck to the ground.

"Gerald, Elyria" Nat called out as he kept his attention on the beast before him. "Follow me, we're going to get out of this place before it collapses under us. Elyria if you see a flame blast coming towards you, raise a shield but nothing more."

"What about the others?" Gerald cried out. Nat shook his head as he quickly diverted his attention to the local scenery around them. The Earthquake had really decimated this place and was likely the reason for as to why the dragon was free and more vitally awake. Large deep black canyons stretched all around their location creating some sort of giant circle around the place. Behind them, the laboratory that the Architect had used, had entirely vanished, underneath the power of shaking rock and the power of something else. What that something was, would have to wait, however, instead, he needed to get Elyria and Gerald out of here.

"They're Wardens, it's their job" Gazing at the powerful creature that was currently tearing apart the most elite fighting organisation that Thedas had, Nat was rather glad he wasn't them. This creature, this Dragon was nothing compared to anything he had ever seen before.

It was gigantic, larger than any aircraft back home by huge leaps and bounds, in fact, much to Nat's growing concern as he did some advanced maths in his head, it was larger than an American Aircraft carrier. Its skull was so large, it could likely pick up the Haven building in its jaw and fly off with it, whilst its wings were of such a size that it could likely call forth tornadoes, and blast apart buildings with a single flap. It was still oddly beautiful though Nat thought as he along with his subordinates wasted no time in rushing towards the exit out of this place. It scales unlike that of and Archdemon reflected light in such a way that it made them glimmer light stars at night, whilst if's razor-sharp talons on its feet gave the impression of the highest quality sword, and it's breath.

A roar echoed forth from the dragon, as once more wreaths of golden light signalling the heat and intensity of the flames that the beats could unleash were seen glowing for a brief moment in its mouth and then unleashed. Strangled calls and prayers were given out as the flame was unleashed upon the open ground that the Grey Wardens were on, enveloping them in a scorching hot flame, cooking the very meat of their bones and then turning that was into nothing but white powder.

"Nat" Elyria called out desperately as they dashed around the back end of the dragon, narrowly dodging the appendage as it slammed into the floor with enough force to shatter even castles walls. Launched into the air by the strike, Elyria felt nothing hold her down onto solid ground as all she did was fly upwards into the air. Suddenly, after an unknown second of flying, she felt herself stop entirely and held there where after only the briefest of moments, she was placed in a controlled fall and landed in the outstretched hands of Gerald.

"Let's go," Nat said without any hesitation. They didn't dare look behind them to the Grey Wardens and quite frankly Nat didn't want to look back at all. He could already tell just how poorly this battle was going by the way that people he could sense were alive now just ceased to exist entirely. Then there was the heat, whilst his clothes were keeping him fine, he could certainly notice the massive spike of temperature in the area. Once look towards Elyria and Gerald got him to notice that they were panting heavily and their faces bright red.

"Climb up his back kid, stab him if you can" Nat had no time to pale drastically as the voice of one petrified but still fighting Warden swept open the scorched battlefield and towards him. While he ignored it, perfectly willing to allow the Wardens to die down here if it meant saving Elyria and Gerald, the Old God did not.

Infuriated by the very fact that some two-legged creature had managed to get to it' rear spot, The dragon launched itself of the ground with it's two ferocious feet and blasted the air around it sending seemingly large shockwaves of air in all directions like that of a Helicopter while creating noise so loud that nobody could hear anything else even if something was whispered in their ear. Roaring with so much unbridled fury as it re-orientated itself in mid-air, the creature once worshipped as a god, turned it's glowing voluminous yellow eyes onto the group of children who had dared to sneak around it. Observing them, the creature only gave one more angry roar as to its confusion, the children, unlike every other two-legged creature, had not been sucked off their feet and thrown into the centre of the room.

Unknown to the creature, Nat through quick thinking was able to cement his and his companion's feet to the ground just in time with a powerful sticky charm. However as the dragon continued to batter the air around them forcing other objects like shards of rock, stone and even the odd Lyrium vein utterly pulverising a Warden into piles of red blood on the stone, Nat cast a series of spells on himself as well s Gerald and Elyria as he prepared for the monster to attack.

Much to the ever-growing fury of the dragon, these children had somehow managed to scape it's awesome power and remained rooted to the floor of the building. The centre one was their leader it saw, the one who dared to look at it the ey and not dare show an inch of fear. Proud or stupid the Old God did not know, but this one refused to be subjugated against its will, rather this mage used it's own power to circumvent that of its own. Had it been human it would have chuckled in dark amusement, yet the fact of the matter stood, such an insult against one's better could not be allowed to stand. Drawing on its own immense strength, the dragon returned it's flapping speed to that of hovering as it stared down the little mage which would fight against it. With a roar of indignation, it unleashed a torrent of flame.

Elyria screwed her eyes tightly as she gripped onto Gerald hugging his frame as tightly as possible, her head burrowed into her chest as she felt the blaze of heat rush towards them. No Mage could summon a shield that could survive this monsters fire, at most she might get a second before it's sheer power would bash through her might and kill them all. There was also nowhere to run, the monster could easily keep its fire on them.

Fire struck them, a blazing inferno that it was, scorching the earth beneath them entirely as a sustained burst, melted the very ground beneath them and hollowed it out and melted. It rained down on them, a flame so hot and blazing so bright that it would have lit forests on fire, evaporated lakes and turned towns and cities, to burning cinders with nothing at all to say that there was civilization.

"Hehe" Elyria giggled against her will as she felt her skin tickle constantly. As if an army of feathers had been thrust upon her, Elyria couldn't stop the way her body moved left and right against her will as the fire swept over in some strange way ticking her. Unable to control herself, she gripped onto the closest thing possible which happened to be Gerald.

The Dragon confused as to the sounds it was hearing with its far superior senses, quickly withdrew it's fire, closing its mouth as it did so and stared at the scene before it. There in front of its great beady yellow eyes were it's should be victims as if nothing had ever happened to them. Untouched-un-burnt and entirely unaffected by its great breath, the small group of Humans stood alive, fearful of its amazing power but still alive.

"Maker's breath" A Warden whispered to their amazement as all beings took that time to stare at what could only be described as some kind of miracle sent down by the Maker himself. Nat flicking his gaze back towards the exit and then towards the dragon silently gestured to Gerald to get himself and Elyria out of the place. Nodding dumbly to himself as he checked himself over, it took a few seconds for Gerald to collect himself, before quickly he quickly rushed away leaving Nat to stand alone against the dragon.

"You dare to defy a god!" Booming out of the dragons razor-sharp teeth, the Warden Commander felt the very air around her vibrate, as a deep powerful and demanding voice echoed from the monster. Malice burned inside the Dragons eyes as it stared down the small human child. Nat resisted his natural urge to shiver as he felt the magic of this old beast wash over him like a Tidal wave. Pressing against him, it tried to squash him, bend him to his knees and submit to this creature. It didn't work, however, instead, Nat refused to move his eyes away from the creature's defiantly opposing it and silently daring it to a challenge. Finally with a mocking smirk on his lips Nat spoke.

"Colour me amused, the oversized Gecko speaks" Roaring with absolute unbridled fury, the Dragon bared it's sharp deadly teeth allowing the small human to see just how deadly they were and how they could be used to rip the very skin of his bone and then crack his pitiful skeletal structure like some type of toothpick. The moment was ruined however when the old god sensed some of the few surviving Wardens approach from the rear, and attempt to climb up at her.

Launching it's back right legs behind it, she smashed the small group with a single effort, catapulting them off the floor where like little ragdolls, they screamed as they fell into one of the gigantic caverns, destined to die a very messy death. As she kept her attention on the strange mage human, she watched to her slight confusion as he showed no fear in her presence at all but rather created a set of fiery bright numbers as if that meant something.

"Gecko, Gecko" The roar increased in fury as the dragon responded to its pride as the most dangerous beast in the world was shat on by a mage who hadn't even gone through his harrowing yet. "You defy me, and now you insult me little Mage. I will rip you apart for your insolence, torture you until you beg for death. But not before I destroy your companions" Without a further word given the snake-like heads twisted and turned its position, fire blooming in the back of its throat as it located the other young humans and prepared to roast them alive.

The area around the dragon shook and rippled with energy as an explosion powerful enough to blow out a decent size stone struck the Dragons jaw throwing it to the side, forcing the breath of fire away from the children. Before it could scream once more, two more explosions followed, once more stopping the fire breath or knocking it away from the kids. Despite this, however, no damage was done to the dragon itself, it's powerful magical defence had protected it from the spells flung by the creature.

"You know with all the legendary tales of you Archdemon's, I would have thought that you might actually be worth a challenge. Instead, all I see is a pitiful little lizard that learnt a gimmick and is now trying to show off. What happened in life, Daddy didn't pay you enough attention?" Nat smirked haughtily as he began to pace up and downwards where he was dragging the giant's attention away from Elyria and Gerald towards himself. With any luck, it would give both of them and the other Wardens the time they needed to escape.

"You are a disrespectful little insect, I could destroy you with barely any effort and yet you still dare to defy me." Once again the earth shook around their feet forcing most back down as they desperately struggled to regain their balance. Then horror struck them as the sound of cracking and tearing stone jolted all within to the fact that the area that they had been standing in, was breaking into tiny chunks and falling downwards. Gerald stopped where he was to stare at his commander.

"Go" Nat ordered, waving off the boy and any other Grey Warden that was in the area. "I've got the Gecko" A dark rumble raced upon the room as the Dragon continued to hover and stare at the child who didn't once dare look down to his ultimate demise.

"Commander" Gerald cried out but he was cut off as a blast of energy struck him and the Other Wardens in the area, flinging them back into the safer part of the deep roads. Just as the Wardens landed in the clearing with a heavy thud, a stream of bright red explosive light, struck hard against the doorway. Shattering the stone with tremendous force, all the surviving Wardens and Inquisition members could see, were large boulders rushing down and covering the entrance leaving the lone wizard alone.

"You have me" The dragon spoke once again this time seemingly amused at the stupidity that the young mage had shown. "You couldn't destroy a Darkspawn you pathetic ant, whatever makes you think that you can harm one such as me?" Nat glanced all around him as he summoned up his magic, this entire place was about to collapse into the deep dark chasm where Merlin knew whatever waited. He was alone now, just him and an ancient powerful dragon. It was like something out of one of those legends. Not that it mattered, he followed through with his responsibility and ensured the safety of Elyria and Gerald to the best of his ability. The Wardens would have to escort them out or die trying.

"Oh you know, the power of friendship" Nat declared in a loud mocking way and thrusting his arms back to form some dramatic pose as if he was from one of those ridiculous kid's cartoons. Seeing the un-amused look on the dragon, Nat collected himself and presented a slight smile before conjuring a teapot and the other assorted equipment. "Well since I was initially sent here to negotiate a trade deal on behalf of the Inquisition, that makes me a diplomat. So, shall we discuss our relationship?" If Dragons could blink confusedly, then it would have done so.

"You insult me and now you offer to share a beverage with one such as I" Nat shrugged his shoulder. As he did so, however, the glasses on his face got to work analysing the dragon as best as they could. Though not as advanced as science fiction glasses, one of the enchantments he had on his glasses was the ability to work out the speed of items and spells, typically it was used in duelling to allow a witch or wizard to work out what the average speed was of an opponents spell. It made it a lot easier than trying to guess when the spell was going to come into contact with you and provided a very useful lookout. In this case however whilst he was bound to fight an Old God, the trick was to work out just how fast it could fly, move and react. The last thing he needed was to mistimed a dodge or spell.

"I was acting in self-defence, with the others gone I assumed we could discuss our grievances"

"Hahaha" The dragon gave a full laugh, rearing it's gigantic head upwards as it did so to reveal the scales beneath.

"Sort out or grievances, that is indeed a funny joke. You are a bold little mage, not that it matters much. Whether I kill you or the Titan it does not matter. In the end, you will still die here, alone in these old stone walls"

"Titan?" Nat peered downwards into the black abyss. He could see nothing but his mind flashed back to when he had seen that bright Lyrium blue light. So that thing had a name, after all, the creature that was responsible for bringing down the cavern on his head alongside waking and releasing this Elder Dragon back into the world. "Does it have a name?" Nat asked slowly.

"And why ever would a mortal ever be so concerned with the name of such a being, the Evanuris cared not when they struck them down and turned their essence to their cause" How old was this dragon Nat wondered silently to himself. His hand gripped around his wand as he continued t stare up at the dragon as the ground continue to crumble and sink around him. Soon even where he stood would fall into the blackness, though that did not concern him at this present moment in time.

"Evanuris, that's the elven pantheon, so they were real. Would you be so kind as to inform me of what you know of long since forgotten times" The dragon laughed haughtily as it stared down the child in an amused face? Briefly, it mulled the idea of continuing to talk to the small mage, it wouldn't do any harm considering he was about to fall to his death leaving him to return to the land it ruled once ago and take revenge upon those who had entrapped it deep within the Earth.

"And why would I tell a mortal who is about to plummet to his death, anything. What good would such archaic information be of use to you, little mortal"

"As you said yourself, I'm about to meet my ultimate demise, and would you not prefer to see your victim on the cusp of enlightenment before you watch their faces turn onto panic before their demise. Just a tinge of hope to make the despair taste all the sweeter." Scaled covered flesh, wrapped over the dragon's eyes before then uncovering as the dragon blinked. Around him, Nat calculated that he probably had a minute at most before everything gave way underneath him, resulting in the start of the inevitable battle.

For now, he wanted to delay the battle, gain a grasp on just how intelligent was alongside give himself a first strike advantage when it finally came. His magic was unable to pierce the dragons hide in a straight up spell, already the large lizard had demonstrated the ability to take on three powerful explosion curses that would decimate an average sized house. When the ground gave way beneath him, he would allow himself to fall, far enough into the abyss before stopping himself and then engage the dragon in a fight.

That just left his strategy of how to beat the monster, if spells wouldn't work against its magic resistant hide then that left more muggle means such as a sword or spear. He only had to find the right place to thrust the weapon in and then he could kill the monster, or so he hoped. No one had any knowledge on how to defeat an Archdemon who had not been tainted, would it die like a normal dragon, or would it survive in some form or the other. Personally, he'd rather get to learn as much as possible as he could from this creature before he was forced to ends its life, it's knowledge on the Elven Pantheon and this Titan could also prove invaluable for a later time.

"You show remarkable bravery for one who is about to meet his end. However I will humour you, you may ask me one question before you fall to your demise and end up in the Fade little mortal. When you arrive, I will then play with your soul for your transgressions" One question that was all he was allowed, one question to determine how he would proceed in his goal, one piece of hidden information not to be given away. His heart raced and his mind dashed as thousands of individual questions raced in his mind, so many things he could learn from the monster, so much he could learn. He didn't have much time, all ready the ground a metre away from him was cracking and the edges were starting to fall into the pit.

With his question chosen, he stared into the defiant and curious eyes of the dragon.

"Where are the Evanuris?" The dragon gave no indication as to what he thought of Nat's question instead as the ground beneath Nat cracked it answered with a gleaming lethal smile.

"All but two lay trapped where oceans are past, emotion forms, and reality differs. One has recently returned from millennia-old slumber and the other flies, running from host to host, waiting for when the true one shines and returns what was lost. Until then both travel, over the hills and far away" Then as the ground beneath Nat gave way with a nightmare-inducing rumble to others, he crossed his arms and kept his eyes locked onto the beast as he felt downward to what the dragon believed was his ultimate fate.

Unbeknownst to the dragon as it turned away and directed it's snakehead towards the ever shaking ceiling above it, Nat felt no concern or fear as he descended at a rapid pace. It was very odd he thought, this place was exceptionally deep for him to be falling for so long, yet none the less, as he felt he could make out the typical light shine of Lyrium as it defended against the darkness of unlit caverns and rooms. He drew his sword to his side and inspected it for a few moments.

It was okay he guessed, the enchantments that lay upon it most certainly made it better than most other blades that lay in the world. However compared to that monster, it wasn't even something that could be used to pick out the small pieces of meat and bone that got stuck beneath its tone. All the same, it was all that he had on him. He had no time to infuse the blade with Lyrium, he neither had the knowledge or the skill to complete such a task and that was without mentioning the fact that him trying to combine Lyrium with his own magic could end very poorly.

If he was going to kill the monster, then he needed a clear strategy, the first being was where he stuck the creature first. Attacking its scales would do no good, the resistance the monster had would prevent his charms from working. That left only a few exposed parts on the body, parts which the dragon itself knew were going to be the main striking points and would act quickly to defend against. The eyes were the most obvious target, besides blinding the monster and impairing it's ability to fight to some degree, the eyes would likely be close enough to the fleshy inside of its brain. If he was able to slice a hole big enough for a spell to travel through and strike, then he might be able to blow it's brain up from the inside. Then again, there were also other options of getting inside the monster.

If he remembered the rumours correctly, Potter had killed a Basilisk one of the most dangerous creatures in the entire world with just a lone sword at the age of twelve. While the length of the fight got exaggerated to some proportions that he found difficult to believe, one common belief in all the rumours was that Potter had thrust the sword through the Basilisk's mouth and into its skull. He supposed it was possible, yet he still hated the idea of doing something so drastic and quite frankly stupid.

He could stand comfortably in that beasts jaw and that was the problem. The very second the Dragon noticed that he was inside its throat, it would tip it's head back and sending him falling into its gullet and-. He paused before shaking his head as he ignored the howling winds that sped beneath him. Despite all this time and all his pride of being a Ravenclaw, he could be rather over complicated with his planning at times, not always taking the easier simple solutions because he was more concerned about what might happen.

Looking downwards as he fell, he noticed a ride that popped out just enough that he would be able to stand on it. Not wasting a moment of time, he angled his decent towards the bridge before then using magic to slow his fall down just enough to that he landed gently. There was very little room to move, but it was just enough for him to get what he needed.

Quickly reaching into his inside pocket, he grabbed one of his empty marble sized balls alongside a small tube containing a black powdery mix. Had anyone looked closely at the tube, they would have noticed the intricate set of runes that had been inscribed onto the glass, preventing it from damage, absorbing heat, raw flame, water and many other things. However, in this case, the most important charm on the piece of glass was actually the replication charm, designed to continually keep the vial filled no matter how much got poured out.

Quickly he tipped the vial of black powder into the far larger ball listening intently as he heard the small particles of explosive powder continue to pour in. It didn't have to be a ridiculous sized blast, just enough to pulverise the internal organs and turn them to mush. Anything more would only work against him considering that he wanted to loot the Dragons corpse once it was dead. His reason for wanting to loot this dragon, in particular, was simple. He wanted to make weapons out of its body.

Both Hawke and the Hero of Ferelden had worn armour made of the scales and bone of dragons into battle when they fought against their opponent. In fact, the Hero of Ferelden even had a legendary sword made from the bones of one dragon he had killed when he served as the Warden Commander in Ferelden. According to the rumour, the sword was considered to be of an exceptional quality that thrummed with unseen but heavy energy making it some type of super weapon. That was until some Antivan crows had decided to sneak into the castle and steal the weapon leaving its current fate unknown.

What made him desire to kill this monster even more besides the fact that it was awake and would likely attempt to kill a large number of people, was that the Hero of Fereldan's sword had been made of just an ordinary High Dragon. In contrast, this dragon was far larger than any previous Archdemon and far more powerful. Even here he could feel the power and age of the creature far above him as it roared and yelled as it battered in a fierce fury at the rocks above in an attempt to escape this deep confine and enter the world above. Magic flowed through that creature, very old and powerful magic of a time long lost ago when things were different. He could only imagine what a weapon made of some ancient powerful Dragon. Perhaps others might come and try to steal it like they the Hero of Fereldan's sword, maybe the blade would go down in the history books forever as some type of legendary sword that helped to unite the world. Whatever happened though, the sword would give him at least give him the ability to win any dick measuring contest when it came to them.

He could already picture a scenario where some uptight Orlesian noble presents their blade and spouts of something along the lines that it had been handed down in his family for generations and was made of silvertite. After that, another would then probably lay down their blade and state how their blade had been soaked in the blood of their enemies and was given to them as a reward from some great war achievement. Finally, when it got to him and he was unable to avoid the situation due to how politics worked in Orlais he would then present his beautiful yet deadly sword and inform the crowd how his blade was forged from the bones of an Old God whom he had slain by himself.

Personally, he hoped that he was never put into a position where he had to boast about a weapon girded at his hip, but if he had to, then as a member of House Tempest, he was rue in the knowledge that his weapon was adequate to represent his family.

Besides, there was also a far more logical reason for wanting to kill the dragon for its body, and that was to get rich. Dragon bone and Dragon scale was bound to catch a decent price at a market and should he be able to cut the head of its body, then there was bound to be some rich noble with more gold than sense who would be willing to take it off his hands. After that came the opportunity of making presents for people, gifts or medal that could be used.

Yes, that was an idea, he could award medals of distinction to those soldiers in his regiment medals made of intricate dragon bone. It was a rare enough material and would certainly stand out on a soldiers uniform. Then again, what would be worth more, giving a person a medal made of dragon bone or giving them a sword made of dragon bone? The latter would be far more useful and should the family ever fall onto hard times in the future, would likely prove to be far more valuable.

Now it was just a case of getting the explosive into the dragon's mouth. In theory, it should be rather easy, an illusion spell combined with some privacy spells and apparation with other spells on the bomb to stop it from being dissolved in the dragon's gut. Yet this was an old God he was talking about, it was a creature of immense strength and intellect seeing as it had managed to trick the of Magisters into Breaching the Fade so they could try and claim immortality for their own selfish and stupid desires.

He'd only have one shot most likely, as soon as he apparated, the dragon might detect him and realise what he was capable of and change its own tactics to defeat him. If that didn't work, then his next target would be the eyes. As with other dragons he had seen, that part of the body was un-armoured and likely vulnerable to attack.

As he continued to pour the explosive full of black powder, Nat felt the earth shake around him once more. Groaning and cracking under the pressure as the ground pulled away from each other under some unseen force, Nat quickly cast a sticking charm to his feet ensuring that he wouldn't lose his balance and go tumbling into the vast chasms on either side of him. Above rocks fell and tumbled where with the sound of heavy thunder they crashed against the side of the chasm splitting into smaller pieces and crashing into the occasional outreached piece of rock and sending it rocketing down.

"Of course there had to be an Earthquake as soon as I woke up" Nat muttered as he casually moved his head out of the way of an oncoming piece of debris. "It couldn't be before I visit or after I visit, it just had to be the day I woke up. Well, at least the Gecko- Shit" Nat swore down heatedly as he stared upwards and sighed loudly.

Like something out of a movie, a few strands of light raced downwards from the sky illuminating what had once been a pitch black area beside the light charm Nat had put up. Sensing that it was almost free of the confine, the Gecko bringing up it's immense energy to bare, unleashed a torrent of heavy flames that spiralled upwards at an insane pace. Stone cracked and fell giving way to dirt where soon that was simply turned to blackened ash until finally, the torrent of flame hit no more resistance as it continued upwards into the bright blue light of the sun. With a mighty terrifying roar, the dragon stretched its wings and took off into the sky with excited but purposeful glee.

One minute later having filled the bomb to the right amount of explosive black powder, Nat pointed his wand towards his mouth gently applying a bubblehead charm to himself. It was best to be prepared he thought, and considering the fact that he now had to kill not only a dragon but an intelligent dragon, then he knew the moment he got close to the creature, the old Gecko would take as many twisting sharp turns and high-speed races possible to get rid of him, or perhaps it would instead try to climb to a higher altitude where he would not be able to breathe.

All the same, he held back his grimace as he watched the light pour in from the sky and light up the area down below him. He liked roller coasters, at least the one time he had been on one he liked them, however fighting a dragon mid-air was going to be a very different roller coaster he realised, one where the intent of the ride was very much to kill the passenger rather than give them a sense of fun and enjoyment. With a shake of his head as he thought about what he had to do, Nat visualised the area that he could see above, then after he had imagined himself being there, he vanished in a blur of motion.

"Haha free at last" No longer bound by small caverns and forced in a catatonic state, the Old Dragon, smiled as it took in the sight of Thedas underneath its great powerful wings. "The air feels, strange" It spoke amusedly. "Finally after all that time of being stuck in that forsaken prison, I am free to rule the world. Bounding more happily into the air than a puppy when it heard the word walk, the old ancient beast ascended higher and higher at a rapid race, soaring out and away as quickly as it could from that dreadful place that it had been located before. So many thoughts ran through its mind, place it wanted to see again, things it wanted to do. Just the thought of being able to fly over the countryside and torch anyone he saw filled him with such awe-inspiring glee. Before he could actually decide on what to do, the beast felt a sudden surge of magical energy above hit's large-scaled skull and the prompt arrival of some odd magical creature.

It roared furiously and gathered it's own magic as he did do before then unleashing it with a torrent of pure magical energy. With a sound like glass shattering, the power shot through what one may have believed to be empty clouds that made no noise in the slightest to reveal a very unsuspecting sight.

"You" The dragon bellowed in anger as it took in the image of the boy that should have died. The boy, however, was entirely fine, still, dressed in undamaged clothing, pale face not marred by flame or covered by soot as well as the long hair that stayed surprisingly rigid, not at all affected by the force of gravity despite the fact that the boy was falling head first at an extraordinary rate. "You should be dead?" Blasting out another torrent of red hot flames from its mouth, the dragon hoped that this time with the boy's illusion spells shattered, that he could cook the boy and finally be free. Instead, much to the dragons rapidly growing annoyance, Nat simply moved his body away from the torrent of flames before then repositioning himself to fall.

He needed to get a decent speed Nat knew. Without any kind of super strength, it relied on a different type of force needed to help when it came to dealing a painful blow hence, while apparating and striking could work as effectively as one might imagine. The fact remained was that now that the dragon was aware that he could teleport from one place to another, it would very quickly take steps to avoid that entirely. Whether by descending or ascending quickly, bringing its tail for a sudden smash or guessing where he would attack next and then hit with fire.

Falling on the other hand gave him the ability to create a certain momentum with his blade and from there all he needed to do was point it in the right direction and hope that enough pressure applied to a small enough point at a fast speed would allow his blade to cleave through the dragons natural armour and strike at the monster beneath. Besides that, however, it gave him the ability to observe the dragon as it fell, learn the way it moved, it's top speed and give him more time to react to an oncoming strike.

All the same, as he hurtled towards the ground, he couldn't deny the fact that there was a slight concern that he had in his mind as the ground got larger and larger and his felid of view became smaller. If he missed the giant aircraft carrier sized target and became unable to apparate again to try another strike, then he had to hope to Merlin that the protection charms would protect him.

Avoiding yet another torrent of fire, Nat counted the distance between them as the metres decreased at a rapid rate, it would only be a few seconds before he got within striking distance of the enemy. 10 metres, 9,8. He felt his heart speed up as he saw the dragon begin yet another plume of fire, slowly burning up in its throat. "6,5,4" He continued and brought the prepared explosives forwards ready to lob them down the monster's throat and have them fall down the gullet of the monster and blow its insides apart with a great explosion. "3,2,1"

A powerful snap rang out as he narrowly avoided the dragon's teeth that attempted to close in around him and squeeze his simple mortal body into a toothpick. Then for what felt like hours, Nat waited for the magical response of his explosion to respond to him, that the mission had in fact been successful, turning to his wristwatch where two buttons lay he hoped that would be the green one that flashed. A moment later the red light for failure activated. Nat resisted the urge to swear.

Ultimately despite the failure of him losing his bomb and no space for him to hold more of the devices as he currently fell towards the ground, Nat focused on his attention onto the smirking dragon as it laughed haughtily. Sensing a possible opportunity, he concentrated on his magic and imagined being a few metres ahead of where the dragons right eye would be found before then apparating away quickly.

The dragon not to be outplayed by such a simple trick, sense where Nat was about to be and brought it's talons down to bear on the boy only to blink in fear. The reason for this was that the very moment the dragon sensed the magic appearing in front of him, a moment later the magic vanished as allowing a brief black blur to momentarily appear and then disappear into reality. However again the dragon could tell where the boy was going to appear next and with a skill that seemingly defied the laws of physic's, managed to bring himself to a full stop within an instant, allowing him to stop mere metres away from where Nat had appeared.

Barrelling at high speed out of his apparation, Nat only through years of experience in the duelling ring was able to avoid the hard smack of the dragon's tail by just about twisting his body to seemingly leap over it. With it passing mere centimetres over his head enabling him to feel the breeze of air that crashed into his face straight after, he narrowed his eyes at the tail as he sensed an opportunity.

With his ever-reliable wand aimed at the dragon's tail, he rapidly conjured a powerful rope charm. Falling through the sky quickly, the enchanted rope made just enough process before shooting upwards and around the tail before then rejoining it's other side and creating a knot that could never be broken or loosed by muggle means. With another quick tug of his wand, he then commanded the remainder of the rope that had not been tied into a massive loop, to extend and race towards him where once close enough, it then proceeded to wrap around his body creating a harness like device.

"You dare to ride me" The dragon roared as if he had been offended in some great way. "I am a god, not some lowly horse or sheep that can be used for your pleasure" The affronted look on Nat's face said everything as he stared at the open maw of the dragon as it continued to ascend higher and higher, secretly hoping that the colder temperature and the lack of air would either kill him or force him to let go. Instead much to the confusion and fuming rage of the dragon, Nat was entirely and fine and proceeded to response.

"Hey" Nat yelled indignantly "It's the Welsh who go round shagging their sheep, I'm English."

"Why would I care, you're all the same stupid "English" bastards anyway" Nat shook his head amusedly before giving the Gecko a sorry look as he heard that. It was a good job he was English he reckoned, if he had been either Welsh or Scottish now, then he likely would have flown into a fury and started belting down the ear of the giant lizard as to why Scots and Wales weren't English. However that advantage of coming from the most powerful nation and not being hindered by the fact that he was now barely clinging onto the very scaly back of a dragon as it continued to go higher and higher, past the cloud line so it appeared that everything below him was entirely nothing but ants, was that he could focus on the main weakness of the dragon.

That weakness he quickly noticed, was the giant soft leathery flaps of flesh it had for wings giving the creature the ability to currently keep ascending higher. If he could strike one of those he reckoned, he could bring the monster crashing into the ground where at the continually rising height at which they were, would very likely kill this oversized beast.

"What are you mortal?" The dragon cried out loudly with a silently hoped that there would be no answer indicating that the small mortal had indeed managed to fall to his ultimate demise. Instead much to it's growing irritation and surprise, a voice did call back, a voice that was seemingly unconcerned with the very fact that he was being thrust into the air.

"Are you as blind as a bat, what do you think I am?" He'd have to time this right Nat knew as he stared at the wing. It certainly looked weak enough for his enchanted blade to rip through, but as soon as he went for such a deadly move, the dragon would dive down suddenly in the hope of crushing his smaller frame against the floor. Internally, he calculated the distance and worked out the rough amount of speed he would need to make the leap effective as well as knowing just where he wanted to jump to. If he jumped towards the wing was now, he would only get caught by the wind and get blown back harshly forcing pressure on the rope.

"No mortal has the power to move their presence from one place to another as you do, such magic is impossible. And then there is your essence, you may try to hide it as best you can from the others, but you are not human." Tasting the air delightfully, the dragon contemplated the flavour of magic that the boy gave off. It was entirely goring and exotic belonging to some unknown species that it had not yet encountered but still one of innate magical power. Yet with another lick, it noticed that it couldn't detect even the slightest hint of the Fade on the boy which should have been impossible given the fact that magic came from the Fade itself. That just left the blood, was the boy some kind of descendant of a long forgotten blood ritual enabling him to draw power from himself or was there something else at work, something that it had never even heard of. "Who are you boy"

"I'm Batman" Nat replied quickly before using his magic, he dashed towards the Dragons exposed right wing. With the feeling of high pressured air blasting against his gentle looking face, Nat used his wand as best as he could to stabilise his movement desperate that the dragon didn't take any serious manoeuvres. The dragon foreseeing such action only chuckled as it turned into a ruthless dive, splitting apart cloud after cloud and returning the darkened night sky that had been around them to that of the more traditional blue. Of course, it didn't do much good as in the short time that Nat had been doing his best to keep up with an old Dragon god in midflight, that target he was hunting had flown over all the land in Thedas and had instead taken to flying south.

Once again Nat watched as the skies around them darkened hastily as the dragon flew at incredible speed. Beneath him, he saw as the green lush land and dark forests of the Brecillian forest transformed into that of the marshes father south and then after that of rapidly growing areas of white. Where he was heading wasn't just snow he knew, it was more than that. The very air around him he noticed began to get colder and colder, soon he could even see his own breath as his exhaled air left the fresh pocket of air that attached to his face.

Wait if he was heading south by his calculation and if Thedas was located in the southern hemisphere, Nat resisted the urge to groan as he returned his attention back to the incredibly fast dragon, his sword still clutched in his hand tightly. He was going to allow this oversized lizard beat him by smashing him against a few frozen rocks or anything like that. He had to kill this bastard quickly, tear up its wing force it to crash in this southern continent and then kill it.

The crash he theorised, if he apparated just when the dragon attempted to crash his body, then the dragon would struggle to resist a blow as it was forced to climb back up to gain its momentum. Explosives wouldn't do the trick, they required being in the air for too long and travelling at frankly a ridiculous rate just to catch up with the lizard, as soon as he realised them they would be blown away. And as for apparation, it was just too dangerous. He was limited to four people in who he could apparate with, six in an emergency but that was nothing compared to the beast. If he so much as tried such a thing, then he would end up just as dead at the dragon no matter how much he commanded the magic at work to concentrate on only him.

"Tell me Boy do you seriously believe you can win this little war of yours, do you actually believe you can beat me, a god" Nat ignored the dragons comment instead preferring to focus on the ground as it got closer and closer. While the dragon knew that he could apparate, it also knew that as of currently it didn't have the best chance to attack him with where he was stationed on its body. That was why it had brought him here out to these frozen waste of floating icebergs and likely hypothermia-inducing seas. In the dragon's mind, the creature likely believed that just one injury to prevent him from teleporting would be enough to allow the cold to kick in and kill him.

"Just shut up and fly" He commanded with a slightly irritated tone. Hiding back his grimace, bit by bit, Nat fell back a mix gymnastics that he had as part of his training alongside dancing lessons to slowly allow himself to raise his body so that he stood in an almost surfing like manner on the dragons, dark scaled tail. The dragon grinned at the action eager to finally have its enemy in such an easy position to strike against.

With the air screaming around them, the dragon smiled as with a heave it twisted its body around making sure that Nat was still on it's back as the dragon got closer and closer to a rather compact looking iceberg. Finally with a loud victorious roar, the dragon, flew upside down over the iceberg so closely that had anything remained on top of the dragon, then they would have scraped alongside the iceberg their skin and armour, ripping straight off in a violet haze. Not content, however, the dragon pulled up into an immediate ascension hoping to get away from the scene as fas as it could, just as it did so, a sharp pain tore through his left wing causing it to yell out in fury. Shortly after the sound of thunder could be heard from underneath him and then the feeling of the boy apparating above him.

With a strafe to the left, the dragon believed it had evaded the falling human. Well, it did into another sharp vicious pain shot sight from his wing followed by a sickening tearing sound as a large metal hook that had dragged into the skin of its wings was yanked down furiously by an oversized perfectly spherical rock that plummeted down. Beyond furious but also understanding the danger that a highly damaged wind presented, the dragon focused all its energy on attempting to remove the wing.

Cackling around him as he took advantage of the dragons momentary distraction, the air between him and the dragon was promptly pushed aside as his blade, trust with incredible speed into the now undefended right eye of the dragon. Without any guard of strong scales or powerful magic, the small piece of metal sliced through the delicate material that was the eye, ripping and shredding the right eye as Nat barely held onto a spike jutting out of the dragons spike, his arm rapidly being coated in the blood of the dragon as it was pushed entirely through the eye socket. With enough of a hole made, he apparated again, narrowly avoiding the talon of the dragon to where the left eye lay and repeated the same process of stabbing his sword into the dragons eye.

"Ahh" The monster voice shook the heavens as it lost control as spikes of pain and new tearing sounds added to the already prevalent pain that was its eyes. "Mortal" The beast cried as it clenched its eyes tightly hoping to ignore the pain, but it was of no use. As the seconds went by, more piercing sensations in its leathery membrane shook the dragon then followed by the agonising feeling of having the entire area, of blood vessels, muscle and fat were removed from it's body with no sense of style or grace, destroying entirely the monsters ability to keep itself flying as the air now forced the creatures bellowing tassels of skin and flesh to dance as the dragon sped towards the floor.

Seeing that the future of this battle was going to be held on the ground if continued at all, Nat apparated onto a nearby iceberg and directed his attention upwards towards the large creature that was now tumbling out of the sky with so little grace or poise. It was like watching a plane crash, only instead of observing as the creature quickly caught on fire and headed towards the ground with a large number of people onboard who were more than likely screaming for their lives, he was instead watching with no emotion as a god was cut down out of its element.

With a sound of thunder echoing or an artillery barrage, the dragon smashed its body into the nearby ground. Snow, rock, dirt and trees were all sent skyward, paths of old forests were cut down as a long deep crater was formed from where the monster's body had slide harshly against the surface of this planet due to its attempts to glide down in order to control it's decent and minimize the damage. From his vantage point, Nat's view of the event was quickly erased as the damage done kicked up a thick storm of ice, snow and dirt that lingered in the air.

"Mortal" The dragon's voice bellowed with a very prominent hiss and toxic feel to it. With its eyes gauged out in a bloody mess and it's wings now turned to nothing but meaty straps of ruined flesh, what had once been an old magnificent beast groaned with fury as it attempted to raise its head. "I will kill you for this mortal, you will rue the day you ever came against me. I will torture you for all eternity, cook you slowly on a spit as I peel off your flesh inch by inch and when that is over I will find that girl and I will force you to watch as my disciples ravage her form day in and day out." Breathing a plume of still blazing hot fire, the forest that surrounded the dragon was set ablaze in quickly with the sheer heat of a dragon's fire, incinerating the first wave of trees and then catching onto the ones behind and around it.

From his position on the iceberg, Nat said nothing, instead taking the action he needed to end this foe forthrightly. One of the gravest mistakes he knew, was to simply wait for an enemy to get up or go down in a defeated way as their consciousness faded or as they bled out. In fiction, it was at this point when the protagonist would normally speak with the dragon and learn answers only then to turn around and have to be saved by either the love interest of the self-sacrificing idiot. He was not going to be that stupid as instead he appeared right on the dragons face by the left eyes that were still nothing but a bloody mess.

"Mortal, you will tell me what you know" In vain the dragon tried to raise one of its claws however it was of no use, the sheer impact of the crash had broken most of the monster's bones in its body leaving it as nothing but a dying broken husk. With time, the creature could probably use it's magic to heal itself and recover the strength that it had lost and frankly Nat was surprised that such a creature of renown and strength had even gone down as quickly as it had.

"Any last words?" Nat intoned as he spun his blade in his right hand before holding it mere centimetres from where the eye was. Without the fast speed and turns of the dragon, he could reach into the monster's skull, yet still, as he waited there hearing the dragon breathe in and out heavily as it's last moments of its life were spent, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the creature.

It reminded him of his own peoples past, what had been once and what would never happen again. A survivor of when their race was truly great and powerful, worshipped by others and played a pivotal role in a major world defining civilization, only to then be brought down by new foreign blood which would collapse everything that it had sought to defend and rebuild. Insult's aside, it was a creature worthy of his respect even if they would forever hold their differences. The dawn of a new age and the setting of an old one.

Was this how it felt he couldn't help but wonder in pity for the creature, you spend so much of your life young, weak and vulnerable only for you to then be forced to grow up harshly and start accumulating power. You try to do things your way, be as independent as possible, try to be the strongest wizard you could be and finally when you had achieved or come close to that goal the ravages of time and ageing strike against you, as the time that you had once owned and controlled came to an end.

Unbridled rage filled him, but so did fear as he stared into the remains of the dragons eye. Was that going to happen to him, whether he returned home or stayed here did not matter, the result was, all the same, everything that one worked and strived for was worthless as time would decay the body or be taken down by some young upstart.

Unknown to him, as his mind raced oddly and philosophically staying his hand away from taking the final blow, his magic started to react in a peculiar way. For a brief moment, he saw a flash of something strange forcing him to shut his eyes harshly and that was when he felt a presence smashing against his mental shield like a train colliding with another train only at the speed of fighter jets.

"Get out" He screamed dropping his blade as he did so as the pain that overtook his body flared up every single nerve in his body forcing a scream to echo from his mouth into the open area. "Get away from me" He tried to apparate, away from this place, to somewhere safe but his magic refused to act as it was locked in a raw battle of wills between some far larger older presence. The dragon, it was trying to possess his body, turn him into some kind of body. "Leave" He roared as he fell to his knees clutching his head so tightly as the taste of copper filled his mouth. Blood he recognised, his own blood was falling from somewhere in his mouth but that was not only it as something wet rolled down his cheek and his eyes flashed differently. "Go away"

With the battle raging on as his magic fought that of the dragon, Nat felt himself being pushed further and further back as his own magical strength was eroded. The dragon was far too strong. His breathing laboured and soon, he could no longer keep his balance on the dragons head forcing him to fall and crash into the ground as he clutched tightly.

"I did not wait in that tomb all those years to be beaten by some mortal"The dragon's voice screeched angrily into his head, as the force continued to push back further and further. "Even though I am weak now due my slumber I am still more powerful than some measly child. Now give up boy, your battle is at an end"

"I am not your slave" Nat countermanded as he gathered his magic, pulling back before once again smashing into that of the dragons with a renewed sense of momentum. It worked to a certain extent, the dragon was forced back a little enabling Nat to keep pushing as hard as he could against the intruder. With a grunt, he called back to those few lessons that Potter had given when he had demonstrated what possession was like. This was not the Imperious curse he was fighting, however, that required a strong sense of will power, this thought was a battle of raw magical energy and frankly compared to this creature he was loosing.

"You are far too young to be fighting me boy. Your magic is powerful admittedly for your age, but you are not like those glorified old men that you admire." Nat hid his rapidly growing fear as he understood what the dragon meant. It had access to his mind and was rooting through his memories searching for anything to use against him. If it was to discover his more inner and guarded thought's and then manipulate his own mind against him then this battle would be lost quickly. "You can fight this losing battle as much as you want boy, but you know you don't have the power to beat me, not now." The voice chuckled darkly. "And to think I'm weak at the moment. Imagine what I'll do once I recover, what I'll do to this continent, what I'll do to its people."

Flashes of images swept into Nat's mind as he heard that. The first image he saw was that of Denerim on fire, black smoke ascended as screams and echoes of sword and magic rang through the dark night whilst the corpses of men women and children littered the ground. When he heard the sound of swords clashing, he turned to see a woman he briefly recognised, she was an elf, short red hair and was dressed in poor clothing, before he could continue observing, however, the vision faded. After that followed an image of some kind of beautiful palace, inside men and women of high standing stood around talking casually though ornate masks hide the majority of their faces from view. Soon, however, the peace and serenity of the scene were cut entirely by a loud gasp followed by a scream as an older woman with blonde hair in a bun and wearing a voluminous dark blue dress fell to the ground clutching a dagger as blood pooled out beneath her. After that then came something else, a castle of some kind decorated by the bright blue banners of the Grey Wardens only for some sort of time skip to occur where it now showed nothing but a pile of rubble and craters instead of a castle.

After that scene, he was met with a brief flash of what appeared to be two beings seemingly stuck in time within an old tomb. One of those was kneeled down gripping a staff whilst the other was falling towards the one who knelt. Despite how much he tried, however, the images continued to flash by torturing his mind with information that he knew should not have. All the same, his attention was dragged to some sort of cave however there was a sky in it but before he could question how such a thing would work, a flash of Lyrium blue brought him to an image of some sort of magnificent Lyrium crystal that had seemingly been placed on a pedestal.

"No the dragon roared, what are you doing?" Nat could not answer under the strain of pushing back magic however that did not prevent him from feeling out with his own magic. Something had gone he realised, somehow his magic whilst fighting had connected with the dragons magic in some form and the result he figured in his cloudy mind was that he was somehow using the dragons own magic against it. The dragon pushed once again only this time Nat now aware of his connection to the dragon could feel what must have been fear from the dragon, fear and a growing sense of panic as his magic started to attune to that of the dragons and become more stalwart in its defence.

A new scene began to emerge, this time it was one of Orzmmar going by the shape and the glow of the cave only instead of geometric shapes dotting the landscape, it was instead one of death as Darkspawn lounged in the city and feasted on the flesh of its former citizens. A girl he saw quivered under a table desperate to hide away from the barbarity, however, a Hurlock grinned maliciously as it grabbed her by the feet and gripped her by one of her arms. Then with a hungry look in its eye, it yanked the girl upwards so that it was eye level with it before then quickly thrusting its mouth to the girl's neck and crunched hard. Nightmarish screams echoed from the child, tears falling down her chin followed then by blood as her frightful eyes turned to hollow dead ones before finally, her head slumped forward.

A brilliant green forest this time took place in his mind, beautiful, peaceful and then shattered by the sounds of rolling thunder and high pitched screams as with raging fury, something zipped past his head and crashed into the ground and exploded. Dirt, trees and other materials were kicked up into the air. The vision did not end there though as followed short, small but long plumes of red could be seen further in the distance like little lamps in the middle of a winter night.

Now he was at Haven, people were celebrating happily as they cheered and gazed upwards to the sky. The Breach had been closed he realised and the others were celebrating, Bull and the others were telling stories and Valeyna was currently getting drunk as her brilliant hair fluttered in the moonlight and beautiful eyes glimmered magnificently with joy and relief. That joy was then all cut off however as a shrill cry fell upon him and soon thousands of flickering lights washed over the sides of the surrounding mountain led by a black figure sparking with red energy and leading a force of opposition. Nat tried to call out, to warn her but it was too late as again the images changed before him.

It appeared to be a ruin of some kind, old and elven he would guess. In front of him were two objects, one was a shallow looking pool of water whilst another was some intricate mirror. He focused on the poor staring into it as best he could, wondering what was so special about it. As he did so, the water changed turning into a gas as some sort of magical energy approached destroying everything around it and leaving the body of some Dalish elf laying on the ground dead.

Finally, however, the last scene came, it was an odd one, entirely unlike that of the others as it was seemingly artistic in nature as if it had been drawn like something from a movie. In it, he saw a large powerful wolf its face gnarled as it stared down at the image of a dragon with a sword that had been stabbed straight through its head. Before he could question it, however, a flash of raw green fade energy burst from the wolf turning him back and knocking him back and turning things dark.

Bit by bit, violet eyes quivered painfully as they began to take in the scene around them. It was dark, so incredibly dark as if he had been trapped into a room and all the light in the world had been sucked out. Sucking in a deep breath, he coughed and groaned in utter agony as his head throbbed and stung as though someone had shoved a spear into his skull. Opening his mouth, he ignored the jolt of pain as his dry lips split under the sudden movement and sent blood spilling more than it already had. With a grimace, Nat brought his right hand to his left shoulder before gasping out a hiss as the pain flared up. Gently though not as much as he wanted to as his hands felt numb, he loosely gripped the jacket he was wearing and began to hug it down just enough so that he could see what was done.

On his skin, he saw a big great purple bruise. Nat rolled his eyes as he saw the damage however he knew he needed to know more, gritting his teeth as tightly as he could, his eyes clenched tightly as he pushed down on the wound as he applied pressure to his bones checking to make sure that they were intact. With an even louder hs of agonising pain, he leant back in relief taking the chance to breathe in and out as much as he could even though every time it did so it felt as if his lungs were picking up and putting down a set of heavyweights. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to celebrate instead only check that he was alive which came in the form of checking the rest of his severely damaged body for anything as debilitating as broken bones.

Again, he gave a sigh of relief as he bit through the pain and realised that his spells and enchantments had prevented him from dying however much to his own displeasure it hadn't prevented the pain and the fact that he was likely going to have to spend several days recovering if that was at all possible. Merlin knows how far south that bloody creature had flown, but he knew well enough that with how dark it was there was the very possibility that he had come to some sort of Antarctic which was not a happy thought.

He glanced nervously to the place where his wand lay. Again by some sort of relief, his wand was intact, then again he supposed he hadn't fallen that far and most of the damage had been done because of his magic having to fight off the dragons attempt to possess him. It wouldn't be long now he knew, despite this current state of being awake, he could feel his body draining of its magical strength. Physically he felt fine, but he was going to fall unconscious trapping him here as he didn't even have the strength to apparate away to safety. Not that he would, locking his eyes onto the dragon, he groaned as he pulled himself to his feet giving a deep breath out as he stared at the body of the creature.

It would survive if given time to recover from its injuries, the creatures magic would make sure of that. Because of this, he knew he had to act fast before the dragon regained enough strength to launch another magic attack on him with the intent to possess his body. It was likely some type of last-minute defence thing the monster had, staying his blade long enough to give the creature chance to heave it's torn wings and escape or failing that enter the mind of another and use their body as their own meat puppet.

Scanning the local scenery around him, Nat soon found the location of his sword as it glimmered ever so slightly in the darkness giving its edge away. Rushing toward the weapon, he gripped his side as sharp pain began to erupt there in what felt like an attempt to kill him. All the same, he ignored it and after stumbling through the thick heavy snow, he was finally able to bend down and then gingerly with his right hand pick up the weapon and keep it there.

His grip wasn't tight he realised with a grimace, yet as much as he tried to squeeze it harder, the more he knew he was exhausted from his excursion with the creature. Now with a blade in hand, he turned back towards where the lumbering beast slept unaware of what had happened as it's head lay in the ground covered in bits of powdered snow. It was still a magnificent beast he thought, old and powerful, a symbol of both freedom and oppression. Once upon a time, it would have roamed these skies above him as lord and master of all that was on earth, anything that stalked across the land, was his to do with as he pleased. Life was good for the creature, it lived comfortably and interacted with humans when they arrived on the continent where it was then treated as a god, a being above all and entirely deserving of respect. That all changed however when it found itself imprisoned and put asleep by the Grey Wardens where for a very long time it slumbered until finally waking and then being brought low soon after where it's corpse would forever decorate the ground of this place.

It was kind of tragic, however, Nat would not spare the creature. What had exactly happened when the dragon had tried to show him images he didn't know as he was too involved in pushing back, however now with more silence he could ponder on the matter. There was much to process, however his mind concentrated on one of the images alone.

Valeyna and the others were in danger, the Magister was going to attack and ambush her and the others. He couldn't allow that to happen, he could not fail, not now not ever. Anger flowed through his veins at the thought of failure, bit by bit his heavy crunching footsteps began to speed up as Nat advanced upon the dragon with the intent to put it out of its misery. He would not fail, he would not allow some Magister to conquer the world just so he could implement his cruel and malicious thoughts, he would not allow the Tevinter to rise.

It was his responsibility, he had joined the Inquisition and devoted his time and effort into helping its cause. He would not abandon it now, not when he knew of an oncoming attack. He'd run the entire distance if he had to, cross every ice field there was, kill every polar bear and any other creature that got between him and Haven. And once that was through, he would find and rescue Elyria and Gerald. He would also not leave them to die in some Darkspawn infested cave to be infected with an ancient evil.

Stopping to regain his breath, Nat stared at the dragon. Now he was just standing a metre away from its closed mouth. He checked it's bloody eyes first making sure that the creature had not yet begun to heal and could see him, preferably he would have liked to use a privacy charm and ensure that the dragon wouldn't be able to hear him however with his lack of strength that was simply not feasible at this time of place.

He could hear it's breath as he got closer to the creature, the raggedy tired old breath of an old creature that had fought viciously however it was still in serious pain due to falling powerfully into the ground. Even now as he gently laid a hand on its battered scales, he could feel it thrum with power. It was so very beautiful yet also so very dangerous and oddly it made him think of home again as he managed to lift his sword into position to ram it straight home through its skull as he should have done.

"Never tickle a sleeping dragon" Was the phrase of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizard. It was a bit of an odd saying at first until one realised that it was a metaphor for students being a sleeping dragon and the tickle is that of knowledge. It was a warning to both those who attended and those who did not, that those who had entered the school had been slumbering dragons now awakened and were now angry and wanted to achieve something. Well, that was how he viewed it anyway. All the same, the monster had given him vital information to the war effort, given him glimpses of what it might have tried to do or what it would target.

With his sword raised up in his hand, he let out a deep breath, his eyes flickering back to the rest of the snout to ensure that there was no other indication that the creature was going to wake up. Then with all the strength that his arms could muster, he slammed the hard blade through the eye in as single thrusting motion. With everything he had, he kept pushing the blade as it hit the skull of the monster and pierced into the brain, shredding it into a tiny piece killing it stone cold dead.

With a squelch and the odour of a dragons insides coating the blade of his sword as he pulled it back out of the eye, Nat let out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes tightly as he then began to pant heavily. It was over, the old God was dead and he had been the one to kill it. Gently clamouring down from the beast, he stepped away and took a moment to stare at his kill as it lay there peacefully on the blood-soaked ground.

As he did so, a bright white light burst from the dragon's body in all directions turning what had once been a nearly entirely dark gloomy place to that of something Nat imagined heaven would like to some religious person back home. Power swelled in all directions, eagerly breaking from the dragon's corpse as it escaped to the horizon whilst more strands appeared to float off into the sky which was what dragged Nat's attention to the Breach.

"No" His heart fell in his chest and his already pale face from battle and exhaustion turned to one of distraught as he stared at where the hole inside of the sky should be. "Valeyna" He called out in vain as if she could hear him. "No, No, No" How long had it been like this? If the vision that the dragon had shown him was correct, then that meant that she was dead. Haven couldn't stand an attack of that magnitude and that was without the large black corrupted dragon that he now knew was an Archdemon. "Please" He cried out again as the light from the dragon began to die down. "You can't be dead, there's still a war to fight, people to save. You can't be dead"

Tightly, he felt his hand grip around the handle of his blade as his face turned to one of fury as his eyes fixated onto where the Breach lay. If the dragon was correct with its vision then Haven was or had been laid siege to. What the results were he was unaware of at this moment, however, he did not hold positive feelings for an effective defence of Haven, he'd made that point clear on many occasions and had tried to get Cullen and the others to prepare for an actual battle in such an area many more.

He had to get back he realised, he had to look for survivors ensure that above everything else that Valeyna was alive, The consequences of losing her in this war would be immense and could very likely be the one thing needed for the enemy to win this war. If they were unable to close the rifts, then demons would continue to spill forth into Thedas, killing, stealing, possessing and committing many other heinous deeds that they would consider fun. However, there was one problem with that, Elyria and Gerald.

He had left them deep underground within the reach of unknown amounts of Darkspawn and under the protection of only a handful of Grey Wardens. While he knew the skills of Grey Wardens were indeed immense considering that they were considered the best warriors in Thedas, the amount of them there were and the state that they were in did not fill him with confidence. And as for Elyria and Gerald, they did not have the experience to stand up to the Darkspawn for very long and most importantly to his growing dread, they would be corrupted by the blight and turned into creatures of darkness.

He gritted his teeth furiously as he began to put one tired foot in front of the other slowly carving a path in the snow ridden forest that he had landed in as he headed back in the direction that he had come. Even if his magic was exhausted at this point leaving him unable to do even the most basic spells until he had recovered, that did not mean he could not make his way on foot. As he advanced, he could only hope that he would recover enough magic soon to leave this place quickly and help out the others. The only question was which one would he help first.

1 week later

A sound of small thunder echoed through the dimly Bracillian forest, as the sun's rays began to glimmer over the tall trees casting dark shadows the smell of gunpowder could be tasted in the air. Bringing his rifle back towards his body, Nat with a skill that he had quickly had to hone as best as he could over the past week rapidly reloaded his rifle by placing a small charge into the pan and then followed by a bigger charge and the small led that fell down the barrel before being pushed by a ramrod. He did not cock the weapon all the way back however instead preferring to prevent wasting a shot as he snuck through the forest as best as he could.

Moving as quietly as he possibly could despite the fact that he had likely just alerted anything nearby to his presence, Nat kept a careful eye on the corpse of the humanoid creature that now lay on the floor. The creature was a werewolf. Before he had decided to put a bullet into it, the creature would have towered over him before then trying to rip out his throat with those big sharp teeth of it's. Instead, the creature had not managed to keep its approach secret and as it had charged him in a feral mindset, Nat had no other choice but to put the poor beast out of its misery.

Letting out a sigh as he detected no more werewolves nearby, Nat continued to advance the way he had been for the last seven days. It sounded strange for him, seven days without using magic, seven day's since he had seen Elyria and Gerald, seven days of learning how to shoot anything that wanted to kill him or take it out with a sharp piece of metal.

Honestly, it was getting somewhat irritating, people could mention about how they wanted to escape to nature as much as they dam wanted however right now he wanted the ability to not have to sneak around trees and bushes all day as he took pot-shots at anything that looked dangerous. Frankly, he was just glad that he still had access to the small flat he had with him enabling him to not worry about sleeping uncomfortably when he was forced to, go without a wash or continue trekking in mucky filthy clothes.

Originally by now, he had hoped to have gotten to Elyria and Gerald, gone back to Orzammar and settle their trade dispute however h had underestimated the magic he had drained in that fight against the dragon. With the amount of magic that he had believed he had drained, he thought it would take two weeks for him to fully recover. After the first week, if he absolutely needed to, then he should be able to cast smaller scale spells but if absolutely needed could apparate even if it would extend the healing process. However the damage done had been far more severe in nature and even now he was still unable to cast spells, just wait day by day and feel as his magic slowly recovered.

He wouldn't exactly call it a pleasant experience but at least he had finally made it out of that Magic forsaken frozen tundra and away from that ocean. A few times he had been pretty sure he had seen some kind of Orca or something staring at him from a distance ad it planets it's next movements out. However, the fact was he was out of that forest and after about two days of travelling where the light of the sun got a little more prominent every step he took, had managed to enter the Bracillian forest of Ferelden. From here he knew, the journey back to Haven would be relatively short if somewhat eventful.

He wouldn't have the ability to stay long, instead, he'd show up and warn them of the oncoming attack if it had not happened, gain a few supplies, recruit some volunteers, head back into Orzammar and delve into the Deep Roads again. And in the case that nobody decided to volunteer, then he would still go back and retrieve those under his command and bring them back to the surface.

A snapping of a twig brought him out of his immediate thoughts. Ducking down and hiding his body as much as he could in the shrub's, he proceeded to slow his breathing and make ready his rifle. If he was quick enough he could get three shots out a minute, it wasn't exactly a great rate of fire, but it was all he had and certainly far faster than any arrow that could be loosed. Merlin knew that after that encounter with those ice people four day's back, he knew he the rough speed of an arrow.

The steps were coming from in front of him he heard, going by the tempo and the noise that was being made, he would reckon that they were humanoid most likely that of an elf or humans. Quickly they approached and quickly Nat detected that though he could hear the footprint's they were actually quieter then they should have been and only his enhanced hearing because of his magical blood was enabling him to pick them out. There were about six he reckoned, on foot and travelling light going by the fact he heard no sound of chainmail clanging or anything else.

They weren't nobles, nobility always liked to go hunting with their pet dogs meaning that it was likely a group of poorer individuals. Keeping his eyes forward, he looked out for any clues of movements that could allow him to work out with what he was dealing with. Very quickly as the footsteps got louder he noticed a pale skinned person wearing some sort of leather armour whole they sprinted as fast as they could. Applying some math's he was able to soon calculate the rough height of that person which only forced Nat's concern to heighten.

They were of one of the Dalish clans. Which one specifically he didn't know and neither did he particularly care as they continued to leap and jump out of the way of hurdles as they moved towards the corpse of the werewolf with their weapons drawn. At the front of the group was a young red-haired female who held her bow with a tight grip and an even tighter string as unlike the others she had an arrow already drawn and ready to lose.

Nat resisted the urge to sigh as he slowly began to drop to the ground and keep his attention on the group. Thankfully when he had entered the forest he had the good sense to change his clothing to a copy of what Gerald wore which was some darker forest camouflage military uniforms. Whilst it was no illusion charm, he hoped that it could conceal him just enough that the elves would stare at the corpse confusedly and then move on. Of course, as the elves came to a quick halt around the area of the dead werewolf, Nat also made sure that his rifle was pointed at the most dangerous looking of the elves.

It didn't take too long before all the elves had revealed themselves after they approached the dead carcass. Two of them were playing sentry, keeping their eyes and ears alert for anything that could alert them to whatever was nearby, as, for the other four, they had bent next to the corpse of the Werewolf and began inspecting it closely.

The red-haired elf he had spotted earlier showed her experience in such matters fairly quickly as she moved her fingers over to the bloody spot on the werewolf's body. Without a second thought, the redhead began to push her finger into the wound and wriggled it about as she searched for the cause of the injury. She did all of this without grimacing in the slightest as she had long since gotten used to such activities and when she finally did locate the item that had entered the monster, she quickly yanked it out and then wiped it quickly with a piece of spare cloth she carried and stared at it closely.

"It's a ball" She muttered quizzically turning the small metal item close to her eye. "Mythal, how did you get in like that?" Taking the ball away, she handed it over to one of her companions for them to inspect however much like her, her other hunter had no clue whatsoever as to how a small led ball had managed to seemingly punch through a werewolf's hide.

"Maybe whoever killed it put the ball inside?" One of the other elves suggested. The redhead shook her head quickly in response. Peering downwards to where the actual creature lay and the pool of blood that was coming out of it, the elf soon pushed the body over forcing her eyes to go wide as she saw the back half of the monster.

"Mythal protect us" An elf stated in horror as they saw the damage that had been done to the back of the creature. Entire chunks of flesh bone and muscle had been torn apart and shredded as if it had been placed inside a blender. "What type of swordsman could do such a thing" Again the redhead shook her head and quickly grabbed her bow and then strung an arrow in caution.

"This was done by no swordsman or magic, this was done by something else" A modicum of fear dropped onto the group as those words were let out, unknowingly as the elves began to whisper amongst them elves seemingly fearful that something may be hiding, Nat was able to pick up on a few keywords. Some of those words also concerned Nat as they were along the lines of, Demons and murders alongside a good amount of disappearance thrown in as well.

That was not good, not good at all. If there were demons in the forest lurking about, then he would be in far more of an exposed position now that he had no magic to defend himself with. One or two of the less powerful demons he could possibly take with his swordsmanship levels, but anything beyond that and he was sure to be overwhelmed by numbers. He was a duellist, he was used to fighting with at least a few meters between him and his target which allowed him a few brief moments to formalise a strategy in safety. A sword fight, however, did not give him that luxury.

Briefly, he wondered if he should reveal himself to the elves, ask for safe passage out the forest in return for some gold that he had on him however as he saw the both terrified and also calculating look on one of the elves face, he realised that such an action would be a mistake. Very quickly the elves would realise just what a rifle could do and it would be very likely that they would crave such power and demand that they are given their own or have the schematics to create such a device.

That was something he could not allow to happen, not just for his own sake as it would be doubtful they would let him go when they had him, but also because of the terror they could bring with such a weapon and after that the political nightmare and after that the economics and a whole host of other issues. Fact was, if he gave them muskets, they would not be able to use them as they would need the ability to supply ammunition and black powder something that would inevitably bring them into conflict with the humans and after that information would then make it's way to the Qun and send them into a blind panic.

Nat had no problem with fighting a bunch of authoritarian communist like people, the inquisition might considering the fact that they were trying to prevent one disaster after another even if he was as of yet unaware what the situation was with Haven and Valeyna. It might even be fun he supposed, commanding armies and shooting cannons and the like just like one of Ant's video games that he'd watch on the few times he spent time with him. Only instead of commanding computer-generated models, he'd be sending men and women to the deaths whether he won or lost a battle.

Then there were the elves, all it took was a single zealot. Just one person would need to know the schematics to find like-minded elves who with the power of gunpowder would try to topple down the human kingdoms and create their own nation states. Thousands would die in the immediate war, thousands more in disease or starvation or as revenge against crimes others had committed and many more would enter either slavery or have their already low positions downgraded even more.

Of course, there was a way to prevent such chaos from spreading and consuming more and more lives, and that would be to kill every single person that knew about the existence of gunpowder in the clan. The only problem with that plan was that such a task would inevitably require him to butcher the entire clan and when he meant entire he meant every living soul and possibly even some dead ones if demons were involved. That meant killing children lest they go to some other clan and tell the story of the brutal murder of their people and try to get revenge on either the inquisition or him on it which again would only lead to more death.

"We should report back to the Keeper, tell them what we have discovered" The redhead gave another look at the corpse before then giving another sweep of the general area looking for anyone or anything that could be responsible. Once it was complete, she nodded to such a suggestion and quickly rose up before then turning back the way she came.

"Go on ahead, I just want to check something"

"But we were told not to split up" A young huntress piped up uncertainly, however, a quiet glare from the read head shut up quickly. Then with narrowed eyes, the redhead focused on the trees and shrubbery around her. Sniffing a bit, her eyes hardened as she smelt some strange substance linger in the air. She had smelt it first on the ball she had picked up and now she could smell it in the air, obviously this was no kind of demon but rather a weapon.

"Go the keeper has to know, I'm just going to search the local area to see if there are any more clues" Another look of uncertainty crossed between them however a nod from one of the older hunters and the redhead soon had the group moving backwards leaving their most experienced member alone.

Through the underbrush, Nat continued to point his rifle at her and got ready to fire of his first shot from his rifle before them moving to his pistol if it was absolutely necessary. That time came quickly however since as the moment the other hunters were out of range, the redhead stopped her actions of looking over the werewolf and instead stared directly where Nat was.

"Nice try shemlen, but you can come out now" Of course he had been spotted, how many times had Valeyna told him that Dalish hunters were the best in the world. Their tracking was legendary she claimed, able to find a squirrel in a tree three hundred feet away. Personally, he had thought that his hiding had been rather decent, with camouflage clothes on he knew he blended in a lot better with the scenery then he did with his typical black attire. Not that any of that mattered now considering he was at a standoff with the elf huntress as she drew he bow back so it was nice and taught ready to unleash an arrow into his heart he bet. However, he also had his rifle aimed at her and his ammunition was a dam sight quicker then hers was.

Nat refused the offer he was given to retreat from his hiding place instead preferring to stay in there as he kept his gun trained on her. He was no fool, for all he knew the woman only believed that she had found someone and was trying a ruse to defend himself which would only confirm her theory and possibly lead to a confrontation between the two of them. Or perhaps the underbrush prevented as an accurate shot the woman would like protecting him from a possible shot. Noting his refusal with narrowed eyes, the elf pulled the string back on her bow tighter as she aimed for the boy that was attempting to camouflage in with the surroundings about him.

"I will not ask again boy, if you believe that hiding under that bush where that flowering tree sits behind will keep you protected from my eyes then you are wrong. Come out and I will not kill you" She warned with a tone of steel sharper then any sword however Nat was not bothered in the slightest instead his rifle was aimed directly square at the woman's body. Armour of not, if she fired then she would wind up as nothing but a dead corpse for the wolves to come and consume when they so desired.

So the woman knew where he was, Nat shrugged his shoulder visibly before allowing his eyes to wander down towards the woman's hips. There was a multitude of knives, some were longer in length whilst others shorter. Which ones were used for what he could not tell due to a lack of experience however the result was still the same. Should he come out then the woman could easily reach one of her weapons and slam it into his throat and kill him then and there.

Still, as he stared at the woman and she back at him, they both realised quickly that neither was going to give anything up until one of the others held some sort of advantage. Briefly, the woman turned his head back to the corpse of the werewolf, hiding her worry about just how powerful a bullet was. If a small led ball could do that to a werewolf, then what would it do to a creature such as herself.

"Lower your weapon shemlen, I will not harm you" Nat resisted the urge to laugh and mock the woman derisively right there and then. He was asked to give his trust to a woman who held him at arrow point? He knew the same could be said of her and that led to the truth of the matter, one that had underpinned the cold war and so many other times in history. Nobody ever wanted to be the first to disarm, it was the same thing with nuclear bombs and other powerful weapons back home.

Pacifists could claim as much as they wanted that the world should be entirely stripped of weapons of mass destruction, however, the fact of the matter was that they were naive and far too trusting. Paranoia ran deep within the human psyche, a survival instinct that had enabled nations to both rise and fall and people to become remembered throughout history. If everyone disarmed, then thing's were fine, but people never would and it was an entirely stupid thing to do.

When one person had a weapon of such extraordinary power, then the opposing side and everybody else wanted to have it as well to make them feel safe. Anyone who didn't have such a weapon was vulnerable from others that did and when the power of extraordinary weapons was counted up, it could entirely change the power dynamics.

It was something that he and a growing number of traditional wizards and witches who were versed in the modern muggle way of life were severely concerned. Magic was going to be revealed sometime soon back home, whether by accident, whether on purpose it didn't matter. With privacy dead and so many security cameras, something would be caught and then theories would spread around into inevitably somebody made a mistake revealing the magical world which would lead to a very large revelation. Pushing aside all the other inevitable politics, one of the most vital and devastating things that would happen with the muggle world discovering the magical world would be a magical arms race.

With the powers at their command and the damage that they could do, governments of the world would be of a desperate desire to obtain as many magical's as they could. Soldiers would still be useful, but whether it was in a war, or secret operations those with magical talents could wreak havoc upon the enemy. He himself was no soldier, but already in this primitive environment, he knew he had the ability to devastate the entire enemy war's effort by his lonesome.

It would be ever so easy, all he would need to do is find one soldier of the enemy, read their mind and then follow up the command level until he got what he wanted. Once they did reach the top, all he had to do was gather as many high ranking members that he could, detonate an explosive device and wipe them out in an instant. Followed by that would be the culling of the other ranks moving as quickly and efficiently as he could or ruining entire enemy spy cells.

All of that flashed by in an instant as Nat still kept his rifle pointed at the woman whilst she kept her arrow at him. Neither of them was going to back down it seemed, instead if they were going to fight then they would both lose, or that was how she likely saw it. Her arrow was pointed at his chest, an area that was protected by both magic and more mundane areas, should she make that first move, then she would not be able to get away from his own response and bring her down.

"Speak shemlen" The woman spat out a bit more harshly this time. She could feel her heart beat faster with anticipation as her eyes locked onto the strange looking metal tube, it appeared non-threatening at first, however that must have been the weapon that had dealt the werewolf that blow. Could she evade such a devastating weapon, she liked to think that she could, however, werewolf's were not easy prey and for but one ball to destroy one was an indication of a new weapon.

"Aneth ara" Stumbling back in shock, the red-headed woman could only stare at the human as tentatively with his strange weapon still raised and directed at her, he emerged from the underbrush.

"You speak the language of our people. Tell me how this is so shemlen" In her shock of hearing another not of her people speak her language, the redhead had accidentally in her stumbling taken her bow off her target. Before she could raise it up, however, Nat lowered his rifle downwards as a symbol of peace between them.

"I am being taught by one who knows your language" The redhead snarled angrily yet sensing possible danger if she were to suddenly raise her bow, she instead simply decided to show her anger by tightening her grip on her bow already before then returning the arrow back into its sheath.

"None of my people would teach a shemlen our language" She almost shouted.

"My teacher is not of your people, rather he spends an awful amount of time wandering the Fade, viewing the path and is a hoarder of long lost elven knowledge. He's also bald and wear's a wolfs jawbone around his neck, likes to speak in riddles as well." Nat said calmly as he thought of his teacher. Whoever Solas was or had been way back when the elves had ruled this land he did not know, however, if their ancient society was anything like human ancient society, then it stood to reason that with how eloquent the man was, that the man had been one of a higher standing then most. Solas never struck him as a slave though he did seem to hold a certain amount of disdain for those of the Templar order. A person with good morals perhaps, but so much time has passed and he could have changed in the time that he had been alive, faced the nightmares of his past and bettered them to be a greater man than he was currently.

"I know of no such man, and no clan would allow any Dalish to violate their culture like that"

"Ah but he is not Dalish, rather he is currently working with the Inquisition. Goes by the name of Solas, you might have heard of him"At that moment, a light bulb like moment went off in the woman's head and son Nat found himself face to face with an even angrier redhead elf. The woman's face seemingly turned as red as her hair while her nose flared in obvious fury and her fingers clenched tightly. Oh, he had struck a nerve all right it seemed, it was just a case of how bad the nerve he had struck was. "Not a friend I take it" The look he was given in response was more than a clear response tot he wizard. Nat nodded his head, it seemed that Solas was not lying when he had stated that he was not particularly liked by the Dalish.

"A friend?" The woman reeled back scorned as if she had just dipped her hand into boiling water. "That flat ear walks into our camp and then proceeds to lie to our people claiming things that are not true and soling the names of our gods. He is a traitor to his people, an elf who should have been killed for the crime he committed." The red head's eyes narrowed on Nat venomously as she recalled what he had said just moments ago. Swiftly she brought her hand to her dagger clenching the hilt tightly however she stopped as before she could pull it out, the boy had pulled from his leg a smaller version of the strange weapon he wielded and pointed it at her chest.

"All I want is to get out of this forest" Nat spoke clearly as he gestured towards the trees hoping the elf would understand why he was in this forest and what his intent was. "However be warned that should you try to attack me here, then I will kill not only you but also anyone else who comes after me" A brief moment of silence passed between the two as their hands kept to their weapons both waiting for the other to make the first move. At this distance, Nat knew he would only have one shot before this battle could be lost and he was nothing but a corpse on the ground for this woman to loot and take back to her camp as a trophy to her people. On the other hand, the woman was still considering her options as her attention snapped to the dead werewolf once again.

"And why ever would I allow you to leave after you have trespassed and stated your allegiance to a flat ear traitor, shemlen?" The red-headed woman growled furiously as she refused to lose the grip on her dagger as she waited for the right moment in when the boy's guard would drop long enough for her to dash forward and cut his throat.

"There is nothing I can say that will make you trust me?" Nat spoke with confidence. "No matter what I say whether it be a threat or a reward, at the end of the day the fact is that you don't know that the moment I leave the woods that I won't just alert a human village and hunt you down. The only assurance you would have of ensuring that I don't tell anyone is to kill me but even then you're afraid because of the potential fallout it may wield. You would guess correctly that I do have connections and believe me, if you were to hurt me they would not be too pleased. That just leaves your only other option, to capture me and then blindfold myself as you pack up and leave to make sure that I can't lead a group to hunt me"

"You are intelligent for a Shemlen" The woman stared dangerously at Nat hoping to intimidate him into surrender however Nat refused to back down as he still pointed his pistol at her heart. All it would take would be one lone shot and then hell would descend upon him. The woman's comp[anions were bound to return sooner or later if she did not return swiftly and when that happened the advantage would go to her.

"Thank you" Nat replied. "However there is another solution to this little conundrum."

"And what's that, I let you go and accept you at your word" Nat shook his head at the remark. Such a course of action like she suggested was entirely foolish and was based on blind trust of a person she did not understand. Personally, if their positions were reversed, then he would have killed him to prevent word from getting out and then alert the clan and start getting them moving away from this place that they had decided to set up camp in.

"You know this forest better than anyone I would assume, probably know where all the paths in and out start and end, know where all the villages are situated, know what types of beasts lurk in what area. If that's the case, I would ask you to escort me to a path that leads west to Redcliffe, once we arrive I will pay you for your services and then carry on my way. In that time, however, I'm sure you can relay a message to one of your fellow hunters to the rest of your clan and have them pack up and move. In that case, by the time I would make it to the first village, your clan would have already vanished entirely unharmed and can continue with your daily business.

"And how do I know that your village won't start hunting us down anyway, for all I know, the moment we strike the road guards will come and kill me before then hunting down my clan"

"Again a fair point" Nat acquiesced to the woman's reasoning. She wasn't wrong in her assessment, if he was a different human then it was very likely he might run to another village and tell stories of being kidnapped by the primitive barbarian elves and held captive as some kind of prisoner. The result would be an angry village and a bunch of Dalish who were once again on the move because they hadn't tread lightly enough forcing them to flee from what was likely a safe area into somewhere that was far more dangerous and could kill even more of their number. Also with the threat of demons and the mage-Templar war, it was bound to create more casualties then there would be compared to normal. "Look we're both at an impasse, neither one of us can afford to let the other go because of the possible consequences however neither of us wants to deal the first blow as somebody is going to die. I just want to get out of this forest unharmed alive and with my possessions.

"Yes you want to leave so you can return to that traitor as he decries our history and calls us savages" Nat refused to point out the fact that if elf society was anything like human society, then there was a very high chance that without technology or magic to make certain jobs obsolete, then a good number of elves had likely been slaves during the time when they ruled the continent. It wasn't exactly the brightest of thoughts, especially for a group of people who's modern day culture revolved around being an oppressed minority, but the likelihood of elves being slaves was still very height.

"Can we not behave like civil people here, all I want is to leave all you want is to protect my people. If we cannot come to an arrangement then I would not be against using violence to solve this problem" Slowly though unnoticed by the woman, Nat began to slow down his heart. Sucking in a deep breath then followed by an exhale, he allowed himself the time to target his shot correctly just as he had done every time with his musket.

It was different using a musket or a pistol compared to a wand, the first and most notable difference was the weight of the weapon he held. Wands were incredibly light making it increasable easy to move and aim and block as well as any other manoeuvrable, the pistol, however, was a weight that while he had shot before was not his usual weapon of choice. It wasn't heavy though, extensive physical training easily enables him to pick up a firearm and use it effectively, but still, compared to having a wand in his hand as he got ready to take the life of another, he couldn't help but feel that firearms were so... Uncivilized.

"You threaten to kill me?" This time the woman did draw her dagger however Nat didn't fire instead jumping back ready for a swing that never came as the woman instead tried to stare him in the eyes as best as she could.

"You really need to go to Specsavers Lady, I've had a gun pointed at you now ever since you entered the clearing " Nat responded in a mocking way through as he expected, the joke went straight over the elf's head.

"That is the name of your weapon, a gun? It sounds rather vulgar" The elf said curiously as she kept her attention onto the odd weapon that was presented towards her. It was an odd thing in her mind, it wasn't exactly an ugly weapon, however, she couldn't help but notice that it lacked a certain distinction to it. Simple perhaps was the best word she could use, the weapon looked incredibly simple far more so than a crossbow here she could see the string taught backwards. On this weapon, however, the only defining mark was some piece of metal that had the appearance of a serpent with a piece of flint in its mouth.

"Perhaps, but a weapon's first and most important priority is to ensure that it works. Fancy names come afterwards" Suddenly out of nowhere, Nat noticed the flickering of slight movement in the distance. "Werewolves" That one word was enough to alert the redhead who with only brief moment of trepidation, quickly turned the same way that the human had been. Her eyes widened in horror but before she could say anything else, a high pitched scream echoed in the air sending birds cawing into the sky as they launched of their seats.

"Daylie" The redhead gasped obviously recognising the scream of the woman. Turning around on her heel, the redhead grit her teeth as she mentally fought over what she needed to do. If she allowed this human to go, then he could most certainly run away and tell others of the existence of their camp and then bring others back to hunt her and the rest of the clan down and kill them all. But on the other hand, she was the head huntress, the one who was supposed to be looking over the rest of the younger ones to ensure that they could grow up to be responsible members of her clan. She couldn't just abandon them.

"Let's go" Nat commanded as he rushed past the slightly dazed elf as he put away his pistol and brought his rifle forward. The redhead said nothing instead following the human as he proceeded to race through the forest with as much speed as he could muster while crossing through unfamiliar terrain. With them moving as quickly as they could through the old forest, neither of the two cared about giving away their position resulting in the sounds of twigs snapping, leaves being pushed aside and birds screaming out loudly as something fast and dangerous crashed through the shrubbery beneath them.

As they got closer and closer, the sounds of more cries, groans could be heard over the treetops as the hunters continued to fight for their lives against the werewolves that stalked this land. At one point, both heard at the same time as metal clashed against metal though how that was possible was unknown and again neither really cared.

All of a sudden, a loud sound blasted into the air followed by nothing but silence, winds blew sending the few remaining leaves they were scattering in all directions however other than that Nat and the Red Head were now the only ones responsible for the noisy environment that plagued the forest.

With a grunt as he jumped over a tree branch and landed on his feet, Nat entered the clearing first and raised his rifle locking it onto where he had heard the screams carefully searching for whoever was responsible. Moments later the redhead also came in with her bow drawn and several others in her hand each one ready to be attached to the weapon and launched at an enemy of some kind or another.

"Come out and face me cowards" The redhead yelled as she advanced further into the clearing holding back both her tears and her concern as she did so. With a slight nod from Nat giving the unconscious order for her to go ahead, the red-headed elf quickly put away her bow and approached the corpses that lay in the centre of the clearing.

Placing her hand on the first, anger fuelled her as she rolled one of her clan members onto their side however instead of seeing a face she recognised, all she saw was that of a person who had seemingly had their skin corrupted and they melted onto their very bone. Their eyes were a milky white and no sign of the pupil could be seen anywhere.

"What?" Before she could say anything else, a loud sound rang out and the corpse she had been holding smashed into the ground as if struck by something hard and fast. Quickly the elf turned her gaze upwards to the boy that had accompanied her. What she saw much to her confusion, was that the small gun as he had called it now had some radiating out of the weapon and dispersing into the air itself.

"Their demons" Nat spoke quickly. Drawing his sword, he quickly rushed towards the other corpses and before the redhead could stop him, he plunged his enchanted blade into the skulls of the corpses slicing into the brain and hopefully destroying any mental commands that may come from there.

"What are you doing?" The redhead yelled angrily. Picking up her dropped bow, she prepared an arrow and kept it there locked at the boy as he in return kept his own weapon trained on her and ready to fire. "They were my clan Shemlen, I should kill you for such an insult to my people" Her face bloomed in rage as she saw the boy and anger swelled in her veins, how could she ever have thought that he might be telling the truth to her, all he wanted was to leave this place. She laughed at the motion, no her suspicions were correct, what the boy really wanted was to kill all her people.

"They've been possessed by demons, I know I've fought and killed enough of them"

"Oh you have, now that is unexpected of a child" A deep voice called out of nowhere. The redhead's eyes widened and forced her to search around the entire area as best she could.

"Who said that" The redhead demanded angrily. Looking over to her young captured human, she hoped that he could lend assistance in this cause however instead he simply changed the direction he was looking in and directed his weapon there.

"Well demon are you going to reveal what you are, Sloth, Rage, Pride, Desire" The voice chuckled once more before like a wave, power washed over the two of them and there in front of them stood not a demon as the redhead had been taught but rather a young looking human man. He was handsome the redhead supposed for the human form that it had taken, dressed in blue coloured mage robes and sporting hazelnut coloured hair whilst a slight grin appeared on his face.

"Is it not customary for one to introduce themselves before they demand that of others" Nat gave no emotion in response however the demon simply grinned lightly and shook it's head seemingly in amusement as it stared at the one who was arrayed against him.

"Perhaps if I was in polite company Old Man" Nat responded as he kept his gun still pointed at the demon's chest. Unfortunately, he doubted it would work. This demon was told he could tell, very, very old far more so than any other demon he had fought and killed. The demon leaned back seemingly hurt by his words before then laughing as he saw the blank expression on the boys face.

"My, you are far more perspective then you appear to be child, are you also about to announce my name to the entire world" The demon mocked joyfully as he saw the boy keep his finger steadily of the trigger entirely unwilling to let a good shot go off by mistake.

"You could have any number of names whether from peoples mythology or that of these people, but would it really matter what your name is in the end, already I can tell that you want something from us seeing as you have not killed us. Therefore, I can conclude that you are a Desire Demon"

"Choice spirit" The demon replied as it rolled his eyes like he had repeated the same line over and over and was getting bored of it. "All beings have desires, but not all of them act on them".

"I'm going to kill you for what you've done demon" The demon rolled its eyes at the elf before with the raising of its hand, it created a bubble of magic around itself protecting it from the following few arrows that were launched against him from the safety within. The elf stared at the demon with wide and fearful eyes as she finally seemed to comprehend what stood before her. There was no way she could beat this, the creature before her was a creature from the Beyond with great magic at its side, should it wish to, it could easily wipe her off the face of the planet.

"You are very violent," The demon said in a surprisingly cheerful way. Turning its attention to the boy, the demon then proceeded to gaze interestedly at the strange weapon that lay within the boy's hand. "What an interesting weapon you have at your disposal, did you create it or instead find some kind of design, Agent of the Inquisition" The elf gasped loudly while jumping back from the boy.

"Please excuse my rudeness sir, but could I have the pleasure of knowing your name" A bright smile flashed over the demons face whilst his eyes glistened with mirth and humour as he took in the boy trying to look stronger than he actually was. It was quite funny, mortals always pretending to be something they were not the moment they ran into trouble and this one, in particular, was making a good job of hiding his emotions.

"Ah what a polite young man, it's so rare to meet anyone who is willing to be cordial with a Choice Spirit, most of the time they always try to kill us." Nat gave a fake smile in return though he could still feel the rising tension in the area and his eyes fell upon the elf. There was no chance he could beat a demon this powerful, not without his magic at his side to offer both protection and an offensive strike.

"Yes, what has polite society fallen to" The demon chuckled seemingly amused by the comment however Nat was not convinced for a moment that it had dropped it's guard down.

"Indeed young man, as to the answer to your question, my name is Imshael" Nat resisted the urge to run as he heard that name. He had come across mention of this particular demon when he had been reading up on the history of Thedas. Apparently, when humans had first moved to this continent and started exploring the Fade, they had gone far too deep resulting in their finding with multiple powerful demons of which Imshael was one of those.

Nat resisted the urge to groan as he realised that not a week ago, he had faced another two legendary enemies and whilst he had defeated both of them, this time he was still weak as he was forced to wait for his magic to recover from surviving the old god's mind attack. This time, he wouldn't win, not unless he got very lucky but that was doubtful. If he or the elf decided to run then the demon could very easily cut them down and that was if the demon didn't have any of it's lesser friends to assist them.

"Please excuse me for not giving my name in return, while you may be a Choice Spirit, the point remains that a being as old and powerful as yourself can do some incredible damage if you were to possess something that valuable" Imshael smiled at the boy before then turning over to the elf giving her an evil grin that sent a freezing shiver up her back forcing Nat to realise what needed to be done to get out of this situation.

"And you are?" Imshael asked the elf however instead of the long polite decline that the boy had given him, the elf simply spat at him. Unsurprisingly, the sit struck the shield and then slid down however all the same Imshael was not happy. With a pained sigh, the demon turned back onto the one who seemingly had sense in the group. "Very well. Now I have a proposal for you, I will let you go however you must promise me something in return"

"I assume that if we refuse your generous offer that you will kill us," Nat said as he looked at the elf screaming with his eyes for her not to do anything reckless and get them both killed for their stupidity.

"Ah, I see your position was earned rather than given. Although earn could mean anything, it's a rather subjective term is it not" Nat knew exactly what the demon meant. Typically when a person meant to earn a certain thing, they meant within certain parameters or linked to some kind of reward. In his case, one would expect him to work through the ranks to earn a position on the Inquisitions inner council and so had likely ruffled a few feathers when he was seemingly given it. His current actions, however, could be seen as earning his place or rather cementing it by showcasing that he was, in fact, a capable member of the team who could bring a lot to the cause of the Inquisition and lend valuable assistance both combat and non-combat roles.

"I thank you for the compliment however I would ask that on my case that we raise the stakes at least should the asking price not be too much" Like a child who had just been taken into a sweet shop, the demons face now showed nothing but utter joy and excitement however instead of their head being transfixed on multiple rows of sweet goodness, the demon instead moved swiftly over to the boy with a very happy grin.

"I like you boy, very few are willing to make a deal with a Choice Spirit when it is offered to them let alone dare to ask that the gamble be made higher than it already is. Tell me boy" The man's voice seemingly turned into a deep almost seducing tone as he flattered his eyes at the boy. "Whatever do you want?"

"Direct answers to questions, no riddle or vague bullshit and no choosing select words to try and change ho I might see a subject and also no biases. If you know, you will tell me everything." There was a reason to taking such a risky move, normally Nat hated to try and gamble on things however even now he could hear the answer that the old god had given him before it died. The elven pantheon was still alive and more vitally, two of them were awake and on the surface of the world. In theory, it sounded great and one might expect him to go on some kind of quest to find these deities and ask them to assist them in the struggle against this Ancient Magister, however, Nat knew better.

If these beings were real but had not shown themselves since the fall of Arlathan then that meant that a number of different scenarios could have befallen them. The first was that they really did not give a shit about their people and as such could not be bothered to help the elves no matter how much they prayed to them for whatever reason. The second was that they were incapacitated in some way, the third, however, could be that something might have happened to their own personal power preventing them from intervening in the first place. After that could come down to the god's mindset if he remembered correctly old powerful beings had a tendency of being fickle at the best of times. There could also be the point that they disagreed with the modern world or had sworn some pact not to interfere, so many different reasons for why the elven gods did not lend assistance could be given but none of them mattered if he could not find them.

"And what questions do you want to be answered young one, where to find a source of an old ancient magic power inscribed by the gods themselves" Imshael tried to mock however it was entirely unable to get rid of its very deep curiosity about this child. He had heard of Tempest as had practically everyone by now, a strange mage boy who came from an unknown place and had only lived with mages. He wielded powerful magic and supposedly even owned a harem that included the Herald of Andraste herself. He had expected power to quake from the boy, to be this large powerful presence however much to his amusement the boy was simply that, a mortal boy playing with magic or in this time pointing a metal tube at his skull.

"The two awake Evanuris, who are they and where are they. Also, how does one kill one of the tainted Magisters"

"Now, those are not questions I would have expected you to ask?" Imshael spoke clearly as he gazed at the boy. Perhaps he should speak to arrogant Darkspawn human, but then again, this was so very interesting, the stakes here should he choose to accept the questions could be very entertaining. Far more so then that Chevalier months ago.

"Set your price" Nat responded calmly. As much as he desired to shoot this ancient demon and put it back into the ground where it belonged, he had very little chance to do so. All it would take was a single spell from the demon and then everything would be over for him.

"First I wish to know why you believe I would hold the answers to your desired question" Nat rolled his eyes at the voice of the demon turned slight silky, it appeared that he was trying to draw on his curiosity and use that to bring his own downfall.

"Because your an elderly citizen of the Fade and are therefore more likely to know because of your vast experience" Imshael was not amused by the comment, however, he had lived far too long to allow such a trivial insult to affect his fake smile as he stared at the boy. Obviously, if the boy was willing to use such words when he was at a clear disadvantage, then he was likely expecting for this to go poorly. "Oh and also because as a choice spirit, you've likely met hundreds if not thousands of mortals who have offered you something or other and therefore there is a high chance that you've encountered someone who knew something and likely mentioned it at one point or another" Imshael grinned menacingly.

It was true what the boy had said, a spirit such as himself didn't become as powerful he was without the experience to gain it and often that meant making deals that would ultimately benefit him in the long run. Yet there was also a sense of concern as he remembered the most important of the boy's questions.

Despite being separated and not at the battle of Haven, the boy was very much aware of just what his new business partner was and that was why he had asked such a question in how to permanently disable an ancient Magister. Obviously, the boy was going to use that knowledge to likely trap and contain the old human which truthfully would be a shame considering that it brought an awful lot of chaos into the world. He couldn't remember the last time he had this much fun making pacts and deals with mortals. The expressions on their faces that followed afterwards was always a joy to watch, the trepidation, the worry, the concern that they had done something utterly wrong and should never be forgiven for it and how that concern turned to guilt which gnawed and gnawed at their mental state until they eventually collapsed in on themselves forcing them to commit suicide. It was just delicious.

"I see, well in this case boy how about we trade knowledge for knowledge" Nat felt his heart pound as he heard that. Truthfully he had been more expecting the demon to ask for something physical like him to do some type of task that may involve killing a person or perhaps embarrassing himself or to do something utterly shameful. , on the other hand, was far worse, if the demon asked him about his magic and what he could do, then it could very likely strip away whatever advantages that the Inquisition had over this ancient Magister and make their job a dam sight lot harder then it needed to be.

"What does your heart desire?" Nat held the venom back in his voice as he began to think about how best he could make his answers all confusing like something out of a fiction novel however he could already tell that if the answers he wanted had to be plain and simple, then so did the demon.

"An answer for an answer. I'll go first who are you?" Nat narrowed his eyes slightly as he felt some kind of magic take place over him. It wasn't as strong as the magic he could use to force obedience if he needed it, but all the same with his magic still weak and revering, there was very little he could do to get out of this situation and the demon likely knew that as well.

"Nathanael Tempest" Nat answered sharply as he stared into the demon's eyes. Imshael smiled and Nat realised that the question had been a test one, seeing how well he could resist the magic that as now around him. The next few questions he realised would be more vital. "How does one kill an ancient magister corrupted by the blight" Imshael smirked cruelly though for some reason he felt some sort of magical presence coming from the boy's jacket.

"You cannot, you can simply imprison them and nothing more"

"Bugger" Nat swore to himself internally though on the outside he kept up his calm expression. If they couldn't be killed, then that meant prisons had to be made for them or more vitally in the case of the current ancient magister that was the main threat, they had to put them back into prison. The main problem with that, however, was that the magister was bound to know of the Grey Warden stronghold and would either nor risk going anywhere the place, or he might decide to conquer it and keep it in his possession for the remainder of the war.

It could be beaten he supposed, they'd have to lure it close enough to the Vinmark mountains and then ambush it in a trap of course if the enemy was intelligent they would see their rather obvious ploy and inflict catastrophic damage to other areas. On the other hand, should they defeat the magister away from it's prison, then it would have to be a very quick escort mission accompanied by an elite task force to move the body of the Darkspawn back to the prison before the magisters spirit had a chance to escape it's frame and then enter the host of another.

Gritting his teeth, he started to think up of plans on how to defeat and contain the magister without the use of his magic. On his own he could defeat the Magister so long as he used trickery as he had done on the Architect, hitting them in a way that was entirely unexpected and then placing them in a similar trap, however doing so would inevitably lead to questions being raised.

He liked Valeyna, not in any romantic way, he wasn't so stupid as to give in to his baser instincts and allowed himself to be ruled by something son antiquated and blinding as the feeling of love, but none the less he appreciated her as a person he could speak to. However even should she be entirely accepting of him from being from another world, she would inevitably feel betrayed at the fact that he hadn't told her until the truth was forced out from him.

Then there were the other's, Solas would certainly pay very careful attention to him, Cassandra might think he's some kind of demon in disguise, Bull might give him an occasional sideways glance, Viviene was a bitch so he couldn't care less what that woman thought, Sera probably wouldn't care that much as he was still a magic user, Josephine would be curious about home asking boundless questions while Leliana would ask him to make her dressed to try on. Blackwall would probably think he was mad at first and Cullen would probably be warier as his magic was far less regulated and far more dangerous making him a very deadly enemy should two of them find themselves on opposite ends. Varric, on the other hand, would only crack a few jokes ask about inventions and might even ask for a share of his company when he realised that he could make a decent amount of money.

However, all of that was something he wanted to avoid entirely. He had to prevent himself from forming close attachments whilst he was here, doing so gave a very high probability of it affecting his actions if he did find a way back home. On one hand, he could see them being supportive of him trying to return home while on the other he could perhaps seeing them wanting to disable any path back home lest it cause issues between their two people.

All of that flashed by within only a few seconds however as Nat returned his attention onto the smirking demon as it stood there with a curious glint in its eye.

"My turn" Imshael sang happily. "Where are you from?"

"Albion" Nat replied without hesitation. "It's a small island in the northern hemisphere just of the northern coast of Gaul" Technically it was true, Albion was the word that the Ancient Greeks had come up with thousands of years ago and had kind of stuck ever since though in a more fantasy kind of way. Even in the modern day, some wizards or witches referred to Britain as Albion although it was only really used by ancient families or people trying to sound smarter then they were. And as for Gaul, it was the old name for the region that was France making him technically not a liar.

He could have lied, of course, try the sneaky option of speaking in another language, but the demon would very likely do the exact same thing in return as payback. Worse, since he needed the demon then the demon needed him, performing an act so reckless as that was only bound to hinder his gathering of knowledge.

Instead, he was forced to answer the demons questions as frankly there was no other option to this Meeting. If he fought he would die, if he tried to escape then Imshael would hurt him down and kill him. On the other hand, if he cooperated with the demon and ended up escaping, then perhaps he could come back later and finish the monster off. However, he knew that all relied on him regaining his magic and being able to put himself back into the fight, something that was not going to happen for several more days if not weeks.

"Interesting, so you hail from where humans originated from. What was it like there?" Nat sensed the magic take hold of him at the question demanding that he answer truthfully.

"Anything specific you wish to know about," Nat asked casually as he looked into the Demons eyes. Hopefully, his little ploy would work, the problem with a question as vague as the one Imshael had given could force him to reveal practically everything he knew which amongst other things could include the strength and technology that the military advanced.

"Your society" The demon answered quickly "How does it work?"

"It's a Hereditary Parliament. Once a magical family has kept itself continuously intact for two centuries so no magicless children and no children that did not take up the family name should a woman marry, then they are given the rank of minor lord. With that title, a minor lord is given one vote in which they can use when all those families who hold that rank or higher assemble and decide and vote on laws and how they should be run. After reaching the rank of Minor Lord, there are then more stepping stones before a family can become a higher rank."

"Typically, this stepping stone is in the form of lasting another century to receive the title of the noble house. Two more centuries after that and you then get the outright distinction of being called an old noble house where. If you then skip an extra two hundred and fifty years you start to be called an ancient noble house, however, when a family finally reaches one thousand years they are then given the title of most Ancient House. Other titles apply such as wise, brave, honourable, powerful as well as less noble sounding ones like cowardly, however, they are only given after a family had shown a consistent set of values after so long."

"What else," Imshael asked curiously as he tried to picture these at least in his mind rather cute names for houses. After all, a thousand years might be something substantial to mortals, but to demons or even the life of an Elf before the doom that fell upon them then giving out titles for such a lack of time would be similar to that of making a newly born child king of a great nation. It might work, but they would be considered far too young to be trusted with anything.

"Well, the head of our society is called the Minister of Magic who is an elected official. To be nominated, a member of at least a noble family must outwardly support them and then afterwards, they must then win the votes of all those who are members of the Parliament. Should however in the rare case that no Minister of Magic is chosen or does not have enough votes to be able to pass enough bills, then there is the very real chance of the Government shutting down until a new Minister can be found." Nat sighed as he remembered reading about a time several centuries ago, there had been a deadlock for the Minister of Magic and the result, had been fifteen years of no government effectively crippling Magical Britain for a good job. Thankfully it wasn't as disastrous as it initially sounded, Aurors still worked and protected the people and shops still sold their goods, but all political action was stopped. Eventually, the event was resolved when Dark Lord Georgeson declared war and united the two warring parties with one another to fight him. By the end of the war, however, one of those members had died leaving the seat of Minister finally open to be taken.

"That's it" Imsheal sounded disappointed at such a dull existence of political life. "No wars between rival sons for the thrones, no scandals because the two leaders of two different nations were caught in the same bed together. No bloody wars between the two rivals or a leader refusing to step down, just one person getting elected and then another person getting elected" At that comment Nat was half tempted to point out that all of these things had occurred in British Magical history as they had in practically every other magical nations history, but he still knew what the demon meant.

Compared to that of Muggle nations, the magical world was practically nearly always at peace. There was the occasional hiccup here and there, sometimes wars would spill out on both sides or members would get involved on the other sides behalf, but all the same, it was rather rare. Magical Briain and Magical France weren't at war during Napoleon's time and there had never been a Magical war between Britain and Emerica as some sort of revolutionary war rehash. Macusa was over a century older then the US was but that was beside the point. With the use of magic, travelling to other parts of the world was easier and it was reflected by the fact that on many magical wars, muggle nations who may have been hostile were actually very friendly and were even working together to fight another foe.

"I'm afraid not" Nat replied sharply. "But now I demand that you answer my first question, just what are the names of the two alive Evanuris" At his question, the redhead elf seemed to look having come out of a daze. Her eyes glimmered in curiosity entirely unable to hold back the contempt she might have of the demon if she could get answers. No doubt the woman was of the idea that if she could find the gods, then perhaps she could convince them to help the elves now and save them from their despair. Or perhaps she wanted to strike down the humans that currently ruled, burning down their kingdoms, slaughter their children and force them then to forever work as slaves as revenge for how the Imperium treated them.

"Are you sure you do now want the answers to something else" Imshael pleaded as it noticed the look in the redhead's eyes. The woman he was not afraid of, she was a simple elf born without the ability to wield magic as her kin once had however the boy was another story. The stories that surrounded him pointed him out to be some kind of a dangerous killer with a face like ice that never showed any emotion or even enjoyed it as he proceeded to slaughter Templar after Templar.

"Talk Choice Spirit or would you prefer me to use less gracious terminology"

"No, now we can talk." Nat narrowed his eyes seemingly frightening the demon with just his presence alone. "As for your names" Imshael shrugged before a smirk came across its face as it likely believed that it had won this little bout. "Fen Harel and Mythal are the only ones currently residing in this plane although, on the latter's case, one wonders if she is even still alive." The redhead gasped in shock and her face paled as she heard the first name.

Having some information about their pantheon, Nat understood why. The Dread Wolf had been the one who had locked up the eleven gods, therefore if he was still alive and kicking, then it could spell doom of some kind. However, on the other hand, he wasn't so convinced. Most likely, it was because he had grown up in the twenty-first century and was therefore used to things like hindsight and bias and looking at medieval people as dumb and superstitious, but it was also because he knew knowledge about some of Earths gods. Even with the Greek gods, they could be considered both incredibly cruel and evil at times, but also kind and relatable like that of a scorned woman taking it out on a child born of wedlock.

Therefore it might be possible that the rumours that the Dread Wolf could be wrong in their telling or that they may be inaccurate, missing important parts that they shouldn't have. However he pushed such thoughts aside and concentrated on what was important, this demon knew that two of the Elven gods were alive.

Unlike the redhead who he could assume was going through some kind of spiritual thing, his own thoughts were far more logical and focused on the danger of such beings existed. If they were awake and alive, then they could possibly constitute a threat or perhaps they might prove to be allies in the future. There was the very real possibility in his mind that the old gods would want to enact some form of revenge on those who had destroyed their empire. Yet, on the other hand, it was possible;e that they may not want to help them in their goals.

The way Imshael spoke about Mythal gave the impression that she was weak currently, possibly on the edge of death or maybe something like how Voldemort was before he was killed. She might be powerful, or she might simply be only a small remnant of what she was, struggling to survive in a world that had turned against her people leaving her to die slowly. Fen Harel, on the other hand, was a more concerning matter, one that if Solas still lived he would have to inquire about.

According to legend, elves were immortal until the humans appeared at which point they quickened losing their life and immortality, then when Fen Harel locked away the other gods, their civilization crumbled to dust as nobody could save them. However what if that wasn't the truth.

All empires crumbled to dust eventually, The Athenian, Roman, Ottoman, British, French, Persian, Aztec and every other empire that had all at one point been powerful before they lost it all. So in this world was the likely case of the elves, leaving the question of how they crumbled to dust. Each empire had a different reason for their collapse, the British Empire had died because of bankruptcy, two major world wars had left it broke making it incredibly difficult to keep an empire and added to that technology had improved too much to keep them and public perception had turned against colonisation. On the other hand, the Roman empire fell because of stretching itself too far, constant civil wars, the adoption of Christianity. As for the Mongol empire, the empire had shattered after the brilliant wise leader died and did the stupid thing of leaving their empire to multiple children.

There was any number of reasons as to why the old elvish nation had fallen, but he didn't think it was something so mundane as just a civil war. Of course, it helped, but Solas had given the impression that the old elven nation had used magic heavily in their civilisation which left a very probable cause as to why their nation might have declined so rapidly. Perhaps it vanished.

Magic was drawn from the fade to power things however if such wonders of magic could be utilised, how come Tevinter in all its glory had not seemingly been able to copy them. At first, Nat thought it might be that elves were just more powerful than humans on average, but he pushed that aside. Elves did hold a special connection to the Fade, but if elves truly were that powerful compared to humans, then elves would have held seniority in the circles rather then humans. Perhaps it was the amount of sheer magic was available to the elves then, but that then asked the vital question of how they got so much raw magic.

Only Lyrium and the Fade were known to bost magical performance and both were possible answers as to why the elves could perform such magic. If the elves existed before the Darkspawn, then the dwarves could have delivered more Lyrium then they did today easily allowing for the elves to create their majestic marbled towers that Sola had once described. Or again perhaps there was something different about the Fade then compared to how it was now.

Solas was a very old mage, thousands of years in fact. It explained why the man seemed to know who much about the ancient world despite how much the man tried to pass it off as memories in the Fade. Nat's mind flashed back to how the man dressed, besides the scruffy looking appearance of his clothing, he always carried the jaw bone of a canine. At first, he had thought nothing of it other than some form of odd decoration, but now he could not think otherwise.

All the Dalish wore their Vallaslin to respect that they honoured their respective god. Valeyna wore that of Mythal's the goddess of protection and one seemingly alive at least in some form according to this demon. However one god did not have any vallaslin referencing them, and that god was Fen Harel.

His new theory, was maybe that the followers of Fen Harel would instead wear something that referenced the Dread Wolf in some kind of item. He did not know if it had to be specific or just something linked to the animal of the wolf, but it would make far more sense then plastering on some kind of vallaslin of the Dread Wolf on their face. If another member of a Dalish clan were to see such a mark then it could easily be recognised and then told to their respective keeper which in turn might lead to a war between two clans or people. On the other hand, s simple piece of clothing that denoted a wolf would be far harder to spot such as something like a wolfs teeth or clothing made of a wolfs pelt.

Perhaps that was what Solas was referencing to with that jaw that hung around his neck, perhaps that jaw was his way of showing his commitment to the Dread Wolf. It made some sense he guessed, with the Dalish having lost practically all of their culture and at least according to Solas getting wrong what they even did have, then it was very likely that the elves didn't even know about the way followers of the Dread Wolf would identify one another.

He gave a silent sigh to himself. He could be wrong, perhaps all this speculation on gods was just his mind being more active now that it had some challenge to unsolved. Already, he felt a strong urge to discover more about these old gods, to hunt down their temples and unravel the secrets that awaited within, he wanted to fight what monsters might lurk protecting them and devour any knowledge that may have been left. On the other hand, he couldn't help but think about such emotions in caution, learning about the gods was probably going to assist him in his mission of getting home, but he could not forget that he had a duty to protect those of this land.

And then there was the question of whether he should realise this knowledge to anyone else. If Solas was a follower of Fen Harel, then he would want to know as much as possible, but on the other hand, perhaps the man knew all there was about the god and telling him could destroy the educational bond he had been working on for so long now. And then there was Valeyna, her heart would soar at the news that her precious gods were alive, but then afterwards it could divert her attention away from the task at hand.

Valeyna was a good woman morally at least, she wanted to help people but ultimately she was too young for this sort of activity. She was very much a child, wanting to stay close to home and stay away from the danger only to then be dragged into a possible giant war which could result in her getting killed. Should she be given the information on the gods, then he could see her quitting the Inquisition and going on a search for the protector of her people potentially leaving the people of the world entirely helpless against the demon onslaught.

He shook his head again to himself. He would like to tell her, but he couldn't. Such knowledge would only lead to a distraction for her and in a case of war, a distraction could be the result of the end of the world as they knew it. If anyone was going to discover the truth behind these gods Nat knew, it was going to have to be him and worse he was going to have to do it behind Solas's and Valeyna's back.

Speaking of which, he wondered how Gerald and Elyria were doing. If this demon did kill him and he never escape this Magic forsaken planet, then he hoped that the two would at least escape those magic forsaken tunnels and live somewhat happy lives in as much peace and comfort they could grab before something else went to shit.

Now that he had reached the Bracillian forest, it would take less time to catch up with them, only a few days on foot and less if he were to take a horse. Personally, he wished he had his car, that vehicle could have saved him an awful lot of hassle however that was somewhere in the deep roads, likely smashed to pieces with Darkspawn crawling all over it.

All of that passed by in his head within only a few seconds of silence as he continued to stare at the demon in front of him and waited for the final question. Soon, his wondering on just what that question would be however was put to an end as the demon spoke.

"Finally, why are you fighting in this war?" Imshael stared at the boy with a curious look in his eye, it was of his own personal interest that he had asked this question. So often other demons asked random boring things, however, he desired to know why this mage fought against the Tevinter Magister. He was powerful certainly, and should he join the Elder One, then he would likely be offered lands and titles if he so desired it, fame and fortune would soon follow and he could pick a wife of even the higher ranking nobility.

"Because I have a moral objection against what that creature will do" Nat answered smirking as he felt that he had answered the question without giving too much away. Not that his answer wasn't true though, he did despise the very idea of slavery, taking men and women as chattel and selling them off to the highest bidder or talking down to other people simply because they were of a different race. He may have been a conservative amongst his own people, but he still believed in a lot of the ideals that his nation held. Freedom, equality, democracy, constitutional monarchy as well as not enslaving other people.

He would not fight for the enemy, not when they would deal such tremendous harm to others and not when he had a chance to prevent the terror before it even began. On the other hand, if the war was lost when he might join up, but that would be so he could lessen the damage and perhaps even work himself up to a point to kill the leader and claim power for himself and change things to his own design.

"I see," Imshael said in a bored fashion. "I had expected some other reason. As for your own question, I do not know where your beloved Evanuris are. But now the time has come for you to complete my original goal, I will allow only one of you to-" Before Imshael could say anything further, a shot rang out from around the woods followed loudly by a heavy thump as a body crashed down into the ground. Imshael blinked twice as his attention turned to the red-headed elf who now lay dead, a trail of blood leading from the right side of her skull from where the bullet had shattered into her.

"Now can I go or do you want me to kill the whole clan" The entire lack of empathy or any emotional weigh struck Imshale's curiosity so much that he was unable to keep a smirk off his face as he glanced back to the boy who had just murdered the elf. "Well," Nat said impatiently as he reloaded the weapon casually in front of the demon. "Am I killing this clan or not"

"No, you can go" Imshael finally said as he shrugged his shoulders and then turned back into the initial direction he had been heading in. "But before you do, you wouldn't have seen a dragon flying about would you?"

"It flew east seven days past, saw it crash into the ocean when some kind of giant threw a spear in its wing"

"Very well and thank you, I look forward to our next encounter. Oh and to get out of the forest head in that direction" Nat said nothing in return to the demon instead he simply lowered his weapon cautiously and began to start walking in the direction that the demon had stated. Silently, however, his thoughts turned to the others that had been with him, the demon is known as Imshael and how he was going to kill it as well as the information he had learned about the infamous Evanuris.


	21. Chapter 21 Cleaning up the mess

**HI I'M SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO COME OUT, i'VE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH UPLOADING WITH FANFICTION, THIS WAS MEANT TO COME OUT FAR EALRIER THEN IT SHOULD HAVE AND THE PROBLEM HAS ONLY JUST BEEN FIXED.**

 **THANK YOU FOR YOUR PAITENCE AND KNOW THAT THIS UPLOAD IS ACTUALLY CHAPTERS 21 AND 22**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 21 Cleaning up the mess**

Haven

Concern was the most prominent emotion that Nat felt as he approached the site that should be Haven. Having escaped the forest without any more hassle, he had quickly moved west hoping to arrive at Haven as quickly as he could even going so far as to entirely avoid Redcliffe so he could reach the place faster. However as he continued to walk down the old dirt paths, he had become very aware of the lack of any sentries.

Even without his magic, he was more than alert enough to not notice the odd person who might be hiding behind a bush or crouched behind a hedge line. In the case of the Inquisition agent's, they liked to hide behind certain large piles of stone that had long since tumbled down the Frostback mountains and then turned to a smoother texture as the winds blasted into it. On the other hand, the agents were not so foolish as to hide in the same place for too long and therefore would attach some leaves to their armour and hide in the few trees that lounged the area. Despite this knowledge, he could not locate a single member of the inquisition anywhere he looked and neither could he see a single track of a wagon that would indicate any recent trade.

As he got closer, however, his vision enhanced by the magical tactical glasses he saw spotted something sticking out of the thick heavy white snow. Nat drew his pistol and brought it close to his chest. Moving slowly so as to make the least amount of noise as possible and not give his position away to anyone or anything that might be watching, the young wizard approached the item.

It was a hand he realised. Covered in a metal gauntlet of high quality, Nat immediately knew that this was not anything that a usual member of the Inquisition would wear. Gripping it tightly with one hand as his eyes scoured the countryside scanning for any possible observers, he proceeded to give the arm a big heave. As the body was pulled out, Nat was immediately put on caution as he saw just who the armour belonged to.

Templars

Nat swore to himself as he saw the image of the sword surrounded by flame on the centre of the man's chest. Bending down to inspect the body, he was immediately put on a state of heightened alert. Though he was not trained in the skill of inspecting dead bodies due to his career path not being that of an auror or any other form of police work that would regularly involve looking over the lifeless corpses that were once men and women, he could use common logic to deduce that this body was unusual.

His first clue was that around the abdomen on the body, there was a big red splotch of blood obviously indicating where the man had been sliced through by some weapon. However, as he lowered his glove covered hand towards the wound's location, he became very aware that the piece of the Templars that it was under, specifically the red sash did not have a single scratch on it. This could be excused at first with the idea that perhaps the weapon used had slipped past the sash and then entered the abdomen, but the problem was that the thin leather underneath would have also been punctured through and that was simply not the case of this body.

Removing the helmet of the man, Nat held back the urge to vomit as the smell of rotting flesh swam up his nostrils. The head, was still intact for the most part, darker skin indicating that the man was most likely from the northern reaches of Thedas initially. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be resting slowly as his body decomposed at a slower rate because of the chilly conditions of this mountain. But again this did not matter to Nat as he stared at the man's head.

It was all wrong, male Templar's were at all times supposed to keep a neat trim of hair with it not extending out so much. Like in the militaries back home, this was done with the practical purpose of preventing hair from getting in the way or to be used against oneself in a fist fight. This man, however, had hair that was at least twice if not their times the regulated hair length and then there was the large amount of facial hair which again according to Cullen was not supposed to be allowed.

There was no excuse for such a cause of action, Templar's at least according to Cullen were incredibly strict on this kind of thing and if a soldier was to lower them self to this kind of standard, then there would surely be consequences. A Templar with this lack of grooming would be the same as him trying to blend into a military base with his own far longer hair. He might be able to get away with is if he prevented anyone from getting to close and did it up in a cute bow or something, but ultimately it would fail.

Finally, however, he came across the last clue he needed to indicate much to his growing suspicion that this was some kind of trap used to set up agents of the Inquisition. The boot's that had been placed on the man's legs had been done so in a piss poor manner that could easily be dragged of the feet and obviously would not stay on in a battle. Obviously, they had been put on in a hurry without much thought put into them.

Sighing loudly, Nat wondered just how far these people had gone to implicate some other group as Templars. In all honesty, it was a shoddy job and anyone with any actual experience could probably tell by the man's state of dress that he was not a Templar. On the other hand, however, the average peasant likely wouldn't be able to.

This was well before the time of internet, smartphones, tv, mass reading or comics. The average person likely had no idea whatsoever was an average Templar looked like underneath their armour and even far less likely to know how they did their training or their standards. This very likely meant, that whoever had placed the body hear had done so with the intention of luring in those who were not aware of military customs into their trap.

The question that Nat now had to find out an answer for, is that why would people want to lure others into a trap around Haven. Obviously, he could already tell by the lack of Inquisitions agents and trade wagons that he had already failed to alert the base of the coming attack. Perhaps that was why the Templars were leaving fake corpses into the valley, they wanted to bring any agents who might have been away at the time back into the base and kill them while they had the chance to do so.

He narrowed his eyes at the thought before then turning back to the seemingly innocent road. The Templars were nothing more them petty thugs now, with lack of Chantry support they were reduced to having to rob money, food and goods from traders, another possible reason as to why the Templars had set up a fake dead body.

If others believed that the Inquisition had won the fight or were of the opinion that they could scavenge of a battlefield, then would very like play into the Templar's hands. Just what would be done to them afterwards however he could not answer. Perhaps they were killed for looting, perhaps they were conscripted, maybe they were used as target practice or in some strange universe they were taken to an all exclusive two-week cruise around the Caribbean.

He sighed again as he stared at the road. He knew it was a trap, once he was out of sight of the main road and any other passing wagons, that the Templars and their agents were bound to swoop in an attempt to kill him, but on the other hand, he had a responsibility to the Inquisitions. As one of its commanders, it was his responsibility to put the lives of his underlings first and ensure their survival as best as possible or in a more realistic case, to end them of their misery. More importantly, though, he had to make an effort to look for survivors.

If Valeyna was alive and somewhere else then he needed to know where she was so he could track her down at a later date, if she was alive but still buried under the rubble, then he had to rescue her before it was too late. If she was dead, however, then he would need to give her some kind of funeral and pay his respects to her. Merlin knew what would happen if the Templars had killed her and got a hold of her body, probably parade it around or sent it back to their Ancient Tevinter Magister where her head would be put on a stick and the rest fed to demons.

That was something he wouldn't allow, even if she was dead she was a symbol of hope to many people. To then be used as nothing more then some kind of trophy to be shown off to others was something that made his blood boil. He'd kill every last one of these Templar bastards he swore. Whether Valeyna was alive or dead, he would show the enemies of the Inquisition just what the price was when they became their enemies.

With a final glance towards the dead man, Nat did the best thing he could think of to give him some respect in his death. Gingerly he took the arms of the man together and crossed them on his chest and closed his eyes. Finally, he snatched the red sash from his body and bunched it together where he then placed it underneath his head. With nothing more practical that he could do, he raised himself back onto his legs and put away his pistol allowing him to focus his two hands on his rifle.

Nodding his head lightly as he gazed back into the direction that he had left more than two weeks ago when he had first left for Orzammar, Nat gave a check of his rifle and made sure it was ready. Once that was done, he dashed over into the snow-covered hills and rocks to the side of the main path allowing his camouflaged clothing to help him hide in the local scenery. It would be foolish to approach from a frontal direction, his combat skills were only impressive because he had magic, once that was taken away he was the same as any other mortal man.

It didn't take long to get into a visual range of Haven for Nat, by now he knew the general area and as such it was easy to avoid the increasing Templar patrols. There weren't that many of them, then again it wasn't as if he was trying to infiltrate their secret base but rather he was more inclined to see what remained of the Inquisitions base. As such, the Templars that were in the deep craggy area before Haven were not as alert as they should have been and most were too afraid to leave the fires that had been placed keeping them rather localised. Though as Nat finally was able to locate the place that should have been the main encampment, he came to the feeling that the Templar's needn't have bothered that much.

The entire camp was just gone.

There were no white tents flapping harshly in the strong winds occasionally catching some poor servant and slapping them harshly, there were no tall trees that stood high and mighty as they dotted around the area and most importantly, there was no main stone building that housed the Inquisitions most vital assets and individuals.

All that remained, was snow.

Admittedly, Nat liked snow it was pretty and rare, an indication of when the cold season had come and when long bright days had finally turned to short dark ones. The cool crisp air would wake him up first thing in the morning as he went out for his morning run allowing him to start the day quicker rather than so many others who slogged it out and would rather stay in bed where the call of warmth invaded their minds. But now, he couldn't help but feel that he had lost that connection to the snow.

It was one thing to theoretically understand something, and another to actually experience it. He knew that winter was dangerous in this place, he knew that it could be destructive and that avalanches were incredibly lethal, hell he'd even frozen people over with a Glacius spell, but it was nothing compared to seeing this. The entire area had gained several feet of just pure white to the point where none of the once defining marks was even present anymore.

There weren't any signs of battle either in the area, no corpses whether that be animal or human frozen and pale, no wagons tipped over and their goods spoiled, no flags fluttering harshly in the wind like some kind of last huzzah in death, just snow.

A flickering of movement soon grabbed Nat's notice. Squinting his eyes, he watched carefully as in the distance something white was being lifted into the air and then thrown without care onto the other side. Concern struck the wizard straight away as he recognised just where the Templar's were digging, right above the main entrance to the old stone building.

It was obvious what they desired, the stone building had been the only place that would be considered suitable to keep precious documents and other resources. There guarded by Templars and other soldiers, any thief would be given a hard time if they tried to take something that was not there's. Now however there was nobody there to guard such treasured secrets, they were right for the picking and far more dangerous they could be exploited.

He gritted his teeth at the idea of the Templar bastards getting their hands on such information. He had no doubt that in the case of an attack, Leliana and Josephine would make an attempt to either destroy, hide or take away any such information with them, but the threat was ultimately too dangerous. Whether the Inquisition members lived on or not was irrelevant in this scenario, he could not allow that info to fall into the hands of the enemy.

On the other hand, he could use such valuable info, if the Inquisition was destroyed and the enemy had dealt a devastating blow essentially crushing all opposition to them, then a resistance group would have to be formed. He doubted he would join, he had only joined the Inquisition because of Solas and stayed because of the amount of responsibility that was heaped upon him; with the inquisition gone he was free of such commitments. And joining a new group was a foolish idea, the enemy likely already knew who he was and his joining of a cause would probably bring unwanted attention to any resistance group that may exist.

Then again, perhaps the Inquisition had survived in some form or another in which case, any remaining documents or coin that could be taken would likely be of significant assistance when he finally managed to regroup with them. Information like backers of the Inquisition, names of agents and their current assignments, secret deals and other military routes and tactics as well as weapon designs were all of vital use in the war and could all be turned against them should the enemy ever get hold of them.

Merlin, he was thankful that he was so careful with his own stuff if the enemy had gotten the blueprints for muskets, cannons and gunpowder, then the Inquisition would have been in real trouble. Luckily, he had kept that lot secret so the likelihood of him having to fight enemies who also had guns was pretty low but again that only reconfirmed the fact that he needed to advance firearms more than he already had.

This type of disaster could have been avoided if the Inquisition had more powerful weapons at its disposal, weapons that would make any army flee in terror and if not turn them mad with their use. How many Templars could have been cut down if instead of running down the sides of a cliff into an empty area, they had instead been pelted by thousands of bullets and they scream as an artillery shell pass by their ear and blew up a metre behind them obliterating their ally behind them? And that creature that the Old God had shown him, if it had been a dragon then the power of flak and other artillery guns would have torn it out of the sky itself forcing it to crash where it could then be disposed of. And then there were gas and flamethrowers, both could have been used in such a manner to buy time for others who might have been on the edges of the camp to escape.

How many lives could he have saved?

Now if the Inquisition was still intact, then it was likely broken requiring a substantial amount of time for it to repair itself before it could continue on the fight against this ancient enemy. And in that time, more would suffer. Husbands were bound to be stripped from their children and forced to fight in a war, elves were likely taken as slaves and forced into slavery if not just killed for the magic of their blood.

So many were going to die now, and all because he could not prevent it. He had the ability to give the Inquisition an incredibly powerful edge that would destroy the enemy if he focused his attention and time on that one project. Instead, however, he had been playing around, having useless conversations and completing idle jobs that he was not suited for like playing diplomat. He felt his hand squeeze in anger at just what had happened to Valeyna and the others.

If his magic had recovered, then he simply could have cast a point me spell and this whole problem of not knowing where the woman was would be over. Instead, though, he was now prone on the white snow as he watched the comings and goings as Templar's attempted to access whatever secrets they could. Then again, he guessed he should have been thankful he was dealing with Templars and not mages, the latter would have easily melted through the snow by now and breached the inner sanctum of the old Inquisition Headquarters.

Still, though, the Templar's would breach it sooner or later if they weren't stopped in their current progress, the only problem was that he couldn't handle these men and women in an outright confrontation. It was going to be difficult he knew, he hadn't been trained in stealth and despite his training with Cullen, his sword skills were nothing to brag about when compared to Templars. Those men and women had been brought up with a sword in one hand and a deep burning hatred of all things magical in the other. Neither were his rifles going to work, they were too loud and after he had gotten the first few shots off, the enemy would recognise the need to take cover and advance whilst he was distracted. Archery was also entirely out of the question, he'd never so much as picked up the weapon in his life let alone have the required skills to use such a weapon competently.

If he was going to do this, then he needed the ability to approach quietly without drawing suspicion where before the Templars could react he could cut them down. He groaned to himself as he realised what this was going to require. It was bad enough that he was going to have to wear old itchy medieval clothing, but it was worse when one realised that he was going to have to wear the clothing off a dead body. He shook his head at his own disbelief at what he was going to do before he then finally descended down the snowy incline and back to the dead body.

Striping the man out of his Templar uniform, Nat soon found himself messing with armour and weapons that he had never touched or worn before. Frankly, it was a bit too uncomfortable for him, all this armour everywhere. It wasn't as restricting as the common myths about the medieval period made it out to be, and the same could be said about its weight yet compared to the range of movement he was used to, he did feel limited somewhat.

Magic duelling despite all the different styles there were, relied heavily on movement. Most of the time this was far more about the arms and legs as too much clothing could restrict the movement or slow a person down or make them itch and cause their mind to get distracted. It was also required for any and all duellists, that their hands had absolute freedom and had infinite movement as certain spells required very precise hand movements which again could be stopped freedom doing if a glove got in the way.

As such, when he had finally managed to get onto the oversized gauntlets, he couldn't help but feel that someone had just applied a numbing charm to his fingers as they felt so restricted and useless as they did right now. None the less, he had soon managed to put on the armour even if it did look several sizes too big for him due to it being fitted for men rather then teenagers. Attaching his sabre to his side, he then scoured the local area for a standard Templars sword and shield before then setting off down the dirt road.

Having already scouted out the local area, he knew the rough distance between each of the Templars little campfires, and could, therefore, estimate roughly how long it would take for another camp to hear any sounds of combat if things did get exceptionally loud. If that did occur, then he just hoped that the spells he had applied to his sabre could compensate for his lack of prowess.

Marching up the snow-covered road, he was soon spotted by the first lot of Templars who gave him a friendly wave and beckoned him forwards. Approaching the group, Nat watched as the few Templar's who had taken their helmets off in order to escape the feeling of freezing biting metal rubbing against their ears, took a small laugh at his appearance.

"By the Maker, look what we have here?" A Templar in his early thirties joked good-naturedly as he saw the small looking Templar approach.

"Look's like someone's a little excited" Another responded to the joke shaking their head as they saw what must have been an obvious child or young person approach their camp with some force of speed.

Entering the clearing, Nat soon found himself stopped by a few of the other Templars as they took more time to giggle at his form of dress. True he looked rather stupid and there was no chance he would fool anyone that actually suspected who he was, but these Templar's were cold, damp and very likely hungry even as they sat by the fire hoping to their make-believe friend that their cold bodies would me bade warmer by the fire of the Makers love or some bullshit story like that.

"Sir" Nat immediately fell into one of Theda's salutes were he locked his arms across his chest and bowed. "Templar recruit Mathew Williams reporting for service sir" The Templar's laughed one of them, even so, going as far as to give a mocking response and demanded that their fellow Templar's bow down to him in respect as he had seemingly been promoted all of a sudden.

"What you doing here kid, and where you get that armour" Poking the fire, the Templar gestured towards an old cart that they had previously pulled out of the avalanche and were now using as both a seat and as the wood to their fire. Soon they knew they were going to have to get new wood, but with a new recruit, they could leave it to him.

"It was my father's sir," Nat said adding a bit of pride in his voice. "He was a brave man, helped to keep the world safe from demons. I want to be just like him" The men's face dropped slightly as they heard that. Mockery son turned to sorrow as they began to hear the story that they had all heard too many times before. "My Father was a Templar in Honleath, he was a good man, but when the mages came and asked for shelter he refused and told them to return back to the circle. The... the mages they... they didn't like that." Nat's voice seemingly broke into a painful display forcing one of the Templars to get out of their seat and offer him a piece of bread.

"It's okay kid, we can guess the rest. Here come sit with us, we'll talk to our commander and see if we can put you in for training" It was soothing words, Nat knew, had his story been true then he very likely would have loved to hear those words which had just come out of the mans mouth, but he had spoken to Cull en before about Templar procedure and the fact of the matter was that at his age he would never be recruited into the order. He was too old Cullen said, Templars preferred their recruits at a younger age in order to indoctrinate them with all the religious stuff as well as all the correct mental attitudes for things like fighting and killing.

It didn't surprise Nat in the slightest that Templars started young, it was a known fact that indoctrination worked best on children as they were still developing as well as that they didn't have a proper idea on morality. From what he had read, child soldiers were so prevalent, because they could be exceedingly cruel and vicious, though this was again because they didn't know any better rather than by design. It also made children tougher soldiers when they became younger. After all, who was going to have a better sense of mental sturdiness, a kid who had to fight and kill others ever since they could pick up a rifle, or a kid that lived in a middle-class family with constant access to food, shelter and luxury.

In this case, it was likely why the Templars were so cruel, they didn't know any better and were therefore very unlikely to correct it simply because somebody who they saw as a threat or weaker then they complained. Some would call it a cruel fate, but ultimately, he had to say that he would do the same to children that if he were in the Templars position. To fight an enemy like mages, you had to fight as dirty as you can and stack every possible advantage against a person who can fling fireballs at you whenever they so desired. It was probably why they despised the idea of mages training in close combat, the moment a mage could fight with a sword was the moment that a Templar lost their main advantage.

As was the case with these Templars.

As soon as the Templar had placed a gentle hand on Nat's shoulder and took to the cart that they had previously been sitting on and leaving him a place, the Templars had dropped their guard. It cost them their lives since with their attention locked onto the fire instead of the Inquisition agent disguised as one of their numbers, he silently drew his sabre and brought it at head height. A single slash was all he needed to decapitate all of them in one strike, the enchantments on the blade to keep it incredibly sharp had seen to that.

With nothing but a gentle thump, the heads of the men who had served the Templar order dropped to the ground whilst the bodies slumped down and began coating the snow underneath it entirely red.

The next lot of Templars he came across acted roughly the same way, they seemed surprised at first by a teenager in Templar armour, but the eager tone that Nat gave off about joining their group soon dropped their guard. Quickly they humouring his "dreams" of becoming a Templar and as soon as the turned their backs, the next thing they felt was that of cold steel slicing straight through their flesh and bone. Of course one or two could only watch in horror as they watched their friend's head roll of their body or for a piece of metal to emerge from their chest, but they were too slow to react any more before the blade plunged into them.

This pattern would repeat itself a few times with groups that were just lounging around, a fire to that of those pairs of guards who were patrolling and were swiftly cut down. Finally, after having killed Templar after Templar, Nat approached the top of the largest mound of snow and quietly joined in with the rest of the Templars.

Now closer to the digging site, he could see that the Templars weren't the ones who were doing the digging, but rather their elf servants. They weren't in very good condition he noted swiftly, their skin was battered and bruised likely as some form of punishment from their Templar overlords wasn't they were also deathly pale and incredibly think with no fat in their body to insulate them. One in particular elf he saw was a young girl, at most, she was likely no older than eight years old however that meant nothing to the Templars as they watched her silently as she shovelled load after a load of white snowy stuff.

She was here with her family he saw, a mother whose hands had gone entirely numb and a father that was seemingly approaching death's door was also assisting the Templars effort. None of them had any winter gear, instead, it appeared more as the Templars had simply snatched them from their home on some trumped up charge and then brought them here.

From his position, Nat fixed his eyes on the Templar commander. A stern looking woman, the commander would occasionally giver one of her soldiers a bit of a shakeup as she demanded that they glare at the low life elf mage helpers and state that they had gotten what they deserved. Nat wanted to approach her and take her out first, however, he got the immediate feeling that attempting such a thing would result in more in his own death than hers. With her gait and temperament, she could likely sidestep any obvious blow he might throw at her and then cut his head off.

With a plan already in mind, he subtly brought out a few of his makeshift explosive devices. To even the trained observer they would call his explosive devices basic. The devices were created of four test tubes each of which had been filled to the brim with gun powder and a few small sharp looking stones with a piece of string that went in through the top of the test tube and would then detonate the device. They weren't exactly pieces of C4, but they would most certainly get the job done over a limited range so long as people weren't looking.

Quickly reaching into his pocket, he grabbed a primitive lighter that he had created in case Gerald had ever wanted to test what gunpowder could do on its own and lit the pieces of flammable string. With little time to spare, he aimed one of the devices at the commander and lobbed where soon after he then threw the other explosives so that they would land at the feet of the other Templars. Once complete, he wasted to time in leaping into the nicely dug trench that the elves had made gripping the side tightly as he did so.

"All right which one of you inbred dog bastards threw this" The commander yelled as she picked up the test tube that had landed at her feet. "You think this is funny, messing around with string and some kind of black powder. Trust me when I find the one responsible, I will have their ass on my shiny golden plate"

Boom

In an instant, the sound of four explosions sent the men into a panic as sharp objects smashed straight through what should have been protective armour and obliterated their flesh. The commander had the worse of it as the impact of the blast annihilated her clenched hand entirely, blowing it off her body whilst the stones now sped up by a great amount of force flew into the middle of her skull and smashed straight through her skull and into her brain.

In the confusion, as the snow was sent skyward and the prisoners in the trench fell to the ground in a blind panic, Nat gripped the edge of the trench sabre in hand and heaved himself over. He rushed over to the first Templar he saw and slashed at his heavy armour and sliced straight through it with the ease of a hot knife through butter sending the Templars guts all over the place. Immeadtly afterwards, he got to the next Templar who had fallen to the ground from the blast, their leg had been entirely torn off and was now nothing but a red stump that they clutched tightly and screamed in agony. A single stab to the head solved that problem.

The next Templar, however, had managed to realise what was going on and charged straight at him. Unfortunately for the Templar, Nat's enchanted blade was faster and even as threw Templar put up[ a block that should have prevented a normal sword, the extra sharpness on a magical blade cleaved through the steel and straight through the helmet into the head. Nat approached the commander next. Wanting to ensure that the biggest threat had indeed been taken out, he gave a quick flick of his blade to her exposed throat and sliced it open. After that, the rest of the battle became a very quick slaughter as Nat rapidly dispatched already downed and weakened foes before they could either recover or when they were down.

Within only two minutes, over twenty Templars were dead.

"You can come out now," Nat said calmly approaching the trench as he did so. Gazing down, he saw the still petrified expression on the small girls face. She had covered her ears with her hands in some vain effort to protect them from the loud noise that had likely hurt,

"Who are you" The girl's father bit back rapidly as he narrowed his beautiful eyes onto the ill-dressed Templar.

"You're free to go back to your homes," Nat said swiftly. The elf man narrowed his eye in suspicion before then with a seeming leap of courage he pulled himself out of the trench and stared with horror covered eyes at the carnage above.

"You killed them?" The man's tone broke not with joy as he normally would have felt, but with fear. Everything had gone so fast, one moment he was trying to keep his family alive and the next thing, he heard some loud explosion followed by the sounds of men dying and swords tearing through flesh.

"All of them" Nat answered swiftly. Before he said anything else, however, he brought his hand into his jacket pocket and retrieved his wallet. Opening up the piece of fabric, he proceeded to draw out a few coins before then putting away his wallet. "Take these, it should cover the cost of a wagon and food to get back to wherever you came from as well as anything else you might need" Then without waiting for any sign of protest, he proceeded to give three sovereigns to the family as well as a few more to the other poor sods who had been forced here against their will.

"I can't-" A stern look from Nat shut the man up as he glanced towards the daughter forcing the man to follow where the man then began to tear up. Clutching his daughter tightly, the man gave a grateful smile to his rescuer before he then hoisted himself and the rest of his family out. Once he was out, he then looked at the young man who had saved him from this predicament. "My lord might I know the name of our saviour so I know who to thank"

"I'm afraid not" Nat responded swiftly. "In the meantime, I hope that all of you have a safe travel back to your home"

"We will, thank you lord thank the Maker" A brief itch of irritation ran through Nat's body as he heard that phrase. Imaginary friends had nothing to do with their rescue, it had been his actions no one else's. Internally he shook his head as he thought back to the poor doctors and nurses back home, they spent several years at school, college and University all to achieve the knowledge that was required before then finally graduating and joining a hospital and start saving lives only for asshole to claim that it was the work of some invisible person rather than their own. In all honesty, Nat was half tempted to snatch the gold sovereigns out of the man's hand and push him back into the trench for that comment, however, he didn't.

"I think it's best that you leave and I would appreciate it if you told nobody I was here" The man nodded happily at the order before he then focused his attention onto where his freedom was located. Without another word he tapped his wife and daughter and began directing them away from the cold snowy place that was Haven leaving Nat alone.

The moment that the group of people had finally left his visual sight, Nat began to get to work. Unlike the workers however who had been dragged from Merlin knew where and were then given a shovel and promptly told to dig, Nat had no intention of getting to his goal the long and arduous way. He'd killed several Templars to get here after all and with the time of the next inspection being unknown, he'd rather get what he needed and then left.

To accomplish this goal, he withdrew some more of his homemade explosive devices, with any luck they would blast away all the mounds of snow that were covering up the building and leave it exposed enough for him to then plant another charge in the door and blow it off its hinges. On the other hand, there was the risk that he could cause another avalanche or destroy the building itself but he couldn't afford to take his time with this.

Luckily, the workers who had been mandated to start digging had actually made a decent and rather frightening amount of process before they had been freed. Already they had discovered the front door to the building and was why they had been digging such a vast trench. A few more hours Nat reckoned and they likely would have dug to the dirt enabling the Templars to install a set of ladders and enter the old building.

Placing his makeshift explosives a few metres away from the door and on the higher elevation, Nat set the charges and then sprinted as fast as he could away from the devices. Just like before when he had thrown the explosives at the Templars feet, there was a loud booming explosion throwing a huge column of snow in all directions. Nat, hidden behind a small incline in snow as best as he could, raised his head and stared at the damage he had done. He grinned.

Unlike the previous explosives, these ones possessed no small rocks which could act as fragmentation grenades, instead, they had more powder making them more powerful. This was seen very much in the way that after the snow had fallen to the ground and the area became visible again, a wide and deep crater could be clearly seen.

Nat not wanting to waste time or allow the sky to turn dark where inevitably creatures of the night such as wolves would begin to hunt him down likely hoping to make him a snack soon jumped into the crater and slammed into a small hole in the door another one of his explosives. Just like before, there was no hitch except for the loud crash as the heavy oak doors were blown off their hinges and smashed into the floor giving him access.

As he stepped inside the vast lightless building, Nat drew his pistol once again and kept it close. Thanks to his magically enhanced tactical glasses, he did not gain that sudden jolt of fear that one saw in films where a person entire vision was limited to a small area by torchlight whether it be electrical or more old fashioned with wood and fire. Instead, as the glasses began to take on a green hue showcasing perfectly to the wizard just what lay within, Nat couldn't help but feel slightly confident.

After walking in a few steps, however, that confidence turned to a small amount of guilt as the first thing he saw were a pile of corpses huddled together under some sort of clothing. There were faces gaunt and fearful, Nat surmised that they must have died from either hunger or the extreme cold. Shaking his head at the fate of the poor sods who had managed to get trapped into the building, Nat soon stepped over their lifeless bodies and made a quick beeline to where he knew Josephine's office would be located.

The door as he expected of Josephine, was locked very tightly and the key was nowhere to be found. Tugging on the handle, he felt for any possible weaknesses, there were none and neither were there on the rest of the doors. He frowned, he likely wouldn't be able to smash the door down, Josephine had managed to bar it in some way although how he was entirely unaware of. He sighed, he'd have to use explosives again to deal with the problem.

Instead of planting explosives instantly, however, Nat instead decided to explore the rest of the building. It was a case of securing the building in his mind, having just arrived he had no idea of what remained in the building and that was a dramatic flaw which could hinder him if he made a mistake. Blowing up the door to Joesphine's office was bound to set of some kind of loud noise and if as he had a grave suspicion, that demons or undead corpses were nearby, then that would alert them to his presence.

As he descended the last cold grey steps into the dungeon, his pistol kept in front of him in a comfortable grip. Water dripped from the ceiling creating a constant rhythmic noise as it spawned an icy puddle beneath it. The walls themselves had always been cool to the touch, but as he walked further and further into the dungeons his feet trying to make as little noise as possible, Nat could see that the walls looked like that they had been coated entirely in ice. He frowned when he noticed the way that the ice had been applied to the walls. It was uneven with the centre having large jutting icicles poking out of its side, this wasn't natural ice, this had been cast with magic.

The question was, who had done it and why.

Suddenly he heard the sound of something scampering away in the distance. Nat twisted rapidly and trained his gun on the direction only to see nothing there. He narrowed his eyes dangerously and stopped his body from moving anymore, Haven was a battleground now, people had fought and died here in large enough numbers that the veil was bound to have been made weaker than it already was with the presence of the Breach.

Gently, Nat retrieved one of the many marbles that he carried with him for transfiguration and held it in his hand. With his gun raised still in front of him though, Nat looked in every which direction he could think, left, right up and down there was no way he was going to allow something to just leap at him from nowhere and take it by surprise.

No other noise came, however, no scattering, no wailing o any other sound that one might have expected that would come from one of the many horror movies that came from Earth. There was absolutely nothing but dead silence and the occasional frosty breath of a wizard as he strayed entirely still and scanned the area.

It must have gone further in Nat thought as he kept his eyes locked onto the corner that would lead him onto another set of the dungeons. Whether to hide or to alert its friends he did not know, but he was more than aware that in such a tight confined space, he had very little room to manoeuvre should a fight break out. At most he had maybe two shots if he could reload quick enough and his sword whilst useful and would cut straight through the rock and iron of this place, was a bit too long and would cost him his life. That left unarmed combat and the knife he had on him. He drew the knife.

He wasn't any kind of expert with this weapon, in fact, he had very minimal training in the use of such a small weapon, but the fact remained hat having a weapon was better than not having a weapon at all. The knife itself was fine, not particularly heavy and it was both small and sharp enough that he would have an easier time in worming it through the gaps of a reanimated corpses armour, but other than that it was nothing special. As he finished his quick look over the blade, he made a mental note that if Cullen was alive to ask for some training in the weapon. Then again, he could ask Sera however that woman was more likely to over him in lard followed by flour and chicken feathers then she was to actually assist him in learning how to stab people. And even if she could behave long enough to teach, the number of bloody inuendos she was going to go through, already he could imagine her teasing him.

"Oh, you want to learn to stab someone" He imagined the elf grin "Why? hoping to show the Herald just how good your stabby skills are?." He resisted the urge to groan, not Sera definitely not Sera. , on the other hand, was bound to be a better choice, he was bound to have faced a large amount of knife-wielding psychopaths and therefore knew what their weaknesses were. There was also Cassandra, but he got the feeling that her faith to the Chantry would likely limit her in what she would teach him lest he becomes too dangerous. Nat nodded, it'd probably be best if he didn't tell her that he had killed one of the old Gods and captured an Ancient Magister, she might get a bit suspicious.

Nat was soon returned to reality however as the scampering noise that he had heard earlier returned only this time it had gotten slightly louder. Recognising his chance, Nat lobbed the marble that he had retrieved as far as he could in a forward direction. Now into the air, the marble began to make a small whooshing noise as it brushed past the local molecules before then finally slamming into the ground with a loud crack before then bouncing upwards a metre before then falling gown again where it smashed onto the ground and cracked again this followed three more times until the small ball lost enough momentum and instead simply rolled over the old stone floor making a loud noise as it did so.

As the marble had smashed into the ground drawing whatever was in here with his attention, Nat began to ever so slowly advance to where the marble lay. He was going to have to be quick, if he messed around or fucked up then he could have an unknown amount of dead corpses scrambling for his blood. All of a sudden the scampering noised cease forcing Nat's eyes to widen ever so slightly as his mind began to imagine a ridiculous amount of possible threats. Just before he could push it down, a loud unnatural scream echoed from the corridor to the side followed by the noise of feet slamming hard against the floor.

Nat braced himself quietly, his dagger was outstretched forward ready to be thrust into the flesh of the first creature that he came across whilst his pistol if required could let off a shot which would puncture all tissue and obliterate bone into small tiny fragments that muggles would likely crush down and then sell as some type of herbal remedy. Daft twats.

What emerged from the darkness, was just s Nat had expected. It had been a man once, or more specifically a prisoner that had been dragged in by Inquisition guards a few days before he had left for Orzammar. The chest of the now undead creature was bloody from where he assumed somebody else trapped in this building had killed the man in a likely desire to reduce the amount of food that would have to be rationed. It's exposed flesh on the arms, however, were rotting with rather large and black oozing balls of blackness whilst it's left shoulder sparked red from where a piece of Red Lyrium had been infused.

That didn't make any sense, why would a prisoner be subjected to Red Lyrium. Had an enemy spy infiltrated the Inquisition and began to experiment on Templars when nobody was lucking? He seriously doubted it, such a display would easily be noticed by one of the other guards if not Leliana considering how much time she spent "interrogating" them. Perhaps it had grown naturally then, red Lyrium was corrupted by the blight and perhaps that was why this man was infected. The guard could have been exposed to the blight or Red Lyrium before he was taken in as some ploy to infect the core of the Inquisition with the blight virus. Then again, the Lyrium might have spread from on top of the old conclave like a parasite of some kind.

He returned to the matter at hand shortly after. The person now on his hands and knees moving more like he was an animal than a person, approached the marble and began feeling around with its thin arms. As it did so, it growled to itself as it seemingly tried to look for something that was something bigger than a marble, yet no matter how many times it slapped its abused palms against the stone inflicting injury upon itself the creature could not find the small glass marble.

Nat gave a slight smile. The creature was blind or the darkness was too much for it to see in not that it mattered, he could sneak past the creature if he wanted to. Not that he needed to as after a few more seconds of hand beating, the creature found the small marble and with a sound like he had a frog stuck at that back of its throat promptly proceeded to take the small ball lick it tasting the strange texture before then promptly swallowing.

The creature choked violently. Craning its head back, the monster tried to vomit up the item that it had eaten in a violent thrashing motion however the marble as an object which could not really be broken refused to budge instead just staying where it was. And continued to choke the creature.

Seeing the opportunity that had been presented to him, Nat dashed over the floor making far more noise then he should do, alerting the creature to his presence. However, despite the creature being alert, the marble at its throat prevented it from worrying as it floundered all over the place, smashing it's back against the wall and its chest against the floor all of which was accompanied by the sound of gargling and heavy coughing and wheezing. Therefore when Nat got closer, he had no resistance as he slashed fiercely at the creatures exposed flesh, ripping it wide open and allowing the guts of the former human to come spilling out. Straight afterwards Nat then delivered a second strike to the creature's throat where the cold steel came in one end and came out the other killing the creature.

Though he withdrew this blade from the now very dead creature, Nat did not feel any more at ease as he cleaned the blade. If this prisoner had been taken over by a demon, then it was possible that other places might have their own little monsters as well. Looking down as the prisoner, he sneered at the corpse, it was bad enough that the man had caught the Inquisition once, but to then have to be killed a second time by the same organisation was just bad luck. Then again, if the man hadn't of been an enemy, then he wouldn't decorate the floor.

Stepping over the corpse with his knife still in hand, Nat proceeded to make his way through the rest of the stone halls until finally, he came upon the main part of the actual dungeon itself. The moment he arrived, he was put on guard as his eyes took in a rather concerning sight.

There in the main part of the dungeon, were large glowing spire of red Lyrium. Each and every single one was seemingly growing off anything it could find whether that was the walls or even the occasional corpse he saw. All of it had been corrupted and now that he was in its presence he could feel it trying to reach out and grab him as well, hoping to drag him down into some kind of misery and despair or worse some kind of Darkspawn that would corrupt the land as he plundered and pillaged for normal people.

Though tired and incredibly painful to do so, he raised his occlumency shields allowing him to hold back the onslaught as he continued further into the dungeons though he did so at a far quicker pace. With his magic still exhausted after the first mental onslaught by the old god, he held little belief that he could survive another one so soon, it was why he had shot that elf girl several days ago. If he hadn't been so exhausted, then he would have tried to find another way out, but he couldn't and risking the secrets of the Inquisition on some redheaded elf woman was entirely stupid.

He gave a quick inspection of the lower dungeon checking that those who were dead were, in fact, dead via the method of sticking a knife in their skull. Afterwards, when he was sure that the dungeon had been secured, he took out another bunch of explosives and placed them as gingerly as he could in front of the red crystals not daring to so much as touch them. Luckily he did not need to replace them due to a series of duplication charms ensuring that he would never run out. Once that had been completed, he made another check of the dead even going so far as to rifle through their pockets in case they had any hint or order on them no matter how vague.

Leliana had made sure to drill this into him on one of the times he had spoken to her, she had informed him though he already knew that groups often used hidden codes to hide their orders so other groups would not be able to understand what was happening. The Nightingale herself used them and was why Nat wanted to remove any such documents before the enemy could get a hold of them. He knew exactly what the enemy would do if they could decipher Leiliana's codes, they'd use any and all information against the Inquisition from things like counter-espionage to blackmail against other useful nobles.

These corpses thankfully did not have any orders on them or even any document of paper likely showcasing that before they had met their untimely death, that they did not know how to read making such written orders useless. With that finally done, he headed upwards again so that he entered the main hallway.

It was still empty, thankfully. No new supply of Templars had turned up out of nowhere and there was no fire flinging demons to try and strike him down. Instead, he was met once more with a freezing wind that brushed against his cheek as the wizard gave another glance trying to imagine just what had occurred to the Inquisition.

How many bloody times had he told them that they needed to move? He had pointed out the weakness of such a place for months on end, informing them that against any army wooden palisades would not hold up, that Haven was not a fortress, that the limited amount of trebuchets would not hold a determined enemy back, that they were essentially trapped in a small box with mountains on one side and soldiers on all others. It was a stupid place to set up shop, somewhere more defensive with maybe the ruins of an actual castle would be of far greater use then what they had. Hell, even Ostagar with it's crumbled and abandoned look was still a better place to host an army then some magic forsook village.

Still, he hoped that most of them gotten out, Leliana, Josephine, Cullen, Cassandra, Blackwall, Bull, Varrick, Sera and Solas. They were all vital members who brought valuable things to the Inquisition and despite his own lack of social ability, he didn't want to see them killed as that bloody dragon had shown him. The death the destruction, so many would die if the Inquisition fell and so many more would not be given that luxury, only endless pain. And then there were those other scenes that the demon had shown him, events that he knew nothing about ones that he did not understand as of yet.

He sighed, he wished he owned a pensive then he could relive those memories in far more accuracy then he could now. Had he been gifted an eidetic memory then such a thing would not be required, but there was only so far he could go with Occlumency and it faded so fast that he struggled to recall the vision even at the best of time. All he could do was scrape together a few things and analyse what would happen.

The first one that came to mind, was that image of a perfectly standing Grey Warden stronghold one moment and then nothing but a pile of decimated rubble the next as if it had been devastated by some powerful weapon only the more he thought about it, the more he struggled to piece it together. Such destruction could not be brought about by any current weapon that the men of this realm currently possessed, and the damage did not correlate to that of any spell. By Merlin, he knew what spell damage looked like and it did not look like that, magic, especially of this word, was more primal in nature, the fortress would have had far more burn marks at the least for an assault by mages which left weaponry. However, he had seen no boulders or ballista that would be chucked from catapults and oddly enough the more he concentrated on the image going into a kind of daze like state he thought the damage reminded him of home.

Not from home in the UK, but rather from earth. Britain did have its own fair share of shit piles that it called cities and towns, Birmingham, for instance, sprang to mind but it wasn't that bad compared to the damage he had seen. Instead, the damage reminded him of what he might see on the news in some far of Middle Eastern countries like Syria where cities had been bombed, gasped, exploded, shot at, hailed with artillery and all sorts of other damage. That was the type of damage that he was used to and that was the type of ruins he had seen of the Grey Warden base.

However that should have been impossible, the enemy did not know of modern war so it was incredibly unlikely that they had somehow managed to requisition some old Soviet fighter jets, recommission them, teach a bunch of idiots to fly them and then send them on a bombing run. That left artillery as the only real weapons that could cause such a catastrophic toll which again was not possible for the enemy with their limited knowledge and toolset.

This could only mean one thing.

He was responsible for the destruction of the Grey Warden base. He had been the one who had created artillery in the future brought them against this Grey Warden castle where he then proceeded to bombard it. For what purpose he could likely guess as well. The enemy Magister had taken control of the Grey Wardens requiring the Inquisition to interfere lest the group leave and fight with their enemy and cause all sorts of manic and mayhem.

He narrowed his eyes at the thought, not because of the actions he would take, he perfectly agreed with future him on that point, but because of the dragon itself. At first, he had believed that the dragon had simply imagined things that would happen, but the detail that I had used was t specific and the magic it had used far to foreign for him to identify. He couldn't help but wonder silently to himself, that perhaps... perhaps he might have glimpsed into the future.

It sounded ridiculous even to him, if he has such a power of foresight, then he would have showcased it long ago by now and then promptly forced into the sham classes that were Divination. Yet he knew that foresight was indeed possible, incredibly rare most certainly, but prophecies did exist back home and according to the legend, there was at least one for every single witch and wizard, though they differed in their nature.

Hell even wands themselves could be considered a small prophecy of themselves. He wasn't a wandmaker, but Olivander had stated that wands choose their users based on what they might become as well as who they are. Certain woods he stated informed him that the bearer would be one who belonged to a revolutionary group changing the world in some way whilst yet another he said told him that the bearer would die in a heroic way. There were other woods for other purposes, each of them telling a master of Wandlore something about their wand in some way or another.

It was magic he did not understand, but that was fine with him and it made him wonder if the same could be said of the Dragon. He was a foreigner here, trying to adjust to the magic of this world but not perfectly understanding it, and like his own world, this world had its own kind of ancient forgotten magic lost to time.

Could the dragon have had some kind of ability to see into the future or possible futures?

He distinctly remembered seeing Orzammar in ruins, destroyed by Darkspawn as they ransacked the city, butchering and killing all in their path. Was that something that was going to happen, something he had prevented or something that he could prevent. He did not know.

He frowned more as he searched through the rest of the unlocked rooms in the old building, quickly piling every single word and document there was into his expanded pockets. There was so much he dod now know about the magic of this world, he had read all the books he could get on the question and he had even ask Solas what he knew of magic, but even now he knew he only understood a single drop in a bucket of knowledge.

If the dragon had tried to show him the future to scare him and admit defeat, then that left the question as to what beat the dragon and enabled his escape. He had not been responsible for it, instead, something else had intervened but the question was just what had intervened and why had it done so. He could not begin to guess what had saved him, or why they had saved him, instead, all he knew was that he owed someone or something, for giving him the chance he required to escape the dragons mental grasp and deliver the final killing blow.

And that was before he even considered what he had learned from the dragon and the demon. The Evanuris, old dragons, Titans ancient demons all of them were real in some form or another, and they were all impacting the world in a way he did not yet understand yet alone possess much knowledge of.

The Titans from what he could summarise were likely some type of giant creatures that lurked underground though what they did now he was unsure of. As for the Evanuirs, two were supposedly alive and he suspected that Solas might have a connection to Fen Harel given his proclivities for the ancient art he occasionally drew depicting the old wolf here and there as well as the wolfs jaw bone. But there was also Mythal to concern himself about, this "Goddess" was the protector of the elven people however despite this she had done nothing to save the lives from their current situation which according to Imshael was because her state of living could be considered dubious. That only worried him more, magic users were powerful, but to be considered a god even amongst other mages would require a person to hold exceptional power likely of that exceeding even the greatest wizards and witches back home.

So what could be so utterly powerful that it could nearly kill a god?

The Titans were out, according to the dragon the gods had actually used the titan's essence for their own used making them more powerful. That left demons which while possible was probably not the case had demons defeated the gods then they likely would have conquered Thedas and never allowed any civilization, that in turn left the dragons but those had been locked away by Grey Wardens, not the gods.

Fen Harel was the only answer that immediately came to mind, but the personality that the mythos depicted him made no sense. Trickster god's liked to have their fun and prank people even going so far as to kill others in sheer joy, but they rarely wanted to see the world destroyed or that was what he believed. Admittedly his knowledge on the mythology of gods was incredibly limited. Destroying the elven race may make for one trick, but where was the fun in keeping it destroyed for so long in keeping the gods trapped away. His source of play and entertainment was entirely non-existent especially as he could think of no human legends that depicted a figure like Fen Harel messing with them.

There had to be another reason behind Fen Harel's actions, a purpose as to why a tricker god would suddenly decide to ruin his fun for all time and maintain it for so long. Then again, if Solas was somehow working or connected to Fen Harel, then perhaps the DreadWolf was working again maybe after some sort of deep magical sleep due to some spell? Maybe it was the dread wolf that had interfered to afraid that someone might learn of its plans if the old god were to share knowledge of the future, or perhaps he did it for fun with another plan in mind.

Nat didn't know and the more his mind focused onto the topic of this worlds mythology, the more he couldn't help but feel uneasiness coursing through his entire body as if he had been dumped into a freezing ocean and told to swim back to land on the other side of the planet. Something was happening, he could feel it and the events of this Dragon Age was only confirming it.

First, there had been a blight, an incredible deadly phenomenon which typically left the entire continent in ruins for years after it had been defeated and also required years and tremendous forces to be defeated only it had been solved in the matter of a year by only two Wardens. Then there was the case of the architect who according to the rumours was an intelligent Dark Spawn and had wanted to make peace with the Wardens only to be then cut down. Years afterwards, came Hawke and her adventures where she discovered a long lost never should have been discovered Thaig with the first recorded case of Red Lyrium, then she fought off a Qunari invasion and years afterwards she was present when the Chantry was blown up. Promptly after that, the mage circles which had been at a strained peace for years with the Chantry break away and now there was a mage Templar Civil war, Orlesian civil war, a nearly fifth blight, a tear in the veil, an ancient magister comes to take over the world and a wizard from an entirely another planet who just so happens to arrive just in time to help prevent calamity. Added to this, was the apparent movements of two Evanuris, the awakening of an old god, the moving of a Titan, an ancient demon making contracts and whispers of another possible Qunari invasion.

There was something stirring this century, old magic at play, new forces to craft a new world only to face the backlash of the old and so many other things that were likely going to be revealed in the time to come. Frankly, Nat couldn't help but wonder just what he had signed up for when he walked through that portal all those months ago, whatever it was, he hadn't been expecting this. And yet despite all this, he could feel something else.

Something was coming, he could just feel it, like when two people met and they instinctively hated one another for no apparent reason or when a person thought something was going to terribly wrong or perhaps when somebody just felt all of a sudden as if somebody close had died for no apparent reason.

It was very much real, and now that he had seemingly breached the topic, Nat couldn't help but want to slam that door and reverse time. He wished he had never entered Orzammar, never encountered that dam dragon because every step he took and every plan he had, he couldn't help but now feel that there was something gazing over him expectantly all the while he was preparing for some great confrontation with an unexpected enemy.

With the rest of the old building secure and having found no more demons, Nat returned back to the door that led into Josephine's old office. Without much effort, he was then soon able to apply the smaller charges of black powder to the door after having cut through enough wood with his knife. Once that had been completed, he soon made his way to the nearest place that he could think to hide before finally detonating the explosives

A loud crack echoed from out of the old palace and had anyone else been near, then they would have heard the sound of the wooden door groaning under the strain of its own weight for a few seconds which was then promptly followed by a horrible tearing sound as the hinges on the door came off allowing the wooden defence to come smashing down.

Drawing his pistol, Nat kept as utterly silent as he could for the first minute or so, carefully waiting with all his senses on extra alert as he waited for something or someone to emerge from the darkness. However, when enough time had passed and nothing did emerge, Nat slowly crept out of his hiding place and moved gradually closer to Josephine's old office. After approaching the door with his pistol still bared, Nat entered the room and was immediately glad that he had come to Haven when he had.

Documents had been strewn everywhere in a mad panic covering the vast majority of the floor in important or sensitive information. Glancing over to where the woman's desk still stat, he noted the appearance of an inkwell that had been knocked off and split onto more documents whilst her collection of pens that he had given her had been dropped to the floor with haste alongside the other useful pieces of stationery that he had given her all that time ago.

With no threat to be seen, he quickly placed away from his weapon and instantly began to pick up everything that he could and stash it into one of his other pockets. Pen, paper, ink, documents. All of it could be of some use or another to the enemy if they ever managed to get hold of this stuff. Despite this, he couldn't help but have his curiosity overwhelm him somewhat as his eyes glanced onto what was a letter referring to him.

The letter started off slowly and polite, a greeting between Leliana and another woman, but as the letter went on, he began to read as Leliana asked for any information not regarding where he was from, but rather his specific magic abilities he had shown. Varrick it seemed had gotten around to the point that at some point he had mentioned a few of the spells he could do to other people who in turn had reported it to Leliana where she began to make inquiries.

Nat frowned as he rad the letter. He knew that even now the rest of the Inquisition suspected him somewhat, after all just like Solas he had just so happened to be nearby when the Breach was opened, had shown a distaste for the Chantry and held unheard of magic at his command. The last of which he felt with a slight amount of contempt.

An unlocking charm was one of the very first spells that a first-year learnt and yet the mages of this world seemingly did not have an equivalent to it. Nat shook his head as he recalled one of the conversations that an older mage had been sharing with a friend and that he had just happened to overhear. Apparently, the mage had been attempting to help their friend escape the tower only yo come to a door that they could not open as they did not have the key, instead, they had simply decided to get a rod of fire to burn the lock. It worked, but frankly, it was a waste of resources when one had an unlocking charm but then again, that spell was likely going to earn him a certain amount of cash with Varrick. Every so-called impossible lock that he could open would net him a certain amount of gold that he could use for his own personal designs.

Speaking of which, his plans for conquering Thedas in a business manner had been severely helped by a book that Valeyna had given him. It had taken him longer than he initially desired to get to the book considering all his other duties and his need to learn more about Thedas, but when he did read the book, he couldn't help but be disturbingly impressed. Before he could continue, however, his attention was taken by the sound of a particularly harsh wind that blew through the open doors screaming as it did so.

Nat sighed as he snatched up the piece of paper and placed it in his pocket, he would have time to read through odd books and documents when he and his subordinates were safe and reunited with whatever was left with the Inquisition. However even as he did return quickly back to work in finding documents and placing them in a safe location, he couldn't help but wish that he had his magic back by now, it would sure make things earlier.

He was recovering, another week and he would likely be able to cast small scale spells without much worry and a week after that would get him back to full strength. Even so, he couldn't help but feel the anger in his blood rise as he thought back to what had left him so bloody vulnerable. Had his magic not been as exhausted as it had been, then he would have recovered entirely by now, instead, with his magic pushed to its limits to protect him, the regeneration process was made all the slower as a sudden influx could be harmful. In simpler terms, it was like those prisoners at concentration camps when they were finally rescued, they weren't allowed to eat a full meal as the sudden influx of nutrients would make them sick as their bodies could not handle it.

It was just so irritating though, day by day without being able to cast a single spell, without the ability to apparate or eviscerate an enemy with no effort was incredibly dull. He'd even been forced to sing his own hands to make his breakfast, it wasn't difficult, he'd done so hundreds of times h=when he was younger as he prepared the meals for both himself and his father, but after getting a wand he had never used his hands to cook. He was just glad that his hand skills weren't so utterly dull as to chop his fingers off or something.

His main concern was about Gerald and ELyira though. With them still locked in the Deep Roads the last time he had seen them and him without his magic, it was going to be an effort to rescue them before things went to even further shit if it hadn't already. First, he was going to need to get past the outside guard after which he would then need to be allowed to enter the deep roads and that was if they even allowed him to live in the first place rather then try to outright kill him.

Bribery wasn't going to work, the guards that were posted outside the entrance were specifically ones that had past some kind of corruption test. That left either a disguise which wouldn't be pulled of due to his youthful appearance and no magic or using some kind of rank and authority which again was likely to be out of the picture.

He had kinda killed the king, so he likely wasn't the dwarven peoples greatest friend and even if they didn't have a grudge against the inquisition, they still would not let him in leading to either a fight in which he tried to push past the guards, sneak in again via some other method or in an even worse scenario enter the deep roads in another manner. The last without the use of his magic was not particularly ideal.

Personally, he was likely going to try to sneak in again. It wasn't exactly the honest way, but he neither had the desire to battle his way through a horde of guards nor wait for at least two more weeks before he could simply apparate in and rescue his companions by force. Most likely they wouldn't survive two weeks if they were still trapped and even if they did manage to make it to Orzammar, there was the very real possibility of them being snatched from the grey wardens and executed as spies of the Inquisition.

On the other hand, as he kept picking up document after document, he couldn't help;p but wish that Leliana or Josephine would have kept some dirty information about one dwarf or another in which case he could blackmail them into helping him. In fact, there likely was information, but it was going to take quite a while to sort out with how much info they had left behind in their escape. Just a quick sweep of his eyes had him learning of names of politicians that had been contacted, shipments of supplies, blackmail material in one form or the other. Hell, there were even marriage proposals for some of them, mostly from those of incredibly low rank and always for only, Leliana and Josephine, but still marriage proposals.

Once he had cleared the entire room of its contents, Nat made his way to the last and perhaps the most important decantation in the building, that of the war room. Whilst Josephine's office had held the important and likely incriminating documents, as Nat blew open the war room and stepped inside, he was met with a highly important war table in the centre.

Once again he was met with the scene of a person that was either two terrified and had forgotten to take action or somebody of total incompetence in their escape. He thought this, for fact that the old map which had showcased a map of the southern Free Marches, Ferelden and Orlais had been entirely left with pieces left on. Icons of that represented cavalry, foot soldiers, key defensive locations alongside possible mission objectives combined with a strange amount of knives that had been plunged into the table were all present and could all give vital information to the enemy.

It had changed rather significantly since he had last seen it. For one, the two daggers that had been thrust into the map representing the home bases of the mages of Templars had vanished and instead replaced with another one thrust right at the heart of Orlais, and another at Orzammar. Nat narrowed his eyes slightly at the knife of Orlais before with a bit of a tug he brought the sharp piece of iron out of the table and fabric and placed it beside him.

Obviously, something was going to happen with Oralis, but what?" Before he could think any further, a white searing pain struck his head and flashes of the vision he had seen with the dragon once more reached the forefront. A dark blue dress, a magnificent palace of some kind and a pool of scarlet blood as a distant cry came out all came at once before ceasing suddenly alongside the pain.

An assassination attempt? He assumed. Most likely they were after the Empress with the desire to entirely destabilise the region. At her age, the woman was without an heir and therefore very likely to plunge the nation into an even further civil war if Gaspard did not take power from her and have his own. However, that probably wouldn't happen, the enemy would likely blame the assignation attempt on the man entirely damaging his reputation and preventing a strong and secure rule which would only continue the civil war allowing for the enemy to marshal troops from Tevinter and invade.

Orlais wouldn't stand a chance. While they may not have gone around burning cities because of some stupid belief in honour, they were still divided into smaller forces allowing the enemy to defeat them in detail which would leave Ferelden exposed for its own prompt and devastating invasion.

Orzammar, on the other hand, was easier to understand, by now the death of the king had likely lead to a power crisis and id it had not been solved, then there were going to be opposing political beliefs each with their own ways of doing stuff. With it, in turmoil, the cities' production and selling of Lyrium would come to a halt restricting the use of the tuff by Templars forcing those who hadn't already converted to the enemy to do so in order to drive off their hunger for the material.

He had failed catastrophically on that regard. One moment he was rushing to find the heir in hopes of restoring order the next he and the other two had been captured and kept unconscious for a fortnight only to then wake up and be forced to capture one of the ancient magisters and kill a god. Despite those achievements, that had only given the enemy time to cement their position and by now had perhaps even joined the enemy in its entirety stacking up the odds against them.

A flicker of concern ran through him, Elyria and Gerald, they'd be killed the moment they arrived back. They'd be made examples off, have their heads put on spikes or maybe turned into slaves at the Imperium seemed so proud of. He had to get there first, he had to save Elyria and Gerald and if needed he also had to bring down the dwarven government and prevent them from causing even more damage than they could already.

With a glance at the table, he made a quick note of where everything had been located before snatching them all up and putting them in a pocket. When he was done, he gave a final quick look around the building searching for anything that he might have missed before to make sure that the enemy would have an even harder time getting into this place, he dropped a set of more powerful explosives in the building. Once he was over the horizon half an hour later, he detonated them sending yet another loud echo roaring into the sky as he made a quick pace to where Orzammar lay.

Frostback mountains

"Guard I need help" Nat called out quickly as his legs beat over the open path. Things had changed since when he had first arrived, the most prominent of which was that the road had been repaired and that the number of peddlers had instantly vanished as they were led inside to purchase and sell their wares.

"What is it" A short dwarven man responded as he turned angrily to the armed human running towards him. Soon the boy came to a stop allowing the man to look upwards into his eyes only to have fear strike him as he remembered what the report had said. "Die coward" Alerting the other guards to what was happening, the dwarven man was given no chance to say another word as magically enchanted steel sliced through his fine dwarven helmet and into his skull killing him instantly.

With the sound of battle seemingly having awakened them from some type of slumber, the guards soon drew their own weapons which were an assortment of swords and axes for the most part although the occasional one was intelligent enough to charge at Nat with a spear.

"Die, Kingslayer" They dashed towards the boy hoping to cut him down but it was not enough of a distraction as instead of the boy facing them ahead-one instead glanced to the side where the other dwarves were making an attempt to close the large heavy stone doors and keep him out of their glorious city.

Nat had none of it. Raising his pistol, he aimed towards one of the gate guards heads and fired once. The guard having no time to react didnt make so much as a gurgle in his death instead just falling backwards both arms seemingly locked to his side as his armoured body clanged to the floor. A brief look of shock emerged on the dwarves faces though they were hidden by their heavy helmets as they saw the smoke emerge from the strange device and the death of their brother.

He knew had heard of such powder, it was called Gatlok and it was similar to a dwarven exploding powder, however, such powder was never sold to humans and had never been used in such a manner before. All the human had done was aim a strange piece of wood at their fellow guard one moment and the next, a blast ran out as their previously alive friend was dropped to the floor despite their armour.

A bolt of fear ran through the spines of every dwarf as they continued to advance forwards desiring to get into a close enough range that would give them the advantage over the supposed mage. Nat ignored their calls of him being a coward, however, instead he just rushed past the guards and vaulted over their short heads so that he could enter the city and kept running.

So they knew who he was Nat figured. Great. It was a bit of a shame really, but he had done the research on the way towards the city, stopping any traveller or merchant he came across and asking what had happened to the city since then. What he discovered was exactly what they had told him.

Apparently, in the time that he had been gone from the city, the whole problem of succession had been dealt with and a new king had been placed on the throne on the Assembly right before it had kicked off another full civil war. The merchants didn't know much more than that other then they were still allowed to trade in order to bring in money to Orzammar, but Nat could guess as to why this war had started. He did not have any time to think about it any further, however, as the sound of an arrow whizzing by his ear informed him that the guards had brought in more backup all of which looked rather agree to kill him.

Dodging an incoming axe that had been thrown at his head, Nat was then forced to rotate his body to the left as a pikeman attempted to skewer him on their large wooden pole before he then lopped off the end of the weapon and forced his blade straight through the armour of the dwarf who had tried to kill him. Straight after, another dwarf came cahring at him only this time with a raised axe that at total height appared to come up to about Nat's head.

Again Nat dodged the heavy looking weapon before with far more grace and speed, as one would expect from a sabre wielder, brought the sharp steel to the back of the dwarves neck and slashed through the armour and bone. A few horrified looksemerged from fellow other guards as they saw their comrade in arms slump to the floor as a dead corpse, however, the others simply roared in anger and once again tried to get close.

One thing that Nat had noticed though, was that Dwarves were decent warriors and able to deliver powerful blows to the legs of a human, they were a bit slow when it came to running. As such, despite how much the dwarves tried, they held no chance in catching up with a lightly armed and dressed wizard and as such, were not able to prevent the wizard as he slipped inside the second set of gates and entered into Orzammar properly.

Upon re-entering the old dwarven city as he had done so many days before his initial trip, Nat instantly broke off into a dash to the left. He had to get out of sight quickly before other guards arrived and once that was done he was going to need a place to hide and stage his fight against these dwarves.

Despite his best efforts to blend in, it was in fact a very difficult thing to do seeing as how he was a human sprinting down the walls of Orzammar as a volley of angry shouts and hails followed him, moments later after he passed by a person, the sounds and sights of angry looking dwarves would then fill the streets as they looked for their trespassing.

Nat sighed to himself as he kept running through the increasingly twisting pathways of the slums that made up Orzammar. The lower levels were hated by those of the upper class and were generally considered an insult for one to even talk about the place. It was filled with the Castless he knew, the lowest of the low. Thieves, murderers, rapists, smugglers, as well as ordinary men and women who had simply been born with a poor lot in life all, resided in this cramped boiling dust bowl.

It wasn't much he knew, and he was also of the opinbio0n that he would never want to visit this type of place unless he absolutely had to, but he also knew the guards were bound to take a second guess before they ran off into Dusk Town. Behind every corner, there would be a dagger, under very street a poor urchin boy who would pass on information for simply the bronze coins to eat and in every back alley, some whore could be paid to distract a few guards and give him the time he would require to escape an area. But to all of them, Dusk Town was home and frankly, he did not see them giving up someone who was hiding from the law so easily, and it was why Nat had retreated here.

As a human, stealth in Orzammar was all but impossible, he would draw the attention of any passing dwarf whether by accident or on purpose there was just nothing he could do to prevent that. But other dwarves, on the other hand, could prove useful at least until his magic recovered. He'd only have to pay them a small amount, just enough to keep them happy and returning for work but not so much that they attempted to kill him in his sleep for the money he had on him or worse sell him out to the guards for an extra piece of pocket money.

He was going to need the help of others, use them to gather information through any contacts they might have with the upper levels. The first thing he had to though before he put in any plans to fight the current government was to learn what had happened in Orzammar since his departure and compare it to what he had heard on the road.

With his plan in mind, he crossed another corner and soon sprinted down the ramp quickly crossing over the area that was known as Dusk Town where he then quickly faded into the throng of others in the slums. Minutes later an angry growl would be heard as the guard captain realised where the Kingslayer was hiding but could not enter due to not having the number of troops they would need to enter such a place and not get slaughtered to the last men by a bunch of last good for nothing criminals. Nat didn't so much as smile instead. choosing to keep his cover as he wondered father and father into the poor place of Orzammar.

Dust Town like all places that the poor tended to congregate held the feeling of despair, loneliness, disaster, death, ruin and disease wherever he looked. Not one person wore any sort of bright rich clothing that even some of the less poor people who lived on the floors above would put on in order to impress someone of higher standing. There dress was poor, ripped in multiple places and then sewn up with rough patches, they stunk after having no bath for several days, weeks or perhaps even months, they're hair if they had any was misshapen and in terrible condition. Their eyes as he had noted earlier showed nothing but pain, either from starvation, physical pain or just the mental pain that came in day after day when you were considered the lowest of the low.

Even the children who from pictures he had seen were generally the happiest as they did not yet understand just how bad their predicament was, were rather depressed as they simply lounged round or more disturbingly were playing with knives around their fingers as if they were playing that ridiculously stupid knife game. Some of those kids he noted already had missing fingers whilst older adults were missing entire limbs likely from having them cut off in some manner likey through war.

Walking down the street, Nat was once again made clear just how happy he was that he was a wizard. A number of individuals were eying him greedily likely seeing nothing but a naive human child who they could manipulate and take advantage of. The two most obvious groups were the whores and the pickpockets. In the case of the former, they made a quick tug to their clothing as they tried to make themselves look more presentable whilst in the latter's case they eyed his pockets and began formulating plans on how to reach their hands inside.

Nat tried to ignore the stares as best he could, instead choosing to continue his search for a more private location. At the same time, however, he was unable to escape the whores as with rather ugly money leeching smiles the sauntered up to him and battered their eyebrows. Not desiring to draw this out any further, however, Nat gave them a harsh glare sending a shiver down their spines yet it was not enough to prevent them as their desperation took over.

"If you so much as disturb me, ladies, I will cut off your heads and place them on a spike" He warned dangerously. Surprisingly, however, Nat found he actually liked it when he saw the women's face flash in even more fear as he began drawing his blade out of its sheath as yet another warning to the women just what they were dealing with. He didn't have to wonder why he felt that way, he already knew the exact reason as to why he was so quick to threaten whores and it was also the reason as to why they were the ones he needed to keep away from the most. People had a tendency to Exeter their anger and frustration that they held towards others on someone else simply because two types of people held something in common and he was no different.

He didn't like killing, it didn't bother him in the slightest but none the less he didn't like killing, but whores what they did what those women would have wanted to do to him and what they wanted in return was far too dangerous. If they had continued and he hadn't threatened them away or he allowed anyone else to lead him on that dangerous path, then he likely would react far too strongly and kill them as he directed his anger towards THAT WHORE towards anyone else.

He wasn't perfect not in the slightest, but even so, that did mean that he wanted to go round slaughtering people simply because he disagreed with them or they bothered him. Time had shown what happened to the world when those with such feelings and barely controlled emotions were allowed to guide the world, people always innocent people who wanted to just get on with their lives, find love and anything else would die because of some asshole with too much power.

His warning worked as moments later the set of whores quickly dispersed as they sensed trouble, however, Nat was not left alone as next came the small children with nimble fingers. He'd watch them from out the corner of his eye, waiting to see from which angle they would attack from and what old strategy was in their mind. Was it going to be the typical bump into a person and grab, stop them for a conversation and ask them to take part in some sort of magic trick or something more classic with the snatch and go plan? He soon found out as the group made their way in front of him with little puppy dog eyes on their faces.

"Get lost kids I know what you're doing. You so much as lay a hand on me or my possessions and I will personally chuck you in the lava" One of the boys chuckled in as best a menacing voice that a pre-pubescent child bully could give. He squared his shoulders and gave a subtle order to his comrades to come out of the back alleys forming a circle around the wizard. Finally, the kid drew a somewhat blunt looking knife before smiling cruelly at the wizard.

"How about ya give us all ya shiny coin and ya pretty clothes and ya sword and we'll let ya live" Bored Nat glanced over to where the lava lay and mentally calculated the rough distance between him and it. All this happened before the brutish boy even had time blink.

"I politely suggest that you leave me alone alongside any other such malignant behaviour" The boy scoffed angrily waving his knife in front of him as he did so.

"Just shut up and give us ya stuff"

"I will give you one more warning young man, leave me alone or I will throw you in that lava" A dark look crept onto Nat's face. There were twenty of the little buggers, each of them from a poor family and probably forced to such action because of the situation that they were born in. Truthfully he thought that they should be in school being a little annoying nuisance that primary school teachers wanted to throttle on a daily basis if not shove a pencil up their arse for being such little shits. Instead, however, the annoying nuisances were criminals, threatening to cut him up if he didn't refuse.

"No more yapping get him lads" Nat narrowed his eyes at the command. He had no problem with killing all these brat's, but this was not the scenario where he could just go round killing whoever just so happened to irritate him in the slightest. If he did kill them, then he would very likely turn the rest of the other poor cretins in this area against him and if the guards did actually become brave enough to enter Dust Town, then they would assist them with their goals of hunting him down.

Then there was the other point of his reputation with the rest of the Inquisition. If he did kill these kids in cold blood, then rumours were bound to trickle down and over time those rumours would eventually make it back to whatever remained of the Inquisition leading to a possible Inquiry if not the complete loss of all trust in him. He could already imagine the disappointment filled if not angry faces of Valeyna and the others staring down at him with disgust for having killed these children, even if it was self-defence.

His best chance would be to run he knew, evade the attacks of the little brats and make his way to a safer location that rested deeper in Dust Town. Or he could try and fight the group off yet that didn't sound very likely. He was skilled in unarmed combat far more so than with a melee weapon as it was required in case he was disarmed or he was forced to defend himself in a muggle area, but he was dealing with twenty thugs all armed with knives. All that was required to kill him, was one attack to his exposed neck and head and he would be another corpse on the ground with these kinds rummaging through his corpse.

"Stop what you're doing" A loud voice cried out from behind Nat followed by the sound of heavy armour clanking against the hardened dirt floor.

Guards Nat realised, but they weren't in any panic if there were then they would have sounded louder and their movements would have been far quicker. Instead, they were moving at walking pace and the voice while giving a threatening tone was not aimed at him but rather the brats. All the same, however, Nat kept his eyes aimed at the leader of the Brats waiting and expecting for the kid to make some kind of hidden move when he wasn't looking.

"Uh, boss we gotta run" The boss as he was known seemed to be of the same opinion Nat saw. Instead of the cocky smile he had previously with the idea of getting rich of the corpse from some stupid human noble, he was now instead faced with the possibility of fighting highly trained and experienced guardsman who were rapidly making their way towards them. Suffice to say the kids ran away quickly disappearing into the dark streets and shadows of Dust Town leaving their quarry alone.

"My thanks," Nat said as he turned to finally face the ones who had saved him from the predicament of having to kill a bunch of kids. "Who do I have to thank for this timely intervention" His answer was met not with words, but rather with a shuffling of men as guards moved to their left and right making way for some unseen person until finally out of the front emerged a teenager around sixteen years old.

He looked like most dwarves did, short stocky, yet despite the noble looking clothes that the ginger-haired dwarf wore, Nat could easily detect the strong muscles made of years of training with combat. The most notable thing about this boy, however, was the appearance of a somewhat cheap looking crown that rested upon his head. Obviously, it was not from the dwarven royal jewels or whatever they had, but it still got the message out entirely.

This boy was in line for the Orzammar throne. It was just a shame about the boy's cocky demeanour.

"That would be me Veltrand Adras the true King of Orzammar and Kal Sharok and you must be the mage who slain the demon that murdered the King. You're not very impressive looking" And at that moment Nat groaned inside as hs instantly understood the boy's entire attitude. Most likely, the boy did have some claim to the throne but he was likely father back in line never to see the throne except under the direst of circumstances. Instead, the boy had likely lived his life in excess with servants to help in his everyday life, given the best tutors that money could afford and all the other things that nobles did. It was going to be a long few days.

"Looks can be deceiving, ambushes can only be sprung when the ambushee believes that the path ahead is clear" Veltrand pondered his words for a moment before he gave a fake smile.

"Not that it matter's, you will be assisting me in my claim for the throne Agent of the Inquisition. You will go where I tell you to, kill who I want you to and give me whatever I desire. Oh and before you ask that dumb question of what do you get, it's simple you get your life and your trade deal between Orzammar and the Inquisition" Nat kept his eyes narrowed in on the guards, there weren't that many of them and those that were there also weren't the highest quality, instead they looked far more like the average footmen rather than the highly trained and skilled personal bodyguards that the king would have. Even then, they didn't look exactly loyal with their faces full of devotion but instead, they looked far more like the common thug who as looking for a payment of some kind and figured that this king would give them a rather decent payment if he won.

"And why would you want a deal with the Inquisition, could you not make more money selling to the Templars or the Chantry or even the Venatori" Veltrand's face scowled deeply at the accusation.

"Listen here kid, those Venatori cunts put that dam demon into the old King and tried to cover it up on the Inquisition by stating it was some elaborate trick by the Inquisition. I don't buy that shit excuse for a moment, your lot are the only ones fighting the dam demons and as for the Templars and the Chantry, the first lot have less money then the Inquisition and the second lot insisted on stupid regulations that prevented users from selling Lyrium to third-party buyers. Now you can either help me take control of Orzammar and form a friendship between our two groups, or I can kill you for espionage"

Staring down the dwarf, Nat considered the options that he now had available. On one hand, he could possibly get everything he wanted and had initially come for if he worked with this man and put him on the throne. On the other hand, though, he could leave and try to find another solution. He doubted that would happen of course and he also did not have the time to be spent messing around, he still had Elyria and Gerald to rescue from the clutches of the Deep Roads. And with the danger of a civil war, it was likely that none would be allowed to pass in and out without prior permission or unless the civil war was ceased and stability could be returned once more to the kingdom.

"I agree, what do you want me to do" Veltrand smirked haughtily but bot before he gestured towards Nat for him to follow. Nat reluctantly but also on a severe timeframe agreed to the invitation presented to him and followed the group out of the area they were located in and instead to a far safer location. This safer location as it was better known, was actually just a slightly larger than the average house in one of the poorer parts of the city.

Stepping inside, Nat kept himself silent refusing to say anything that could harm the relationship he was attempting to build with this Dwarf and the Inquisition. The house in question had been filled to the brim with crates full of food and water alongside war supplies for their crossbows. Only one table could be seen and that table had a large map of the city of which area's had been coloured depicting which faction owned which area.

Currently, there were only two main colours with a few smaller ones. Red which represented the current leader of Orzammar and had been the ones who controlled most of the city including their very vital entrance to the outside world had been the one that the guards who had attacked Nat had belonged to. Blue, was the main opponent of Red and held the second largest territory which mostly was made up of what might be considered the working class and the poorer parts of the middle class. Finally, there were the other colours each of which only owned a very small amount of territory and were no threat to the larger ones forcing them to fight amongst each other for power and wealth.

"As you can see, we don't have the power to engage the larger parties in outright combat, but that also means that they won't send forces to hunt us down as it would distract from their war with one another. In the meantime, we need to secure every other place we can by killing their leaders and their men. Once we accomplish this, we will then strike at blue from it's rear and take them out before smashing into Red. So what I need you to do Agent, is simple. Find the leaders and other high ranking members of each of the different groups and kill them. My lot will handle the rest got that good now go and don't come back until their all dead"

Without a further world, Veltrand turned around and soon directed his attention onto other matters leaving the human wizard to simply look at the map and put it into his memory. There drawings of his targets, names of their hideouts and rough lists of how many forces there would be in each one. It was all rather Spartan, here's the information now just kill the enemy we don't care however Nat couldn't say he disliked it and honestly it was a relative relief from him having to do anything that involved much politics.

He may be a politician given his heritage, but that didn't mean he enjoyed politics. Like most other's he found it far too slow, far too boring, far too much jargon, far too arrogant and far too much of a waste of his time. As such with simple instructions he honestly felt nothing but relief, he wasn't a diplomat who would spend years learning languages just so he could look better when he entered another country, he was a duellist a warrior. The simplicity of just killing anything that got in his way was far more attractive than playing politics and frankly, it showed since as soon as he had committed all the information to memory, he was quickly out the door sabre in hand.

He wanted to get this all done relatively quickly he thought. Get the dwarf on the throne, rescue his subordinates and find whatever remained of the Inquisition, in the middles caser he likely didn't have much time especially to play politics.

That didn't mean he could just go barging into the main enemies base, without his magic he was still limited to sword and pistol which in the case of the latter he was starting to get irritated by. It was just so bloody annoying, just one shot before then having to reload just one extra shot and then fire. Frankly, it was slow, cumbersome and not worth the effort compared to a bow which could shoot faster and more regularly compared to that of a gun.

Nat sighed, it was just one more thing that he needed to do when he joined up with the Inquisition, focus all his time and attention on upgrading the firearms that the Inquisition had at its command. He cancelled any and all attempts to create new flintlock pistols or rifles, they'd only consume time, and he also wouldn't waste any more time then he absolutely needed on other obsolete gun models besides learning how actual guns worked. It would be a simple case of making a more advanced gun design, check that it fires, repeat the process to ensure he knew what he was doing and then move onto the next one and repeat time and time again until he could make a fully automatic assault rifle. But he was also going to need other weapons he knew, weapons that would assist in other tasks such as flamethrowers or toxic and chemical gas and perhaps even advanced vehicles as well as other advanced technology.

He could only imagine just how great an advantage it would be to the Inquisition if they could send messages instantly. Their ability to coordinate their attacks and spread information could lead to quick harsh blows against an unsuspecting enemy as well as ensure that the right amount of equipment was brought to bear rather than too little or too much.

Despite all these thoughts of future plans however, Nat soon found his mind returning back to his soon-to-be-targets. He didn't want to spend any more time than absolutely needed in tracking them down, rather he would prefer to find a nice hiding spot, get out his rifle and shoot them and their followers in the head where Veltrand's men could do the rest. It would be quick and easy as even if the dwarfs did decide to hide out in some underground cave, a pistol could still blast straight through their measly armour and smash into their ribcage killing them before they even knew what had struck them.

It didn't take him long to find his first target, in fact, it was relatively easy. The man like Veltrand was dressed in expensive looking clothes giving them a very distinct look compared to the other members of Dwarven society and also like Veltrand, the man had a haughty tone that could be heard from a mile away. Currently, though and much to Nat's enjoyment, the man had managed to call up a meeting with another one of these small little groups and were currently facing off against one another in the open. It was a poor move.

Taking advantage of this nicely presented set of target's, Nat quietly crept over the floor and slipped into a darkened alley street that overlooked the meeting place with the two dwarves. Slowly so as not to alert the dwarves to the fact that he was going to kill them, Nat gently took the rifle that was slung over his shoulder and gently set it on the small stone wall that would prevent him from dying.

He was a decent shot with the weapon thanks to a week of constant firing as he had moved from the south where the sun didn't shine and other monsters lurked such as bears and wolves, but he doubted he could ever say he was anything compared to the professionals who did this for a living and hence, he would try to mitigate such a disadvantage as much as possible. Once his rifle was sighted onto the target, Nat gave a sweep over the area.

It was fairly compact with few open spaces and not many places that could be hidden behind for cover as unlike the upper levels where the front doors were recessed, the lower doors were instead level. Aside from that, however, there was the occasional alleyway that could be run down and used to either hide or escape preventing an accurate shot without moving his position.

Speaking of which, he guessed he would not have much time to take out these men before they reacted. The first shot would be successful and kill one of them so long as he didn't miss and the confusion that would rip through the others might last a few brief moments before panic would set in amongst the ranks and they would then dod their best to rush their current boss to a hiding place.

That didn't leave Nat with a lot of time he knew, realistically he had to be able to load his rifle, aim and shoot accurately within a very short time period something which considering the circumstances he did not know was possible. After the first shot guards would see the smoke and if they were armed with crossbows would move to target him before then sending their faster members to rush him.

He was cut off from his thinking however when he heard the sound of a dwarf moving quickly towards him in a very speedy manner. Turning around, Nat barely had enough time to dash into a small gap before the dwarf ran in with a crossbow in his hand. Carefully, just as he had done mere moments before, Nat watched as the dwarf aimed his weapon at the group of speaking dwarves and locked their bolts as they prepared to fire.

So one of the others had already learned of this meeting then. That was good, with any luck the other member would arrive soon leaving a target open for an attack by an unsuspecting enemy. Before any of the new arrivals were actually given their command however, two new loud cries erupted into the area and made themselves known.

Instantly all attention was directed to these new arrivals and Nat could see the dwarf who was standing only a few inches away from him sink as they seemingly realised what was going on. In contrast, Nat couldn't believe his luck as each of the other groups began spouting what was likely the name of the leader of each group before they then picked up their pace and sprinted their way into the enemy with a mighty war cry.

Suddenly like a switch being flicked on, pandemonium erupted between all the groups. The four small ant tiny groups of dwarves crashed against one another sending swords, spears, shield and flying whilst from their elevated position, the other group of dwarves began to rain down bolts as soon as they could.

Nat wasted no time in securing his own position. With a hard thrust of his hand forward, he captured the dwarf that was inches ahead of him by the led and with an even tug yanked him back onto the floor where he crashed with a heavy and unexpected thump. Nat didn't wait for the dwarf to react, instead, he drew the dagger his kept on him and thrust the steel into the dwarf's exposed throat. Blood poured from the man's throat as he died quickly though not before his killer had grabbed his crossbow and his bolts as well as any coin that he had on him.

Cautiously so as to prevent any other dwarf from seeing him move, Nat moved away from the area of the dead dwarf and instead moved to a higher position until he found another advantageous position. Instead of setting up his weapon, however, he instead took his time to view the opposite side of the dwarves crossbow men searching for their leader or commander. That was all he had to kill, the commander and the leader of these other groups of dwarves. With them, all dead Veltrand would be able to take advantage and consolidate his hold on the poorer parts of Orzammar.

Personally, Nat just hoped that dam civil war was ended quickly, he'd already fucked up on the initial diplomacy and now he was having to save face by overthrowing a government and putting an unknown quantity in charge. In all honesty, he didn't trust the dwarf, and he suspected the dwarf felt the same towards him yet they both knew that they needed one another.

Veltrand would require his aid in guaranteeing his position on the throne while Nat needed a deal that he could go back to the Inquisition with and state that he had achieved his goal and that he was not as shit as a diplomat that this entire debacle proved. And so with a desire to see this war ended quickly, he was very rapidly able to move unseen by the other forces until he reached the opposite side of the dwarven archers and more vitally the leading man.

There was no warning for the wannabe king. One moment he was standing back from the archers careful so as not to get shot in the face with an arrow and even going so far as to keep a shield in front of his face and the next moment there was a sudden sharp pain in the man's back and front. Glancing downwards, the man had barely any time to stare in shock as he saw the edge of a sword get dragged back causing even more jolts of pain in his body before he then fell to the ground dead.

The rest of the battle Nat spent in silence only watching the men he needed to kill as they fought it out with whatever weapons. Luckily for the wizard, the social pressure of not looking like a coward in front of the other members kept all the nobles close to the battlefield and it was that closeness that Nat watched.

The battle was going to end soon, he could already see that the groups were all tired through one had managed t gain the upper hand in the fight and was managing to fight back the other three forces much to the delight of their leader. Then, in a sign of arrogance and a lack of combat experience, the man exposed himself to enemy fire and yelled for his troops to keep fighting and win the day for him. It was in that moment where a crossbow bolt aimed from none other then the wizard pierced the man's skull and ended him in an instant.

The result of such a death was near instant. One moment the now dead nobles troops had been winning, the next moment a cry of horror emanated breaking both the morale and the concentration of his troops leaving them exposed to a sudden counter-attack. Spears skewered through the soldiers leaving them with nothing but shocked and horrified expressions as they stared at their fellow dwarves before those who survived were given another blow and were killed there and then without remorse.

With only three left, the forces focused their attention back onto one another all of them hacking and slashing each one desperate for some kind of kill or more likely in Nat's opinion, hoping to be noticed and promoted. It never happened however as the lords concerned for both their victory and their own life began to break away from the back of the fighting and instead rushed towards one another ready to engage in a three on one fight.

Naturally as one would expect when this type of thing happened, two of the dwarves ganged up on the other one, striking with as much speed and ferocity as they could before it became too late. As for the ambushed dwarf, their face paled as they realised they were being pushed by the other two father and father away from his troops and thereby his reinforcements. It became even worse however when he found himself trapped in a thin alleyway. There was no escape he realised with fear. Nowhere to step back from and two ferocious enemies that attacked with the ferocity and speed that would be expected of trained nobles and that was why it was surprising what happened next.

One moment he was fending of an attack from two opponents forced to the floor and his vision blocked from anything else and the next there was a loud shlick as the sound of a blade passed through metal. The dwarf obviously terrified and believing that he had been injured stared down at his arm expecting to see some injury, but moments later he looked up in shock as the two torsos of his attackers slid off their bodies as if rolling a ball down a mountain. Relief filled his body and just as he prepared to give a thank you, his heart dropped again as the unmistakable twang of a crossbow was fired and a bolt punctured his chest.

"Five down two more to go" Without another word spoke and after he had raided the corpses of these dead men for their money, Nat departed the bodies and moved away from the continuing battle to find his other two targets and take their heads.

It wasn't long after he had escaped the initial battle that Nat found Veltrand's two rivals. Instead of joining in on the massive battle to kill their rivals in one single glorious victory, the two other leaders had instead taken to sitting in their respective bases preparing for their next move and how they would act. Of course, when the news quickly reached them that the others had engaged in a large scale battle, the two other lords had been ecstatic and held the similar plan of waiting until the battle was finished and then wiping out whatever remained of their enemies.

It was the same thing that had occurred with the previous noble he had just killed Nat noted, all of them gathered around a table, guards left outside so they could not hear the secret plans and report to the enemy and constant whispering as they stared at him as he was marched into the room.

"Your Majesty, this human says he had vital information on the pretender Veltrand," The noble said nothing for a time, instead he simply chose to stare at the human who had walked into the middle of his base. Nat in a desire to try and hide his identity had wrapped himself in a cloak hiding the clothing that he wore around his body alongside the sabre and the two armed crossbows in his hands. It would be a simple matter, the moment that the guard left he would launch out of position fire off his two bolts at the noble and whether the man survived it or not he would then draw his sabre and kill anyone inside before they had a chance to call the guard. Once that was then complete and so long as he had been stealthy, he would then walk out the front door and report back to Veltrand.

"What information do you have boy, speak quickly" The noble declared with obvious boredom and disgust at having been interrupted in the middle of his plans.

"It's of a rather sensitive matter my lord, best not to be spoken unless you can make sure that this will not get back to him" Nat replied in a suspicious manner as he eyes the guard next to him as if he was some type of spy for Veltrand. The noble caught wind instantly as shown when his eyebrows raised and he stared at the guard in shock for the briefest second before he then narrowed them harshly.

"Leave us" The noble bellowed at the guard, not that he had to be told twice seeing as the guard dashed as quickly as he possibly could out of the room so that he could escape the fierce scrutiny of the nobles. When the door slammed behind the guard, Nat moved forward a calm expression on his face. "What is this information"

"My lord I have intercepted a letter between Veltrand and a member of the Inquisition, it is hard proof that the two have been conspiring including information on a hidden weapons cache" Like the treasure in a dragon's horde, the nobles eyes lit up with unyielding greed as thoughts and plans for such weapons and armour filled his mind. There were so many advantages he would have over Veltrand the noble thought, so many ways he could kill the noble."

"Come, come" The noble gestured rapidly. "Please give me this letter" Nat acquiesced quickly to the man's command and before the noble even knew what had happened, Nat was only a metre in front of him and raised his right hand beneath his cloak. The noble smiling with excitement had no time to notice however that the distortion of the cloak was not at all like that of a scroll or a book and only heard the sudden noise as the first bolt aimed at the man's heart was unleashed from its holder and launched at the man.

Hitting with incredible accuracy and strength, the arrow punched through the dwarf nobles light clothing and straight through the skin and muscle where it promptly smashed the ribcage in front of the heart in two pieces before ultimately punching straight through the vital organ in a single blow. The second bolt was then launched although this time, not at the now dead noble, but rather at the bulky looking guard beside him who had no time to react as the bolt buried itself into his eye and straight into the brain. Then before the last and final man had a chance to react, Nat spun around on his heel and in a single motion drew his sabre and directed the tip towards the third man's unguarded neck and sliced through it cleanly, where promptly, after the blade was then spun once to flick the blood off.

With his mission in killing the last fake noble complete, Nat marched towards the door blade still in hand and opened it gently enough that the guard did not hear him. This flaw of hearing would be the guard's last mistake as Nat's sabre then cleanly passed through the man's chest and into his heart. Catching the heavy dwarf before he hit the ground, Nat quickly moved the guard into the room and deposited the corpse before leaving again and this time shutting it. Once that was complete he walked out

"They're dead," Nat said in a bored monotone voice as he entered the small house that was Veltrand's building. Currently, it was in a bit of a rush as soldiers, and workers dashed around completing various chores while Veltrand and the leader of his guard stood hunched over the map of Orzammar.

"How it's not even been a day" Veltrand turned suddenly to face the human he had asked to help him with his plans. "I'm not complaining however, just glad that you decided to ally with me instead one of the others" Nat gave a slight grin at the fearful tone.

"We can both give one another something that they desire, it would be a waste for me to spend my time dilly-dallying around trying to help random people. I killed the other nobles, you can take over their territory which leaves us dealing with the Reds and Blue. The sooner this war is over the better"

"Whilst I agree, it makes me wonder why they sent you to negotiate in the first place" Veltrand narrowed his eyes as he took in Nat's form. The boy wasn't really the most intimidating or friendly looking person he had seen, and neither was he handsome or ugly, he was just plain. He wasn't the type to strike anyone as a diplomat and neither did he strike out as a warrior or general with his disposition, instead, the kid just seemed to be normal or at least hiding under the guise of normal considering he had killed the leaders of seven other dwarf groups in only a few hours .

"I was chosen because I was the only inner circle member of the Inquisition who was available and because it was supposed to be and I quote "An easy and less intimidating mission then speaking to a bunch of mages holed up in a castle" Veltrand snorted loudly.

"Of course they did a good job though. Thanks to you, I'm going to inherit the throne so it's not all bad" Nat nodded, he guessed that Veltrand was actually rather appreciative of the event that had occurred with the king. As the city was in civil war, power would, in the end, be placed into the hands of the most powerful person who could kill their enemies and when one included the fact that the heir to the throne was also dead, it was likely that once Veltrand's would take the throne he would then implement whatever controls he wanted.

"I think we should get rid of your enemies before we celebrate, preferably as soon as possible. The moment that the reds and blues learn of you consolidating your power, they are going to march on you before you can marshal any strength." Veltrand nodded yet as he did so, he couldn't help but tye the boy suspiciously, he was being a bit overly cautious in his attack, especially when the rumour was that he had killed a pride demon with no effort whatsoever.

"How about I send you off, slaughter all the guards and kill the leaders with your magic. It shouldn't take you that long" Nat fell silent as he heard that. It was true, if his magic had recovered then this war would have been over by now and the heads of the enemy leaders would have been laced on spikes and if absolutely needed as a last resort he would have used the confundus charm on the members of the council to let Veltrand get elected.

It was just irritating, having to feel one of the drawbacks of his magic. Typically it recovered quickly, but when one did get magically exhausted as the gecko had done to him as he tried to prevent possession, then it took weeks to recover from. It was just a dam shame that he didn't know where Gerald and the others were, all he could hope for was that the Wardens they were with didn't act like colossal twats and try to find the last old god.

One had nearly killed him and with that magical resistance that would protect it from all-powerful magic attacks he could give whilst trying to keep up with its impressive airspeed, it was difficult to even land a solid strike on the monster. Banishing spells wouldn't work, it was simply the opposite of an Accio charm or in more sci-fi terms a telekinetic blast. That left striking it's weak points which were either it's wings, mouth or eyes though if he had a distraction that the monster would go for without any problems and also decided to conveniently ground itself of its own volition then he could do some more damage over an extended period of time, but when flying he was at a severe disadvantage especially as he could not fly himself nor command anything that could keep up with the speed and acrobatics that the winged creature could give. He was good, but he was no Dumbledore.

"I'm afraid that down in the Deep Road's I encountered a Darkspawn emissary I killed it but not before it managed to land a curse on me that is restricting my use on magic. Currently, I'm unable to through give me a fortnight and I'll be back to full strength" The dwarf shook his head before giving out a small growl then without any warning he smashed his squeezed fist against the map while a scowl appeared on his face.

"By the Ancestors. Fine, we'll attack right now, neither the red nor blues will expect a fight at the moment and if we can strike them whilst their unprepared then we can gain the advantage." Nat hid his surprise behind a blank expression though inwardly he felt a surge of concern go through him. He could already guess as to why Veltrand wanted to attack this moment.

When he had first arrived in the city two weeks ago, he had sensed the presence of another mage lurking in the background for whatever reason. It was likely, that the mage was some sort of assistant or guard assigned to the current king by the Ancient Magister as protection and was likely why Veltrand was so concerned.

Dwarves were more magically resistant than other races, but they weren't immune to its effects and frankly, all that enemy mage needed to do, was fire off a powerful plume of flames towards their position and it would all be over. Burnt to ashes or encased in ice or possibly electrocuted to death were all possible attacks they would have to contend with alongside being killed by a telekinetic blast, blood magic, a death field, curses, spirit magic and more. It was not something that could easily be dealt with especially as there were no templars in sight who could dampen the mages with their abilities and training.

The fact of the matter was, this assault was going to end in quite a few people dying and that number went up drastically if the current reigning king was able to get his pet mage into the fight. Which was what Nat knew he was going to be assigned to.

Veltrand and his men would likely create a distraction and draw the attention of the Red and Blue's engaging them in a sudden unexpected result that would draw out the mage from where Nat could then kill them. Straight afterwards, he would then move to the king and kill them before then finishing off the blues leader. When this was finally complete, Veltrand could move into the position of power and swiftly on his own merit wipe out any remaining pockets of resistance. A short decisive victory with high rewards once completed.

He would have won a civil war in less than a day and gain the unhindered access he needed to the deep roads, Veltrand would be on the throne giving the Inquisition what it wanted in diplomatic terms whilst he got to be king. At the same time, Lyrium would be cut off from the Templars giving a devastating blow to the enemy and forcing this ancient Magister to look for other pastures as well as getting rid of another one of its plans.

On the other hand, if this attack failed, it would likely be all over for diplomacy between the Inquisition and Orzammar. A friendly king will have died, the enemy king would have all the evidence it needed to show their people that the Inquisition was indeed plotting against them and that they needed to go to war and he, on the other hand, could potentially end up dead or captured. Personally, he hoped for the latter.

Death may be swift and painless, but it was the end. On the other hand, if he was captured then he would likely be tortured however he could also do some severe damage if he managed to escape and find crucial information or destroy or steal anything of other importance.

Despite all this, Nat could not help the slight shiver that ran down his spine. Facing death had never scared him before, every time he had walked onto the duelling ring he had been aware that his life could be cut short either by a lack of skill on his part, a mistake or the opponent actively trying to kill him. And then he had come to this world where he seemingly faced death on a regular basis having fought against demons, darkspawn's and now even old gods yet he never once flinched in fear from those monsters, not even when he has sensed their overwhelming power and the potential of what they could do. Yet now different.

Subtly, his eyes glanced towards the fingers of his right hand clenched tightly on the hilt of his blade, too tightly. Loosening his grip, he watched in a slight amount of trepidation as he saw then shake. Quickly he returned his finger back onto the hilt of his sword preventing anyone from seeing his fear even as he kept his face calm. It was obvious why he was afraid.

He was essentially a muggle right now as his magic still recovered. There would be no shield charms to defend himself against a bolt, no apparation to allow him to evade a breathtakingly fast strike, not power to freeze a person in sight and no way to turn an enemy into a bloody mess or smash the skull of a pride demon with a cannonball.

He was weak and as much as he hated it, he was also petrified at the thought of actually entering a fight where stealth wasn't involved let alone fighting another mage. They may not be wizards, but against a mortal man it mattered not and now he couldn't help but feel a small amount of true understanding that others felt about mages. Not the type of understanding where you can understand from logic or a person telling and describing it to a person, but the type of understanding that comes after one has truly faced the horror and torture.

It was strange, he was very much another human at this moment and that honestly terrified him. He was used to having the overwhelming advantage that came with magic, he didn't feel afraid of muggles and their guns as whilst they were powerful, he still held the advantage as the spells he could unleash would easily deal with them. His "courage" was not like that of a Gryffindor who was always willing to charge in fists flying without a plan, his bravery was more confidence in the knowledge of overwhelming superiority. If a muggle tried to rob him with a knife then he would eviscerate them with a single spell and remove any and all evidence of them ever existing in the first place. If they had a fighter jet then an Accio charm would likely cause the machine to crash and if they had a tank, then all he needed was a portkey stationed a few kilometres into the sky.

Yet in a few minutes, he was likely going to be with these dwarves as they charged up the richer parts of Orzammar and crashed into the enemies front line with spears, shields, swords and likely Lyrium explosives. Then again, his job was going to be to kill the leaders of the enemy and deal with the Red's mage and all from as far away as he could reliably oot. So about a hundred metres. He shook his head, this was going to be a rather interesting fight, one that had tremendous consequences and could change the entire balance of this war with this ancient Magister. Before he could carry on thinking and allow his concern get to him, the war cry of Veltrand soon broke through the hurried pace centring all attention onto him.

"Men this is the day we win this war, this is the day that we kill the traitors to Orzammar who assisted the dammed Venatori and murdered our king in order to seize power. We will rush up Orzammar and kill any who support either the traitors or the pretenders to the throne and then once we have achieved that we will not only restore peace but will bring Orzammar into a brand new age of glory" Cheers sounded in the room as the dwarves got excited. Blood pump[ed adrenaline down their veins and the feeling of anticipation soon drowned out any dread and fear they might have previously held. To them, this was the day that they would either destroy their enemies and put their rightful king on the throne or they would die in the defence of the Kingdom refusing to see the day in which foul demon scum would take them as slaves. The speech carried on for a bit followed by more cheers and declarations of bravery and commendations to particular individuals who had shown a certain dedication to the cause.

Whilst this happened Nat simply leaned against a stack of crates his eyes closed in an attempt to study his nerves whilst his rifle was clutched tightly to his chest. Finally, a proper fight, not some sneaking around and taking potshots from stealthy positions or killing the enemy before they managed to reach him. Soon he would be staring directly into the eyes of his enemies as he fired shot after shot at the enemy each with the intention to kill them and leave their families heartbroken.

"Agent" Veltrand called out grabbing the attention of the wizard. "I don't care how you do it, but I want you to kill the leaders and any mages they might have. Once their dead, come join the fighting" Nat simply nodded in response before he gave a gentle tap of his clothing ensuring that he had anything he would require close at hand. "What's that face for Cloudhead, we're about to enter a glorious war, kill our enemies and put ourselves in control. Come a few hours we'll all be feasting on succulent meat, drinking the best of wine and fucking any wench we want, what's not to look forward to"

"Good Luck" Was all Nat needed to say before he caught the dwarf with a surprised but soon then dulled look on his face as if he was a child who had been told he couldn't have a sixth helping of food"

"You as well agent, may the Ancestors bless you with success. Come tomorrow your Inquisition will have its Lyrium and a powerful ally" No more words were said after that, no farewell from Nat as he knew not the names of anyone in that building nor did he care to. This was just business, once the battle was done and Veltrand was on the throne a deal between the Inquisition and Orzmar could quickly be put together and shortly afterwards he would then sink back into the depths of the Deep Roads as he searched for his subordinates.

It wasn't long before Nat found himself far away from Dust Town and in a somewhat precarious situation. He hadn't at all waited for Veltrand to make their charge, instead he had acted on his own pace and taken the most direct route there was to the upper levels without having to fight through a countless amount of men and other weapons. Of course, however, that didn't mean it was particularly safe considering the fact that if his grip slipped on the rock he was holding that he would likely fall to a very painful demise.

The reason for his potential painful death, was because he had decided to climb the houses and walls of Orzammar as best he could. It wasn't easy, he had only done rock climbing a total of nine times before each one being a small gift token he had been given during one of his many victories in tournaments and even then that was when he had a particularly annoying piece of rope attached to a very painful harness that was wrapped around his body and threatened to squeeze him to death. Because of this he instead took to climbing up those few peoples houses that had not been built into the rock, they were far safer then him trying to scale what was essentially a cliff and all on a limited time frame and again without the risk of getting spotted. He knew that if he was on a wall and he got spotted and had crossbowmen shooting at him that he was then practically fucked but at least if they tried to shoot him while he was on a house he could shoot back and had the all-important high ground advantage.

Of course, as he did his best to progress as quickly and efficiently towards the highest level of political office, he was very much reminded of the fact that he and Veltrand were more of helping one another than any true sense of allies. And this could be said because he could very much hear the sounds of clanging armour and metal as they climbed up the old Orzammar ramps.

Confused stares turned into shock and horror as the average citizen realised what was happening. A full war party or at least a small war party was rushing as quickly as they could through the blue sides controlled area. Not one to not take such an advantage of a distraction, Nat soon found himself slightly more free to move, as he carried on moving one foot in front of the other on this tall imposing internal mountain as he did his best to make his way to the upper levels.

"Stupid dwarves building everything into the fucking mountain. You couldn't just have convenient little places that stuck out for hand gripping could, no instead it all hs to be bloody recessed making it fucking difficult to climb up. Wankers" Complaining aside, Nat soon managed to move through the rather difficult part of the wall he had been and found himself a sturdier hold as he continued to ascend upwards. As he ascended upwards though, he couldn't help but find himself slightly amused at the fact that not one guard dared so much as to glance upwards as they still moved.

Normally this would be acceptable to the wizard, but he was in the heart of Orzammar, a place that was known for its mining of rare valuable materials and apparently civil wars. Had nobody once ever thought to simply climb the inside of the mountain itself to get to their enemy or had the dwarfs gotten so used to being terrified of the sky that they wouldn't even so much as dare to climb the inside of their own home. Either way, he didn't dare t start complaining, he may not have the infamous Potter luck that had screwed over the legendary Gryffindor a few decades ago, but there was still Sod's law and he would much prefer to kill his enemy rather than being the one who ended up in a barbeque for someone.

It wasn't easy for him to move around as he did, there were many times when Nat nearly plummeted to his death when he gripped a piece of loose stone or the space between his foot and the next hold was too high forcing the wizard into more drastic actions. Plus with the sound of constant battle occurring beneath him, he was constantly aware that he was not only on a time frame to succeed, but that all it took for his plan to be uncovered was one dwarf who was knocked on their ass. Finally though after an untold amount of climbing and banging his rifle against his shoulder which did more to annoy him than actually do any damage thanks to the enchantments on his clothes, he made it up to the highest level of Orzammar entirely unseen.

Heaving himself with a powerful grip, Nat climbed up onto one of the few small buildings which were separate from the cliff and allowed himself a few moments to catch his breath. Once his rest was finished, he gradually moved to the edge of the building and scanned the local area as best he could, searching for any of his targets.

Fortunately, the area was mostly clear of guards with the only remaining ones bein stationed at the entrance to the upper level with their weapons bared and another two which sat outside the house of the royal household. Nat grit his teeth, this was going to be difficult. The two guards outside the throne were the kingsguard as were the other group guarding the main entrance. He could perhaps kill the two guarding the front door, but that would require either a sword or a musket which again required for him to either cross the open area between this building and the guards or fire his rifle and alert the entire place.

This was going to be quite the puzzle he had to get around, he had limited time enemies he couldn't kill less he alert others and trap himself between a bunch of angry Kingsguard and a stone wall or be forced to jump off the highest level. A distraction was the only real method he was going to get inside or explosives, the black powder did have the nice little effect of making people die rather quickly.

Nat grinned, something like a throwing a rock was not going to move those guards, doing so would leave the palace exposed and that was even without mentioning the unknown number of guards who were still in the building waiting for some sort of signal to storm out which again was not something that would occur if one guard got distracted by a stone. However, if there was a powerful explosion around the feet of the larger group, then it was possible that it would be seen as an attack forcing the main lot of guards to run after anyone they saw as a threat leaving just two alone.

Quickly, Nat brought out another set of explosives that he had on him and quietly lit them, Targetting the large bunch of Kingsguard, he lobbed the makeshift grenade as hard as he possibly could before then moving as silently as he could down the side of the building and out of the sight of the Kings guard. He was going to have to be fast, if the Kingsguard were any good at their job then they would stay where they are ready to defend their king to their dying breath. He would soon find out as an explosion ripped through the air.

There was no warning for the Kingsguard as to what was about to happen, one moment they were all in position glaring at the door as they waited for a possible enemy to come marching through the next thing they heard as the sound of a metal gauntlet clenching.

"What in the ancestors," A guard said having caught the strange thing that had been launched at them. His eyes widened in an instant as he saw a strange powder in a glass sound and a small flame reaching towards the powder. The guard wasted no time, instead leaning back ready to throw the explosive back as quickly as he could before then launching it. The guard was too late however as the moment the strange explosives had travelled a quarter of a metre, the flame struck the powder.

Blasting from its container, a fireball engulfed the guard and all those who had been within close proximity, burning the flesh of their face whilst the pressure wave smashed apart their armour into fragments and sent them catapulting into the guard's bodies. To those who were slightly further away, the sheer force tore off limbs in a bloody fashion sending them soaring into the air whilst like their comrades they were then pelted with small jagged stones that ripped straight through their expensive armour and into their fleshy meaty bodies. The last group of those guards who were farther away were only blown off their feet by the blast and sent smashing back by the force however they were not able to avoid the debris and screamed as they bodies started to be impaled by many small high-speed objects at once.

Horror struck, the two soldiers by the door turned their bodies in unseen shock. One went to dash towards their fellow comrades but were stopped by the other who laid a firm hand on their shoulder and shook their head. Obviously, this one was aware, that they had their own orders to stand by and that was to protect the king's door.

Help arrived soon though as with the sound of elephants the soldiers that had been inside the palace came thundering our armed to the teeth and rushed out with unmatched discipline and fury. Without so much as a word being spoken, they made their way quickly towards their fallen comrades and bypassed them completely as they charged what they assumed to be an enemy who had managed to bypass their main force and was charging up the stairs to attack their king. Despite this though, a few were left behind and rushed to their fallen comrades checking up on their injuries with years of experience.

From his now more hidden position, Nat kept his face calm as he slowly began to sneak up on the two gate guards. Even though they had not rushed into battle, their brief shock and action of staring at the bodies of their many dead friends had given the wizard the time he required to slip away unnoticed and emerge from the other side of the Diamond Quater.

From here Nat with his crossbows snuck as closely as he could behind the two of them without getting noticed and then gently leant one of them on the side of the wall. Unlike with the lower level ones where he could get into close proximity where aiming was far easier, Nat instead chose to be at a further distance that would not be detected by the sound of his boots moving on the floor.

Aiming his weapon, he delicately guided his the weapon to the back of the more veterans neck and fired. Before he even had a chance however to notice the result of his shot, he then snatched up the other crossbow and aimed far more rapidly and shot once again whereupon afterwards he drew his sabre and marched towards the two swiftly. It was a good thing as well as whilst the first shot had indeed slipped into the veterans armour, it had not gone where he wanted to and instead impacted the guards left shoulder blade. The second shot was even less accurate and had only managed to thump into the guard's armour.

What actually killed the two of them, however, was the younger one's compassion. As soon as the first man had been hit, the younger guard had stared at his teacher in concern hoping to assist him before then jolting back as he then felt the thump on his back. That monetary distraction and jolt as he reacted were all it required as within an instant a sabre gave the final blow to the younger one's neck and then drove into the veterans face and straight into the brain.

Stepping inside the building, Nat quickly drew his rifle as his main weapon and proceeded as cautiously as he could. The room, was rather decorative, rich carpets, old paintings, stone statues of one paragon or the other and a whole host of weapons however the most important things Nat identified, were the occasional scroll that had been left out all the while a series of fires gave light to the room and allowed Nat to see.

He ignored all of it, however, instead deciding to move as quickly as he possibly could through the building and towards the door at the back where he knew the current king would lie, his feet making an audible pattern as they graced the old surprisingly noise stone floor. Just as he reached the door, however, the sound of another's angry footsteps made themselves known.

Moving rapidly towards the door, Nat felt the presence of magic but before Nat even had the chance to take cover, the metal door swung wide open to reveal none other than a human male wrapped in old looking robes. Nat fired instantly the sound of the rifle alerting all those in the building that there was someone there. The mage being paranoid however had already cast a barrier around himself and so as the bullet simply bounced off, the mage, in turn, narrowed his cold vicious eyes on the one who had just tried to kill him.

"Inquisition" He hissed for a second before a dark smile ran across his face as he realised just who was in front of him. "Oh and not just any random one, rather it's the "Heralds" little pet. I'm surprised you even survived the deep roads." Throwing himself to the floor the moment that his bullet had bounced, he rolled his body to the side just barely narrowing a rather simple spell that he could tell was not aimed too much as to kill him as it was to injure him. The mage however only grinned in excitement and stepped forwards with lightning bouncing on his fingertips.

Nat smashed his rifle up at the mage however once again the mage showed his combat experience as he dodged it narrowly before then launching his spell at the wizard with a hiss and crackle of energy. Once again Nat dodged it as years of training and experience came flooding back and gave him the ability to dash out of the way as a plume of fire came racing towards him and set the furniture on fire.

"I would ask you how you survived the deep roads, but it is of no matter, the Elder one will be pleased with your capture. He will turn you into a loyal servant boy, one which will do his every command. He will make you the leader of his armies as he crushed what remains of your pitiful organisation." The mage chuckled darkly at the thought. "What do you think boy, will the rest of your silly group still oppose us when they see that one of their own inner council members leads the Templars against them," Nat said nothing, instead, he was forced to crash to the ground as the mage sent a cone of cold at him with the intention of trapping him where he stood. "There's no point in fighting boy, you can't hit me even if you tried"

Rolling past another bout of devastating flame, Nat drew his sabre however instead of going to strike the mage as the man would have expected, Nat instead took off past the previously closed doors.

"No" The mage roared in utter fury flinging a wave of telekinetic power as he realised that the boy was aiming at killing the king. Launched his feet and sent smashing into the other room, Nat grunted as he stood back up and used his sabre to help him pull himself up. The mage however only yelled in fury and went to rush towards the mage hoping to prevent him from progressing any father, but it was too late.

Having managed to drag the mage away to the other side of the room, Nat was given all the time he needed to evade the mage's magic as he was now out of sight and burst into the last room. With the metal doors banging loudly against the stone, the king which was, in fact, the dwarf who Nat had initially spoken to when he arrived barely had enough time to stare in fear before the sabre sliced straight into the dwarf's heart and then yanked upwards through the ribs and then out through the brain.

"No" Eyes writhing in unmatched fury, the mage shot out his hands at the wizard sending out a burst of powerful lightning at the boy. In defence, Nat raised his arms upwards shielding his exposed face as he felt the magical lightning begin to slam into the defensive charms of his clothing and begin to overpower the spells and instead start to actually strike and hurt him with a rapidly growing amount of pain. "You have ruined everything"

Narrowing his eyes dangerously at the Mage with his sabre still drawn, Nat pushed aside the biting pain of being electrocuted and with a slight grunt of his own stood up on his feet where with a sudden burst of strength raced towards the mage.

Eyes widening, the mage stepped to the side and avoided the strike before then with another blast of telekinetic energy slammed the wizard so hard onto the floor that he fell entirely limp to the ground. Everything went silent as the mage stared at the body of the wizard. There wasn't any moving, not even the slow rhythmic rise and fall of his chest, not even the slight twitch of his arms and not even a flicker of his eyes as blood began to pour down from an open head wound on the boys face. Seconds turned into a few minutes and a grin emerged on the mages face as he saw the state in which his quarry was now in.

"Pathetic" The mage scowled. "You a supposed mage tried to kill me a Magister from Tevinter with such pathetic tactics it's a disgrace" The mage watched the corpse for a few more seconds waiting for any spark of life to come back out of it whatever that may be however nothing came. With a smirk, the mage turned around and sighed. "I just hope the Elder One does not punish me for my-"

A blasting pain erupted from the mages chest, forcing him to sink to his knees as his head began to feel dizzy and light headed. Nothing else mattered to the mage as with fearful eyes he stared at his clothing now quickly staining with the red of blood. Gingerly, his hand began to light up as he focused on a healing spell and laid it on his chest.

"Nice tr-" The mage taunted only for his body to collapse as once again the enchanted sabre ripped straight through the flesh, muscle and bone that held the body together ripping the head off its body and sending it colliding to the floor.

"Stupid twat's always fucking monologing" Not done, Nat grabbing a nearby statue of some paragon soon raised the item up before then smashing it hard onto the decapitated heads face again and again until after a few seconds of irritated anger escaped him, the head no longer held any of its shape where once completed he stood up with a satisfied smile quickly grabbed his weapons and walked out of the kings accommodation and went to find the next enemy.

Hours Later

"We did it" Veltrand laughed gloriously. In his hand, he held a goblet filled to the brim with wine that had been sacked from the king's cellar and opened. "We actually fucking did it"

"And in only one fucking day as well" Raising their cup one of the other dwarves cheered loudly as he and the rest of anyone with any importance casually sat in the king's chambers.

"Indeed, it was rather fortunate" Veltrand shook his head at the comment before then focusing on the so-called man of the hour.

"Agent, come join us. you fucking deserve a drink after what you did in that fucking battle" Nat shook his head at the invitation instead preferring to keep his hand gripped around his sword and his mind of the fact that he now had blood splattered all over his face and hair. It was going be a bitch to get that out, but at least the fucking war was won.

"With respect your majesty I'm afraid I have other priorities and would therefore prefer to get the negotiation done as quickly as possible so that I may enter the Deep Roads once again" Veltrand blinked at the calm tone that the young mage spoke with, they had just won a glorious battle, killed all of the pretenders and had managed to win a civil war all in a single day thanks to his help yet he didn't dare to rest.

"Again? Would it not be safer for you to rest and recover" Nat shook his head as he faced the door.

"My subordinates were still in the Deep Roads when I left, they're my responsibility and I will not abandon them" Veltrand nodded slowly. Letting out a sigh, the dwarf soon grabbed another goblet of wine that had been laying on a nearby table and walked forwards to the agent who had won him his victory.

"Very well" He spoke slowly yet Nat could tell that the dwarf was not sad to see him leave so soon, in fact, it was likely the opposite how does ten gold per crate sound" Nat shook his head instantly.

"Six" He replied without a further word. While ten was technically a discount, it wasn't by much and with the state that the Inquisition was in, the cost of ten gold per crate was just far too expensive at the moment, which would likely lead to an economic disaster for the Inquisition

"Eight" Veltrand gave his next offer

"Five"

"That's ridiculous" Veltrand swore as he stared at the boy.

"May I remind you that the only reason that we are currently negotiating is that, the Inquisition not only killed a demon who had possessed your king, but had also dealt a swift and devastating blow to crush your enemies and end the civil war. If word got out about how the new king cares nothing at all for those who assist him, then it is very possible that one's reputation could be affected." The glare that Veltrand gave could have frozen rivers had he been born a mage, his eyes twitched and Nat saw the man reach for his sword. So that was the type of kind they were going to have to deal with.

"I said that Orzammar would lend its aid" Nat raised a gentle eyebrow.

"Oh, so you are planning on emptying your city of its soldiers or were you instead of thinking of delivering a certain amount of free arms and armour. If that was the case then I could accept a better deal however if not then the Inquisition needs something more tangible to showcase your support" Around him Nat watched subtly as the other dwarves listened as subtly as they could to their conversation. Some of them he noticed was rather angry at his demand for such a low price of Lyrium especially since the average price per crate was about twelve gold and he was asking for at least half.

"And why ever should I pay such an exorbitant amount" Veltrand shouted in a drunken manner.

"Because your customer base is growing slim" Nat answered without missing a single beat. Casually, he darted his head towards a map of the entire continent only where human maps just had the continents, this map instead had a map of the Deep Roads or at least the ones that could be used in the modern day for supplying goods and items. "Let's see, the Chantry only bought Lyrium for the mages and Templars, bot of whom have rebelled and turned into separate factions. One of which has joined us whilst the other is our enemy and tried to take over Orzammar. That then leaves the nations of the continent, Tevinter could work, but knowing the Venatori they will likely intercept every single shipment for themselves and if not then they will likely have allies in high up circles. And as for helping you, Tevinter is too far away and has yet to offer any aid in fighting the Venatori.

"Then we have the Free Marches who look like they are going to go into a civil war as they fight one another for more land. The Anderfells is again another possibility, but transporting anything that far north leaves it exposed and outside of the protection of the Inquisition, the same is also true of Rivain. Neverra and Antiva, on the other hand, don't buy very much Lyrium and especially not anymore with their mages and templars all gone."

"That then leaves us with Ferelden and Orlais. In the case of the former, they didn't buy Lyrium besides the amount needed for their Templars and Mages, which then leaves us Oralais. Now admittedly, they did buy Lyrium so they could keep up their fancy paintings and arts, lights and bloody lava lamps. However, they're in a civil war right now, and despite their more... chivalrous attitude to killing one another, the fact remains that they won't be spending money on decorative lamps until they get their shit sorted out." Nat didn't even have to mention Par Vollen considering that the dwarves and the Qun did barely if any trade and especially not in Lyrium considering that it was connected to magic.

"That just leaves you to selling to other smaller parties. The Templars are now powered by Red Lyrium and your direct enemy" Something that Nat had heard from a trader before he had arrived. "Which leaves us to the Inquisition, we are the only group who is not only sworn to kill those who had insulted your fair people, but also the only ones who can buy in large enough bulk and keep supply routes secure."

"Exactly" Veltrand grinned as if he had won a great game. "You need us more then we need you. So you're going to pay the ten gold and nothing else"

"No we won't" Nat spoke casually. Before Veltrand could question him, however, Nat gave a slight business-like intimidating smile. "You think we're so foolish as to rely on a single supply. Please... we're in contact with every illegal mining and smuggling operation on the continent we could easily create our own supply and sell it if we wanted. It'll take some time to set up and a bit of a hassle to run, but none the less we get our Lyrium and at the same time devastate Orzammars entire economy causing a massive depression that could take decades to recover from hampering your economic and likely technological growth. Of which, you would then struggle to be more than some pathetic poor kingdom underground".

"We'd fight you" Veltrand growled in pure fury however instead of managing to draw his sword to showcase his annoyance with the young human, he instead only managed to take one step forward where he promptly lost his balance and fell headfirst onto the table with a loud thump.

Nat shook his head, drunk people were idiots.

"Do you seriously think that Orzammar on its own could fight the combined might of all of Thedas. No kingdom will want to be your ally, not when the Inquisition mines get opened and sell our crates for half your average price as the going rate, and that's before deals and special offers. Think about it, one lone city with a declining population against every other kingdom and all of whom could survive without your imports, absolutely devastating your entire economy and leaving you as nothing but a shadow of your former self." Veltrand roared in fury once again from his position, however his dizzied mind and bright red face from all the wine he had been drinking, couldn't so much as concentrate on the black blur that was speaking to him. He blinked, just what in the Paragons name had been in that wine.

"We're dwarves" Veltrand hicced. "We'll win" In a bored tone Nat glanced at the other dwarves, like their leader they had all started drinking a brand of rather heavy and expensive wine that had far more volume than sense. It was why he was negotiating now if Veltrand was sober it would be far harder to get what he wanted however if he was a drunken lout like he currently was, then he could get some amazing benefits and all of which were augmented by the psychological destruction of Orzammar.

He was lying of course about the mines, to his knowledge, the Inquisition held no such valuable resources, but Veltrand was not stupid despite what his current state suggested. He was aware that there were more dwarves on the surface then there were down in Orzammar and he also knew that they held no loyalty to the city that was once the capital of their ancestors. As such it wasn't an implausible thing for another group of dwarves to start their own mining operation and from that build an empire that Orzammar could never compete with.

It was that overwhelming fear that Nat was counting on to get his way, complete paranoia combined with a large amount of alcohol that would likely leave them with no memory of this moment would get what he wanted and how he wanted. He chuckled to himself internally, despite his tactics, he would likely be considered nothing but a novice by the Slytherins in getting this deal. Whereas he was using fear, alcoholism, a dim mind and other things to his advantages, Slytherins would instead prefer to have a large debate of cunning when both were at their best so they could show just how skilful and manipulative they were. In other words, he was sloppy, uneducated and not at all suited for politics and yet Nat was fine with that. Politics wasn't his strong suit, he knew it, understood it and could direct beginners in it, but it didn't interest him, not like how a good book or understanding the mysteries of magic would entertain him.

"No you won't, you were afraid of one mage, imagine if you had to fight hundreds all at the same time" Veltrand slammed his head against the map in pain as the drunken image came to him. All that fire, all that lightning. He shuddered, unnatural magic was, didn't work as dwarves did, far too messy and dangerous.

"Fine" Veltrand sighed angrily. He tried to raise his head, and search for a piece of parchment and have a document written up but Nat was far faster and instead handed the man a piece of white A4 paper with a list of terms that Veltrand could not read due to his now blurry vision.

"Just sign here and here," Nat said. Veltrand did so quickly, once he was done Nat also signed them before then. Once that was complete, Nat grabbed Veltrands slightly injured arm and gently with his glove-covered finger snatched some of the dwarves blood up and planted it on the document before then doing the same with his own. "There now we're done. Good luck to you king Veltrand"

Then without a further word, Nat quietly slipped out eh building, document in tow and headed towards the Deep Roads.

He had some subordinates in need of saving.


	22. Chapter 22 Actions have consequences

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 22 Actions have Consuqences**

The Deep Roads

The sound of hard steel smacking against other steel was all that could be heard from deep within the old dark tunnels. Nat took a deep breath in before then exhaling as he locked eyes onto the next incoming Hurlock. It was an ugly monster with its former humanoid shape and dark corrupted bile tendrils that ran down it's pale corrupted face like vines reaching for someone or something to draw up and consume. Nat drew his wand close to his chest and held it defensively forming a shield to defend himself as an arrow that had come flying towards him with the intent to kill. The arrow failed in its task as the moment it touched the barrier, it simply bounced off and did no damage.

At the wizard's side, lay the corpses of other Darkspawn that had been the Hurlock's dark kindred. Genlocks which had their throats slit, Hurlock's whose pitiful shabby armour was unable to fend off a simple cutting spell, as it easily struck down and tore through the material killing the creature in a burst of light. A few shrieks also lay dead on the ground with their heads firmly removed from the rest of their body to prevent them from sneaking up on him while the remains of an ogre who had their face smashed in by a cannonball painted the floor with their remains.

A scream hurtled from one of the few remaining Darkspawn as they hoped to take advantage of this sudden lapse in Nat's offence and give a devastating strike. It was too late however as before the next Hurlock had so much as moved, a spell slammed hard into its chest and blew open a fleshy hole so large that the Hurlock was now only prevented from being cut in half by a very thin section of corrupted flesh on its side. The Other Darkspawn were given no time to moan in anger or any other wretched emotion they might have as with but another flick of the wizards wand, the previously dumped pile of weapons lifted of the very ground they had sat upon where with a loud whoosh they launched at the remaining Darkspawn and impaled them with incredible accuracy. The Darkspawn struck the ground with a heavy thud however before Nat so much as allowed their corpses to rot where they were, he quickly cast a series of flame charms and lit the corrupted corpses on fire wiping their taint away in an instant.

Unaffected by the smell thanks to the use of proper charms, Nat didn't bother to spare the Darkspawn a second glance as he stepped over their corpses and carried on forwards with his wand still in his hand.

Two weeks it had been, two bloody weeks of searching the Deep Roads as best he could and two bloody weeks of running into Darkspawn group after bloody Darkspawn group. How many of the dam things had he cut down by now, hundreds he would think yet he had found no visible clue as to where Gerald and Elyria were located.

Oh, he knew they were still alive and he knew where they were as well, with his magic having finally returned to full strength after nearly a month of it still being on the mend from defending against an ancient powerful being trying to possess him, he was finally back in business. Only it had been so Merlin dammed long since he had seen his subordinates and though his point me spell informed him that they were indeed alive, it did not, in fact, tell him just what condition they were in.

It was rather concerning especially as his subordinates were nowhere near towards one of the exits of the Deep Roads, at least according to the map he had. Speaking of which, once he had gotten his magic back, he had decided that he needed a proper map of the Deep Roads. Not an old ancient map that depicted them in their glory and not more recent ones which were practically just words "saying don't go here" In fact, his map was an up to date map which was being updated constantly thanks to a series of elaborate and complex magic golems that he had created.

Their outward design was relatively simple, a normal human shaped golem which had been turned invisible to all of the senses as best as possible alongside a mix of anti fire, anti-water and any other anti stuff he could think off. Their job was simply to wander the Deep Roads transmitting everything they saw onto a map Nat had in his hands and nothing more. Currently, it was working rather well especially with the one that he had sent ahead of him to scout the area and report any Darkspawn or other creatures it saw.

In all honesty, as he continued to follow the map as it floated gently in front of him, he thought he could sell this map to the Grey Wardens or anyone else who might be interested in it. A self-updating map even if limited to only the layout of the Deep Roads would be useful to any dwarves who wanted to smuggle Lyrium in the future or any army that desired to move unseen and unnoticed or instead for treasure hunters who wanted to be able to find themselves to lost and forgotten Thaigs. It would take years to complete he knew, maybe even decades considering the fact that the Deep Roads were a vast empire at one time and since then the Darkspawn had created their own little burrows tunnelling in from the side of them, but none the less it was still worth something.

That something currently was what was giving him a relatively easy time as he made his way to his subordinates even if he was forced to kill entire packs of Darkspawn just so he could cross a lone bridge. It would only have been made both worse and admittedly slightly cool if a giant fire breathing demon had appeared on one side with a flaming whip and great bat wings, but unfortunately no such thing was present and he had nobody to give inspiring words too.

Just what were those bloody Wardens up to he wondered? Even if they weren't the best navigators after three weeks he would have expected them to make decent progress to where Orzammar lay, but instead, they only seemed to be moving further and further into deep roads. It actually sped Nat's heart up a few times when he watched them disappear off the edge of the map. They weren't dead he knew, but it was still a relief to know they were alive just like he knew that the entire inner circle of the Inquisition had arrived.

With the every gloomy but still quiet, peace returned to the Deep Roads. Nat once again took out his other map, this one being a map of the continent of Thedas. Like that of his deep Roads map, this map held multiple glowing icons such as the one that indicated just where on the continent he was and seriously allowed him to maintain his bearings far better than any dwarf could. Currently, he watched as all the glowing icons of the entire inner circle congregated all roughly in the same location.

It had been like this now for a week, all of them in the exact same place and all piles on top of one another like they would be in a building of some kind. It was rather relieving to watch actually, and not just because he knew where to find them when he did leave this Magic Forsaken set of tunnels with his subordinates, but because it also implied that they had some new kind of base. In contrast, the two week's ago when he had started to cast weaker spells like a point me charm had him watching as the inner council continued to trek day after day over the Frost Back mountains at an agonisingly slow pace.

He couldn't help but wonder just what type of place they had found, was it a clearing, some old village or maybe some long forgotten castle. It was possible and considering not only the age of Solas, but also his ability to move through the Fade, then he also was of the opinion that the man could have been responsible. Some old base of Fen Harel then, or maybe a remnant of his people that he decided to donate to the cause of the world not ending.

Whatever it was, he only hoped that they did indeed find some form of shelter. They were in December now so technically the beginning of Winter not that it mattered considering the fact that with the Inquisition was now located in the Frost Back mountains, they were likely to be surrounded by the snow and cold on a daily basis. He smiled slightly at the thought of Bull just watching uncomfortably from some kind of window as the white stuff fell all around him and laid a gentle blanket of snow everywhere he looked. No doubt with how the Qunari walked around with no top as if he were some kind of stripper, he would likely be suffering the cold when compared to the harsh heat of the jungles from his home.

He frowned at the thought of home. London didn't really get snow, maybe the odd snowflake during the height of Winter and on a really cold year, but even then it rarely stayed instead choosing simply to melt as it fell to the ancient city. By now the decorations would have already been put up and everywhere he went there would be lights of Christmas trees, big fat men in suits as well as snowmen in hats. The adverts would also be all the rage, he wondered what John Lewis would be doing, they always had something special to show off and pull at the heartstrings of the nation. Then there were the deals that would be shown on TV and the ever-growing unpleasantness of the post going into chaos and the High street being filled with last-minute shoppers that while did help them in their sales, Nat couldn't help but notice the ever decreasing amount of both foot traffic and shops.

Still, it wasn't all bad, he wouldn't have to buy Christmas presents this year then again normally he only bought a few and those were limited to his sister and her boyfriend and his old but brilliant teacher of Flitwick. It would be a slightly different experience this year he could tell, not by much, he didn't celebrate any holidays, not even his own Birthday got any attention out of him when it finally came around. And why would he, every birthday was just another reminder of his own mortality, that his youth was the most vital time of his life and once it was gone and he hit his thirties the prime of his life was over. He didn't want to be reminded of that on a yearly basis, it was like tempting Fate or like thinking about death, it made him feel small.

He didn't believe nor did he like religion considering what it had done to his people in the past, but he would admit that the thought of some kind of afterlife did give some benefits to such a terrifying prospect of death and was why he didn't fault any witch or wizard who tried to find a way to preserve their life. He often disagreed in the manner of which those individuals who pursued such an objection went about doing thins, mostly by killing many innocent people, casting black vile magic or if the legends were to be believed, making pacts with demons a long time ago to increase their life span.

He shook his head as he realised he was getting ahead of himself. Get back to Christmas, far less depressing thoughts. His mind agreed and soon he was met with the image of Christmas dinner consisting of turkey, stuffing and everything else that went with the meal. He sighed in relief, it was a very good job he didn't have to celebrate Christmas, he had no idea where he was going to get a turkey besides conjuring one, but even then the bird would vanish after a little while.

Then again perhaps he should celebrate it this year. It had been months since he had last seen home and every time he went to sleep, he saw his birthplace in his dreams standing there just as it had done for about two thousand years. He saw the houses of Parliament where the politicians would bicker amongst themselves, he saw Buckingham palace where His Majesty resided and the guard marched up and down a parade square with their weapons and bright scarlet uniforms, he witnessed how the Thames river would go up and down and how HMS Belfast would sit moored at her dock and allow both children and adults to explore her old frame long since retired from the stress of wars. There was also the way Tower Bridge would open and close to allow the passing of boats forward up the river which could, in turn, be seen from the London Eye. But if he were to get bored he may visit one of the many museums that were dotted in the city or instead visit the Tower of London.

He felt a pang of pain in his heart at the thought, it had been so long since he had done anything related to home. His work instead took up the vast majority of his time which while not new, was different in the fact that he knew that if he ever felt as incredibly stressed as he had at times that he could not just retreat to the Lake district several hundred miles north and simply relax with a good book at his side.

There was no way he was going to get home before Christmas he knew, things were going far slower then he wanted and he was also not desperate enough to do something as foolhardy as speak to a demon for help in his endeavour. He may be able to outsmart it, but why take the risk and besides he had a duty and responsibility to Thedas now. He had to protect this young continent from the foes that were beset upon her, he had to at least try and prevent the countless deaths that occurred due to a misunderstanding of magic or of medicine or the deaths thanks to Darkspawn or any other foul thing which reared its ugly head.

Even so, he couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in his heart as he realised that this was by far the longest amount of time he had ever been away from home and even worse than that there was a high chance he might never see home again. He was homesick not that he would ever admit such a weakness out loud.

For that reason perhaps he should celebrate Christmas or Yule as it was better known in the older magical community. It would certainly have its benefits, for one it could help confirm to a suspicious Leliana that his people actually did exist and have their own quirks. Besides that, however, it could help to cement his reputation with the rest of the inner council, by giving Valeyna and the others presents and celebrating dinner with them it may allow them to see him as more than that random kid who had somehow managed to gain a position in the military. Added to this he could perhaps try and use it to gain answers to certain questions by pestering others and stating that it was the season of Yule and so they shouldn't get angry. Finally, it might just help him keep his mind off the fact that he was an unknown distance away from his planet likely never to see it again.

Yes, he could see it now, him inviting the rest of the Inquisition inner council to a large private Yule dinner where presents food and bad jokes from Yule crackers would be released. He smirked as he imagined Sera's petrified face if he were to enchant the Yule trees and snowmen that he would make. Perhaps get them to stealthily watch her with googly eyes that only she could see and when that didn't happen, make them come alive and dance.

Of course though if he was going to try and make a Christmas here, he was going to need to buy a decent amount of presents besides chocolate. Some of them would be easy to get for instance he was bound to have at least picture of some expensive girl shoes that he could permanently conjure for Leliana to wear when she wanted. Josephine may also like the dresses, Solas, on the other hand, caught him as more of a book person which he was sure he could with a bit of time copy a book or two from his tablet onto paper. Blackwall, however, took him as a more practical person, he would like something that he could likely use on a regular basis and be of far higher quality then what he usually had, so basically a weapon. That would be easy, with his magic now fully recovered he could start to harvest the bones of the dead old god and craft an entirely new set of weapons.

Sera was also one of the easiest to get presents, anything he could make that would be related to pranks would be appreciated. Bull, was a bit of a quandary though perhaps a weapon but it was a bit unfair now thinking about it if he got only a few people legendary weapons made of dragonbone and not everyone else them, it was like buying an expensive sports car for one person and a small Lego set for another.

Nat sighed and concentrated on the task at hand. It was all well and good to think about Yule and what presents he may buy for them once he escaped this Magic forsaken place, but that was not possible until he had managed to catch up with his subordinates in the first place. Running around yet another corner of these old dry and stuffy black tunnels, he hoped to find them in good condition. If not...

He'd read Varrick's tale of the champion, and he had also read up on the subject of the Blight in general, once it had taken hold of their victims it was game over. No resets, no magic that could dure it, the only thing that could be done was to make them a Grey Warden and extend their life if they were young enough by about thirty years on average. In that time, they would then suffer as their hair began to fall out and their bodies began to decay in a sort of rot until they descended into the Deep Roads for one last battle. It was not a fate he wished upon his subordinates nor anyone else he had a good reputation but even still he had begun to harden himself mentally for what could happen.

Having been away for so long and thus preventing him from protecting Gerald and Elyria from contracting the disease or being attacked by Darkspawn and killed in some gruesome manner, there was the very real possibility that they were at death's door. He frowned, what was he going to do if that was the case? Kill them outright and burn their corpses, try to find some Grey Wardens who would be willing to give them the initiation or would he instead try to find his own way to find a cure to the disease. In the latter's case it sounded quite impossible for him, he was a warrior, not a healer.

He shook his head, he had no desire to think about what could happen, only that he wanted to prevent what might occur and it was for this reason he kept up his quick brisk walk through the old tunnels that once connected the Dwarven Kingdom. For the most part, they were straight making it easier for the dwarves to keep track and with use of magic and a map he had discovered that the tunnels were built as much as they could to the four main compass points. Still, on more than one occasion he had run into some kind of blockage in the road.

Most of the time the blockages were from where the tunnels had collapsed, either on purpose or from the lack of maintenance he didn't know but none the less they blocked his way forward. Of course, there was always the possibility that he could blast his way through, but he was several metres underground with hard stone above his head, he'd prefer not to cause another incident that sent him to a different planet. Though if that happened, he hoped that there would be less danger that left him stuck inside his mind and allowed him to ponder on whether the two worlds shared any close bonds.

One example of this was over the last days when he had been thinking of a better way to kill demons his mind had turned to Ancient Egypt for some reason. He wasn't an expert on the study, but in that moment of thinking, he began remembering that the Egyptians had believed in something called the Duat.

It was some kind of another realm from what he had gathered, a place where souls went when they died or an underworld as it was more commonly known. However unlike the more typical Underworlds from his knowledge of mythology, the Duat was more than just a land of the dead, people could move through it, keep secrets and items hidden there, speak with spirits of some kind and at least according to some fiction harboured the Ancient Egyptian Gods.

He wasn't an expert and after checking what books he had brought to Thedas with him, he had little chance to learn more since they were so few and not very specific as it was more of a footnote, but he couldn't help but theorise.

What if the Egyptian Duat and by extension perhaps the Ancient Greek Underworld actually referenced the Fade. It would make some kind of sense at least in the case of the Duat, a realm where peoples souls went where they died and slept, where spirits yet also demons lingered and many other things lingered.

As for how he thought Ancient Greece might be connected, it was far more to do with Tartarus a place even worse than the Underworld, a place of cruelty, malice, anger, fear, hatred. It was the most evil of beings, corrupting and dark in all accounts and a place where only the worst was ever banished and even then it was by the "Gods".

At first he thought there wasn't much connection until he began learning more about this so-called "Void" There wasn't much to go off just yet, there was hardly any information on it, yet he could tell by the way people referenced it, the way that one of the Dalish stories read about Andruil that there might be a similarity or a connection. What if like the Duat was some form of the Fade, Tartarus was some form of the Void.

It was all speculation especially without no form of proof to back anything up, yet with nothing else to do as he stepped through one of the many smaller passageways that had been tunnelled into the Deep Roads from the side, it was one of the only things that kept his mind away from the potential disaster awaiting him.

If they were connected, that Tartarus was another name for the Void or even if the Fade was another word for the Duat, then in both cases it meant that the Fade could be far more lethal then he initially realised. If the Ancient elves had gone one way arriving at Earth, then could humans have gone the other.

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he recalled back all those months ago to when he had initially been asked to look at the tomb. He had never actually seen the so-called dead elves now that he thought about it. He had arrived and was told that there was some other kind of species, but he had not seen them and had nothing to compare them to other than the old eleven art that had been on the wall.

The Egyptians had found the tomb that went without a doubt considering the fact that they built a massive decorative tomb over it, that only led to more theorising. What if some of the elves had survived coming to Earth, what if instead of just being skeletons on the floor they had made moved away from the portal yet also kept it steady in case they ever wanted to return.

Their lack of population made at least a certain amount of sense, elves were only created by two elves mating, anything else would have just made slightly prettier humans and if there was only a limited amount, the natural inbreeding would have easily destroyed their population over a short time. Yet despite all this, he reckoned that they would have had at least made contact with the Ancient Egyptians, perhaps even conquered them, told them of a certain amount of knowledge leading to the tales of the Duat and the gods that took the land.

It was in fact very likely that if some of the mages had managed to hold onto some of their power that they would act as gods, placing themselves on a pedestal and ruling early civilization. Afterwards, they would die out quickly, but it might have been long enough to turn fact into legendary and then into myth and then into fiction. Scholars in the modern-day studied the beginnings of Gods and how they originated from one another in some form of the other, many from the Greek Pantheon were supposedly from a middle east origin which in turn could have been inspired by Ancient Egypt.

Some parts would change, become very dramatic or forgotten entirely and made unrecognisable compared to the original belief but there could still be enough similarities and that was what sent a cold sliver of fright down his back.

He wasn't religious, he had found no proof for a God and it was doubtful there ever would be evidence found (A several thousand-year-old book written before science as well as careful and repeatable observations did not count) yet that didn't mean they couldn't exist. Nearly the entire muggle population thought that centaurs and goblins were a myth let alone things like Minatours or sphinxes or giant man-eating spider the size of busses. However, that was because the magical world had hidden it away and it was because of this why the idea of Egyptian mythology and the Fade being connected terrified him.

Ancient Egypt had a giant snake, a being called Apophis which would fight Ra every night in an attempt to consume the sun and end the world as the Egyptians knew it. That snake lived in the Duat waiting each night where once it had defeated Ra it would then be able to escape the Duat. Now if there was truth to this claim, and that Apophis had actually existed, either as a demon or as a powerful Elf mage or perhaps knowing Earth as an actual native snake that was local to the planet rather than being imported, then there was the chance that it could still be alive and still in the Fade.

It could be under a different name, did something else then trying to destroy worlds by consuming their suns, but if it was real and if Earth and Thedas were more connected then anybody knew, then that creature might be locked in the Fade. From a Mythology standpoint it would make sense, Fen Harel had locked up the gods in the Fade and the evil gods in the Void yet even still they could be accessed or at least the Fade could anyway.

The more he thought about the idea the more Nat felt more and more concerned at the idea. Whether it was his mind running through all sorts of hoops and tricks as it had nothing else to do, maybe it was the dark depressing atmosphere of Deep Roads, or perhaps it was simply a case that Dalish mythology resembled Egyptian by a simple chance of convenience and his tendency to over analyse everything was drawing connections where there were none. All the same though, he knew that creatures of mythology existed, hidden away from the rest of the world for both their and others protection, but real none the less.

His mind turned once more to what the Goblins had told him when he first arrived. Previously they had taken the orb back to their people and had it tested, but that implied that they had found the orb where it was. That place he remembered in an irritated manner was just in the right place to open a hole straight through to the Fade. It was possible that the Ancient Egyptians and others could have used this portal to dispose of some creatures of people they did not want to deal with.

Merlin knows it was possible and that records would not exist. The Ministry of Magic had been studying the strange artefacts in it's deepest darkest bowels known as the veil of death for centuries yet nobody knew what it did. Some speculated that it was a door of some kind, either through time or space, others thought that it was just some ancient magic that was made for painless executions, another group thought that it was a door to death itself as in the dimension in which it lingered and there were many more theories past that.

All he knew about the thing other then it glowing white from the pictures he had seen, was that it supposedly whispered to you if you were close enough to hear. In all honesty, it was a creepy thought and having been nearby Red Lyrium and sensed it trying to manipulate him, he had no desire to ever go near it.

But that just left him still wrapped in his theory and what would happen if it was true.

Would it be a call for celebration, that Earth had a sort of relationship with another planet resulting in scholars, curse breakers and adventurers alike would flock to this world to explore all the new wonder and magic as well as to discover if the old gods were linked? Or instead, would it be seen as a dire warning requiring quick and harsh action taken to prevent calamity from occurring on an untold level. After all his society despised what counted as demons more then the mages here did and in comparison, the demons back home weren't really demons, except for the Dementors and Lethifolds of course. The idea that there was another dimension so close to Earth was a realm of demons would be a wakeup call and not something to be tolerated but rather destroyed with the utmost fury.

Nat himself pondered which he would prefer. On the one hand, if the two planets were related, then it could mean that old theories could be put to the test and long sought out answers about the magical past could be answered. Perhaps they might learn more about these olf Egyptian gods and why they feared this Apophis, see if the demons in the Abrahamic religions were related to those of the Fade as well as so many more investigations. On the other hand, it could mean a return to a far more dangerous world, one which it would not be prepared for.

Earth wasn't prepared for it in the slightest, how could they be? Only three muggle nations knew of the existence of magic, Britain, Japan and Greece but even then they left the responsibility of handling magical affairs to their respective magical governments. Those magical governments, in turn, were not prepared for something like the Blight or old gods if they did exist.

Life was actually rather mundane in the magical world, people didn't go on grand adventures every other week and they didn't go around fighting Dark Lords. Actually, come to think of it he doubted that even half a per cent of wizards and witches around the world ever fought in any type of fight past graduating from their school.

If a dark god or something similar was to return, the magical world would be in just as much shock as the non-magical world. So yes it would be best in Nat's opinion, that if his theory was only a theory, not true, not real and most certainly not resulting in the harbouring of giant sun eating snakes in the Fade.

Nat shuddered at the idea of meeting whatever Apophis actually was, hopefully, it was just a simple fear demon. In general he didn't like any animal unless it was a mammal or a bird and even then there were exceptions, however, snakes alongside, spiders, crabs, scorpions, lobsters alongside a few other creatures terrified him more than the general crowd and was part of the reason he had refused any and all suggestion to so much as consider taking care of magical creatures.

He was brought out of his long-winded and complex theory that raced at incredible speed, as he felt a sudden burst of magic up in the distance. It was faint, and going by the way that it had been cast it was obvious that the user was exhausted, however Nat didn't care about that, instead as he felt the magical signature he felt his lips upturn into a slight grin as he realised he was finally after weeks of being apart had managed to find his subordinates once more.

Elyria breathed in deeply, her head sagging to the side as beads of sweat rolled down his red face. Tightly, she gripped her staff in front of her and brought it close to her body so she could lean on it where it proceeded to take some of her weight and help her stay standing up. She gulped loudly once again as she glimpsed back down to her feet he eyes streaked with concern.

Gerald sword dropped to his wayside was laying there nearly motionless. His eyes glazed over, Elyria could barely make out the ever so slight rise and fall of his chest as it attempted to pump air around his body in a desperate attempt to keep him alive. His face was pale, far paler then she had ever seen anyone in their life and that was including the time she had seen plague encroach onto a few villagers.

"Gerald" Her dry voice croaked in pain as if it was cracking from under the strain of having to speak. "Gerald" She called once more desperately fighting off the feeling as both illness and tiredness took over her form making every inch of her body feel sore from the sheer effort that was involved. It was no good though as even though she called out another time hoping to catch his attention, she felt her energy slip by her in even bigger droves to the point that instead of calling his name on the fifth attempt, she instead collapsed onto the floor her head thumping into Gerald's knees.

Quickly, she felt her vision go hazy as she stared to her left, she couldn't make anything out at all, it was instead nothing but a mix of blurry indistinct shapes of a sickly white and filthy black colour. Occasionally, there would be another flash of a brilliant bright colour, sometimes it was a pale blue that the mage identified as an ice spell, others it would be a red inferno that indicated that a mage had unleashed a fireball while less often she could make out a brilliant royal purple that would flash far quicker as lighting crashed into the encroaching Darkspawn.

A shallow breath escaped her dry and cracked lips as she felt even more of her strength wane. Now she would not be able to move, not to run, not sing, not to dance, not even to close her eyelids as they drooped so heavily on her blurry vision. Was this it? Was this how she was going to die she wondered to herself weakly, down here in the deep Roads due to the blight? She felt a cough try to wheeze out of her chest but she didn't even have the strength to let it out.

It was so painful, her veins burned as if she had been dropped in lava and her head was lighter then any feather whilst at the same time feeling as if somebody had dropped a mountain on it due to the pain. She wanted to cry she thought subconsciously, to allow tears to run down her cheeks as she simply waited in her slumped position eyes locked onto the area where the Darkspawn as fighting. However, no matter how much she wanted the pain to stop, for the feeling in her veins to cease, from the blade thrust into her skull and brain to vanish and the sick weak feeling that she had experienced once before when she was young to vanish, it would not go away.

"Please" she prayed desperately to the maker hoping that her prayer would reach him and catch the attention of the mighty creator who had fashioned the world in his image. "Please make it go away" She begged and begged in her mind, her thoughts only focused on the raw pain that bit into her like a pack of rabid dogs, chewing and clawing though no damage was done. "Please, please" She didn't want to die, it was horribly scary and especially not to Darkspawn, they would eat her if she died and if she didn't then... She prayed again desperate for her words of silent prayer to reach her beloved god.

Nothing happened however, no matter how much she prayed to the man, she could hear in the background the sounds of a losing battle. A cry of pain ripped from one of the wardens as a rusty Darkspawn blade sliced through the weak points in the man's armour and ripped straight through the flesh and into the heart. A scream of anger and shock resounded from another warden as they saw the death of their comrade. Rage boiled within them were without even thinking, they gathered up their remaining strength in their bodies and slammed forward with an unseen fierceness. Hacking and slashing, Elryia heard, the sounds of limbs being torn off the body, of a piece of hard sharpened metal passing through weak diseased flesh that ended with a dark gurgle as blood and spit foamed from another darkspawns mouth.

It didn't last for long, only a few minutes as the warden who in their rage had pushed forward into the Darkspawn soon found themselves surrounded and unable to defend from directions were swiftly brought down. That shock, only led to yet another decline in morale as one of the mages horrified by what had just occurred lost the battle as the voices of the demons took over promising them the power to defeat this horde of Darkspawn and save the ones they cared for. So then with a mighty roar and a sudden burst of the fade, the other mages too distracted by the demons could only watch in horror as two of their number were cut down quickly by the monsters long claws before then being cut down by the final mage.

It was a costly action as with the death of all but one of their mages, the role of healing, supporting and giving powerful spells to defend their allies fell to one lone elf mage who was now gasping desperately for breath against her will. Sweat pouring down her face as she flung yet another blast of white flame to a Darkspawn Hurlock, Valena felt her strength drain from her body as quickly as ice did in the summer heat. She panted heavily this time flinging a wall of ice in front of her comrades giving both them and her a brief respite which she used to lean forwards heavily on her staff.

The voices were louder now. Always like other mages, she heard the faint whispers of demons, some seductive, some angry, others terrifying but all the same, their goal was to take over her body and use it as their host to wreak untold devastation upon the world of the living. Most of the time it was easy to ignore, like yelling at a small child who had become irritating, one good show of force made them back of for a while until they came back again pestering and prodding. Now however was different, instead of pestering and prodding with a light twig as demons had a tendency to do, the demons on the other side of the fade, boosted in power due to the amount of death in these horror-ridden tunnels and taking advantage of her exhausted and distracted mind begin to actively punch her self control. It was like them throwing stones at her like when she had been a small child and her clan had stopped nearby a human settlement. The shemlen at the time was what she hated more than anything, but since learning of her powers as a mage and especially ever since joining the Grey Wardens she had long since placed Darkspawn and demons on top of the list of entities she despised more than anything else in the world.

Horrible evil beings they were, playing around in others skin, subjecting them to evil experiments or outright brutality and now she found herself surrounded by them. On one side behind her rapidly weakening ice wall as the Darkspawn continued to hack at it with their shoddy weapons creating a loud chipping sound that stabbed a lance of fear into her heart were creatures of pure darkness. And on the other side in her head desperately trying to break through, to destroy her self concentration and take her as a prize with their now loud screaming and promises of power were the demons.

Sweet things they promised to her, power, money, survival, a way to help the Dalish especially since with the demons now pouring forth and so little keepers in their clans, they were more vulnerable than ever. Still, she knew it was a trick, a way to entice her to things she would never have or own and that was when the whispers changed.

No longer did the demons offer her survival or hope, instead they only offered a quick death. A death without pain, a death where with but a simple agreement she would lose her life yet her body would be used to exact untold revenge against the Darkspawn after they had destroyed the barrier. Valena would like to say that there was no way she would find the idea tempting, but as she leaned heavily on her staff, the sides of her chest burning in agony only to see the scarred faces of her fellow Grey Wardens and the pale sickly faces of the children that lay slumped on the floor, not quite dead, but most certainly infected with the blight, she felt her resolve to fight weaken.

"Let go" One of the demons whispered sultrily from beyond the veil. "I will give you one last sense of pleasure before you die, something that you can hold onto as you meet your gods" No Valena shook her head angrily at the offer, they were trying to trick her, turn her into one last corpse that they would inflict damage with both to the corpses and to her fellow exhausted wardens.

"Go" Valena called out pitifully barely catching the attention of her other wardens" They were in worse shape then she was, all of them covered in cut's gashes, broken bones or sprained wounds, not one of them would be able to fight for longer than a minute. Her final spell she realised grimly, was both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it gave those who might be fit enough a chance to retreat and run away, but on the other the separation from the fight allowing their minds to think once more only reinforced the fact that they would all surely die. "I'll hold them off"

"No" Only one of them responded, the rest were simply too exhausted, one so much that they collapsed to the floor then and there with a loud clang as their steel sword clattered uselessly to the ground. "You," The now highest ranked Warden said. "Only a mage has the ability to survive long enough to find help. You... must go, tell the Wardens that the Archdemon has escaped that the Architect lives" The words sputtered out of the warden's lips in a mix of pants and loud groans.

"And the children?" Valena spared them a glance. Entirely pale-faced with large deep black bulging veins of the blight, Valena could already tell that their time was up. They would not survive the journey for very long and even if they did they would only slow her down. Anger rose up in her, they may be Shemlen, but ultimately they were still children, they shouldn't have had to die. Then again, were they children? Over the course of the last three week ever since their leader, that long-haired blond mage had sacrificed himself to give them time to escape, the two had helped as best they could.

The girl had shown both her combat skills as she assisted the other mages in a fight and healed when they were not whereas the boy and his od weapon had targeted the enemy emissaries quite effectively. It was a shame to lose them from a tactical point she knew, both were invaluable however having spent so long nearby Darkspawn and especially in a battle where fluids like blood and bile were sent all over the place, it was only natural that they would have conducted the blight and the results showed. They were in the last stages before it killed them she could tell, probably only an hour at most before they were either entirely dead or absorbed into the rank of the Darkspawn forever. If the latter were occur, then they would spend their time wondering these tunnels looking for any sort of flesh they could get their hands on, stuffing themselves on it until they were finally corrupted and were then forced to create low-quality weapons for the hurlocks and gunlocks.

"Leave them, they'll only slow them down." There was a hint of sorrow in the leader's voice, a telling that despite the situation that they were in, that the leader did not want to abandon children who would make Grey Wardens. But there was no way to save them, they would have to take the joining to survive what had occurred to them and considering that they had gone into the deep roads to kill the archdemons, they had not brought the materials needed as none of them were expected to live.

Even so, they had failed their task, the dragon had awoken and even if it was not corrupted by the Darkspawn now, it showed a terrifying sentence and a desire to destroy that which lurked above ground. As for the Architect, even if the strange mage boy had killed him, the architect would only come back as he did when the Hero of Ferelden had struck that killing blow all those years ago. One could not kill the Architect and that was what had to be reported to the Wardens, to let them know just what they were facing and so that she could also take revenge for her sister and the other wardens in which that monster had corrupted alongside the man lives that it had claimed by starting the fifth blight and other disasters afterwards.

She couldn't even begin to think about how the wardens would deal with such a threat. That monster had more than enough influence over other Darkspawn to call them towards any possible prison that they might set up and even then it might not have to. The creatures ability to engage in conversation and turn wardens against one another was entirely tarrying and worse when one considered how many wardens would need to be in one place to guard such a monster then the number of corrupted wardens would only increase leading to a possible civil war.

The wardens had to be told, she had to be the one to tell them or else the news would never get out. Still, she hoped that the nations of Thedas could put aside their petty differences in order to face this new blight, it would have to if it was going to survive if she was-.

Valena stopped stiffly all of a sudden and her face went an even paler complexion than it had been already. It was a quiet sound, something that would not have been heard over the sound of battle, but now with most of the wardens too exhausted to hold a conversation, that little sound became like the bells in those human cities, loud and ringing announcing to all those nearby that someone was there. Worse it was moving quickly she could tell and not in a quickly paced march or walk but rather a full-blown run going by how often the sound of some type of material slamming hard against the dwarven stone. Even worse, it was getting closer and closer. Valena gritted her teeth groaning as yet another feeling of stabbing pain in her side made itself known. None the less despite the agony that she was in, she slowly able to bring up her staff to bear though unlike before she did not bother in trying to hide her fears from the rest of the group. There was going to be no surviving this she knew now, the bloody creatures had managed to find a way to sneak past their defensives and were now on their way to strike them from their back. She glimpsed behind her again her panic becoming more pronounced as she heard the ice chip and crack and break under the constant barrage of attacks the Darkspawn gave.

They would break through in two minutes at most.

She sighed loudly as she concentrated on the faces of her dead comrades their red blood ichor now spilt and continuing to spill out of their veins decorating the floor and walls in their lifeblood. Memory would be all they left, a memory of a group of scared tiered men and women who were lost in deep dark tunnels and forgotten about by others, left to die as they attempted to do the world a favour.

It was now how she expected to die, then again she had never really thought about how she would meet her end on a general basis. But even so, the idea of dying in this place to the foul creatures of the evil monster that had taken her sister away from him sent a fire of unbridled fury in her. They would not have her she claimed to her self silently, they would not have her body to torture, to violate to turn into some ugly monster for her to then breed more monster to terrorise the rest of the world. No, she would die standing on her feet like her people did and in honour of her gods. And so with her staff raised and her last bit's of magic that had returned to her formed into a flame spell, she waited for those rapidly approaching footsteps to approach until finally with her heart beating more than a bunch of shemlen war drums, the creature presented itself.

"Thank Merlin"

"Impossible" Valena breathed in shock. "That's impossible" Standing right in front of her was none other than the human mage boy who had sacrificed his life for her and the others three weeks ago. He should have been dead she thought, either a pool of blood far below the surface of the planet in some old dwarven ditch or now lining the stomach of some angry dragon read to rampage through Thedas. Instead, he was here just as he had been before, without injury without a scar and as ever his face devoid of emotion. "You're dead" Valena barely managed a whisper.

"Where are my subordinates?" Nat responded quickly as he came face to face with the elven woman. On other occasions, he might have answered with some sort of quip or sarcastic comment, but right now he couldn't care less.

"There," Valena pointed weakly to the children who lay on the ground" Nat followed her finger instantly and locked onto the two who were lying against the craggy stone now damaged by scorches and battle. He dashed towards them instantly not bothering to spare any of the other wardens a second glance.

" No" He whispered to himself. Their faces... they had the blight... and it... and it was in its final stages before... before death. "No, no, no, no, no, no" He repeated to himself mentally. He felt his heart constrict tightly all of a sudden as if it had been placed into a vice and tightened while at the same time it raced quicker and quicker all the while his eyes behind the glasses flickered all over their exposed skin and now glassy eyes. Whipping his head around so fast that the elf thought for a moment that he might tear it off his shoulders, Nat locked his gaze onto that of the elf.

"You will put them through the joining" His voice was but a bare whisper yet commanding and dominating, daring for the elf to even so much as countermand him. "Now" Valena shook where she stood a shiver colder then any spell or any bad memory she had ever experienced ran down her back threatening to paralyse her then and there. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared into the still blank face of the boy in front.

"You-" A sharp pain burst from her skull, far more powerful than any demon or exhaustion and far worse than any migraine that she had experienced before in her battle. At that moment it was like her entire head had been set ablaze, frozen into an ice shelf, shocked by a powerful lightning storm, hurled face first into the side of the cliff, filled to the brim with water and so many other experiences of pain.

"You will put them through the joining ritual now" Valena too absorbed in the pain collapsed to the ground in a fit of raw agony that was so sharp that she could not even muster the strength to scream or cry out, instead she simply began much to the horror of the other wardens who had not turned their attention, began riving on the floor.

"You do not command us" One Warden proclaimed angrily. Before that warden could so much as raise their chipped sword and charge to assist his fellow warden, the same pain struck him and sent him toppling down to the floor and riving entirely helpless even as the other wardens stared at him. At that moment Nat turned his attention onto the so-called commander of this operation and fixed her a look that would haunt her for the rest of her existence.

There were no words spoken between the two, just a brief glance and the sudden and brash intrusion of another person into her mind. It was far different from how Nat had been taught how to read minds, no subtlety, no grace, no leading questions as he tried to hide his presence in another person's mind. If his usual way was to be a scalpel, quick, clean, elegant and leave as little damage then possible then his current intrusion was far less a sledgehammer and far more of him crashing a Boeing 747 straight into a skyscraper.

The result was instant, brazenly he smashed and threw aside any memory in his hurry as he looked for the one piece of information that he was searching for, entirely uncaring as the sheer lack of care, broke and destroyed the woman's memories leaving her a very quickly destroyed husk of a woman as she stayed they froze the light dimming from her eyes.

Nat had no time for grace, Elyria and Gerald would die soon and already the other wardens had tried to resist. He would not play their paltry little games or answer their stupid questions, he wanted the information and every microsecond that passed was too much when it came to the blight. If Elyria and Gerald were this far along in the blights grip then they may only have an hour to live, an hour which might be needed for the ritual potion to be created. As such he didn't even spare a second thought when he ruthlessly crushed the woman happy memories of her time with some man that she had fallen in love with and kept close to her heart ever since, instead he only stopped when he had what he wanted. The woman did not know how the potion was created, but she was aware of the rough place it was kept and who could create it.

That was all Nat needed.

Pulling out of her mind, Nat quickly turned his attention back to his two underlings sat there leaning against the walls of the Deep Roads looking like death. He dashed towards them, his wand in his hand where to the shock and awe of the Grey Wardens who were watching in horror the two were then absorbed by a large black bag and then placed inside the wizards pocket. After that was done, Nat turned to the down Warden.

Even with his mind focusing on the far more vital task of saving his subordinates, he knew he was going to require assistance on the political front. Dealing with the wardens were simple if they refused he would kill them until one of them did as he desired where promptly afterwards he would then erase their memories of the event. None the less, however, the Inquisition needed a true ally in the Wardens, one that would lend their support and connections to the Inquisition. Anyone of them would do, well besides the woman.

She was now so brain dead that drool trickled out her mouth and down her chin, while her eyes entirely vague simply stared upwards entirely unconcerned with the sound the weapons clashing against the ice.

Crash

With lighting reflexes honed by years of training, Nat was able to spin on his heel as he heard and saw the giant boulder of stone come flying straight through the wall of ice, shattering it with a sound of broken glass. Then with his wand outstretched his sent out a blasting curse that upon striking, eviscerated the rock into millions of small sharp pieces, darting in all directions and impaling both warden and Darkspawn alike in a bloody gaze. The commander, once a proud woman and powerful warrior now recently turned potato was simply gone as many of the small shards ripped through her thin armour and exposed flesh tearing it from her body in a single gory mess and sickening sound.

Then the battle cry of hurlocks became known as with the barrier between them and their quarry now utterly destroyed they sprinted as quickly as they could hoping to not only get a kill but as their dark senses informed them, locate the strange Darkspawn feeling that emanated from the only standing sentient race.

Nat safely behind his conjured shield didn't so much as bother fighting the Hurlock instead he gave a flick of his wand in the direction of the downed elf woman who he had also protected, drawing her close to him. The moment the now unconscious woman made contact with him, Nat still eyes locked with the oncoming hordes of Darkspawn, summoned up his power and thought of that area he had seen the now dead commander talk about and demanded that he Be there and then with a loud pop he disappeared entirely out of the caves.

Antiva

Grey Warden base

It was a relatively quiet day in Antiva for the Grey Wardens of Antiva. Unlike their southern brethren in Orlais and Ferelden who according to some disturbing reports had vanished entirely, the Wardens of Antiva were relaxed, safe, comfortable as they went around their business in the castle that they made their home.

Those who had either aged too much or simply did not like combat were down in the kitchens preparing the meal for those other's who instead spent their time outside in the training grounds. Where the sounds of arrows twanging from bows and steel striking against other steel made itself known. Other's mostly those who were of mage origin and had come to Antiva to join the Wardens for safety against the Templars instead spent their time upstairs where the admittedly smaller library sat. Then there were also the armourers and blacksmiths who had taken to their job of repairing the armour and weapons of the group whereas those with little to no physical skills instead other useful things such as record keeping or diplomacy with those who held large amounts of political power and therefore needed to keep on the side of the Wardens.

It may have only been ten years since the fifth blight ended, but already people were forgetting the contributions that the wardens had given to save Thedas. In fact it was quite extraordinary and a still often spoken about topic, about how only two wardens and both of them young in fact one of them had only been just initiated into the order had managed to not only stop a blight which was an achievement in of itself but also contain it's spread and do so in a year. Some said it was the mark of divine powers at hand others instead insisted on different circumstances while others simply stated that the Hero of Ferelden and King Alistair were just exemplary people.

These topics would range back and forth and though there was some concern for their southern brethren especially with the theories that something terrible, most inside the castle were calm and happy. It was likely very few of them would ever have to fight a dark spawn beside their initiation and their eventual Calling and so it was perhaps for this reason, why none of them was alert when a particularly loud crack echoed through the halls.

Upon appearing inside what Nat knew as the room in which the ingredients to the joining cup was held, the young wizard did not waste a single moment of time. First with his wand still in his hand he sent a stunning curse to the downed elf mage ensuring that she was knocked out properly so he could then tweak her memories later, after which he then placed her in another one of his many pockets. Once that was done, he took both Elyria and Gerald out of their own pocket, expanded the inside of the room he was in by several degrees, conjured beds and then lay the two on them where to the best of his knowledge of healing magic, he then applied a clean wet cloth to their heads.

Once that action was complete he applied some a powerful camouflage spell to himself making him invisible and then strode out the room where again using magic he locked it tightly and applied a few spells to keep others away. Now sure that his stowaways were hidden, he then silently cast a trail spell directed towards the individual who knew how to make the ritual spell and rushed in that direction.

Many things whizzed by Nat as he dashed over the carpet covered stone walls of this apparent castle, all of which Nat briefly took note of in the case that an actual fight erupted between him and the wardens. For example, there were multiple suits of armour and weapons accompanying them all of which Nat guessed belonged to one famous Warden or another. There were also quite a few bookshelves that could be shoved down and more vital then that there was also a number of stone statues.

Tall they stood, figures of old heroes that had accomplished much in the fight to keep Thedas safe from the blight, forever they would stand watchful guarding over both the new and old, inspiring constantly yet also making others wonder if they could ever accomplish so much. Even as Nat dashed, his mind in a desire to keep distracted from the likely outcome could not help but know why statues were intimidating.

The people that statues represented were rare, a special breed of individual, placed on a pedestal and made better than the rest. Very few would ever make it that high and even when people did, they were often seen with envy rather than for the effort that a person put in and that was because that was all that people cared about. It did not matter if a person worked hard or had to face their own personal problems, the fact remained that they were still greater then another whether in wealth, fame, ability power, all of it was the same and all of it inspired intense hatred and jealousy.

He had felt the same, he still did feel the same.

But that was of no matter now. Instead, Nat simply shook his head taking his mind away from the coping mechanism of not thinking about something and instead focused it on his fear, on the emotion of panic that was rising through his body threatening to take over everything to force control of his actions.

He couldn't fail now, not after so bloody long. How many days had he tracked their trail using whatever he could just so he could get to them at a quicker pace and get them out of those dam tunnels? All of that hard effort all of that concern he had experienced as his mind constantly wondered back to them hoping that they were okay only to then find them slumped on the side, their bodies corrupted by the blight and hanging on death's door by but a simple thread.

It was not something he could allow, not something he would allow. They had only been in the deep roads because of him and now they were paying for his decision to abandoning them to fo fight some overgrown gecko that could talk.

What if they did die? He heard his own mind rebuke him critically. There was nothing he could do to prevent the spread of the blight. His knowledge of magic was focused on combat, on dealing vast amounts of damage and killing the opponent. Any healing magic he knew was to compensate when he got hit or in other words injuries, he was not trained or had the knowledge to start healing disease, that was of a whole other level of complexity that he had had never studied. Even worse than that, the blight from what little he could feel was no simple disease like dragon's pox, it was something far more powerful and far more dangerous, something that he had little doubt would confuse and startle even the healers at home with all their vast knowledge and experience.

As for trying to solve it the muggle way, that was even less probable with magic. Years of intensive and expensive study went into studying medicine, constant practise and even after graduating there were then more and more years of working under people until one had enough experience to act out on their own for an earth disease let alone the blight.

At least when it came to magic, he understood the principals, he could flip open a book and likely begin performing low-level disease cures after a bit of experience, but such a thing could never happen with the blight. This was only compounded by the fact that he held no interest in science whatsoever. Sure he learnt it, but science was dull and boring, nothing compared to magic where he had spent many hours studying different types of magic that interested him. Hell even though he planned on bringing some scientific stuff into this world it didn't mean he particularly enjoyed studying it, the knowledge was merely a means to power and influence nothing more.

But these people, the Wardens, they did have a cure and that was what his mind was concentrating on. They were the only ones who could help Elyria and Gerald, they were the only ones who knew how to not only create the joining ritual but knew what it entailed and how their life would change afterwards. Already, he knew that they would refuse to help him simply because he asked nicely. They were warriors, sworn with the duty to protect the continent from Darkspawn, not some charity who helped the sick and wounded. Perhaps if there was less of a rush and he could use what influence he had in the inquisition or gift a certain amount of gold as a donation that might change their minds, but otherwise they would not help.

Even then, if Elyria and Gerald did survive the joining then they would be conscripted into the Wardens. Nat shook his head, he would not allow that, they would not take them and they would not take him or any other member of the Inquisition that their beady eyes would land on. If they tried... He would kill them.

Would it cause a massive diplomatic spat?

Most certainly.

Did he care?

No. He would wipe the mind of the Warden commander before he allowed his actions to put the rest of the Inquisition at risk. And should that also fail then he would be the one to deal with it later, whether that meant diplomacy or assassination would depend on the stakes at play.

Those two were his responsibility, their lives were in his hands, their future what he made of it. If they died... he didn't want to think about it.

"Don't run away from this" He heard his mind retort. "This is your responsibility, their lives are up to you, it is your responsibility to do everything that you can to keep them alive"

"And failing that?"

"Then it is also your responsibility to take fault for your actions to admit where you went wrong to agree that you were the one at fault... If they die, then you have to accept it. You cannot keep hoping for one opportunity to the point that you don't dare to make plans for another simply because you are afraid of it. Yes, they might survive the joining but you can't deny that they very likely won't, not at how far they are."

Nat grit his teeth as he heard his mind argue back and forth. It wasn't uncommon, but it was far less solemn and serious. He knew he was right though, as much as he desired for Elryia and Gerald to live, he knew they were only in this state because of him because he had abandoned them in those tunnels all so long ago. It was his choice too after that oversized lizard in some foolish desire to bring not only the monster down to its knees and prevent it from killing others, but also as he admitted to himself in the secrecy of his own mind for the glory.

It wasn't something he felt proud of now, not when he saw their pale and desperate faces wracked with pure pain as the life faded quickly from them soon to leave nothing but a set of soulless husks, but he had enjoyed the battle with the dragon somewhat. And how couldn't he, he was only human and he knew back them that if he could kill an Archdemon whether it was corrupted or not that it would be an achievement for the ages, something to go down in history.

If it was some other dragon then he would not have cared, but an ancient dragon of untamable power was a very dangerous challenge and one that had sent adrenaline running down his veins focusing his mind as no other opponent had ever don. Even now he could still feel the whistle in his ears as the wind had slammed hard against him as the dragon had attempted pull dangerous manoeuvre after dangerous moreover to destroy him, to make him fall to the ground and lose such a fight. What was, even more, damming, however, was the feeling that the battle could have been even greater.

If only he could fly he thought to himself slightly. That would have made the battle with the dragon so much easier and yet so much more fun. He was no quidditch player or expert flyer like others were and neither did he spend very much time in the air at all besides when it was mandated by Hogwarts for lessons, but even then he still enjoyed being up there and the idea that he could fly under his own power, to explore the heavens to quite literally soar above all others was something that did appeal to him.

He breathed harshly as he lept over a dwarf warden who had just gotten in the way pulling his mind off those thoughts. It was ever so easy for him to be distracted he knew, one thought would lead to another and then to another and before he knew it he had not only left the initial topic entirely, but hours had flashed by and he had not even noticed in the first place.

Elyria and Gerald. His mind flashed harsh with scorn another warning from his own mind chastising him for so much as daring to think of other topics when their lives were so near death, lives that he knew were in that state because of his own actions. Yet as much as he wanted to argue more with himself, to debate the problems of his actions and whether or not they were justified, he had no time. They were ever so close to death he knew, on the edge of a knifepoint like waiting for gravity to just give them the right amount of force needed to free them from their entrapment and fall uselessly to the ground, like drops of crimson blood would from a sharp dagger fresh from killing.

He breathed in another sharp breath, his feet dashing across the surface of the cold stone floor, he was getting closer. Turning quickly through a corner and past the somewhat elegant wooden doorway, the young wizard quickly skidded to a halt as he entered a large decorative chamber of some kind.

Under other circumstances, he might have paid more attention tot he fine detail of the furniture inside or the paintings of chantry history or perhaps even marvel at the meticulous stonework crafted by the dwarven members of the wardens. If he was a warden however then he would have been more interested in the cosy looking fire with a few chairs sat next to it so that a person could read a book from one of the nearby oak bookshelves or instead stare at the occasional suit of armour and weapon belonging to even more legendary Antivan Grey Wardens, but instead as a member of the Inquisition, all Nat was interested in were the people in the middle of the room.

While there was no congregation of people, all bunched up like fluffed up penguins desperate to get warm by whatever means possible, the individual wardens in the room were still located rather close to one another. Two were chatting amicably off to the side whereas two groups of three gathered around and were also discussing things.

Nat didn't bother trying to peer in on their conversation, instead he simply concentrated on the man that was located off in one of those groups of three. He was an older man, then most of the wardens having looked like he had lived at least half a century which was bound to have marked him with years of experience in action, something that was only compounded by the complete lack of hair on the mans face and his tired but still sharp eyes even as they warmed with mirth as some joke was told.

This was the commander of the Grey in Antiva. Nat knew this from having peered into the memories of that likely now dead commander. He wasn't the woman's main commander, but instead she had met him when she had been asked to represent her own group of wardens in some kind of get together and had made more than fast friends resulting in a night of passion though admittedly that last part was not something Nat had ever wanted to see. Such vulgar activity was best kept to people and their privacy rather than just walking around and simply declaring what they had done or even worse trying to discuss such matters with others

That point was moot however as Nat simply did not care in the slightest what that man had done in the past, whether that was how many Darkspawn he had killed, how well he played the game of politics or where he stood, on social, fiscal, or any other type of issue that would affect others. No, this man was the one he needed to save Elryia and Gerald and it was for that reason why Nat spared no haste.

Quickly as he had only a very rapidly diminishing amount of time to complete his objective, Nat soon cloaked the area in a powerful illusion charm. From his position, nothing had changed between the group, but to those who were not him, the wardens simply watched as they get each other a quick gesture to say they were going to speak to someone else that had just walked in. The result was that nobody was watching the commander as a young wizard ever so quietly walked beneath the man, placed a sudden firm grip on the commanders back and apparated all of a sudden.

"Ugh" The commander heaved suddenly almost collapsing to his feet as he felt his stomach lurch all of a sudden like the snapping back of an overtightened crossbow string. "Wha-" His eyes dazed for a few brief seconds as he contemplated what had just occurred. One moment he had been discussing things with his fellow wardens and the next, he felt a sudden tugging sensation in his body before then being stuffed into an incredibly tight object where his body was pulled, pushed, squished and stretched all an untold amount of times as flashes of colour raced y that he could not make out until all of a sudden it simply ceased.

"Make the joining ritual" A calm yet surprisingly young voice spoke suddenly from behind. The commander's eyes widened in horror as he realised just what had happened, he went for his sword only before he had moved so much as a millimetre his entire body froze up. With arms locked together more tightly than the grandest of the old dwarven deep road doors, designed to keep the hordes of marauding Darkspawn out, the commander could only listen as the same voice repeated itself. "Make the joining ritual"

The demand wasn't repeated again, only instead the commander felt his head tug violently to the side by some unusual force that he quickly recognised as magic to then face two beds which had appeared from nowhere. Eyes widening ever so slightly though not in horror, the commander witnessed as two young people a male and female lay there dying as the blight had nearly taken full control over their young bodies.

The demand repeated again though unlike before there was a very obvious and dangerous edge to the voice one which even with all the commanders experience in fighting the monsters of the Darkspawn, demons and other creatur5es that he had come across sent a frightening shiver down his spine seemingly freezing it solid. The commander gulped as his eyes surveyed the state of the children.

"I can't they're too far gone," The commander said quickly. Having lived so long and fought against the Darkspawn for the time he had, he knew when one's fight with the blight had finished and as he gave one last survey of the children on deaths door he knew in a heartbeat that they would not survive, not when they had been exposed to the taint and lived with its effects for so long. In fact, it was somewhat surprising that they had managed to live so long and not go feral going by just how much their veins bulged out from their matted white skin and their frail hair clung to their haunted faces.

Unseen by the now enchanted commander, Nat watched horrified as the last dim lights on Elyria's eyes began to fade entirely. For a moment he wanted to rush towards her to cast spells and help her survive to see her get through this but he was not of the skill he knew, there was nothing that he could do that would save her life. Only with a time turner might he stand a chance of keeping them alive, because only with a time turner would he possibly gain the most valuable thing of all that might give him an advantage to either slow down the spread or maybe even halt it and failing that use that time to take them here to this man where he could save them.

"Save them" He growled openly not at all bothered by the fact that his typical calm expression and temperament had changed to that of unmatched fury. He was giving the man a chance he said to himself, give the man a chance of his own free will to save them before he threatened him before he forced the man to do what he desired and felt the consequences.

"No" The commander answered back quickly with a stubborn and gry tone. "I will not do as you say. Release me this once"

"No" Nat whispered softly, gingerly as if he was holding up a newborn kitten surprised and taken aback by its sheer cuteness and the overwhelming desire to protect it. "Save them, please," He asked again a slight amount of pleading in his voice as now in their proximity he felt their weakening life force of his two subordinates slip ever and ever close to the precipice of death. No long now he knew if it wasn't administered soon if they didn't take the joining...

"I am the commander of the grey wardens in Antiva, mage. You will release me this instant or when my fellow wardens find you".

Slap

There was a sudden silence as a sudden and immense pain struck the back of the commanders exposed head. Had he been able to, the man would have turned and struck back at the mage however as he was still retained all the man could do was glower furiously at the person behind him.

"Very well, I gave you a chance," Nat said in a dark and pained tone one that made the previous shivering down the commanders back feel like a hot sunny day in the middle of a dessert during the height of summer with 100% humidity and no breeze.

It was like nothing the commander had experienced before, dark, cold and freezing could not begin to describe what had happened, his gut tightened and his skin turned to something beyond clammy, his beating heart doubled and then doubled again so fast that it was like somebody had replaced it with a battering ram, hammering and hammering hard against his ribcage which in turn felt like it was caving under the pressure squeezing out not only any air that had been side, but also the contents of his stomach and then into a straw where they were then being pulled out of his throat. But the feeling did not end there as his muscles began to ache as though they had sprinted ten thousand miles non-stop while his arms went dead in his sheer arms, useless and devoid of all the strengths he saw. As for himself, all he knew was raw primal fear, not of that of an avvar who was fearing for his life against a wolf that could tear out his throat, but against something far older and far more dangerous.

His instincts honed over decades to fight Darkspawn did not even bother screaming at him to run, no he knew there was no running, only complete and utter submission, one that would only accept such a result and anything less then that would result in his immediate and painful death. Oh how the commander suddenly wanted to bury his lead in the ground or dig a burrow to show that he was not even worthy of sharing the same ground as the creature that stood before him, that he was not worthy to live in the same world as a god, that he was nothing but an insignificant spec of dust whose finite life meant nothing when compared to the will of the superior creature behind him.

And that was all before Nat had even pointed his wand to the back of his skull and said a simple word. Instead as he stood there behind this commander his raw magic have broken free of it's shackles and now illuminating the room in a magnificent royal purple that could not be matched aside from his now fearsome glowing eyes that were now so clear even behind hose glasses that covered up his face, demanding and determining the worth of this pathetic life in front of him. And as all this happened, he contemplated.

Was it worth it?

Was it acceptable?

How often had he railed at the term, the greater good simply because it was how one person defined it, how often had he considered the thoughts of previous wizards and witches who had used their power to do what he was now considering, about how they felt it was justified in the situation about how the spell had saved a life or ended a war.

How many times had he told himself alone in a dark room staring in the mirror that he would never drop that low, that he was better than that, that he would never give in to that urge, that he would never use those spells? How many times had he said that he was better than such brute force options, that he could find another way, that he was Ravenclaw, wisdom his fame and Wit his game that he was not some ugly, ill thinking Gryffindor or some entirely cruel Slytherin or some naive Hufflepuff, how many times had he said that he was better.

Yet now, he was so close, just one spell away from finding the solution he needed. It wouldn't matter he told himself, the circumstances were incredible and even then who was going to know, only the most recent spell cast could be identified making it practically impossible for the ministry to ever know if he cast the spell. And it was justified was it not, Elyria and Gerald were dying and this man, this cold man was refusing the even try to help him, he was willing to let lives that could be saved die.

At least when he allowed innocents to die, there was a reason, that he was trying to save more lives in the long run that such harsh measures were needed that in the end despite everything cruel and evil about his actions were that they were all the same justified when the results were shown. He knew the world did not run on black and white and he also knew that it was all so easy for others to judge somebody else but that was always from hindsight, from safety.

They would judge him he knew, as would other's, but they were not in his position, they were not faced with the current choice that he was to save his subordinates, companions... friend. They were not forced with the position that they could save their friends if they were willing to ignore the rules for a brief occurrence, they were not the ones who were faced with the knowledge that if he did nothing, that if he did not take this step, that it would haunt him for the rest of his days, never ceasing to leave him and forever dogging him hereforth.

He could not let them die, they were young and especially not because of his actions. It was his fault that they were in those stupid tunnels, it was his fault that he had left them with the wardens, it was his fault that he had not been quicker to regroup with them. It was his fault that this was even on the table right now and more importantly, it was his responsibility to ensure that they would survive today, that they would be able to once again enjoy life as much as they possibly could. So Nat stared at the back of the commanders head for a second feeling as an uncomfortable sensation in his stomach hammered home repeatedly.

It was ok in this case was it not, he was using it to save lives, to help others. He had no desire to take over the Wardens on any permanent basis, to bend them to his will and force them to do as he commanded, to make them slaves or puppets. All he wanted to do was save lives, to help others in this case, it was a noble cause was it not, one where the end justified the means. And besides, the man would not remember anything, with his mind wiped of this brief incursion he could get back to his normal business, lead a normal life.

It was right, it was his actions that had gotten them into this mess and it would be his actions that solved it. What use was magic if he could not use it to solve his problems, what was the point of power if a person could not utilize it. If he allowed them to die here and now simply because he allowed some pathetic feeling of morality to take over to dictate the terms that he was just as bad as the Darkspawn.

The end justifies the means. He thought to himself sternly and then repeated it once more this time finding that bit of morality that was trying to fight back to tell him that this was wrong that there was no going back, that once he had taken those first steps that it would be all but imp[ossible to go back. It was like addiction his morals argued, it was easier to resist when one had never taken that first bit when one held the moral high ground when they said so easily that it was a simple thing to resist. However when one did take that first fling, the gates had been unleashed, a person had tasted that power and at first, they thought they didn't need to use it that it was a one time matter, that it should never be used again. Over time that changed, it started slowly, one small problem that could be solved by controlling a person's mind, a small inconsequential thing, but it gained traction and soon that person was then controlling people for the slightest reason.

He wanted to resist, he desperately did. He had no desire to pursue magic that far, he knew himself he knew what would happen he knew that if he took those steps that he would go too far. This was what prevented him from going too far, the line that had been drawn the force of opposition which would prevent him from following the same dammed road that many witches and wizards had gone on before.

The Road to hell was paved with good intentions

In this case, he desired to save the lives of others, it was not for him that he was doing people a favour but for others and he believed that those who had power should at least try to help those who did not. He was firmly against forcing people to help, but lending a quick spell here or there could help another person and in this case, his quick spell could save the lives of two others and it was something so easy to agree upon but it had consequences.

What would he do in the future, he liked to think that he would be able to keep control of such an ability that he would only use it in the direst of circumstances but the temptation was always there and it was worse when one knew when they had passed the line. What was worse, was that he knew that he would feel that he was the moral one for using such a spell for saving the lives of others, but the same could be said of Voldemort.

Despite what cruelty he had inflicted, despite the sheer amount his own sense of politics clashed with his on fundamental reasons, the fact remained that Voldemort thought he was the one in the right. Though he knew not the man's mind nor did he even know if he wanted to, Voldemort likely saw the magical world in which many other people saw the world today, wrong, repugnant, led by incompetent heartless weak individuals who ruined society by their actions. He sought to change it.

Nat knew the feeling all to well as did likely the majority of people on earth especially with how polarising it had become. The left stated just how cruel the world was with so few people in power about how the poor could barely scrape by and were constantly insulted as well as other similar topics. In contrast, the right claimed how it was wrong that others should be allowed to take money away from them simply because they had more of it, they were also of the opinion that old morals that had kept society together for thousands of years were being eradicated and how it would destroy things. That was only a brief glimpse of their thoughts and only on a very narrow field of issues and even then of only one nation.

Both sides had their points and both were free to believe that what the other one wished to implement was evil or cruel and whether or not he agreed did not matter, the fact remained that others would be unhappy. However all the same when a group of people got in power and began implementing their respective policies, the thought they were the ones in the right that no matter what they did that the end result was worth such a sacrfice even though countless others would get hurt or crushed in some other way.

It was impossible to escape from, the hypocrisy that followed. People believed that they should be free to do one thing, yet another should be illegal. Nat knew he was guilty of it and just one basic example was murder and easting a pizza. One one hand he thought that people should be allowed to eat pizza because people had the freedom to choose yet on the other he thought that people should not be allowed to murder others. One one hand he sought to give freedom to one type of thing and take it away from the other.

It didn't matter whether others agreed murder was also a bad thing the fact remained he desired to take a persons freedom away to murder somebody because he thought he was doing the right thing, that it would benefit more people.

And that was where his quandary lay.

On one hand, he could use this spell that he had at his disposal to help make the world a better place, to prevent countless deaths and sorrows that followed yet on the other such a spell would strip a person of their freedom and force them to do his will.

It was so easy to agree to such a spell when the other result was murder and death, but when he thought about what this could turn to what he would likely use the spell to accomplish, later on, the power he could gain, the plans he could put into motion or stop whether for his desire or for another all hinged on him making this one choice.

It came down to that old question when it came to war and rights. One side would say that rights had to be restricted so that the nation could survive and then give them back later, whereas on the opposite side a person would then argue, what was the point of having rights if they would simply be taken away when it was convenient.

Was it right to use that spell? Nat asked himself again his mind philosophying and arguing left and right each both desperate to win the argument to shape in how he would later act. He knew that he would not stop fighting this war either way that he would still continue to manipulate, to kill to use his power against others, but the question remained did he use the spell.

What was more important, the lives of two people or his morality. Would it be better to throw away his pitiful excuse of a moral system in order to fight the enemy tough and nail to make them bleed for every step that they took against him to save lives yet also knowing that the opening of this gate could lead him on the path of making decisions that for so long he had never wanted to be placed in a position to make. Or did he instead stick to what little morality he had, choosing to walk a familiar routine which would always tempt him one which would always mock him one which for the rest of his life always ask what could have been?

It was so hard, Nat wanted to scream, to yell to run away from this position to not be forced to make this decision even as he felt the power in his body course through his veins ready to be unleashed.

Did he do it, did he take that step?

Tightly his eyes clenched together and his face scrunched up tightly as if he had just bit on a particularly sour lemon entirely unable to keep ahold of his usual calm mask and..."

"Too late kid" The voice of the commander tore him from his thought's and back again into gut retching reality. At that moment he felt for the life of Gerald and Elyria, hoping to catch their weak life force barely clinging on ready to be saved at the last moment.

Nothing.

Nat fell utterly a look of horror on his face. Dashing forward past the commander no longer caring about trying to intimidate him, the young wizard soon found himself at the bedside of both Elyria and Gerald staring at them with unhidden grief. quickly he placed his hand upon their hearts ignoring just how ugly their sickly pale bodies looked attempting to feel for a heartbeat yet again there was nothing. He pulled out his wand and faster then he had cast any spell before he had in his life, he checked their signs begging to himself that something would register that their heart or brain would still be in one piece.

Nothing.

His eyes wide a slow painful breath escaped the feeling of his crushing stomach as he watched in a blank stunned manner the way the corpses lay there unmoving in the slightest. Suddenly his head went lighter then it had ever done before as if it had been filled with helium and had ascended into the atmosphere where the air was so practically non-existent that he struggled to breathe for a few moments.

Dead

They... they... they were... dead.

The thought struck him harder than a spear made of goblin silver travelling faster than a fighter jet. He wanted to argue, to yell to complain to cast another spell, anything to prevent that from being true, yet though this was his desire, he felt all strength drain away from his body like water through a sieve to the point that he was barely able to remain standing and only a brief thought had prevented his wand from clattering to the stone floor in some dramatic fashion.

They were dead

No tears fell from his face and soon the shock of what had occurred lessened. His weak stance vanishing and the brief emotion showed on his face also disappeared as it was replaced by not the same calm face he kept, but a harsher icier one that like the aura he presented turned into a glacier freezing anyone who would dare get close. Then with his voice dropped to only the barest whisper that even the slightest breeze would hide it, he turned to the commander wand back in his hand and said only one lone word.

"Obliviate"

1 week later

Skyhold

"Have you heard" Not even bothering to so much as conceal the whisper a guardsman of the still functioning though incredibly weakened Inquisition spoke with awe as he and several of the guardsman friends sat huddled in the main hall of Skyhold.

"Heard what?" A gruff voice replied

"The Templars" The first voice spoke in a sense of both awe and yet unrestrained fear as if they had gazed upon the Medusa.

"What about the Templar's?" A third voice replied with an angry tilt. Thet guardsman still remembered how over a month ago about how he and the rest of the inquisition had been ambushed back in Haven. It had been a swift and bloody battle, one that had resulted in the death of a few of his friends and the complete destruction of the of their stronghold.

"Their all dead" The first voice spoke again.

"What"

"I thought that was just some silly rumour that we spread around" A fourth voice belonging to a new member of the Inquisition allowed himself a brief flash of his eyes upwards to where he knew the higher members of the Inquisition were. Currently, it was incredibly late at night and the only light that was provided was that of a few small torches that had been littered across the room.

"No, servant glimpsed the message on the spymaster's bench. All the Templar's really are dead." A round of shock was left on the guard's faces as well as a certain amount of incredulity.

"How, I mean these are Templars how did all just die, did the Venaroi kill em?" The same voice asked curiously before then raising up the tankard of ale he had with him to his lips and then started taking a sip. With the taste of the drink running down his throat sending a slight burning sensation, the guard felt warmer for a slight amount of time even as cold mountain air blew through the shattered windows at the back and into their exposed faces.

"Maybe demons got em, I mean seriously how do all the Templars just die all of a sudden.?"

"Oh please, I doubt it's all the Templar's, they're spread across the entirety of Thedas, nothing kills a specific group of people that quickly. It's probably just some plan to get us to come out of this fortress so they can ambush us or something"

"No, it isn't" A new voice replied in a dark tone his older more grizzled appearance betrayed by their fear that shone bright and prominent eyes. Gently the man cupped an empty tankard, walked towards where the cask of mead was located and poured himself a drink. Then when that was over, the man walked towards the men and took a more dominant position by the fire that all of the guards had huddled around hoping to stay warm as the winter chill tried to squeeze it's nightmarish claws into them and lay them all to sleep in gentle and beautiful snow white slumber.

"You were there?" A guardsman asked his eyes shining in curiosity as a deep burning hunger for more knowledge honed his ears so that they filtered out any background noise such as the sounds of owls hooting in the distance.

"Yes," The grizzled man answered. "We were sent to Denerim to get some supplies when we arrived that's when we saw it"

"Saw what?" An excited guard chirped.

"The Templars. We didn't know it at first, all we did know was that a whole bunch of people were impaled painfully on stakes and had been hoisted in the air and stripped of all their clothing" The man shivered as he remembered.

It had been a relatively calm day, he and his fellow scouts had been asked to gather a few supplies from Denerim as covertly as possible meaning no wearing of the Inquisition insignia instead relegating them to normal clothing and a hidden dagger attached their belt in case they had gotten into trouble. At the time he had been laughing with a few of his friends mentioning about how they were all going to go to the local tavern once everything was bought up and enjoy some actual decent food instead of the piss-poor rations they had whilst they were stuck in an old shoddy castles desperate need of repair work

With it being early in the morning, he had looked forward to also grabbing a good breakfast and as he passed through the castle doors he was excited to smell the air full of wonderful food. Fresh meat, cooked pig, a few sweet-smelling apples as well as the adorable sight of the young beautiful girls that he thought of wooing as he had no wife.

Instead, as he passed through those gates and got closer to the marketplace, all he could smell through the old sone and wood buildings was the unseemly smell of death. At first he thought it had to be the smell of the sewers, it wasn't uncommon for a strong wind to blow the foul stench into the market place and make the day worse, but instead, as he approached he noticed more and more the shocked and rather queezy looks on some peoples faces.

Both curious and concerned, the man had quickened his pace on the cobblestone floors and ignored the once familiar sight of the old city and their thatch-roofed buildings until before he knew it he had broken out into a full grown sprint only stopping when he had burst through the gates to the market place and witnessed as a large crowd of all people chatted loudly as they all the direction of the Chantry while also pinching their noses as tightly as possible to keep the stench away from them.

What lay before him was something from a nightmare.

There in front of the doors of the chantry building was a sign of utter depravity and monstrosity. Thrust upon large wooden stakes jutting from the ground that was now so red and coated with blood that there was no other colour remaining were the dead pale and decimated corpses of men and women alike.

Horror struck the scout instantly, whilst a sudden feeling of queeziness began to overtake him stomach making his legs felt weak as he desperately struggled to find something to lean against. Those corpses the scout saw, had been killed quickly he recognised. Slashes, cut,s deep red bloody gouges that fly's had already started to buzz around and begin to lay their nests in were the most common yet the depravity had not been limited to that. Instead, some of the corpses had entire limbs ripped harshly away from their bodies or heads that had been decapitated and were in turn placed upon a second stake near the first. Another lot had been turned to a dark burnt thing their entire skin and flesh and eyes all vanished the moment their attacker had struck them while other's he saw had a far paler appearance indicating that they had been frozen in ice while many more had only a small wound like that of an arrow or a spear yet again others had limbs which seemed to have been blown off into some tiny pieces by some type of weapon.

"A demon" A shrill voice cried from the distance. "A demon is responsible" Turning around, the scout focused his gaze on an older looking lady. Though she was past her prime and was now at the time of her life where she would have young grandchildren, indicating that she had lived a long life, the woman was still petrified as her long gnarled finger pointed towards the dead Templars.

"Demon," A new scared voice said. "We must run away, if demons are killing all the Templars we must run, oh blessed Maker"

"How in the maker's name did this even happen?" The scout whispered to himself as he regained some of his former strength back and stared at the impaled and twisted forms of Templars. In fact, how did even people know it was Templars. Searching around, he found his answer, there in the middle of all the corpses located on a small table was one lone Templar helmet and as well as a single sword that had been slammed hard into the top and then through the table so that the tip could be easily seen.

"I thought it was all a rumour," The scout said turning his dimly lit face back to his fellow members of the inquisition. "As a scout, I'm more privy to certain information, and had heard about the disappearances of Templars, but we still thought it was some kind of trick. But after we went to Denerim and got our supplies, I stopped in at a village and it was the same thing there as well, just a load of Templar's impaled on stakes that were either always outside the chantry or in the middle of the village if they didn't have one. "

"So what do you think it is? A mage" A relatively young soldier asked with rapt attention. In fact, at this point, the scout noticed that even with the biting cold winds that blew through the shattered remains of this castle that the soldiers were now entirely hanging onto his every word like a begger for a gold sovereign.

"That's what I thought too, so did the Spymaster." The scout frowned as he remembered the look of both shock and incredible worry that had passed on that beautiful face, the way her eyes had flashed and her body had straightened with the utmost attention. "Some of the signs are there, charred and frozen corpses, but the other wounds, the vast gouges, the decapitations, the arrow and sword wounds and the stakes, that's something else"

"Demons?" Another suggested with a shiver.

"That's what we think as well. I mean only Templars have been killed which would indicate mages, but you've seen how they fight, lightning, ice, fire most of the time and only the occasional mage will do anything else. It doesn't match any normal mages spells" There was a loud sigh from the other soldiers as they heard that, at the same time a few others feeling the shivers begin to make their way up their spine began to take another quick swig of their beverages letting out a nice relaxing breath as they felt the sudden warmth.

"Well, what about that kid, you know the one in the inner circle. I heard rumours saying that he killed an entire lot of Templar's ages ago, perhaps it's him" Shaking his head vigorously, the scout tried refocused his attention to his right as a small piece of bread was offered to him to munch on. Not even thinking he took the bread by instinct and shoved it down his throat which was then followed by the mead he had in his other hand.

"Nah it couldn't be him, kids dead" Suddenly finding himself as the centre of all the attention in the group, a young soldier his hair illuminated by the pale moon light, extended his arms out as the other soldiers peered at him in interest.

"Really, where did you hear that?" The soldier shook his head as a cocky smirk appeared on his face.

"It's just common sense, isn't it. He goes missing before the attack to Maker knows where and now it's been over a month and he hasn't even returned back yet. Coward probably just ran into Templars and died."

"Pfft serves him right, the little shit"

"What was wrong with him?" Like a yo-yo in motion, the conversation began to lose momentum as it went on as steadily much to the scout's relief the topic went from that of the utter deaths and countless slaughter of some of the best soldiers in the entire continent to one of their own leaders.

"What was right with him" The voice answered back in a shrewd tone. "It's bad enough that we recruited the maker dammed demon bait, who knows when they'll just turn and kill everyone but to bring in one of them as a member of the inner council and worse a fucking kid is just stupid. I mean what does he have that we fucking don't, what makes him such a special fucking mage that at the same time I was taken on as a blacksmith's apprentice that he's given the power of a fucking officer."

"I know, how old is the brat even?"

"No idea" The soldier shrugged. "But the fact fucking stands, all the other members of the inner council are older, seen shit in their lives or can give the Inquisition shit but the fuck can a kid bring"

"Money" One soldier answered in a helpful way. "Maybe he offered money in exchange for help?"

"Nah if that was the case then they'd be all kinds of little shits running around and bossing us around" A grumble of annoyance ran through the group. More than one of them had lived in an area where they had at least once been forced to act differently simply because some little twat who had been pushed out the right fucking wench was coming down. What made it worse, was that they were just supposed to accept it when those twat faced cunts then began to act that they were better than them simply because they had more money. Oh, how on more than one occasion they had desired to punch their fucking skulls in.

"I heard he'd from a secret group of mages, apparently they all killed themselves and he's the last survivor."

"What, so you think he was taken in by the spymaster because he's young?"

"Is it so hard to imagine. We've all heard the Inquisitor screaming her whore face off, perhaps she took him in as some kind of pet to train up. That's what the Dalish do anyway, kidnap and kill."

"Wait so he's just some kind of sex toy?"

"No" The scout interrupted suddenly, once again he had grabbed all the attention from the group as they stared at him in a confused manner. "I haven't worked with the kid, but I've seen his work. He's dangerous, has no problem killing in large numbers and, I once overheard the commander talk about how the spymaster had assigned him on a mission once and then again on how the kid had pushed constantly for the mages."

"So the kid wanted more mage friends, so what. It doesn't explain why he's in the inner council" Again the scout shook his head at the rebuke, It was fair enough he guessed on the part of the soldiers, as far as they were concerned, they were older, wise, stronger and better because of that age. A such the found it odd if not insulting that somebody younger then they were given that much responsibility, in fact, though he didn't say it, the scout held a similar opinion. Why should a child be given so much power when he hadn't earned it.

"Maybe it's because he's friends with that dwarf and the Inquisitor. I mean think about it, he was there with them when they went to investigate the Breach the first time, leading assistance, fighting demons. Perhaps that's why they allowed him to get a place especially as the Inquisition hadn't even formed leaving the kid to take advantage of the situation"

"So the kid got lucky?" The incredulous look on the soldier's tone was obvious. "The kid just so happens to befriend the future leader of the Inquisition and other key members even though that practically all the other mages and Templars were dead. I mean how does that not bother you, the Divine was killed by Corpypheus and a magic kid far too young to be attending just happens to be nearby and worm his way into the heart of the Inquisition with practically no history and worse no evidence. "

"Of course it bothers me" The scout snapped furiously his eyes burning with a mix of both envy and spite as he imagined seeing that head of long blonde hair dangling down. "The kid isn't old enough nor is he known and worse he's a mage. For all, I know he could be a blood mage and using his magic to take control of the Inquisition so he can use them for his own gain, but there's nothing I can do, not when he's been missing for over a month"

"And if he comes back?" A voice whispered quietly on the wind whilst their eyes flickered left and right constantly as a fearful look blazed away.

"I don't know. We can't kill him simply because he's young and we can't claim he's a blood mage without any evidence, if e try anything then the inquisitor will have our heads. You've seen how she is, the way she sits on top of the castle gates at time's staring longingly out as she waits for him to stride home. And beside's, it's not as if he's done anything wrong. He just kept to himself most of the time and he wasn't rude like other's are, nor did he shout, he's just very private. The spymaster thinks he still mourning, but it's been months now"

"Maybe he has a lady friend. We've all heard the rumours and it has been said he checks up on that Trevelyan girl, speaking of which she disappeared to."

"What? You think the two ran away together or something?" The soldier shrugged.

"Maybe, I mean she was quite pretty. I know I would defiantly fuck her if I could"

"Who wouldn't, that ass" A lustful giggle emerged from the soldiers as they tried to remember the way the young mage looked. Though there were nice looking common girls, there was something about nobility that made them so far sexier, so more beautiful and ever more fuckable in the eyes of those poorer classes. Perhaps it was because they were forbidden fruit, neither of them could engage in such an act without repercussions, for the nobility, it was a scolding and a loss of reputation whereas for the commoner it could very likely be dead.

"What if the kid was sent on some kind of mission for the Spymster?

"Don't be stupid"

"I'm not" The man replied harshly. "Think about it, nobody thinks much of the kid because he's well a kid. So what if to use that the spymaster sent him on some kind of mission to spy on Corypheus, with how well he can hide even from Templars it would make sense"

"If that happened though, why didn't he warn the Inquisition, tell us that the Templars were planning to attack. Do you even know how many died back at Haven, how many more died in these maker dammed mountains"

"It was just an idea?"

"Just an id-" The man had no time to interrupt as out of nowhere, a sudden blast of cold wind far stronger then what had been present before slammed through the open windows and extinguished all the flames in the room turning the dark rubble halls of Skyhold so black that even with the light of the moon shining down onto them, they could barely see one another silvery faces.

"Somebody light the fire" One of the soldiers barked their orders rapidly as they wrapped their meaty arms around themselves hugging tightly as they waited for what little warmth that they had given to them to return. "Fuck I hate this place" They then muttered scowling as thew saw their breath escape their mouths as a vapour.

"Of all the Maker dammed places why did they have to choose this place? Why not Orlais or Antiva, it's nice and warm there, not this fucking constant Ferleden cold" A series of understanding looks came from the other soldiers of the Inquisition as they heard the statement. All of them even those who had been born and raised in Ferelden could understand the aversion to the cold. It wasn't a pleasant experience in Ferelden compared to Orlais, they didn't have nice warm beaches that the nobility would rest on and dip their toes in the sea, and they didn't have warm pleasant days as they did in Tevinter even when it was at the height of winter. Instead, all the Fereldens were given when the Maker had formed the land and put its people here was cold, snow, ice and giant fucking dogs. Still, they were their fucking dogs.

"Well it is defensible, you can't attack this place, only starve us out" Chattering desperately through their teeth as they focused their attention on the two soldiers who had rushed towards the fire and were now doing their best to light the extinguished timbers that sat there lifeless in the old stone hearth.

"Great, so we don't have to worry about being killed by magic and sword like we were at Haven, only starving to death slowly and feeling as our strength drains away from us bit by bit. By the time we die out skin will have cracked, we will be nothing but the skin and skeleton whilst our bodies will be so deprived of water that we would beg to drink piss" Another soldier responded bleakly to the comment ignoring the dark looks that others sent them.

"I doubt that will be a problem considering all the Templars have been killed. But seriously though, what could kill that many Templars so quickly?" Once again the scout was forced back to the horrible memories of Denerim and that village of how blood had seemingly rained from the sky of the broken pathetic carcasses as if they were nothing but animals.

"Darkspawn?" Another soldier spoke harmlessly. "I mean they have been spotted again recently and it does sound like something they'd do and according to the rumours after the blight, there were talking Darkspawn that did that type of thing" A round of shivers drilled quickly down the soldier's thoughts as they thought of the possibility of those monsters. Most had never seen any, but all of them could still remember how their parents had always warned them about what the consequences of fucking with magic were and that in turn led them to the nightmare that was Corpyhpeus.

"Actually that does make a certain amount of sense if you think about it. If Corypheus is one of the older Darkspawn then it makes sense that he can control lesser Darkspawn and if he was able to hit Haven without us noticing is it possible that he could get Darkspawn into cities without anyone knowing what's happened"

"Okay, but why do that? Why go through all the trouble of sneaking Darkspawn into highly crowded cities, get them to kill only Templars who are Corypheus's ally and then put them all on spikes in front of the chantry buildings and then sneak them out.?"

"To send a message?" The youngest of the group said.

"I would think just killing the Templars or making them disappear would be enough, impaling them like animals though is something fucking different. Whoever did that wanted to be brutal and not just that but they left the bodies in front of the chantry which is one of the biggest heretical things I can think off"

All of a sudden a sharp snapping sound broke all the other soldiers out of their thinking forcing them to focus on one lone soldier who with eyes sparkling as though he had solved the biggest mystery in the universe answered in an arrogant way.

"Obviously, it's a bunch of mages working together and using their magic to communicate all at once"

"Maybe, but if that was the case then why have nations been targeted all at once. First, it was Orlais, then the Free Marches then it then the Anderfells, then Nevarra, there's no logical way in which they were attacked, not by adjoining nations, just random places that are attacked. These mages would have to have the power to appear suddenly, kill the Templars and place them on stakes without anyone noticing and then retreat all in a short amount of time."

"They probably made the stakes beforehand" AAoldier tried to answer the question that was on all of their minds.

"that's okay, but somebody would have noticed them and if the Templars got reports as soon as the Inquisition did, then they would have found at least one individual but they didn't. "

"So their all dead, killed in brutal means, are entirely undetected, is likely in a group, can cover a large distance in a very short time period, and can also communicate with one another. By the Maker who has that type of power" Another shudder of fear ran down the spines of all the soldiers as they considered what had happened to their enemies. While most of them did not care so much about the fact that they had been killed as not only had the Templars killed people they knew but also because Templars had far better training and that for the average soldier getting into a fight with a templar meant utter death they could all however only think in severe concern if that power was directed towards them.

Already the Inquisition had nearly been smashed by Corypheus, many had died in the initial battle at Haven when they were trying to retreat and even though they had some resources, even more, had died in the wet, freezing and windy mountains. Some had died because of hunger, others because of a misstep that had sent them toppling down to the ground where they would be killed entirely while the vast majority went to sleep one night and never woke up again, doomed to sleep an eternal night far away from civilization.

And that was just one battle. All of them knew, that if the enemy got ahold of this group if they managed to deal that many quick strikes against the Inquisition then they would be entirely doomed resulting in its fall. And if that was to occur, who would save the world then, all but one of the members of the Inquisition were located in the castle at this current moment and the only one who wasn't was considered dead.

Could they survive another battle with the enemy? Ther men doubted it and even according to the rumours that were heard so did the inner council. Even now they were barely scraping by fed on the same scraps that they still had remaining from their animals as they sent scouts out to desperately barter for food.

"What if their allies?" A soldier asked hopefully. Looks of doubt were the response of the other soldiers though only one with gruff voice answered.

"Yeah right, why would a group who can kill all the Templar's in Thedas need to ally us. I bet they could just sneak into Corypheus camp and kill them right under their nose"

"Don't be stupid and don't believe everything that's told to you. Not all the Templar's are dead"

"What," A round of shocked voices asked. In turn, they all as this little carousel seemed to work one though amusedly turned their gaze to the soldier who had said that.

"Most of the Templars are dead" The voice repeated hastily. "For one we still have ours and according to our spy reports so does Corypheus."

"But how, why would they not attack our Templar's or there Templars?"

"Think about it you dolt, both our and Corypheus Templars are right next powerful mages whereas al the others were isolated, vulnerable"

"So they're only attacking small groups?"

"No, if that was the case then the Templar fortresses all over Thedas wouldn't be ruins now littered with their corpses and even Templar groups that were accompanied by a small group of mages were dead. Instead, the only thing that is keeping both ours and the Inquisition's mages safe is the large presence of powerful mages."

"Templar fortresses" A horrified look appeared on one of the soldiers faces as they recognised just what that meant. As a powerful Order, the Templars had many castles located around the continent; most were small things, nothing but outposts to help reign in small villages in the middle of nowhere, but there were some that were in fact fortresses where the order dwelt and could be defended vigorously from the forces of magic and the Fade. "You don't mean Therinfall Redoubt. There's no way we wouldn't have heard about an assault"

"Yeah it's nothing but a bunch of destroyed stone and corpses on spikes, the entire garrison was slaughtered to the last. "

"Maker preserve use, how do we fight against something of that power, what if it actually is a demon that Corypheus summoned. Think about it, He doesn't know where we are so that explains why our Templars are safe, but the demons could likely possess somebody and go round hunting the Templars one by one and nobody would know it."

"So what are we going to do about it, what is the Inquisitor going to do about this. If we lose our Templars we could lose this war" Dark thoughts entered the mind of the soldiers as they considered the sobering revelation of the massacre of Templars. They held only theories as to who it could be, who could unleash such devastation and annihilation onto an enemy.

All of them though did not want to say it trusted in the Inquisitor, as while she was a knife-ear to some, she had proved on more than one occasion that she was the Makers servant, the one who would lead the people out of this dark time. She was a true hero, but even so, could the young elf defeat such a foe that managed to wipe out most of the Templars without anybody noticing, was she strong enough, was she smart enough to lead.

The soldiers wanted to say so, that they would follow the Inquisitor to the doors of the Fader itself, but they had all seen the enemy. An ancient Magister, pale and corrupted by the taint, cruel and evil desiring only conquest and enslavement, worse he had some sort of Archdemon under his command whereas the Inquisitor had nothing besides her inner council which was less of an elite band of warriors when they thought about it.

One was a bad mouthed arrogant elf who couldn't be bothered to act mature to save her life. Another was a fake Grey Warden who according to eh rumours had murdered innocent children and then ran off. The third was another arrogant, rude mage woman who had a better than thou complex. The fourth was a woman whose face couldn't ever seem to leave that ugly scowl of hers and barked orders at them as if they were nothing but animals. The fifth was- come to think about it who was the fifth, it escaped their collective memory. The sixth was a dwarf storyteller who while admittedly funny and a delight to listen to was connected in all sorts of ways to past disasters and criminal groups. The seventh was a big hulking savage Qunari spy who likely reported on all sorts of things whilst simultaneously had taken to ploughing the Inquisitor like some cheap two silver whore ever night. The eighth was a handsome mage from Tevinter who when he wasn't muttering about their lack of fashion was constantly either quipping or complaining about the weather. The ninth was some sort of strange elf apostate who actively liked to converse with all kinds of spirits and other sorts of creatures in his free time as well as moan about humanity. The Tenth was a hot but admittedly nightmare inducing woman with a beautiful smile and eyes of frozen ice. The eleventh was a soft-spoken man who had endured the horrors of mages on multiple occasions. The twelfth was a woman who had spent much of her time in court which compared to the others was very useful. While the thirteenth and believed dead member, was a child mage who had appeared out of nowhere, forced himself into the inner circle, kept to himself and had a terrifying tendency to appear and disappear whenever he wanted as well as slaughter groups of people on missions.

Very few of these people seemed to be qualified for such a job the soldiers thought, yet they couldn't deny that they got results. In a short time, they had recruited the mages, closed the breach, found out who was responsible and were now planning on killing who was responsible.

They hoped it well

Unbeknownst to the soldiers as they continued to spend the night away chattering in some vain effort to keep their minds distracted away from the cold that battered at them constantly, one lone invisible figure entered the hall and sat down at the broken table oak and without anybody noticing brought out a small book from his inside jacket pocket and began reading in a casual fashion.


	23. Chapter 23 Reunification

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference  
Magic and the Inquisition  
 **Chapter 23** **Reunification**  
Skyhold

Like a forbidden lover escaping from the room just after the deed had been committed, the light slowly yet surely crept through the boarded up windows, sneaking through the occasional crack before then landing on the cold stone floor. Not bothered by such petty things as temperature, the thin shard of light maintained it's quest and continued marching on an on at a steadily increasing pace past the matted sheep wool rug and then up to the base of a small cheaply made bed where it then began to climb up the wooden surface until it landed on the bed itself. Not quite happy with this arrangement, the light allowed itself to keep progressing further and further up the lumpy but quilt covered form that lay within. Finally, after reaching the top of the bed, it saw one of its many targets that were located all around the world. With pale skin and gently squeezed eyes indicating that the lone occupant was still asleep, the light finally made the last action that it required and went to leap onto those closed eyes.  
Bang

Suddenly, the wooden door that was located just to the left of the large but mostly empty room opened with a large amount of force, slamming directly into the wall. Starling awake all of a sudden with more energy than could typically be excused for a person who had just woken up, Valeyna with her long golden hair fanning behind her sat up in an instant.

"I'm so sorry My lady, a sudden gust of wind caught me off guard, I didn't mean to awaken you, please forgive me." Locking her cool yet still sparking sapphire eyes onto the source of the voice, Valeyna allowed a small yawn to escape her lips as she saw the young form of an elf bow her head quickly.  
"It's okay, not your... yawn... fault," Vayelna said in a tired manner as she stretched her arms upwards and began to stretch them whilst at the same time she fluttered her eyes.

"Thank you, your grace" Valeyna sighed heavily as she heard that term however the young handmaiden/helper/person either did not notice that the Inquisitor did not like the term she had been addressed with and mistook it as another yawn or she pretended not to notice her ladies discomfort. Instead, the handmaiden proceeded to make her way towards the many windows that were located around the edge of the bedroom and rapidly began to open them allowing sudden bouts of light to burst in illuminating the room with a cold icy sun.

"What time is it?" Vayena asked inquisitively her eyes darting around the fully lit room and onto the handmaiden. The woman was quite proficient at her job, in fact already as Valeyna sat in her bed, pinching her nose whilst her eyes fluttered once more as they got used to the sudden difference in light, the handmaiden had already placed down a series of clothes on a chair for her.

"It has just turned dawn your grace " The handmaiden replied in a quick yet polite tone though it did little to hide the awe Valeyna noticed.

"Any word about Nat?" The handmaiden's light smile dropped in an instant. It was the same question every morning, as soon as her lady woke up she asked about the missing inner circle member who had vanished mysteriously before the Inquisitor had gone to speak with the mages and every night before she went to bed she left direct orders to the men that if the youngest member was to turn up, that they were to wake her up instantly.

"No your grace nothing" Valeyna sighed in defeat. Though it had been nearly two weeks since she and the rest of the Inquisition had arrived at Skyhold and made it their new fortress and base of operations and month before that since Nat had been sent off to Orzammar to negotiate a trade deal, nothing had been heard of him since. There were no stories, no rumours, no hints that he and those other two that had followed him might be alive, not even Orzammar itself had reported back any information and it had been a week since their civil war had finished.

"Thank you" Valeyna replied neither noticing or caring as she rose from her bed allowing the soft quilt to drop to the bed revealing herself to the elf handmaiden. Thankfully, the elf didn't blush nor did she make any comment, in fact as Valeyna had questioned the elf on her first day, the elf had revealed that she had worked for at least one noble family before working for the Inquisitor and was as such entirely immune to the staring, hungry or even jealous looks that others would give. Instead, after opening all the windows bathing the room in light the elf bowed her head not allowing her eyes to meet that of the Maker's champion lest it be taken as a sign of disrespect and asked a simple question.

"Would your grace like a bath?"

"Yes please Caitlin"

"Then please excuse me, your grace, as I go fetch the water necessary"

Turning on her heel in a dignified manner that far outstripped the Inquisitor's, the woman, strode gently across the room towards her bed not making a single noise where once she arrived, she retrieved the small bowl that was located within it, brought it up to her face and gave a brief but intense look. Once, the elf had agreed to herself that yes her graces privy pot had not been used that night, she then placed the pot on the floor and pushed it gently back under the bed so that it could be used when it was so required again. Once that was completed however, she once again bowed her head and asked another question of her grace. "Would your grace prefer to eat in your chambers or downstairs with the rest of the Inquisition?".

"Downstairs today please Caitlin, Leliana said she wanted to discuss something with me so I'm afraid I won't get as much time to eat," Valeyna said in somewhat as a daze as she remembered the discussion that she had been sharing with Leliana, Cassandra, Cullen and Josephine the previous night.

"Very good your grace, I will return shortly" Then before Valeyna even had the chance to act politely back towards her handmaiden, the young though admittedly pretty elf turned back on her heal and quickly began making her way down the steps making her whereabouts known with an almost rhythmic tapping noise. When she was finally out of sight again, Valeyna gave something that was a mix between a sigh and a yawn.

"I still don't get why I need a handmaiden, I can do everything she can.

Though I will admit the constant baths are nice." When she had been living with her clan, Valeynba hadn't had the opportunity to really experience baths. Most of the time, when she had needed to clean herself she alongside other female members of her clan would find a nice clear lake, stream or river and then take their time washing themselves of the filth that they had collected in that time. It was fun at times, especially when she was younger and she would join in on the fun of splashing water about, but she also remembered how she hated how in winter that the water was so cold that she felt like she was going to die.

Human baths, on the other hand, she had learned were far more enjoyable. The ability to just sink in a tub of metal put her feet up and relax as hot water surrounded her and livened up her skin. Having experienced this sensation first hand, she knew that when she eventually returned back to her clan after defeating Corypheus that she was going to bring her bath with her and enjoy these sensations every morning before the day started.

It was a wonderful feeling, one that she adored especially when she got more time to relax in the water, which was why she could already feel a small amount of irritation build up as she thought of the red-haired spymaster. It had been rather late last night when the admittedly disturbing news got through.

The Templars were all dead.

Okay not all of them she admitted to herself, apparently, there were still a few small individuals here and there which were apart from the larger groups that were stationed at the circles, towns, villages and cities, but other than that, most of the Templars had been wiped out.

It had been quite the shock when she first heard it and she thought Leliana had been joking, some false report to make them all feel better in their chances of winning this war. However, that wasn't the case and neither much to everyone's surprise did the news seem to be some sort of trap as even with her own limited tactical thinking could realise.

"Leliana's going to talk my ear off" Grunting, Valeyna pinched the bridge of her nose and yawned again, feeling the tiredness that still lingered in her flesh once again try to take her back to the Fade. Waiting for her handmaiden, she turned to the clothes that the woman had put down and rolled her eyes as she saw them. "Same old crap" She sighed as she saw the boring beige clothing on the chair sitting there innocently as if their very existence did not yell just how ugly they were.

"Next time I go to Val Royeux I'm going to have to check out those clothes shops" A brief smile appeared on her face as she remembered the human city. Despite the suspicious looks she had received from others especially those haughty looks that the nobles gave, she had enjoyed the place. It was quite beautiful, the sight, the sounds, the food even now she could remember that time she had strolled around the higher class areas and observed the high quality of the clothing that was worn.

Most of the dresses she found a bit too large and frumpy, but the thinner more form-fitting ones were nice, certainly far better then anything she had worn before, it was just a case of working out how much such clothing would cost. A few gold sovereigns she hoped, it would be nice to own something that looked nice rather than an ugly beige jacket. Her lips curved upwards as she thought of how she would want it to look, preferably a brighter colour, maybe something that would go with her eyes, that would teach those other nobles who had scowled at her so angrily for daring to be an elf.

"Your grace, I have returned with the hot water" Valeyna blinked, she hadn't even heard the woman come in.

"Yes thank you" Turning her eyes back onto the bath, Valeyna felt a small amount of excitement grow in her chest as she saw the young woman walk towards the metal tube and began tipping the warm water into it. Just the way that the steam began to rose up as it crashed downwards made her body feel softer and more supple.

"Would you like me to wash you, your grace?" The woman asked kindly, stepping back away from the bath and kept her head bowed. Valeyna had told her more than once to stop it, but the woman refused simply stating that it was wrong for her to call her lady by any sort of nickname and that she would be punished for such a thing back in her old household.

"Yes please" She was about to say no, refuse such a generous offer from a pretty lady, but then she remembered that she had her meeting with Leliana soon and knowing her, if she was left to wash herself she would sink into the bath and enjoy the feeling leading her to be late for the meeting.

"Very well your lady" Without another word, the handmaiden quickly walked a few steps forwards grabbed the brush and jug that she would use to wash with and then returned just as Valeyna stepped into the bath.  
With a blissful look, Valeyna felt all her troubles begin to melt away as she felt the warm water seep into her skin, cleaning her pours of any dirt they may have collected and more importantly protecting her from the freezing mountain winds that consistently bashed through the small openings of her room and struck her.

"Other than my meeting with Leliana, do I have any business that I need to attend to?"

"The Lord Commander desires to speak with when you have an opportunity, he said it has something to do with a package and Lady Josephine has also asked for your time," The handmaiden said quickly.

"I see," Valeyna said quickly, rubbing her hands across her face as she began to wonder just what type of package that Cullen would want to talk to her about. Even as the Inquisitor, she had told the others to continue what they were doing without oversight from her. She had no idea what she was doing when it came to packages or spying or politics, if she tried she was only bound to fail and what was worse was that since her ascension, she had only found more of her time lost as she had to sign on things, lend her ear to people or occasionally prevent other members of the inner circle from trying to kill one another.

"Is there anything else? " Though she could not see it, the handmaiden nodded again as she continued to scrub down the Inquisitors body in a gentle but still swift manner that would enable the woman to get to her duties soon enough.

"Yes, some of the soldiers of the Inquisition have been caught making rude comments about yourself and other high ranking members of the Inquisition. Once you are ready you will then have to judge them and deal with correct punishment"

"What did they say?" Valeyna rolled her eyes, she shouldn't have had to deliver punishment for something so insinignificant, she had actually believed that there might have been a problem with the soldiers, such as the Templars shitting themselves over the prospect of them, being killed at any minute, not acting like a mother with misbehaving kids.

"Such words are inappropriate to say, your grace"

"It's just a few words, whatever they said could not have been that bad"  
"My grace it is inapropiate_"

"Just say it" Fearful of either the woman's political power, anger or even under the belief that the woman might fry her alive with her magic, the handmaiden gulped down a breath before gently with a look of trepidation answered.

"Your Grace, they said that you were just some... savage, knife eared, mage, whore who should not be in control of the Inquisition but instead be working to relieve the soldiers desires like the good slut you are" Bowing her head in shame as if she had just done some terrible deed, the handmaiden fingers limp as she began to wonder just what type of punishment there would be awaited a slap a yell or some other kind of physical reaction. Silently she wanted to beg the woman, to ask her not to throw her out of this place that she needed the job yet she did not dare make a single comment lest the punishment be terrible.

"I'm not a whore" Valeyna answered angrily, her eyes twitching at the very idea of the comment. "A whore is a person who has sex for money, I have sex because I enjoy it." She scowled in fury at the empty room. "Men" She spat. "It's all right for them to go round fucking whoever they want, whenever they want, in fact, it's not only encouraged, but it's fucking expected. But when I want to do the same thing, when I want to enjoy myself when a woman wants to enjoy themselves, they're a fucking slut."

Glaring at the rest of the room, Valeyna began to wonder just how she would punish these men for such a comment. She couldn't kill them she knew, that was far too drastic or was it? Idly she remembered when she had first met Vivene when the man there had insulted her, Vivene had killed the man for such behaviour and that was from a noble. These other men, however, were soldiers of the Inquisition, normal people who had lived relatively peaceful lives of farming or holding a trade before the breach had occurred, they were not offered the same type of protection that the noble was.

"Your Grace would you like me to give an order to the Lord Commander to deal with this matter" Whimpering, the Handmaiden leaned back in fear her eyes quivering as she saw a small burst of flames appear in the palm of the elven mage subconsciously.

"No" Valeyna replied sternly. "I'll deal with them myself, I cannot allow such a comment"

"Forgive me your grace, but would such harsh action not grow your adversaries"? Covering her mouth in despair as she realised that she had just dared to ask her mistress such a question, the Handmaiden quickly pulled backwards. "Please forgive me, your grace, I did not mean to be so rude" Valeyna sighed.

"It's all right, as for your question it's a case of discipline or that's what Cullen said at least. According to him, if I don't punish people who talk bad about mew then it allows others to do the same and if that happens then they could lose confidence which might in turn to soldiers not following orders or even worse, rebelling entirely. So I have to give out some punishment to maintain order, even If I don't want to" The handmaiden blinked.

"Don't want to Your grace?"

"Not really, even if their assholes I can't punish someone because they said something I don't like, that makes me a dictator." There was a moment of silence between the two as to the surprise of both elves, they found themselves stunned by the very words that had been said. Valeyna scrunched her face up at the thought, sure she thought that those soldiers were assholes and that she didn't think they needed to be killed simply because they said something rude, but where did that thing about being a dictator come from? That wasn't her and it most certainly wasn't the type of language she would use.

"Your Grace is a very wise and kind mistress" The servant replied quickly lest she allows it to go on for too long and lapse into a sense of awkwardness though, despite this, Valeyna couldn't help but notice the way the woman still looked stunned as if she had witnessed something strange.

Perhaps it was she thought, servants may have had a better lot in life than other elves, especially those in the Alienages, after all, they had a set amount of meals every day wore clothing that wasn't rags and depending on the nation may be given the occasional piece of jewellery as a way to help them stand out from other servants. Even then, with all these privileges, Valeyna was certain that an elf would be reminded of what they were every day, some useless rabbit with no better purpose in life then serving her betters of fodder to be cut down and slain when knights were angry.

"Thank you," Valeyna said slowly feeling the way that the woman's soft supple hands left her hair and began to rub down her arms in a swift yet still elegant manner. She wouldn't have long to eat breakfast today, not with so many people who desired to speak with her and other jobs that she also needed to get back to. None the less, she offered the woman a warm smile hoping to put her at ease and not panic about some nonsense about ensuring that she was rubbed down the correct way. Like the servant, she was an elf.

"I was just doing my job, your grace, I do not need thanks" Valeyna scowled at the reminder, even now she could feel that she was going to have to make an example out of those bad talking men and not only for her sake. If such behaviour was permitted to continue even with all the efforts that the others were putting in place to prevent it, then eves would never be respected, they would always be seen as suspicious as ignorant savages. Yes, she thought grimly, those men would have to pay for their words even if she did not like the idea of doing so.

It did not take long for Valeyna to finish her bath, after being cleaned down head to toe and her hair cleaned of old dust that may linger in the old stone castles halls, she quickly though reluctantly left the comfort of the warm water back into the cold freezing air that bit at her far more fiercely now that she was covered in water. She did not let that affect her though, instead, she dried off quickly and with even more speed threw on the clothes that had been presented to her and felt an immediate sense of relief as that nipping pain slowly began to fade away as she then headed downstairs.

Feet hammering on the stairs, the woman felt her stomach grumble a few moments causing her to flush at the thought of somebody seeing such a thing from her, thankfully though nobody was present allowing her to turn the corner and enter the main hall.

Old glory was how she would describe the insides of the castle, one hone hand the hall held a large cavernous ceiling giving one a sense of awe as they entered which when combined with the large areas in the stonework that held long since smashed windows allowing constant streams of uncoloured light in to illuminate the room showed just how barren it was. Other then a singular large oak table which had quite frankly seen better days and a few chairs sat next to said tables, a slightly larger chair which was sat at the far end just in front of the window as if it was a throne and the occasional few crates of items which had been left there for safety from the elements alongside ease of access, there was nothing.

No brilliant carpets lay across the floor, no collection of wine was placed in some sort of cupboard so that it could easily be withdrawn, no bookshelves for a visitor to keep their minds occupied, no statues to stand tall proud and mighty intimidating all those who entered with their sheer presence, in fact not even a single banner of the Inquisition had been draped over the grey stone walls.

Nonetheless, as she entered the hall once again and glimpsed at the table she began making another mental checklist waiting to find something that was going to be required for the Inquisition besides the already extensive list of procurements that they had already.

For one they needed to replace their hastily made wooden cutlery and goblets, get a new table and chairs, replace the chandeliers, get a lot more torches put in as well as a few fireplaces, probably some bookshelves or an extra wooden floor put in to make use of the large empty space. They also needed to repair the large cracks in the door frame, get new doors as well as locks and hinges. They were also going to need to get their hands on better food to feed the men, after all, Nat was sitting there with nothing but a book in his hands and no food to feed himself.

Wait a second!

"Nat?" Valeyna's voice carried over loudly in a mix of sheer surprise as she stared at the lone individual who sat there entirely calm. She pinched herself hard letting out a slight groan of pain as she realised that no this was not a dream in the slightest, Nat the last member of the inner council the one who had been sent away to Orzammar so long ago was sitting there.

"Morning" Nat spoke calmly offering the woman the turn of his head and then a slight bow to recognise that he had heard her before then returning to his book.

"Nat?" Valeyna repeated again as a flurry of emotions began to descend upon her like some sort of werewolf in the Bracillian Forest. It couldn't be, he was dead, he had to have been, this wasn't a dream so how had he survived what had happened, how was he alive, how had he gotten here?.

Those were the questions she wanted to ask if she had been in a better mind, instead, as he sat there, Valeyna simply found her body acting off its own accord. One foot in front of the other, it all happened so fast, one moment she had just entered the hall, the next she felt her body brim with excitement and glow warm where her legs then dashed across the plain stone as if she was a puppy who had been told she was about to go out for a walk.

"Nat?" She cried out again this time a sense of pure joy running down her as she felt her face began to creak and crack under the pressure. She didn't bother trying to resist, instead, she extended her arms outwards and ran at him hoping to catch him in her arms to bring him close to make sure that he was, in fact, him and that he was not dead and that this was not a ghost or some demon. She got closer and closer her eyes bristling with a set of tears as the realisation that she had not lost her young friend yet when she got right into range, to hold him tight he instead stepped back.

"Nat? What's wrong" Worry clouded her voice as she looked at him. He was calm, not a single emotion anywhere on his face just as surely and even now she could not see those mysterious eyes of his hidden as they were behind those mysterious black glasses, yet there was something different.

"Nothing" Nat answered swiftly as he locked gazes onto the recently heralded Inquisitor keeping her at a comfortable arm's distance. "I don't want a hug or some rubbish like that so please do not try to engage me in such activities" Behind his glasses, Nat narrowed his eyes as he felt the incoming presence of the others, first there was Varrick the dwarf approaching at a reasonable rate which was adjoined by Cassandra.

Elsewhere he could feel Cullen, outside already training with the other men in basic practise drills, Liliana he had already seen was inside her respective place whilst Josephine was in her office still in the process of getting up. He hid his scowl, this was bound to turn into some dull reunion party with balloons and fizzy high-calorie drinks, he wanted no part in such frivolities.

"Oh come one, I was worried about you, the least that you can give me is a hug," Valeyna said quickly not bothered by Nat in the least amount. Stepping forward her arms still outstretched to the side so she could close them around the youngest member the woman could only watch as yet again Nat stepped out of her reach entirely and continued to look at her with that calm expression.

"No" Nat stated. "I have no desire to give you a hug whatsoever, I simply waited for you here to alert you that I have returned. Now that is accomplished I need to speak with your advisors." Not even waiting for a reply nor did he desire one, Nat turned roughly on his heel in the direction that Leliana was located in and headed forwards.

"Nat?" Valeyna cried out in alarm as she watched him turn his head away from her as if... as if she meant nothing like she was simply some sort of noble or something. "Nat, don't go?" Her voiced pleaded in a mix of confusion and worry. "I won't hug you if you don't want me to" It was no use, to her utter shock, Nat instead kept his back turned to her entirely as he marched rapidly over the stone floor and gently opened the door to the hallway that would eventually lead to Leliana's officer. "Nat?" She cried out again not at all aware of just why he would behave in such a manner.

Such was the confusion, that she did not notice that when approximately five minutes later of standing there like an idiot, her mouth wide with shock that Varric accompanied by Cassandra walked in through the opposite door.

"Inquisitor" Cassandra bowed her head respectively at the elven woman. When she raised it, however, to check up on how the woman was doing she then noticed the strange expression on her face as she stood there glumly as somebody had just slapped her in the face with a fish and then walked off.

"What's wrong Inquisitor, fall out on the wrong side of the bed" Varric joked loudly a smirk gracing his lips as he waited for some sort of inevitable weak reply from the woman, but instead, she just turned towards them slowly, blinking fac entirely in shock,

"Nat's back" She spoke softly yet it was enough, as soon as those two words reached the ears of the dwarf and human, their eyes widened dramatically.

"What" Varrick spoke incredulously. "Did you just say that the kid's back" Valeyna nodded gently not able to trust her own words for a few moments instead simply pointing towards the door that the young mage had just walked through so he could go speak to their spymaster.  
"He said he needed to report to Leliana" Valeyna responded gently.

"How?" Cassandra almost yelled the question out.

"Likely through his mouth seeker, people have a tendency to do that" Ignoring the comment made by the dwarf, Cassandra found herself rapidly striding over the floor until before she knew it, she had reached the opposite end that she had walked in and was gripping the handle of the door that Valeyna had pointed to. Pulling on the handle, she was about to go inside when she again noticed the shocked expression on the Inquisitor's face.

"Inquisitor, is everything all right?" Valeyna shook her head.

"What happened?" Varrick asked.

"Nat... he seems... different, " She said reluctantly as those words he had said just five minutes ago ran through her mind, they were not rude, but he sounded so different yet also the same. It wasn't something she could put into words, but if she was forced to she would have said distant maybe even angry.

"Different how?" Casandra's tone dripped of unveiled suspicion as she eyed the Inquisitor warningly, almost as if she was searching for some kind of mark, or weapon or perhaps some remnant of magical power that could be affecting the leader of the Inquisition.

"I don't know. I wanted to give him a hug and he got all defensive, saying that he had no desire to complete such an act or something like that" Cassandra's eyes screwed together slowly forcing her to pinch her nose as she glanced towards Varric hoping that he might be able to understand just what was going on.

"You're joking Seeker, you think he's a demon" Varric stared at the woman in disquiet, horror echoing on his face at the sheer idea that the youngest member of the group had been possessed by one of those monsters and was being used against them.

"What" Valeyna cried out at the sheer thought. "He was different not some demon from the Fade, besides even if he had been, he would have had the perfect opportunity to sink a dagger into my stomach when I went to hug him. You know how he's always been, he doesn't like contact and he was probably tired, you need to give him the benefit of the doubt"

He wasn't a demon, anti-social certainly with his aversion to public places in general, long stays in the library and utter contempt for another person actually touching him that was not for training purposes, but that did not make him a demon, just odd. He was likely just tired she argued, the climb up the mountain wasn't an easy one and was where a large amount of the Inquisition troops were posted, clearing out and shovelling the snow which crept up slowly in secret pathways that enabled a person to climb the Forst Back mountains until they eventually found their way up to Skyhold, seat of the Inquisition.

"Seeker, give it a rest he's just returned and the first thing you want to do is interrogate him. At least let him put his feet up and eat something first "  
"No Varric, he has been gone for too long for what should have been a simple diplomatic mission and worse, he was sent to Orzammar" Varric scoffed.

"You don't actually believe that story about that dammed dragon do you? It was just a rumour. If an Arch Demon had escaped then we wouldn't all be standing here talking about demons" Cassandra rolled her eyes, she knew people could make mistakes, but she remembered reading those reports several weeks ago. Reports of a large dragon far bigger then any that had come before it, powerful, deadly, and incredibly fast with it able to travel vast distances in such a short time had filled her and Leliana with a large amount of worry for a time, in fact even Solas of all people had a slightly worried face when he had heard the rumour of the large black beast.

However, the reports only came in on one single day and even then they were limited in the description that could be given. After the initial day it had been spotted, all the reports had ceased entirely, there was no news of a large beast speeding in the sky, no large dragon carcass located in some forest anywhere or in the ocean where a frenzy of sharks had gone munching, nothing.

The dragon had appeared flown in strange patterns that indicated that it was having a fight with another creature although what was unknown and then vanished for all of time. Ever since, some had speculated that the dragon was an Archdemon going by its size which Cassandra guessed would make sense seeing as a giant cavern in Ferelden had been spotted afterwards , but if there had been an Arch Demon then there would have been reports of Darkspawn attacking the surface in far more magnitude which simply wasn't true.

"If that dragon was an Arch Demon, then perhaps he may have seen it or have any knowledge on the creature"

"You want to kill it?" Valeyna asked carefully.

"Yes, we cannot take the chance f the dragon being the Arch Demon, if it is able to unite with Corypheus then it could do severe damage" Paler then even the best Orlesian marble in their magnificent palaces, Valeyna paled at the idea of such a creature joining with Corypheus.

"One was bad enough if Corypheus is able to get his hands on another Arch Demon?" Nobody had to answer that question, all three of them remembered Haven, the screech of the dragon, the way that its big bat-like wings had blown snow all over the place or how it's sharp sword-like claws had sliced through a mans armour and into their weak flesh or a different victim who had the worse fate of being picked up in the dragons mouth and swallowed in one sum tearing and grinding it across it's blood covered teeth.

"How do we even fight an Arch Demon, let alone two?" A grim look fell upon the members of the Inquisition at that, such a task was not something they could just do haphazardly, instead, they would require the aid of the Grey Wardens.

"I don't know" Cassandra shook her head. "However we cannot simply sit here and wait for somebody else to come up with a solution to our problem. We must kill the archdemons before they can do any more damage"  
""Then we're going to need the Wardens help. One way or another we are not going to win this war without them "

"In that case, we should speak with Leliana" Not waiting for anyone else to say a word, Cassandra quickly made her way through the rest of the large hall and towards the door where she knew would then lead onto Lelianas office. It was vital that they dealt with this scenario, but more importantly, she needed to make sure that their recently returned member was in good condition.

"You can do that Seeker, I'm more interested in the fact that the Kid is back after so long. I wonder what stories he has to share" Grinning towards the human woman, Varric was quick to join behind her and step into the hallway where his shorter feet began trotting along the stone floor. Glancing to his right, he couldn't then help but give a small chuckle as he watched the Inquisitor shiver slightly as they walked past a shattered window.

The woman's typically pale and smooth skin instantly turned bumpy and her face began to go pale as she was taken away from the comforting warmth of the nearby fires in the previous room. None the less, the dwarf noticed quickly the shocked and he would almost say pained expression that was on the pretty elf woman's face. What did the Kid say to her he wondered to himself?

Valeyna was not a constantly cheering ball of sunshine, she showed annoyance, anger even frustration at times but right now she seemed to have been hurt badly by whatever the kid said to her. He couldn't possibly imagine what that could be, the kid may have been unsocial but he didn't strike him as the type of person who would do this type of thing.

"The mission was a success" The three stopped in their tracks all of a sudden as they heard the familiar sound of their youngest members voice. Cassandra's eyes widened slightly as she realised that their youngest member had indeed returned to them and that the Inquisitor had not been imaging things. Valeyna for her part frowned as she heard the voice while a pang of worry punctured Varric's heart.

"What happened to him?" Cassandra asked. It was Nat's voice all right, calm, emotionless yet it sounded different. "His voice?"

"I don't know Seeker" Varrick muttered as he tried to listen into the tone that Nat spoke in. There was a subtle difference to it, one that was very hard to detect, in fact, it was one that had it not been for his experience with Hawke and the others al those years ago when he had watched them plummet to deep chasms of pain and toil that he would never have noticed. Yet he did notice it, Nat's voice he noticed while calm seemed to hold far less emotion whilst his words had become even clearer, sharper even as if it was a well-honed blade. Before he could say anything else, however, Valeyna pushed ahead a determined expression on her face until she met the door and with a bit more force than necessary pushed it open allowing herself, as well as Cassandra and Varrick, enter the room.

Leliana's officer wasn't a grand thing, for at least two major reasons. The first and most prominent, was that Skyhold was still new and that the funds of the Inquisition were rather stringent at the moment preventing the purchase of anything not essential, the other, was that unlike Josephine would be entraining delegations of nobility and therefore needed to show the opulence of wealth, Lelliana worked in the darkness and thus preferred a far more practical approach.

The room was a decent size, smaller then Josephine but large enough to house a number of recently constructed shelves that had been placed at the back of the wall each of which was then divided so that a number of messages could then be housed inside. The floor was the typical stone with no so sort of decoration and a simple wooden table sat to one other side where a series of books and ledges alongside a few quills had been placed so that she could either quickly write a message if required, look through secret blackmail or decrypt some messages that she had received from her agents out in the field. On the left wall there was a small fireplace that was busy cackling as the red and orange flames danced over the wood in it's embrace, slowly destroying the substance so that it could provide more heat to this freezing cold room as well as helping the multiple torches on the wall illuminate the room as there were no windows.

Entering the room, Cassandra flicked her gaze instantly to the recently returned member of the inner council and held her breath. That was Nat all right. He looked the exact same as the day he left still dressed in that purely black outfit, a sword and dagger at his waist whilst some strange looking wooden object hung from his shoulder from a strap.

"Kid" Varrick yelled excitedly.

"Mr Tethras" Nat replied calmly and turned his gaze towards the man meeting him with an emotionless yet sharp look that screamed an awareness of his surroundings. Varrick stopped where he stood and turned his confused gaze up to meet the kid's face.

"Kid," He asked trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling forming in his gut.

"Unless you have a desperate query that requires answering this very moment Mr Tethras then I would ask that you leave me alone so that I can continue to relay my report to the Spymaster" Nat waited there for only a fraction of a moment not even giving the dwarf a moment to respond to his question before he turned back to Leliana giving the woman all his attention like he had been doing before the Inquisitor and the other two members of the Inquisition inner council had interrupted.

"You're back" Cassandra replied unable to hold back a small amount of concern for the youngest member.

"I am, Lady Penthagast, however as I mentioned just previously to Mr Tehras, unless there is something of dire circumstance that requires my attention forthwith then I ask that you leave me to complete my current assignment," Nat replied not caring as he saw how the woman baulked at the way he had referred to her by her noble title nor by the way her eyes brows seemed to shoot upwards over her face as he essentially asked her to shut up and go away but in more friendly terms.

"Kid, are you alright, we were worried?"

"I am in perfect health Mr Tethras, as you can see" Like a dagger being thrust into him, Varrick was unable to find a suitable response for a few moments as he watched the kid he had once tried to tutor turn away from him as if he was just some stranger or some associate that he knew but could not be bothered to learn any more about.

"That's not what he meant" Cassandra's voice frayed. "You've been gone for over a month, no word, no contact and you just appear, what happened?"  
"Nothing of note" Cassandra blinked in disbelief at the tone, Nat was still calm but there was a hidden edge to his words one which forced her back with the same amount of power as a Darkspawn grinning maliciously at a small child with no escape.

"Nat" Valeyna spoke softly. Her eyes focused on him again trying to see what had happened, wanting to understand why he was acting in such a way. Before she could ask those questions however, Nat simply focused his gaze onto the Spymaster who all this time had been watching the last few moments in both interests and yet in a sad manner.

"Spymaster, I would ask that unless these individuals absolutely need to know what occurred during my mission to Orzammar, that they be excused from the room so that no more time is wasted in on meaningless welcomes" Like students dropping down a snowball at the back another students t-shirt, Valeyna shivered as she heard the utterly emotionless tone that her friend spoke with as he referred to her, Varric and Cassandra. Shaking her head in a mix of horror and confusion, she glanced over to Leliana silently asking the woman to refuse the request and instead allow them to remain where they were and learn about what their fellow member had gotten up to.

"Nat, she is the lady Inquisitor if she so desires she is entitled to listen to what occurred whilst on your mission, as is anyone else who she deems necessary" Gesturing towards the others, Leliana managed to hide her look of concern when she glanced at the boy that stood before her. Nat may never have been the happiest person filled with boundless optimism yet now he seemed to be cold and ruthless, his eyes even though she could not see them she knew were now narrowing onto the Inquisitor and the others, inspecting them for the slightest little flaw, like a master jeweller.

"This report will be over swiftly Inquisitor, I recommend you not boring yourself with it" Valeyna blinked as she thought she heard the tiniest amount of annoyance in his voice. Why did he now want her to know what had happened in Orzammar? Why did he no longer treat her as he used to, that oddly but still comforting individual who had offered aid all those years ago, giving her words of encouragement and advice? He seemed so different now as if he had been turned to stone not allowing anything to faze him as he went about his business.

Staring directly into those black things that covered his eyes protected who he was from outside viewers, Valeyna wished she could actually see his eyes for once. If they were the gateway to the soul as he had once told her, then what would his soul tell her? What was currently affecting him to the point that he would treat her in such a manner of not only disrespect but also seem to throw away the entire friendship that they had forged over their times as members of the inquisition these last few months?

"I want to know" She replied sternly meeting his eyes once more no matter how much she felt at that moment that she wanted to back down and hide under her bed to make the nasty monsters go away. He was her friend, he was most certainly in some kind of trouble if he was acting like this now.

"Very well a short synopsis to ensure that you get the basic details until you receive enough time for a more throughout analysis from the Spymaster."  
"Oh come on kid, give us the whole story, we've all been wondering just what you got up to" Nat didn't bother giving Varrick even the barest of glances instead he turned back to Leliana who continued to sit in her seat contently with a curious look on her face as she observed the way that the group reacted to one another after being apart for so long. Currently, it did not look good.

"Yes, I would also like to know just what you got up to in the time that you have been gone, There have been rumours about a giant dragon flying south" Cassandra inquired keeping her dark eyes narrowed on the only member who might have seen such a creature. It was doubtful surely if Nat was in Orzammar at the time, then there wasn't a chance that he would have been able to witness something like a giant dragon arising from the ground, but then again, he might have been having heard somebody speak about it in those dwarven halls of theirs.

"There is not much of interest" Nat replied quickly. "I snuck into Orzammar, had a meeting with a dwarf who was in charge of the Lryrium, on my way out I was attacked by a Pride Demon who had taken over the King as their host"

"Wait the King of Orzammar was taken over by a demon" Cassandra stared at Nat shocked beyond belief at the news. "That should have been impossible, dwarves are far more resilient to things regarding magic in general, and the king should have had a large amount of protection to guard him in the case of something like this. How as this allowed to happen?"  
"I am not aware of what their security measures were Lady Penthaghast but suffice to say I promptly killed the demon before I was aware of its identity."

"You killed the king?" Cassandra almost yelled.

"Yes the king is dead, Yes I killed him, No I was not aware that the giant mass of flesh and muscle barrelling down towards me at the time time with the intention of ripping me in two was a person of royal blood" Nat replied quickly as once again he was reminded of what life was like before everything had happened, before it had all gone to shit because he had made a decision, back when his power meant something. "Had I known I might have removed his head from his body in a less grotesque manner."

"So you got to Orzammar killed the king and then what Kid, had a party?" Nat rolled his eyes behind his glasses at the comment.

"No, my next move was to secure the line of succession, ensure that there was somebody else that I could negotiate with. Unfortunately, that course of action required me to delve into the Deep Roads to find that successor"

"The Deep Roads" Valeyna almost squeaked at the mention of those dark, monster holding, terrible places. "You went in there, on you're own?" A look of both, admiration for the sheer bravery that would have required alongside one of horror quickly masked it as she imagined all the painful ways that Nat could have died underground far away from home and any sort of freedom. That he went down there willing to keep the line of succession intact was quite disturbing.

"You just went into the Deep Road's kid, what about those two that came with you, what happened to them" Nat froze still at the mention of those two, all of a sudden as if he had just been kicked hard in the gut he felt a powerful pang of guilt slam into him.

"They're dead" He barely whispered. "Killed by the Blight" Varrick peeled back instantly horror and sorrow etched on his face, Valeyna began to feel a horrible feeling the bottom of her stomach while Cassandra frowned deeply at the news of two of their members dying in such a place. It was bad enough that they had sent three kids to deal with such a complicated mission, but that mission had now cost two-thirds of the group their lives giving theirs for the cause of the Inquisition.

"Nat" Valeyna cried out stepping fowards as she raised her arms to try and embrace him in a hug to hold his head close to her chest and whisper that it would all be okay, however the moment she did a sudden feeling of unexplainable dread struck her forcing her to the spot and only able to watch helplessly as Nat continued to explain.

"We didn't make it far before we were captured?"

"Captured? By who" Cassandra demanded curiously.

"By one of the very first Darkspawn, one who like Corypheus stepped into the Fade all those years ago, the Architect" Then as if winter had increased it's tempo, bashed down the front doors and began to pile up snow and ice inside Leliana's office itself, the collective group aside from Nat felt a frightful shiver ran down their back but none more then Valeyna.  
"The Architect?" Leliana spoke in grave concern. "Are you sure it was him, not some other emissary"

"Yes, though you do not need to be worried, he won't be a problem for the foreseeable future" Varric blinked disbelievingly, out of all those here he had been the first to see one of the truly Ancient Darkspawn to have faced it in combat and witnessed its power. He would not deny that the kid was skilled in combat magic, but to beat an ancient magister and more importantly to take it out of the fight forever was simply not something that he could see the kid doing.

"You killed it?" Valeyna spoke.

"I captured it" Nat replied swiftly before then gently patting the inside of his jacket.

"You, you captured an ancient Dakrspaawn" Cassandra barely managed to stutter as she saw the calm face on their youngest member. "That's impossible, according to our reports from the Grey Wardens after the Fith Blight, it took the most skilled warriors and mages to kill it. Capturing would require far more effort on a scale that would be impossible."

"I did not fight the creature" Nat replied not at all irritated by how Cassandra was once again referring to him as a child despite the fact that he had already shown that he could easily pull his weight around this place. "I simply tricked it"

"Tricked?" Valeyna stared at the jacket pocket where seemingly everything was calm for the most part.

"I used a distraction after freeing myself and forced down a powerful sleeping gas down its throat," Nat replied calmly as if he was talking not about taking down what could be considered one of the most dangerous individuals in the galaxy, but rather something as mundane as the weather. All the same, the shock that reigned on the faces of the other members of the room was indescribable.

"You... beat the Architect with gas" Cassandra stared at the boy in shock however as she did so, she could not find the effort to hiding a sense of pride and respect as she looked down at the boy. If what he said was correct, if Nat had managed to capture one of the evilest creatures in the galaxy on his own, without support, then perhaps it was possible to beat Corypheus.

"Do you have proof of this claim"

"Why do you think Cullen has to deal with a giant box outside the front gates" Again only silence reigned amongst the group as they realised that Nat had not been lying but in fact been paying the truth. Unable to help herself, Cassandra glanced at Nat nervously a dark and somewhat disturbing realisation striking her directly in the jaw.

If Nat had managed to capture something that powerful on his own and manage to bring it here without anybody noticing in the slightest, then just how powerful was he?. Glancing at him her teeth starting to grind together with trepidation, Cassandra could not help but feel a spike of fear run down her spine. The Inquisitor could not have managed such a task nor did she think that Dorian or Solas or Vivienne, by the Maker she doubted even the Grand Enchanter's like Fiona would manage to fell such a monster on their own, yet Nat had. Somehow a child had managed to best a creature of such age and not only beat it, but to such an extent that he was able to capture it and then escort it here.

Nat was far more powerful then she had initially realised, scarily powerful in fact. She frowned, she may not have been a Templar, but she had heard on more than one occasion about how particularly powerful mage children would not even be allowed to take their Harrowing, instead they would simply be killed there and then. Viviene, she would reckon by her past feats was just underneath that line where she was considered incredibly lethal at a young enough age. She had been a prodigy, taking her Harrowing at a younger age than most and being promoted to Grand Enchanter at such an age that it caused a scandal. Yet despite all of those academic achievement's, the woman had never accomplished anything like this child had, instead she had spent her time locked in the Circle reading constantly and trying out new spells that caught her eye.

If Nat could capture an ancient magister at his age, a task that was impossible for even a prodigy like Viviene, then what could be accomplished when he got older, smarter and far more knowledgable.

"Nice work kid, anything else you got up to" Nat shook his head.

"No aside from that I was only put in a situation where I killed an Archdemon, spoke with one of the Ancient Demons that interacted with humanity when humans first began to enter the Fade, ended the new Dwarven Civil war getting our trade deal in the process, killed most of the remaining Templars and discovered that two of the Elven Gods are still around"

"What?" Like that moment just before falling asleep, the silence that followed after Nat had given a shorthand of events was so quiet that one could have heard another person's heartbeat inside their chest before that silence was completely and utterly eviscerated by a yell so loud that all within who were asleep were arose and all who were awake jumped out of their skin as a powerful sound waves swept through the old castle.

All four people in the room unable to hide their utter shock and disbelief more then they already had when they had heard that one of the Ancient Magisters had been captured, stared as if Nat had informed them about his true past and got to the moon Lnadiongs. They were entirely unable to conceive of what had occurred, Cassandra stared at Nat as if he was crazy, Leliana raised an eye and leaned forward an eager look on her face as if she had been presented a new set of shoes, Varrick focused all attention eagerly desiring to hear this story whilst Valeyna felt her heart race uncontrollably as she imagined the sheer danger that Nat had been in.

"You... you did all that... on your own" Nat hid his scowl at the alone part, the reminder of how he had failed about how those under his protection had been killed, for a moment he wanted to yell at the woman, tell her that there had been others with him, others who had not made it out of that situation as he had, others who were not alive to share their stories of what had happened, but it was of no use. They were dead and he could already tell that aside from some false sympathy from the others, Valeyna and the others did not care what happened to Elyria and Gerald.

"You lie" Cassandra rebutted. There is no way that such a thing is possible especially for... for... for a child" Nat said nothing as he heard the utter disbelief in Cassandras tone. He could perfectly understand why the woman would not want to believe such a story in fact according to Varrick, a lot of people did not believe the tale of the Champion simply because of just how fantastical the tale was and that was with Hawke.

With her, there were several witnesses who could collaborate each story and Varrick to embellish them when he wanted, but him on the other hand, he was the only one to who have survived the Deep Roads and remember what had occurred down there as such nobody could collaborate his story no matter what he said.

"Are you okay?" Valeyna cried out her arms extended once again as she tried to race forwards towards him again hoping to envelop Nat in a hug and check that Nat was, in fact, alive and not dead or seriously injured in some kind of way. Yet again though she approached with good intentions, Nat swiftly rebuffed her advance instead moving behind Leliana's desk where he then had an obstacle that could give him precious seconds to react if the woman tried anything.

"You killed an Archdemon, how?" Leliana asked softly memories of Dnerim all those years ago and by extension when she had travelled into the Deep Roads herself with the Hero of Ferelden and uncovering the huge mass of Hurlocks and Genlocks marching underneath them through the caverns and caves also made themselves prevalent. Those cold black eyes that hung from the creature head, the way how its wings had flapped dangerously with enough power to cause hurricanes if it had wanted and those blight infested scales. She shivered, she had hoped never to come across such a Maker forsaken abomination again.

"I stabbed it through the eye and into the brain with a sword"

"Come on Kid, give us more details than that, you fought a dragon, surely you can make it more interesting"

"Interesting storytelling is irrelevant, the fact remains, the Old Gold is dead" Varrick's smile dropped immensely. Uninteresting, Nat had killed a bloody dragon and not just any dragon, but one of the biggest ones they were that were scoured for by Darkspawn and then turned into evil creatures that led the destruction of Thedas until it was saved by a heroic Grey Warden. It was an amazing tale and those who did the deed were remembered as heroes yet Nat did not at all seem interested in the mater in fact despite his tone Varrick could detect that the kid had no desire to speak about his experience whatsoever.

"Wait so is it an Archdemon or an Old God and what's the difference?" Valeyna inquired.

"It was the latter and the difference was that the Old God was sentient"  
"Sentient" Leilana said with even more worry and concern. "It spoke to you?" Despite their worry and disbelief, none of the others could hold back their burning interest. More and more questions arose in each of them all begging to be answered for clues to be given, even if it was a fake story even Cassandra was finding herself desperate to know more about what had occurred.

"Yes the oversized Gecko spoke, now it's dead and before you ask all it alongside the demon was what told me that the Elven pantheon still walks around as well as mentioning something about Titans whatever they are?"  
"Titans" Varrick said slowly.

"Demon," Cassandra asked her concern and fears only growing to ever higher and higher levels.

"The gods still walk upon the land" A flurry of emotion began to swell up in Valeyna as she heard that, happiness, joy, fufilness and so many other emotions roared inside her like a carousel each jostling for attention yet despite how much the fought, Valeyna could not remove the powerful smile that sat upon her face. Everything was real, her gods were still alive, they still walked this land. She had to tell her people this news, she needed to know more.

"The dragon spoke" Leliana added finally before then looking down at her desk to where a few notes lay at her side. Sighing, she quickly picked them up and put them to the side, this was going to be a very long debriefing she could tell, one in which the entire inner council was going to want to here and speak about. On the other hand, she also felt a wave of relief hit her. If Nat had dealt with all these problems, a civil war, an old God, an ancient demon, one of the first Magisters then not only had he identified problems that none of them knew about beforehand, but he had also dealt with them and severely hampered the enemies future ability to fight.

In fact, as she stared at the wayward son of the Inquisition who stood before her, emotionless, and calm as if he had not just announced to all of them that he had achieved the impossible, she couldn't help but feel a spark of guilty relief. All those problems that could have given the Inquisition trouble, that could have killed more people, that could have doomed the world had all been dealt with and all it had taken was the deaths of two children.

She wanted to hit herself for a moment, yell at herself for daring to think such ugly thoughts that she was in some way glad that the two other kids had been killed yet she could not deny the results. Nat had gone beyond what his mission was with no extra supplies or personnel and dealt with multiple problems. It was an impressive feat one that raised her respect of the boy significantly and brushed aside some of the doubts she had about his desire to help the Inquisition, but on the other hand, it did the exact opposite.

Nat was no normal mage.

No normal mage could do the things he had done and especially at his age, killed an old god, captured an ancient Magister, converse with an ancient demon and live, wipe out such a significant part of the Templar order that according to her agents, those few with Corypheus had started to have panic attacks at a measly shadow. And that was not including the fact that he had been the one who had recruited Blackwall and Iron Bull, discovered what had been affecting the Grey Wardens and have the influence to convince the Inquisitor to go after mages.

He was something else, something far more lethal then the standard circle mage and that shook her down to her very core. For all his talent's abilities and accomplishments, she still knew practically nothing, in fact, it was worse than that, Nat had been lying to her she realised now with a startling panic.

Before his cold and serious attitude had been attributed towards him mourning the death of his people, but that ha all been a very convincing lie. Nat had not been greaving, if he had then he would have acted how he was now, even colder, even more harsh, with a drier wit and no time for people who would waste him. His stares were harsher now as well, far less calm and far more so like a person trying to bury a spear through her chest and out her back.

Who was he she wondered to herself? If he had been lying so convincingly about his people, then what else could he have been lying about and what was he lying about now as he stood there, arms crossed around his front whilst his eyes buried into the Inquisitor as she desperately tried to ask questions. Despite the happy time that this should have been and the smile that had lit up on her face when he had walked in as if he had never left, Leliana could only feel a cold efficiency and warning to her.

Was he a threat?

Was he an enemy?

Nat had no evidence to back up what he had claimed that he had gotten up to in those dammed tunnels, but she had heard from scouts and Cassandra about just how easily he could butcher his way through Templars when he had initially saved Elyria Trevylan before her untimely death. If he had done what he had claimed, then what would happen if he turned against the Inquisition and more importantly what were his plans?

With the skill and power at his disposal, Nat could have found some quiet point in the world to hide and carry on living as if nothing had ever happened, yet here he remained fighting to rid the world of demons. All the other's had their reasons for fighting, the Inquisitor was forced to join because of her mark, Solas truly desired to stop the Breach and wished to study the Inquisitor more, Dorian wished to redeem himself and the name of Tevinter, Thom Rainer despite his faults did care about people and wanted to do the right thing, Varrick was much the same though he tried to hide it, for Bull it was a case of getting paid and orders whilst Sera wanted to prevent the Inquisition from stepping on small people who could never hope to stand for themselves, Then there was Viviene who saw the Inquisition as a way to gain power, while Cole like Blackwall and Varrick simply desired to help others.

Yet Nat did not have a reason and neither did he show it either. Back at Haven he would vanish for most of the time, entirely hidden from the rest of the world until he popped up again for brief moments of time. Which was fine with her for the most part, he didn't cause trouble unlike Sera who had a tendency of stealing cookies so she could throw them at people, yet it did not explain why he would help them.

He was an oddity, a powerful oddity who by this point had most certainly proved the fact that he was capable and belonged in the inner council, but that only demonstrated that he was dangerous, far more so then she had initially credited him to be, something that was made all the more prevalent with how quickly he ha decimated the Templars.

All the other things could be explained she thought darkly, the capture of the Magister, the killing of an old god, surviving the demon and everything else while sounding utterly impossible was somewhat believable when compared to the final act that he had done... wiping out the Templars.  
There was no excuse for it, no matter of travel would enable him to move such across vast distances of land, strike at the enemy so brutally and then move backwards at such speed that nearly the entire continents templar population were wiped out in a week. Only six possible solutions explained to her just how such a thing could be possible.

The first and most probable, was that he was lying and that somebody else was responsible, the second was that Nat was part of some type of group who went around killing Templars in their spare time. The third way was the possibility of him knowing of the time magic that was at Redcliffe and using his own version of it to allow himself to move at such speed that he could kill all the Templars as fast as he could. The fourth and slightly less worrying idea was that he was using some ancient magical device called an Eluvian that enabled for fast transport or so the stories that she had told her. But if that was the case, then he would have made some sort of contact with a particular elf in Orlais without drawing attention. The fifth solution was that he could change his form turning into a bird or some other animal that could move swiftly over the land. That was certainly possible she had seen Morrigan do it and such magic was considered more common amongst Hedge Mages yet Nat had never once shown such an ability before.

Finally and she wanted to say the least probable out of all the answers, was that he had discovered some form of teleportation magic, enabling him to appear in one place and disappear. However, that was impossible and if such magic did exist then it was for a certain fact that by now the circle mages would have also discovered such magic and used it on such a regular basis that the circles would have been made entirely obsolete as mages could simply enter and leave whenever they so desired. Despite this, she knew she would be foolish simply to pass it off as fancy, Redcliffe had already shown the difference in skill between Tevinter mages and those who grew up in the circle, if Tevinter could manipulate time then it was quite likely that another group could teleport.  
That was worrying.

While she disagreed with Cassandra on the notion of locking up mages, she had worked alongside mages before and knew what damage they could cause first hand, yet if a mage could teleport. She repressed a shiver, all that effort that Templars and Seekers went through to corner frightened but still deadly mages were bad enough, but if a mage could simply teleport away, then it would be impossible to catch blood mages. On the other hand, though it would make the use of Circles entirely useless as no longer could mages be held in place as all that would be required was to simply teleport from danger. But then again, that very ability could allow mages to bypass even the strongest of defences around an area allowing them to sneak towards a possible target and kill them and escape without anybody noticing.

Yet even as she thought this, she couldn't help but think that her thoughts were simply some kind of conspiracy that she had made up to explain just how the recently returned mage had managed to travel across such vast stretches of land so quickly. If he could teleport or had some type of spell or device that would enable fast travel then it could give the Inquisition such a boost in fighting Corypheus that it could win the war.

She narrowed her eyes, she would have to speak to him about his speed of travelling at a time when he likely did not feel that he was under some form of interrogation just like this meeting was becoming.

"Yes," Nat responded calmly. "The overgrown gecko did speak to me, I assume that when they are corrupted by the Darkspawn that they lose that ability to speak.

"Amazing" Cassandra said with a slight amount of awe. "I have heard people say that dragons are intelligent, but to think that one could actually speak. It is both incredibly odd yet also I cannot help but find myself curious. Where is the corpse?"

"About a week's walk south of the Bracillian Forest in the land where the sun doesn't rise" There were more wide eyes at that announcement and again Nat found himself looking at faces of disbelief even as he told them a more simplified version of what had occurred since he had been gone, even if he hated to.

"Come on Kid you have to tell us the story" Varrick pestered his eyes gleaming in a strange lust as he imagined jus what type of bizarre story the kid would tell them. Already he could tell that the story was going to be grand, epic battles, devastating villains, journeys into the dark depths of the Deep Roads, combined with political intrigue, heart-wrenching emotion and so many other things. In fact, going from the small amount that had been told to him, Varric wondered if he should get some paper and a quill out and start writing notes, this journey even if entirely fictional sounded like it would make a good book.

"No" Valeyna cut in suddenly as she stared at Nat in a warm way hoping to somehow break through the icy exterior that had managed to appear whilst he had been gone from their sides. "This is something we all need to hear or at least Solas does."

"Agreed, this type of information could drastically alter our plans, it would be more efficient if we gathered everyone up in one place and were then informed about it" Nodding toward's Cassandra as the short-haired woman already began heading towards the door as if a decision had been made, Valeyna began to sigh to herself as she realised just what she and the others were in for. If Nat had done even half the things he had said, then it was going to be a long report and likely one that was going to make her rather hungry.

"In that case go grab the others, we'll meet in the war room" Before she could even finish saying the sentence, Valeyna watched as Cassandra seemingly in a strangely excited hurry left the room and began to dash down the stone floor. Valeyna sighed before allowing a small smile to grace her lips, it was nice to know that aside from her that somebody else was glad to have their youngest member back, even if he had apparently been on his own little journey since he had been gone. None the less, she also found herself curious about what the young mage had gotten up to in absence of the rest of the group.

To capture an ancient Darkspawn and kill an Old God were most certainly victories for the Inquisition and such victories could be exactly what the rest of the Inquisition and more importantly the continent needed to help reunify around the Inquisition. In fact, if such things could be proven and the box that had been delivered to Skyhold was, in fact, ancient Darkspawn, then perhaps they could use Skyhold's defensive position to deliver a devastating counter-attack should Corypheus strike once more.  
Then again she thought darkly, if Corypheus was to learn that one of its fellow magisters was indeed alive and worse captured by the Inquisition, then no doubt would he strike hard again only this time with the goal to finish them off. If that happened, then that was it, Skyhold was a more defensive location but it was in ruins and unlike Haven with that escape route, there would be no escape from the mountain or worse Corypheus would simply need to destroy the front gate and allow them all to starve to death.

No, she was going to have to keep what was inside the box secret, secure and only allow the most trustworthy and tight-lipped members of the inner council to know about its capture. That would mean limiting the group considerably, her, Nat, Cullen, Josephine, Leliana, Solas, Varric and Cassandra. The others were too much of a risk either because the way they would react like Sera who's fear of magic would inevitably lead her to make a slip up as she tried to keep a secret, was working for another group like Bull, had shady desires such as Vivienne or simply hadn't been around long enough to build the kind of trust that would be required such as the case with Dorian and... Cole wasn't it. She shook her head, why was it every time she remembered the strange young blonde haired man that her head went funny.

"Nat when you talk about the Magister, tell them that he escaped, don't tell anyone that you captured him, that type of info is far too dangerous to be let out" Nodding once to show that he had heard the blonde haired elf, Nat then turned to Varric who like he had been doing before was standing there with a curious gleam in his eye as all kinds of scenarios played out inside his head.

"Oh before we start, we have two new people" Valeyna interrupted. "There's Dorian who helped me at Redcliffe, he's a Magister from Tevinter and then there's Cole who is... uh... a... spirit. I think"

"You mean the blonde haired man that carries a sharp knife, walks about as if he's invisible and has a tendency to try and erase memories," Nat asked drily as he remembered his first encounter with the strange entity that was now lurking within the halls of this castle. They had not spoken a word to one another, yet even so the man set him on edge, he wasn't a demon, having fought enough of them he knew what the taint of demonic energy felt like, but neither did he feel entirely like a spirit either.

In fact, more disturbingly it felt as if the man was both things at once, human and Spirit, sharing the same body and perhaps even memories but not the same personality. The man felt peculiar, not cruel and evil, yet none the less not right as if something had been violated, worse he knew that Cole as the blonde man's name was more... aware of things.

When he had first walked nearby the man to get into the castle, the boy had frozen up suddenly as if he had turned into ice before then the boys head had started searching the nearby area in complete and utter confusion as he tried to talk to himself about finding something that wasn't quite right. Cole the boy hadn't said anything, but the look of both curiosity and slight amounts of fear on his face had said all the needed words to inform him that he was not too sure about him.

"Yes, and Dorian is our new mage from Tevinter"  
"That explains his accent" Leliana blinked.

"You've met before?" Nat shook his head.

"No, but when I arrived I decided to explore our little base of operations and saw him in the library" Nodding her head again, Leliana made a mental note to see if she could assign some more agents to keep a careful eye on Nat's movements. If he had the time to look around the actual castle itself with nobody none the wiser then that meant he was far better at stealth then he gave the impression off, or their security of Skyhold was in some serious trouble and needed to be looked over at the first possible movement.  
"I see, what do you think of him?"

"I can't give an honest answer seeing as I have yet to be introduced to him, however, if you still care about a customary glance then I can tell you that the man has a bit too much pride"  
"Oh? Care to explain your reasoning" Nat resisted the sudden urge to raise an eyebrow at the question, surely by now they would have noticed that the Tevinter man had yet to put on something which would warm him even though he constantly moaned about how cold the place was and that Ferelden was a savage place because of such winters. Yet despite this, the man still deiced to wear thin, somewhat luxurious clothes and leave parts of his body out for display as if he was some kind of exhibitionist.

"The way he talks, there's a somewhat haughty tone to it. Not much, at least compared to the other nobIlity I've come across , but it's definitely there and betrays his origin of a man of wealth and privilege" Nat sighed internally as he realised that this new Tevinter mage would be there with the others when he told them about what he had gotten up to in The Deep Roads. While he cared not for the man's feelings, the fact remained that if he was a man who believed in the old gods then he couldn't see him being supportive of the idea of some stranger just killing their gods before it was corrupted.

"Do you know why he was recruited into the Inquisition?" Leliana said slowly peering forward her normally beautiful eyes shining with a cold stare. Somehow despite having been gone for so long and just returning, Nat was surprisingly well up to date on current affairs, it was possible that he had asked questions of the common soldier she assumed, but if that had of been the case then she alongside the Inquisitor would have been awoken and told that their youngest member was back. Therefore there had to be some way that he had managed to stay on track, some way she felt with a slight amount of dread may have to do with magic especially when one considered just how quickly he had moved over Thedas to wipe out the Templars.

"I'm afraid not, that information seems to have been kept rather quiet even amongst the ranks, however, if what I felt when I visited Redcliffe was any indication, I would assume it had to deal with Temporal magic." Leliana nodded her head once. So he had managed to work out what had occurred or at the very least had a good idea of what could have happened in that castle and just why that Tevinter Magister was with then now. That was good, by this point Nat had proven himself to the Inquisition, completing trade missions, finding out information on the Grey Wardens and delivering devastating blows against enemy forces all indicated that he was on their side. She had a feeling that he was going to have to be relied upon more in the coming year especially as backup to the Inquisitor when she faced far more dangerous threats or working on his own yet again.

"When we recruited the mages, we discovered that a Magister known as Alexius had been using powerful magic to affect time itself." Before she could even finish her sentence Nat felt his stomach start to drop slightly.

Time Magic, that was bad, really, really bad. He was no expert, in fact, anything more then advanced time Magic was highly regulated by the Ministry to the point that it was rumoured that only the Unspeakable's were allowed to learn anything advanced without reprimand. Merlin it was so restricted that he had only once ever come across time magic himself and that was not because of some enemy using it, but rather because on one of the days that he had been at the house and his father had come back from work, he had laid a time turner on the table leaving it to his curiosity.

He hadn't fucked with the thing, he was a Ravenclaw and they did not do stupid things like mess with time, in fact, he agreed with the opinion that time turners should be only limited to a few individuals. As well as that though it was one of the actions during the Wizarding war that he agreed with Voldemort on, the destruction of the Time Turners prevented others from screwing stuff up.

For a few seconds, he admitted that he was curious about exploring time magic when that device had been in front of him sitting on the table innocently as if it was not a device that could rend untold destruction, but he had known better. Yet despite there only being remnants of the magic that was used at Redcliffe left, barely the bones of anything he could already tell that the magic used was ridiculously powerful.

"What happened," Nat said seriously his eyes glaring a hole through the wall as he tried to think of the sheer damage that could have been done.  
"Well according to the Inquisitor, Alexius used time magic so he could move his group of Venatori to Redcliffe so he could recruit the mages the very moment that the conclave had exploded" An entire fucking army?. Nat's eye threatened to twitch. "However when we arrived, he tried to kill the Inquisitor by erasing them from time, however instead they sent them forward by about a year"

Nodding slowly, Nat began to feel a strange amount of anger and frustration bubble up within him. It was an odd feeling one that he felt rarely and mostly because he avoided such people, yet he recognised it instantly. The rising amount of anger and frustration that was building was all because of this one fucking idiot, who by the sounds of things knew fuck all about the consequences of his actions and could have devastated things far beyond just the measly thing such as the current timeline, but other things.

Barely just barely as he felt his frustration begin to burn did he hear Leliana continue her quick explanation.

"In the future with the Inquisitor dead, Corypheus had won. He had destroyed the Inquisition resulting in the killing or capturing of everyone besides herself and Dorian because of time travel and you"

"I survived?" Nat said slowly tasting the worlds as if they were some kind of new food he had sunk his teeth into.

"We don't know. According to the future you just vanished, nobody knew what had happened to you, if you were alive or not, there was just nothing so everyone believed that you died in the Deep Roads" Hiding his dark look, Nat tried to resist the flashes of memories that whizzed in his mind of those days, skulking around the old tunnels fighting Darkspawn after Darkspawn, wiping the planet of their filth. Occasionally he would run into a bigger brood and he would always ensure to wipe them out especially if they were a brood mother. But that had been no problem so he doubted that it had been the Darkspawn that had killed him.

In which case it had to be something different he reckoned, the old god perhaps. He had been so close to death when that overgrown lizard had tried to possess his body, even now he did not know what had saved him or why they had saved him. All he knew was that one moment he was a second towards possession and the next the spell had broken giving him the break he needed to attack the lizard once again and thrust a nice piece of sharp metal straight through its eye and kill it there and then.

But there was no telling if that wouldn't have happened anyway without time travel, in fact, he might actually think it would have happened either way. He had been so far away from any of the enemies on the continent so it wasn't hard to imagine that no enemies would be there to kill him. And there was also the case that in the alternate timeline where they had lost that perhaps his exact movements might have differed allowing him to kill the overgrown gecko far more easily.

So what had happened to him he wondered?

"I likely ran away." As bad as it sounded, Nat liked to think he would know when to give up a fight. In such a scenario as the destruction of the Inquisition and more importantly the loss of the Herald, it was doubtful that anything he could so would be able to hold back the forces of the Fade at any significant level. Perhaps he might try to evacuate some people to a safer place and rebuild society there under his guidance though that was likely just some fantasy as he doubted many people would listen to him and it would also be a case of finding somewhere safe to transport those people. There would only be one real place he could think off, and that was less of a place as it was so much as a direction.

That just left the more practical choice of hiding somewhere on the Continent away from the dangers of demons and Corypheus where he would not be found and could instead concentrate purely on returning home now that the war had been lost. Also when he considered what the repercussions could be for his capture it was very likely that he did abandon the rest of the world to save his own skin and simply hope for the best.

Despite this honest answer, however, he could sense a small amount of disappointment drift of Leliana at the idea of him running away from such a dangerous opponent when everything had gone to shit and the worlds fate rested in his hands.

"You would not try to fight back? "Leliana asked curiously prying as carefully as she could into Nat's thought process hoping to try and understand him better. If there was anyone who might be capable of resisting Corypheus if all went poorly then it was likely him especially if his stories of killing an Archdemon and capturing an ancient magister were true.

"With the forces that were likely arrayed against me, probably not, besides If I go by the same time frame as to when I first became aware of what had occurred to the rest of the Inquisition, it's likely that you would have been wiped out quickly with the only remaining forces being scattered and too weak to act.

So he would abandon them the moment things would go poorly. Leliana frowned deeply at the thought, Nat may be powerful as he had demonstrated, but if his ability to commit was this fickle, then perhaps she needed to keep a careful eye on him.

"Yet you don't think you would fight, to form some type of underground group who would keep fighting no matter what the cost?" Nat shook his head, he knew himself if things had gone as poorly as they did then he would have cut his losses ran away as fast as he could and perhaps wait a certain amount of time so people believed that he was dead and thus guarantee a more safe environment for him to return to.

"I'm afraid not, and even if I did try to help my position as an inner council member would only raise suspicion not help push it away and so I would likely doom any attempt to help rescue Thedas" There was more to it, however, if Corypheus won this war then after so many people had been killed in just reckless shows of power as the conquerors desired to show of just how much better they were then the conquered. Public executions would be common as would mistrust between the ordinary person as they sought to rat out one another simply so they could have more food or not be taken as demon food the moment they got a bit peckish.

He might be able to work in such an environment, but the amount of magic he would need to cast to ensure the safety of information, people supplies as well as keep track of villagers, informants and all the others would be too much for him to handle on his own which would sooner or later result in Corypheus learning about him and pursing him.

If that was to happen, he would then need to become a general of some sort, leading his troops into battle, sending them to die in order to accomplish his aims. That would inevitably lead to disaster, already he had shown his lack of skill when it came to leadership. The very first command he had been given was supposed to be simple, go to Orzammar negotiate a trade deal and then return.

It was why he had taken Gerald and Elyria with him, not as reinforcements, Merlin knew he could handle himself in a fight should anything occur, but rather allow them to simply enjoy themselves and see the world. That had been the biggest mistake he had ever made in his life, worse he had only then demonstrated countless flaws in any ability to lead a group of others.

He had every opportunity to get Elryia and Gerald to get home, there were countless times he could have cast a simple spell and that was the end of the problem. He had been the one to lead them to Orzammar he had been the one that brought them into the Deep Roads when he instead should have smuggled them out and sent back to the Inquisition for a report, he was the one who then abandoned them in the most dangerous environment known to this world guaranteeing their fall to the Blight and slow painful deaths.

And why had he done this?

Arrogance, his own arrogance had led him astray. He was the hero, invulnerable, powerful, able to defeat anything that came in his way and also able to stop anything that would dare oppose him and all because he was drawn into his own misguided beliefs about his own power. He may have been able to kill Pride demons and entire groups of darkspawn on their own, but had he ever stopped and truly thought about those at his side.

Of course not, sure he had considered the risk of the Blight but he had been of the opinion that they would be in the Deep Roads for such a short period of time that it would be entirely inconsequential, and even if he did come across a threat he could destroy or neutralise it long enough to escape.  
Arrogance, pure fucking arrogance had been what had killed Elyria and Gerald, and yet despite the fact that he had informed Leliana that Gerald and Elyria had died, she hadn't so much as batted an eyebrow. In fact she had almost looked impressed, perhaps from her perspective it was, so many threats dealt with and all it cost were two losses, in military terms that likely looked like a magic dammed miracle, that he was some type of angel of vengeance who could lead an army to glory simply by his presence alone.

However, it was not the so-called brilliant victory that the spymaster believed it was, instead it was a military disaster one that could have easily been prevented if for once during the entire dammed mission he had sat down and thought about things clearly instead of rushing in believing that his own power would save the day.

It was arrogance in the extreme and had he been back home as part of some military group, then he likely would have been stripped of his rank, dishonourably discharged and then perhaps thrown into jail for his conduct and behaviour.

Elyria and Gerald should have survived the mission, the moment he knew he was going into the Deep Roads he should have apparated them out and if not made an effort to smuggle them out of the city instead dragging them down with him. And failing that, he should have got them to escape after they were captured by the Architect yet he didn't instead just gunning on the fact that it was too dangerous to reveal what he could do.

It wouldn't be so bad if it had just been his arrogance that had gotten completely out of hand resulting in the deaths, it was his arrogance then mixed in with his own bloody hypocrisy. He had believed he could get through the situation via using his power, which was likely true but then he did not even follow up on his own arrogance by using that power he believed he had above others, instead simply hiding it.

And what had it fucking got him?

His two subordinates were dead, Orzammar was sent into a cataphoric civil war which could have decimated everything, more innocent lives that he could have saved had he been at Haven were lost and a fucking old God was awoken because of the actions he had taken to defeating the ancient  
Magister

But it wouldn't matter to Leliana or Valeyna he could tell already that they only cared that he had succeeded in his mission and not just that but he had then in his own blinding rage obliterated the Templars which in turn weakened the enemy yet again.

Was this all that there was going to be in this magic dammed war, he would be sent to kill his targets and dam anyone who is sent with him so long as the objective was completed? He hadn't wanted Elyria and Gerald to die, in fact, he had moved while still mentally injured and prone to demon attacks through inhospitable terrain just so he could get to them all the faster. He had tried to save them, yet despite this, he could see the look in Leliana's eyes, there was very little sympathy for the two who had been killed following his orders.

"That's... disappointing" Leliana said slowly as she considered the person in front of her. The idea that if Corypheus won this war that Nat would run away to keep his own skin safe and alive went against everything he had demonstrated so far. The sheer amount of courage he had displayed by fighting against demons in the field, delving on his own into the Deep Roads to find his subordinates with no care for himself, fight against an ancient Darkspawn and to fight and kill an Archdemon required a certain amount of bravery that was rarely found. Yet despite this apparent bravery, Nat would run away if he were to lose, to give up the fight.

Leliana shook her head, she doubted Nat would do that, not after he had devoted so much time and effort into their cause. Then again she thought glumly perhaps in such a situation his actions were the right ones. What else could he do if Corypheus won, fight an endless war and wait until an army of demons swept over him, try to carry out some kind of resistance until Corypheus simply opted to destroy everything and everyone to lure him out or turn the populace against them?

Where would that leave him, living on the road for years perhaps helped with a few willing volunteers as they attempted to find someplace safe from the ever-encroaching forces of Corypheus so not only could they stay safe but also have a safe location to fall back to when everything went terribly wrong and members were killed?

She looked at him again, perhaps he could do it, by the Maker he had already shown an ability for stealth missions but that was on his own. What she was hoping was that somehow once the rest of them were all captured or dead, that he would somehow step up to the podium and take command, leading the Inquisition into a new dawn, where through a brutal struggle he could retake the world and cast Corypheus into the shadow.

But that was wishful thinking.

Nat was mourning now she could tell, the stricter attitude, the way his movements seemed to be sharper, losing some of their once graceful beauty and instead replaced with a more efficient movement alongside the way that the once calm aura that he had seemed to give now felt almost like a blizzard trying to catch her in his blistering and freezing winds, ready to kill her in a slow and painful manner.

The loss of his two subordinates had affected him she could see, so much so that in the span of a week he had managed to wipe out hundreds of individuals and then parade their bodies around for the locals to see and fear over. If that did not scream that Nat was either in mourning or did not feel entirely right at this moment then nothing would. It was going to take him time to recover from this mess, time to come to grips that people did die under a persons command and even more time for him to accept that he would need to send others back into that situation again. Until that moment came, however, she could tell that the rage that did not boil like a normal person but instead sat there like that blizzard calculating, forming together slowly devastating people simply by the sheer thought alone of what that blizzard could do.

Wiping out the Templars had been the first action he had taken in this anger she realised with a calculated thought. One incident had been enough to push him to such an edge that the reaction was not some blind fury where all thought had gone out the window, instead, it had been cold calculating doing far more devastating damage to the enemy morale then actually culling their numbers.

If that was the type of damage he could inflict on only one incident, on only losing a small number of people to death and destruction, then what could he do with more? Leliana thought steadily.

Nat had held back what he could do until recently and it had cost the Inquisition she realised, other than the deaths of what were two insignificant individuals, many more had been killed at Haven and in other theatres that the soldiers and agents of the Inquisition operated in. If Nat had been there at the battle of Haven, pushed to the limit as he had with the death of his friends then would he have wreaked such casualties upon the opposing Templars giving more members of the Inquisition the ability to escape the death trap?

He had been holding back at the time, but that was a mistake she thought certainly. If Nat could continuously bring that type of power to bear against the enemies of the Inquisition, to strike down entire armies of enemies on his own, to hunt down the lone survivors of organisations and show the continent just what he could do, then the Inquisition could be unstoppable.

Even Corypheus would have to think twice about every move he made, every plan he took Nat would be there ready to either strike in his now weakened position or to harass him and delay his own plans a fair amount. More lives would be spared she thought, more children safe from the terror of demons killing them in the night or possessing their bodies, the mages of Thedas would never have to worry again about the oppressive bootheel of the Chantry again, flocking to the Inquisitions banner if they knew that a mage of such power and ferocity would devastate attackers.

Those who supported Corypheus might, in fact, be turned against him for the fear of just what would happen when they were discovered and Nat came banging at their walls, with the very real threat of having their heads to be flung on pikes. And again, even if Nat never did confront Corypheus, the idea of fighting a person such as him might concentrate the creatures forces in one spot allowing for easier monitoring simply for protection.

Yes, she thought with a sense of dim cold logic, Nat was a weapon, one that would strike unyielding horror into the hearts of their enemies, shattering their morale before the forces of the Inquisition without a fight even being declared. Even the mighty nations of Thedas would be scared of the Inquisition if they feared the powerful mage turning up at their door mysteriously demanding answers.

It was not wise to inform the rest of the continent about the Arch Demon or the Architect if such stories were true, but the information that one lone mage had ended the Orzammar civil war in a matter of hours by simply eliminating the heads of each believed government was most certainly a threat.

Then again was such a decision wise? While having their own personal attack dog who could wipe out entire forces was certainly a predominant threat to any who would oppose the Inquisition, it also gave those enemies a reason to gather and unite. It would also undoubtedly cause resentment to build up in those they were trying to get the support off, they would be supported by some places of course, but only until any number of bards had attempted to slip a knife between Nat's ribs and struck into the heart.  
It also meant that they would lose the art of surprise, of more covert operations. Nat was powerful no doubt about that, and he possessed an ability to go beyond his mission and sort out a whole host of other problems that arose. It enabled the Inquisition to undertake more dangerous missions with fewer individuals and still be guaranteed not only a high success rate but also the ability to conduct trade negotiations as Nat was still an inner council member. Not to mention with his seeming ability to appear and disappear at will it made tracking him impossible even for her.

That type of advantage could not be overstated, had Josephine been sent in his place then it was likely she would have been killed or forced back to the surface where Cullen may have had to intervene with his troops alongside the Inquisitor, forcing them to give up valuable spells, and time. And could the same be said for one of her agents of Cullens soldiers?

Unfortunately, that was very much the case, they were specialised in certain fields and only knew how to deal with those fields. Cullen would simply have gathered what troops he could and just wiped out the enemy forces in a few but devasting victories as possible, Josephine would have had to rely on her diplomatic skill and her as the Spymaster would have preferred to use blackmail and assassination.

Nat, on the other hand, was not as specialised as any of they were. He did not have the diplomatic skills of dear Josephine who was able to convince even the most hard-pressed of opponents to smile with her and share gifts building up a friendship. He also did not have the military abilities of Cullen, as he instead preferred to work alone and neither did he have the contacts or skills that she had learned during her time as a Bard.

He could not replace any of them in their key roles, perhaps for brief moments of time take over should anything occur to one of them with an expected decline in proficiency, but he likely could handle himself for a while. But those mix of skills, his ability to act independently and achieve his mission through whatever outcome even without support, his knowledge of politics, the training he had taken under Cullen to learn more about military tactics when he had the chance as well as when he had asked her on multiple occasions how things worked, did give the Inquisition a very useful individual.

He would need extra training, of course, more information would most certainly be crucial if he was to take his role of the Inquisitor's advisor on a more permanent role as well as if she did start sending him on more emissions to deal with possible threats.

Whatever way she looked at it, the point still stood that Nat if allowed to be, could prove to be an invaluable asset and that was something that the Inquisition could not afford to lose, not with the threat that they were dealing with. If they were to lose, then the Inquisitor had already told them what happened, that was something she could not allow, even if it meant turning one of their own into a weapon.

As she considered the situation, the future of this war of the continent and more importantly the future that would happen if they did somehow manage to close the Breach then one thing became very, very clear.  
Nat was a threat.

Oh, she agreed with the mages that they should have their freedom to live a normal life, but Nat had lived a normal life up until this moment and she could already tell that he would never allow himself to be flung in some tower or be holed up as the pet of some organisation willingly. Which meant that if the Circles did come back together again, he would be one of the first people to start rallying other mages to his cause for another revolution, in fact, he had already done that.

The circles were not coming back now with the sheer damage that had been done to them, it would take decades for them to recover their numbers now that they were so low. There was no way to control the mages now except for perhaps pure power and skill, something which Nat had shown again in somewhat terrifying abundance.

If he was allowed to exploit that power, to be known by the other mages then they would flock to him, hoping for protection but giving him a lot of power as his decision could be the one which affected the future of the entire continent. He could fling the continent into war if such an event occurred, bring down the Chantries if they continued to discriminate against mages.

One one hand she wanted to say that was good, with him at her side they could inflict some social change make the world a better place then it was today, but on the other, the fact remained that he was a threat and that the influence he was gaining could be detrimental to the Inquisition.

The position that she wanted to put Nat in, to not only advise an Inquisitor who was quite frankly naive and not too interested in the role but also to represent the Inquisition on very high-risk missions, meant that he would be meeting very wealthy and influential individuals, which when one wonders how Nat somehow transported himself across an entire continent and found and killed all the Templars in the san of a week was very concerning.

He had to be controlled, she figured. She couldn't simply put him on a leash, doing so would make him feel angry perhaps even turn against them and dam the continent to suffering, but he also could not be allowed completely free reign not when he had just demonstrated that he could if he desired set an entire kingdom into civil war, end it and put a new person on the throne as well as wipe out a powerful group like the Templar Order.  
She'd speak to Cullen and Josephine about it at a later date, ask them for their opinion see how they saw the problem. Cullen she guessed would likely share her concerns over Nat's power given what he had accomplished whilst Josephine and her experience in Politics would be able to inform her just how the nobility would react to a person of Nat's skills and accomplishments.

For now, though, she would have to do her normal job and try to find something that would tether him to the Inquisition that would not be suspicious. That was going to be difficult she thought to herself grimly. Even after months of research and sending agents all across the continent she had not gathered a single thing, no history, no travel, no secret location hidden in mountains that had traces of an old battleground, nothing but plain scenery.

That left forming new connections in the meantime however that also had its own concerns.

The very thing that had pushed Nat to his apparent limit to unleash his power and devastate the Templars had been the very thing that she needed to keep him tied down. His two friends had been something that kept him close and from what she could read between the lines, when separated from them Nat had gone on a warpath to get them back.

That was something at the very least, it meant that he had protective instincts and when they were poked meat he was far more willing to unleash that power when he felt that something more personal was at stake, the question was finding something new for him to latch onto, something that when threatened would have him destroy entire organisations and leave countrysides in utter ruins if attacked.

Friends and family were the first things that came to mind, the loss of Elyria and Gerald had hit him hard and going by his now colder state of emotions was something that would take time for him to recover from. Unfortunately for her though there was no remaining family with them all "killed" in the war that he had fought in leaving him only the friends in the Inquisition.

She had to foster those relationships, build a proper friendship between him and some of the others such as Varrick, Bull, Blackwall and more vitally the Inquisitor as in the case of the latter, the Inquisitor had to be protected at all costs less the war be lost and Corypheus conquer the world.  
But was friendship going to be enough?

Friends came and went, some you kept contact with but it was a case that you could go years without seeing some and having no contact and remain friends. Leliana shook her head, no what she needed was something far stronger, a bond between him and someone else that when that other person was threatened would allow him to delve into his more protective instincts and allow him to unleash that power, or better yet the simple idea that using such abilities on a more regular basis would make the world better for that individual.

If that was to happen, then she needed somebody that Nat could bond to on a romantic level, somebody that he would care deeply for and allow himself to be exploited to an extent via his romantic partner. The question that remained, was who would be appropriate for such a job.

It wouldn't be easy, Nat from what her agents had reported had never once shown interested in such things, worse with his preference to be on his own away from others it made it even harder to notice just who might catch his eye. After that they needed to be as perfect as possible if she wanted to tether Nat to the Inquisition and prevent him from going awol, she would need to know what he would find physically attractive, dark skin, pale skin, thin, muscular, hair colour, did her prefer more traditional women with the interests in sewing an homemaking as was typical with most women or did he instead prefer a stronger woman, one who could fight beside him on the battlefield or at least assist him in some niche role.

She could train somebody up if it was required, show them how to act, how to grab his attention with what to say, how to move, what even to think, but all of that relied on gaining crucial knowledge on his likes and dislikes. However even if she did find somebody who could fit his type of preferred woman one that she could get him to fall in love with and devote time to protecting and making happy, she then had the problem of hiding the true purpose for the romance.

It was incredibly risky if he were to find out and the consequences could range from anger and the potential death of such an agent to perhaps Nat even turning against the Inquisition if he felt betrayed. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought, if Nat was to bring his might and power against them, to topple the Inquisition because of betrayal then could the Inquisition still stand?

One one hand she wanted to say yes, the Inquisition could stand if their youngest member declared war on them, after all, they had the rest of the alive mages as well as multiple powerful ones from all walks of life not to mention some Templars and several hundred troops at their beck and call, there was no way he could fight through all of them at once. But on the other hand, he had decimated the Templar ranks, wiping all but those located with the Inquisition and those with the Corypheus from the face of the continent and all within the span of a week. Added to that if his tale of killing an Arch Demon and capturing an ancient Magister were true then that only increased the threat he posed to the group.

They might be able to kill him if he turned against him, but at what cost? How many of their number would be killed to defeat them, how many of her strategies, Josephine diplomacy skills and Cullens military tactics could he beat with the training that they were giving him at this present moment in time. Worse if Solas ever deemed to teach him in his arts of wandering the Fade to uncover secret information then the man might be able to set up some kind of secret spirt spy network.

But that would only happen if it was discovered that his possible romantic interest had been working for her in an attempt to reign him in, on keeping him and his power limited and not running off the first moment he had. But that, in turn, led back to the thought of if such a plan was even a good one to start of with.

Sure she had developed methods when she had investigated all the inner council members of the Inquisition, searching for secret information, blackmail she could use if they stepped out of line or assassination techniques for something direr. Maker knew she had agents keeping careful tabs on the Iron Bull at all times to ensure that he did not uncover and send back anything that could be used against them back to the Qun. As for Thom Rainier, the threat of his identity being released to the Orlesian authorities hung over his head at all times almost like his head was in a noose and he was waiting for someone to kick the stool out from under him. As for Vivienne, Nat's efforts in wiping out the vast majority of the Templar Order had essentially destroyed any chance she had off been as powerful as she once was, not to mention Leliana had a somewhat disturbing theory that if she did try to put the Mages back into Circles that she would vanish from existence without a trace.

But how did she deal with Nat if he betrayed them, she could not assassinate him in his bed as would be the safest route as she did not know where he resided, neither could she poison him as nobody had seen him eat. That left far less subtle means such as trying to stab him in the back, or deliver an arrow to his throat but again he showed an uncanny awareness of his surroundings as if he knew where everything was even without looking. That left far more logistical methods of killing such as putting him on a boat, sailing him into the middle of a vicious storm and hoping that he would drown. But even then Nat had shown again a unique ability to survive in the Deep Roads without backup, so she had doubts that hoping that the weather would kill him might not be enough.

That just left her initial plan of tethering him to the Inquisition, turning him into a powerful agent that could deal devastating damage to Corypheus's forces if required and in the meantime allowing him to advise the Inquisitor when she and the other were not present.

Suddenly as if she had just stumbled into the Ferelden Circle Tower for the first time and saw the beauty inside, an idea struck her. She knew the perfect candidate to try and tether him to the Inquisition and not just that, if it worked then with his connection to them he could use his skills and power to better use as he might gain even more power.

Leliana smirked silently to herself. She may not be Josephine, but she could play the game to a decent standard and she knew that there was a reason that Nat had acted so... warmly to the Inquisitor. The way he had helped her deal with the distance from home, advising on her what to do, giving her the courage and sometimes strength needed to accomplish goals as well as inspiring her.

He wanted power.

He had noticed the very moment he saw the Inquisitor that she was unfamiliar with how the human world worked, about the complexities of politics, war, espionage and how she needed constant help in asking questions. He knew that if he became her friend, that he could use her as a sort of puppet, pushing forth his own agenda and using her reliance on him to make her follow his demands and turn the Inquisition into the shape he wanted.

Already he had taken steps towards that goal such as convincing the Inquisitor to recruit the mages, about how bad the Templars were. Then there was also the case that how many times had he warned the Inquistion that they needed to move less they were attacked, that people would die and there would be many deaths when such an occurrence arose. Only that occurrence had arisen and Nat had been proven right with the near decimation of the Inquisition at Haven and only Nat's constant insistence of finding a back passage had convinced Cullen to send some scouts had allowed the Inquisition to survive.

No doubt the Inquisitor would take this foreshadowing as yet another piece of evidence that Nat knew what he was doing and that he could be trusted to help the Inquisition in its goals. She would trust him more, bring him in as a closer advisor willingly allowing him to whisper his choices in her ears and choosing the Fate of the Inquisition in his direction.

It was sneaky, very sneaky but one that Leliana knew she could play to her advantage. So long as Nat did not go too far with his goals and aspirations then she would allow him to keep advising the Inquisitor as doing so meant he had a vested interest in the organisation, that he would not be so willing to leave when he had put in so much time to achieve his own goals. Even better if she could find a way to strengthen the relationship between him and the Inquisitor to make him more then just a friend and advisor to make him mean something far more to the Inquisitor and the same for the Inquisitor to mean more to him than just some simple political peice to move on a chessboard, then she would have him tethered.

In the meantime however she needed to focus him onto Corypheus, find the relevant weaknesses that she could exploit whilst the Inquisition was still recovering from the battle of Haven. It wouldn't be much, there was little that they could do now that winter had finally come forcing them all to hole up in this fortress that Solas had named Skyhavem, for instance there would be no major military manoeuvres from either side instead it would all be about the diplomacy and stealth, building allies, discovering blackmail and taking down any enemies they could whilst they had this break from the war.

However, the Inquisition could not afford to simply sit back until the time when the weather got warmer allowing for better operations, instead Leliana knew that there were weak points that a small group of individuals could deal damage to. Passageways in the mountains that could be cleared, abandoned forts that could be garrisoned, Cursory investigations into more demon infested areas, the gathering of information on the Empress of Orlais and just what other events could be held that would leave her so terribly exposed and fling the entire plan of defeating Corypheus into chaos and far more vitally, deal with the Wardens.

The latter was going to have to be their main concern, there was little they could do to stop making the Empress from holding balls, parties and fighting her civil war, especially now when there was a crisis. If she were to stop then the other nobility would side with her rival and see her as weak, and aside from that, the Inquisition had not yet gathered the influence required to affect the politics of such a powerful nation as Orlais. Instead, they were going to have to do what they did before they could speak to the Mages, continue to expand their influence and destroy any rifts that appeared in the world as well as thwart Corypheus's plans in trying to gain his own influence.

However as she turned her head from her immeasurable amounts of notes delivered from all corners of the continent, she once again focused on the individual she wanted to help lead the charge in this war. He was in a period of mourning for his lost companions and it was highly possible that he would become far less willing to take the command she wanted him to push for whilst he was in this state. Instead, she needed him to recover from his ordeal, inform the rest of the Inquisition what had occurred whilst he was on his own and then take his time about things while she would speak to an expert healer and see if he had been corrupted by the Blight from the time he had spent down there.

"Leliana" Nat's spoke suddenly cutting through the red-haired woman's rapid thoughts like a sharp blade had pierced through her supple flesh and struck the heart within. "Don't even bother" Leliana blinked before putting on a fake smile.

"I have no idea what you mean"

"I'm not a fool, I know exactly that not only do you want me to use my new found powers and abilities to help the Inquisition, but you also want me to take more responsibility. More individual tasks that cannot be performed by normal agents. You would also prefer that I remain the way that I am, colder then I was before, more ruthless then I was and I am also very much aware of your attempts to "tether me" to the Inquisition through the method of a romantic partner or more specifically the Inquisitor so you could then manipulate me through them. More importantly, I am very much aware of your growing fear of me, the constant idea that I am an inside agent gnawing away at you and if not the concern about how you would kill me if I discovered you treachery about manipulating me. So I will repeat again, stop and don't even bother, I am helping the Inquisition of my own accord and I have no intention of screwing over the lives of millions for some petty devious scheme of yours"

Though his look was positively calm again as if he was speaking about the weather, there was something in his tone something that roared to her inner self to run and never look back, to run to the end of the continent board a ship, set sail on the open ocean and never return to Thedas. It was a warning, one that made the brutal shiver of those cold nights in the mountains only weeks ago when they were on the verge of destruction make her feel as if she was in the heat of summer in Tevinter and being roasted by a hundred mages all firing flames spell at her location.

It was petrifying and despite herself, Leliana felt her breath catch in her throat and her skin become bumpy while she simply sat there paralysed by the individual who stood there calmly looking at her. It was like looking into the eyes of death itself, no worse than that, she had been in the Deep Roads, had seen the Archdemon had nearly been killed when she was younger had felt the terror that struck her when she had seen Corypheus and yet it was nothing compared to this.

Perhaps it was because of that ever so brief look and feel of utter raw panic that kept her pinned as if she was a small child being scolded again that all her previous doubts about Nat's previous claims were true. He may have been more subtle about his power compared to other mages who instead preferred to light their hands on fire, or crackle electricity from their fingertips or perhaps even lift a small rock with magic all of whom had a smug arrogant look on their face as if they had won the biggest gamble of all time. Yet Nat was far more subtle, it was if he was giving a person a beautiful pot of delicate flowers that were truly exquisite, however the moment you accepted them, they then turned on you, growing larger and larger entangling you in it's thick roots and spreading a person apart where they then began to constrict tightly around the blood flow, making it difficult to breathe, think until after only a short time everything was over and you lay dead ready to be devoured.

Suddenly, just as soon as it had begun the pressure stopped allowing Leliana to lurch forward and take a deep mouthful of fresh air as if she had just come up from swimming under water. Still scared and most definitely with her mind swimming in caution, she looked up to the young mage that stood before her with an even more startling realisation.

That feeling of utter panic she had felt, the one where she had wanted to cry had lasted but a moment not longer then what Nat would call a single lone second of time had passed but it was enough Leliana decided grimly.  
In a single moment the one she had wanted to manipulate to turn into one of her best agents to perhaps even take her place one day, had just demonstrated that not only did he know of every single plan she had thought up off, but was also brave enough to tell her to the face and then threaten her very life as a warning.

He was dangerous she feared, perhaps not as magically as she might think given the way Nat had begun to tell his tale of what had happened on his own and away from support, but if that was true then the beautiful woman found that her concern was only growing. After all, what was worse, a young mage who had the raw power and skill to defeat an Ancient Magister in a purely magical engagement, or a young mage who had likely less power, but the capabilities to kill such an enemy all the same.

Power she could deal with, as on more than one occasion she had fought a heavily armed, heavily armoured brutish thig who could wing a thick blade but could not for the life of them move swiftly enough. As for intelligence, more than one mage had been beaten by sheer numbers alone and the Templar ability to disrupt magic. However a person with both? Now she was dealing with an opponent who not only knew how to fight but could fight.  
"How did you know?" She asked slowly hoping to figure out where she had gone wrong.

"Logic Spymaster, I put myself in your shoes, worked with what I know of your ideal's and the knowledge that I had given you and drew my own parallels and what strategies and fears there were present. "

"There has to be more than that, for you to know my exact thoughts?"

"I may be young Spymaster and I am certainly not at your level, but that does not mean that I am entirely incapable of playing this game. I can read people, connect the dots between the correct areas, look at a piece of data and formulate strategies based on that data and how to progress onwards. I was a Ravenclaw after all" Leliana blinked once not at all familiar with that term, at first she thought that it may have been some kind of family title passed down through the ages and marked someone as part of that family, however, Nat referred to it in a past tense and he had also stated that his last name was Tempest not of a Ravenclaw.

"Ravenclaw," She asked carefully hoping to get some kind of information that she could use.

"My school separated students based on their strongest characteristics, Slytherin for those of cunning, ambition and improvisation, Gryffindor for those who had bravery, nobility and chivalry close at heart, Hufflepuff was for those who were loyal, friendly and hardworking whereas Ravenclaw was for those of intelligence, wit and wisdom."

"Your actions would indicate that you would have been a Slytherin" Leliana said slowly as she thought back onto what Nat had achieved and the political game that he had been playing ever since he had joined the Inquisition and helped to fight against the demons that constantly threatened to invade the world and destroy everything that people held dear.

"Well it was Slytherin or Ravenclaw and frankly I didn't want to deal with the politics of Slytherin, so I chose Ravenclaw"

"Chose, I thought you said you were divided " Leliana rebuked as she made a note of that very useful information.

"Well most times we are divided fairly easily, but there are always students such as myself who hold strong characteristics of multiple houses and so it can take the divider longer to choose what was appropriate. However if one knows, then the divider always take into account the students own personal thoughts, for me it saw what I wanted to achieve, why I wanted to achieve it and how if I was thrown to that snake den, I could not achieve my desires which caused a bit of a quandary for it"

"Oh," Leiana said pulling herself forward a bit more so she could concentrate on Nat more, it sounded quite fascinating to her, the idea that students were separated in such a manner. Yes, she had heard of groups being separate in terms of gender and ability, but to split them up simply because of a personality difference sounded very odd indeed. "And how was that a quandary for this divider"

A few moments of silence passed by as Nat turned the focus that had been granted onto him back onto the beautiful red-haired woman. Realistically he should stop now, don't give any more information to the woman that could give her any clues, but on the other wasn't that what had started this entire mess in the first place?

His desire to keep his secrets to hold back his power had been what had gotten Elryia and Gerald killed, what had also gotten many others killed in the Battle of Haven because he had been so selfish as to hide his power. If he had told Elyria and Gerald about his ability to teleport even if he had then wiped their minds then perhaps they would be alive and he would not be soon forced to inform their loved ones of the situation regarding their loved ones. Merlin if he told the truth now to them, informed them that he was from a different world and that was why everything was different from him then he wouldn't need to carry on with this constant stealth and lies.  
Already Leliana was seeing through anything he told them and with his previous actions of having killed the Templars and essentially prevented any possible effort of returning the world back to it had been before, the others were going to watch him suspiciously night and day. And was it even worth it? he wondered to himself.

Sure at the beginning, it had made sense when he was new and the others had no need to trust him and therefore any declaration would be met with laughter if not concern, but now he had proven himself to the Inquisition, showed that he was a credible individual, an ally that they could rely on. The other's might not believe him, at least not at first and until a demonstration, but when they did realise he was telling the truth then how would they react.

Betrayal?

Perhaps, but considering that seemingly all of them had some kind of bad past that they didn't want to speak about then he could likely see them understanding his reasons for holding back. Most likely there would be envy from others, especially in regards of standards of living or how his magic had no connection to the Fade and why he was so dangerous to Templars and able to navigate around the world. Curiosity would certainly be one response from the more inquisitive individuals such as Varric but even then he could see that the man would ask story after story about his world and not just about history, but also about fiction, mythology perhaps even technology. Bull he would see as also being interested in technology but he also feared what the man would report back to the Qun, he was trying to prevent the group from getting more powerful if not to utterly destroy it later should he have the time.

There would also be a rise in suspicion, Leliana would go from wanting to know just where he was from to why he was here and just what could he do. Already a simple look at her thoughts had informed him of just how concerned she was with the information regarding his trip to Orzammar would be treated, let alone the fact that he was a visitor from another dimension. But then again, while some would certainly scoff, there would be other especially, Leliana, Josephine and Cullen who would benefit on a massive scale if he were to implement his knowledge of magic to assist them.

He wasn't an electrician, but he could use magic to make devices similar to phones, accurate maps, spy planes as well as other abilities. Already he could imagine the look on Leliana's face when he showed her a device that would allow her agents to communicate instantly from the other side of the world, or the way Cullen would react when he had cannons and muskets at his disposal if not more advanced weaponry, and as for Josephine, she could leverage his background as a way to get others to meet with her simply because of curiosity.

This war could be won relatively swiftly if he was to reveal who he was and what he could do, but he also knew that should he reveal himself as a very powerful opponent then there was no telling at what Corypheus would attempt to strike back.

Already that man had demonstrated his willingness to advice hundreds of elves just so he could enter the Fade once, and Nat had no doubt the man would sacrifice more if there was a way to increase his own power so that he could combat the innumerable threats flung against him.

And there were also the political and social sides he had to consider. if he revealed himself, then did that make him an ambassador like Joeshpihe, only he had to represent the interests of a country who didn't know where he was. If so then things got more ticky and especially as the social ramifications would slam home hard. He was bound to be mistrusted by people, but the idea that some dimension-hopping person from an entirely another planet would sen up red flags in the average civilians mind especially as he was so close to the Inquisitor.

More than one person he had passed had mentioned how uncomfortable they were with having a Dalish whore as the leader of the Inquisition, when they learned that he was at the top as well then they would also fear that he was attempting to conquer the planet which with British Empire jokes aside, could actually be possible for him.

He'd have to be careful of course, fight in a smart manner as he would likely have far fewer people on his side, but without modern firearms to oppose him and his ability to kill even Pride Demons with ease then combined with his comfortability with fighting dirty like using poisons, explosions, assassinations and other means, then very little in Thedas at least posed an actual threat, especially if he could keep advanced technology under his own iron grip and use it only to decimate his opponents.

However as his attention refocused back onto the red-haired woman, he soon found himself shaking his head. Not yet he thought, he could not trust them yet. Perhaps in the future when his position as more secure and he knew these other individuals who had joined the Inquisition in his absence, but now. Instead, he would give his support to the Inquisition and while he admitted that he needed to reveal more, there was also the fact that certain information was the best-kept secret. So with a slight turn, he locked his gaze ahead of him and mustered what strength he had left.

"Come on," He said. "Let's go say hi to the others" Then with a small smile on her face, Leliana moved quickly to catch up to him where the two then made their way out of the room as Valeyna and Varrick had left as subtly as they could to help spread the word of Nat's arrival and began to make the appropriate arrangements.


	24. Chapter 24 Welcome Back

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 24 Welcome Back**

"That all happened?" A voice said incredulously. Turning his attention to his left towards where one of the elves sat, Nat focused his attention onto the short blonde haired woman. Like all of those in this room, the looks of sheer incredulity and doubt were undoubtedly transparent on each individual face as they listened to the tale of what he had gotten up to during his time alone.

"Yes," Nat said without emotion as he stood at the front his eyes focusing on each of the members seeing how they reacted to the news.

"You just killed them all, like it was nothing" A large amount of fear welled up in Sera's chest as she gazed upon what she had previously thought was but a simple child. "But there were hundreds of Templar's, you couldn't have killed them all in a week?" Sera gulped loudly unable to hold back the sheer panic that was now shining in her eyes at the news. It was impossible she thought, nobody could kill that many people that quickly, she thought but the blank expression on his face, the cool detachment indicated that he wasn't lying t them.

"And whatever made you think that such reckless and brainless action as that benefited us. Your very actions have just condemned this world to a life of horror, cruelty and blood magic" Almost like a lion, Viviene roared in such anger that she found herself rising from her seat unconsciously as she glared at the mage in front of her. "How dare you! Do you even know what you have done?"

"I've wiped out a corrupt organisation and ensured the freedom of the mages," Nat said calmly as he met eyes with the woman.

"What you have done darling, is condemn millions to a life of barbarity. Forced to obey under the tyranny of magic as there is no other force that can hold such cruelty back" Suddenly like the waves on a beach pulling out suddenly and unexpectantly giving only the briefest indication towards those who knew what it meant, a strange sensation appeared in the room emanating from the Oreleisan Mage as she attempted to advance.

"Cruelty," Nat said once, tasting the words in his mouth. "It was cruelty for me to wipe out such a group when not only have they been oppressing people simply because they were born different? but also, to use that power to attack innocent people, to steal their belongings and all in the name of defence?" Though his face was calm showing no outward emotion inwardly Nat was sneering at this pathetic excuse of the woman. Such a claim had no grounds he knew. In fact his actions had been the correct and moral ones, destroying a group of tyrants who ever since their inception had tortured people, flung them into prisons and worse, expelled them of their very souls and not because of some grand crime, but simply because they were either too powerful, not powerful enough or dared to hold a different opinion to those in charge.

"It was better than what the mages are sure to do now that the Templar's are gone, what will you do now to keep the peace, what is to make sure that those mages that the Inquisitor soo foolishly recruited as allies will follow their bond?"

"The fact that they know they can't hide from the demons. We both know that mages are lighthouses in a pitch black night to demons, easy to detect and constantly lusted after. Any intelligent mage knows that they cannot defeat Corypheus on their own. "

"And what about those who do not see your sense" Viviene argued bitterly her eyes blazing with malice. "What about those mages who instead decide to enter the world, who decide to leave the watchful eye of the Inquisition"

"Good," Nat said without hesitation. "Mages are people, they should be afforded the same rights and responsibilities as anyone else. To keep them locked up simply because you fear them makes you just as bad as Corypheus"

There was a silence for a moment, a heavy, stunned and horrified silence that hung in the air. Shocked and horrified, Viviene could not immediately find the words to be mustered to give back an immediate response as she stared at the child in front of her. To her sides, the other members of the Inquisition who had not yet the time to say their piece on the subject matter not that it would have done anything, watched in utter silence as they saw the two mages lock eyes on one another.

Dorian who at this point had stayed keenly quiet as he observed the "legendary" Tempest of the Inquisition watched in bemusement as he saw the kid simply stand there not at all affected by the older woman. It was quite surprising, surely he felt the rising power that was trickling off Viviene, a mix of both a warning and her losing her temper, allowing her to easily cast a spell if she so desired however Nat simply stood there, alert he could tell but none the less without much defence.

"You would dare to speak to me in such a manner" Viviene hissed like a snake her eyes fuming with rage. "I am a first Enchanter, leader of the loyal mages, court mage to Empress Celene, I am far older then you are child" She spat the words out venomously. "I suggest that you apologise this instant for your behaviour, such actions would never have been tolerated in the tower"

Nat grinned internally as he saw the woman in front of him demonstrate her anger, perhaps there was something special about him that he could rile up a woman who was used to the political game and was used to putting people down in more elegant matters, or perhaps it was instead the very fact that in a week he had decimated any and all hopes of her ever regaining the power and position that she once had. It was quite a wonderful thing really, and as he watched those eyes blaze with fury with the desire to kill him in revenge for destroying her dreams, for ruining everything that she had ever worked towards, he couldn't help but wish she would attack.

Oh, that would be the perfect thing he thought, if she attacked him, if she made the first strike then he would be well in his rights to counter the woman, to end her. And by Merlin, he would end her. If there was one thing that he had been taught in those magic forsaken tunnels, it was that power was of no use if it was not used, instead, it became worthless like large sums of money in a bank account from a rich CEO. He'd hesitated before and it had cost him the lives of his two subordinates as they were killed by the power of the blight due to his own hubris.

He couldn't make that mistake again, not when Thedas was still at stake. He would not allow more to die a needless death or suffer under the boot heel of some long-dead corpse, not when he had the power to prevent such a thing.

"You have said what you desire to, there is nothing to change what has been done" Her face scrunching up into an even greater smear, Viviene gripped her staff tightly and held it close.

"Before this erupts into a fight, I'd like to know how you managed to move so swiftly" Blackwall spoke suddenly his darker eyes lingering with concern as he watched the two mages start to square off against one another. He gave a light shudder at the thought, the last thing he wanted to be was somebody trapped between two groups of mages who were about to start slinging spells left and right, worse these two were both prodigies and more powerful than average so the destruction of such an event would be even worse than normal.

"I was wondering that as well," Said Solas quietly from the back of the room. Turning his attention onto the man, Nat locked a more careful approach and immediately activated his mental barriers. His mind soon raced with what had been said about the old elven gods and how they were alive still roaming this world. Two there were and if what he believed about Solas to be true, that he was an ancient elf from those times then it was quite possible that the man could have been a servant of Fen Harel.

"Magic" Nat replied swiftly. "But before you ask, no I cannot tell you any more details, such information was highly important to my people and it is not something I can simply just go around telling people" Solas narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the quick defence but said nothing.

"So you can't even give us a hint" Dorian spoke up quickly.

"I'm afraid not Heir Parvus" There was a look of shock on Dorian and he blinked one in surprise at being called such a title but beyond that, he simply rolled his eyes and gave a slight smile.

"Please call me Dorian"

"So you killed all the demon hunters, don't you think that was a really shitty idea" Nat turned to Bull. He was looking uncomfortable he noticed, not by much as the man could hide it, but the way that mans skin was standing up combined with the absolute tiny micro shivers that he constantly gave was more than a clear warning to Nat that the man was not at home in this cold environment.

"Not particularly, the Templars were the main threat we had to contend with, now that any reinforcements are gone, our own mages can now work unhindered by the kingdoms. Not to mention, my own strike against the Templars should hopefully cause some of them to think twice about their actions"

"Ah, so you want to scare the enemy into surrendering" Bull nodded his head in agreement having believed he came to the conclusion why Nat was so ruthless and barbaric by all accounts in wiping out the Templars.

"Surrender? No" Nat answered. "I want them to separate from the main group, allow their fear to spread amongst themselves to force them to doubt their allegiance with Corypheus so that they defect"

"So defect" Blackwall interrupted, Nat shot the man a calm look yet despite the lack of emotion, the former murder suddenly felt as if he was staring down the gullet of an incredibly hunty dragon that had found its first meal.

"Once they have run away and separated, then I will ensure that they meet the same fate as the others" The following silence could not be broken by anything, instead all of those who sat within the war room watching the youngest member as he explained his past adventure whilst fanned by a stream of light from the broken windows, only felt a rising sense of horror and despair within them.

Sera who normally preferred to yell scream and be as crass as possible fell unusually silent, Cassandra, a woman who had faced and killed many mages before could only stare in muted horror and anguish as she heard that while Vivienne's already extended eyebrows could have been described as detaching and flying into the air. The other's shared slightly more muted expressions, horror was prevalent on some of them such as Bull who gave a worrying look to the Inquisitor at what such a thing meant whereas Josephine almost went to scoff thinking such thing was a joke until another glimpse at the mages face told her that he was in fact serious. Finally, the silence was only broke when Cassandra who after clutching her sword tightly by the handle and bringing it closer to her in a sense of subconscious protection, decided to speak.

"You want to kill the Templars?"

"Kill no, commit genocide most certainly"

"Their innocent people, what did they ever do to deserve such a fate"

"They are my enemy" Nat answered calmly.

"And that gives you a reason to kill them all?"

"Yes," He was so calm about it Valeyna noticed with a disturbing look. Nat had always been calm she knew, never once giving into pressure even when the situation was dire, but now as she looked at him as he stood in front of them casual explaining about how he would wipe the world of the Templar's, was something else, something terrifying.

It didn't make any sense to her, what made him want to wipe out the Templars that much before he had mentioned about how they could be reformed to do their duty better yet now, he had lost all sense of compromise and was instead focused purely on the destruction of the Templars. She shivered slightly as if another coll wind had blown into the room and was crawling down her back like a spider.

"And if they surrender?" Cassandra asked nervously.

"There will be no Templar prisoners" Nat answered just as swiftly not at all concerned about how the others were looking at him in growing concern. He didn't need them to like him, he had tried to play the game before where he was nice to everyone but it had gotten him nothing instead his nice attitude had, in fact, lost lives. Had he been more aggressive, if he had forced Cullen to find a better base of operations to operate on then perhaps other's would be alive, perhaps he could have stopped the dwarf civil war in the first place and prevented Elryua's and Geralds death.

"No, I knew some of those Templar's they were good men, people who wanted to do the best possible thing. I will not have them killed simply for a mistake" Cullen said angrily as he walked forwards back towards Nat.

"There are a lot of noble sons and daughters who are part of the Templar order, if you just kill them then we will lose the favour of the nobility" Josephine added.

"And what would you have us do with those that do surrender, throw them in prison? We don't have the facilities. Send them back to their families? They will simply escape and continue the fight against us. Ransom them? We get the same, worse Corypheus could use prisoners of war to kill that nobility that we seek to protect. The only way to ensure that we do not suffer problems from them is to ensure that their corpses join the others"

"And what of those normal men and women who fight for the enemy are they also to be cut down simply because they side against us?" Cullen spat.

"If the need arises then yes, however, I would prefer to end this war sooner rather then later. As such we should strike now" Once again the room erupted into a chaos of noise as each member began yelling questions and expecting answers instantly, they varied in the words that were said and in just how crass they were but for the most part, Nat was able to work out what the three groups of questions actually meant.

Before he could speak, however, the noise of the room had become so loud that soon the others were starting to argue with one another rather than the lone wizard. Blackwall was arguing with Bull and Varric, Sera had taken to throwing a cookie at the back of Vivienne's head and the woman was still angry, Valeyna had been roped into a curious conversation with Dorian while Cassandra and Cullen were taking their opportunity to glare at the back of Nat's head as he stood there as if nothing was occurring.

"Nat," Josephine said suddenly from his side and grabbing his attention. "We need to speak after this" Nat nodded his head in acknowledgement before then faster than anyone else could react he drew his wand into the air where it emitted a powerful blast.

All sound stopped at that moment instead the eyes of all but one of the group focused on Nat before they then followed his calm stare down to the floor where Bull of all people had fallen to the floor and had smashed his face into the stone with his hands crossed behind his head. He was taking cover Nat realised, most likely the man had been trained how to act if a cannon was every turned against him in his training and so to hear the sound of a cannon so unexpectantly had likely forced the man to the floor out of a natural reaction.

"The answers to your questions," he said. "First, I am not in charge of the Inquisition that is up to the Inquisitor, second as for why we should strike now that is simple, the enemy is not expecting it"

"We can't fight in winter, no army can. Food doesn't grow and its more expensive, the men die of the cold, it is difficult to transport goods over land and the nights make it far easier for ambushes, something that is made even worse when the enemy has an Archdemon at his beck and call. To attack during winter is to invite destruction if anything we should focus on rebuilding our ranks until spring" Said Cullen as though he was talking to a child who knew nothing of even the most mundane life.

"And give the enemy the ability to grow and latch its tendril into the heart of societies. That is a risk we cannot afford, especially not with what I was told of the Inquisitor's trip to the future. The longer we wait the more time we give for the enemy to gain a foothold. However if we can weaken them during winter strike them to such a point that they cannot do anything at all until spring comes, then we have the advantage when large troop movements become accessible again. "

"Wait so you don't want to send the army to fight," Cassandra said in a confused tone.

"Of course not, the troops are not prepared for winter combat if we send them for a large scale fight now then we are bound to not only suffer high desertion but also high attrition. I'm talking about special operations, groups of highly trained individuals who can go and perform devasting missions such as disabling enemy intelligence networks or bringing down enemy fortresses single handily" Nat shook his head at the idea of sending the troops to fight, Cullen was right in that he had no experience in leading an army, but one only had to look back at history to see what typically happened when armies clashed in the cold. It was the same pattern, the enemy would advance far but scorched earth policies and vicious fighting from those individuals who knew not only the terrain but also the weather and what it brought could easily take down the enemy once they got themselves going. He was not Napoleon or Hitler with his idea of invading Russia and having no plans to deal with the cold that would eventually fall, nor was he Stalin sending in the unprepared Russians to go get their asses handed to them by the Finns during the early part of the Winter War.

"Good" Blackwall interrupted a look of relief on his face. "The majority of our recruits have never held a sword before, send them across an open battlefield during winter and they'll all either starve to death or freeze.

"Exactly why we need to achieve more with less and preferably gain as much ground that we can take as possible. The very moment winter has let up and Corypheus can reliably start sending his troops down for an attack is the moment that this war truly kicks off for real. He tried to strike an early victory at Haven, use the winter to not only kill you but also prevent you from gathering strength, I suggest that we return the favour in kind"

"And how do you suggest that, darling. Simply walk into their stronghold and burn it to the ground as he did to ours, you'd be killed the moment you tried" Viviene sneered.

"No, I would suggest that we deal with the Grey Wardens as our first course of action, and rapidly too"

"The Wardens, why them?" Valeyna asked suddenly. She looked at Nat in a curious manner there was something different about him now she could tell, nothing visible but it was almost as if he was commanding while at the same time of thinking. She flicked her gaze over to Leliana who much to her surprise seemed to have an odd smug smile on her face as she too watched as Nat swayed his attention between each of the inner council members, not giving anyone, in particular, any interest but none the less checking that they were both paying attention and understanding him.

"Once I learned about Corypheus, I did a bit of digging, while I have yet to find substantial evidence, I believe that he is able to influence the Grey Wardens."

"That doesn't sound good," Sera said carefully.

"No it doesn't, worse I think Corypheus is the reason why the Wardens have disappeared."

"How, he's an ancient Magister for sure and obviously he's addled in the mind and in serious need of a good manicure, but I don't see the Wardens allowing themselves to be manipulated by some creature" Dorian added doubtfully though unseen by most he felt a disturbing chill ran down his spine as he thought on what he knew about magic and how it could both affect and control people against their will, making them slaves of somebody else.

"Not willingly, but I believe that through the power of the Blight and some powerful spell or entity, he has created a false Calling, which is what King Alistair told me is anything to go by means, that the Wardens are going to be terrified as it would mean that all of them are experiencing the calling at once. That's never happened before" A look of understanding passed on Blackwalls face, turning towards him though Nat observed as an uncomfortable look appeared in the normally brooding individual.

Pain, loss, guilt were all incredibly present, but so was a growing sense of resolve and the burning of his eyes as he seemingly mustered up the conviction for this coming battle. Nat said nothing to the man though instead leaving him in peace as he moved the conversation as best he could from what he had done, to what they needed to do next. There was no time for delay, for sitting on their asses enjoying food and wine when they could be hitting the enemy with minimal cost to themselves. Only Leliana, Cullen and Josephine had a reason to stay back and that was because of their importance otherwise the rest of them were of better use in the field then they were here shivering in the cold as they waited for someone to repair the windows.

"So if the Wardens are in trouble, then what should we do?" Valeyna inquired once again.

"First, we check to see what influence Corypheus has over the Wardens currently and hope to break it off, afterwards we get them to leave Southern Thedas entirely" Nat replied quickly. Almost all of them in the room looked at him as if he was idiotic after all they were of the opinion that the Wardens would make powerful allies especially with their experience in dealing with Darkspawn and the blight, however, Solas simply gave an approving nod of his actions as if he agreed entirely with his reasoning.

Nat narrowed his eyes behind his glasses at the man, if Solas was an ally of Fen Harel whoever or whatever that supposed God may be, then did that mean that Fen Harel was active? Did they have plans and schemes in how to deal with the world? Was there a great plan in play and how was Solas involved? He could not be but a simple agent, not with his age and how few the elves were, no more likely if the man was connected then he would be one of the upper echelons. Just why did Solas agree with him on the mater of the Wardens?

"Are you sure about this, the Wardens are great warriors, they built the original jail they held Corypheus, surely they could assist us in this task" Nat shook his head at Leliana's remark.

"While it isn't my decision to make, the fact remains that it's too dangerous to allow the Wardens to stay in Southern Thedas where Corypheus can influence them. Rather, it would be best to keep them out of his reach and deny him another asset. Though again this decision does rest with the Inquisitor, if we take on such a task it will be her choice in how not only we proceed, but also what the final result would be."

Valeyna blinked startled as she noticed that all of a sudden everyone's face had turned to her waiting for instructions. She paused herself in confusion trying to comprehend just what Nat was trying to say, yes she understood what he meant that if the Grey Wardens could corrupted in some way that it was best to have them away, but then there was also the fact that they were great warriors, mages and rogues, heroes who while not designed to fight and kill Templars, were none the less experienced and came with a whole host of backgrounds and abilities.

"I think recruiting them would be better," she said. "We lost a lot when Haven fell and there is no way to know how long it will take us to recover from our losses, so we must make as many allies as we can. Besides, the Wardens have respect from other kingdoms, if the Inquisition can show that the bulk of the Grey Wardens are with us, then it will help us in gaining respect elsewhere.

"If that is your decision Inquisitor, then I suggest that we move as quickly as possible, every day that we allow the enemy to move unhindered is another defeat. We must strike at the enemies potential allies as soon as possible, turn them to our cause is best followed by them remaining positive to us and then followed by neutrality. I would prefer not having to decimate enemy after enemy if possible, that only leads to more rifts that need closing"

"Speaking of which, you haven't answered for your crimes yet" Vivienne interrupted the conversation between the two most powerful members of the Inquisition. Intenrlayy Nat grinned as once again he focused his attention onto the Orelesian Mage, she was even angrier then before, her cheeks were red and her eyes were narrowed dangerously as if she was trying to cast some dark and ancient spells, all that she needed now were the piles of bloody corpses Nat thought mockingly. Nonetheless, as he focused his attention onto her, he brought his right arm down subtly, if the woman attacked he would not leave himself so open.

"And what crimes would they be Vivienne?" He said in a neutral tone.

"My dear you have not answered for your crime of the murder of hundreds of innocents, of desecrating chantry property with the corpses of individuals, for abusing your magical power. "

"And what of the fact that the Templar Order has not only declared war against the Mages whom may I remind you are both our allies and under or protection but have also sided with the enemy. Such action against them is justified, after all, war is not won by inaction, leaving them alone would only give them the chance to strike against us"

"And what of the Chantry, what possible reason could exist for displaying the corpses of men and women loyal to the Maker in such a display of utter depravity?" Viviene argued viciously, to the side of her though Nat noticed the very curious stares of the others as they heard that question, there was no doubt in his mind that they wanted to know why he had made such a public display of their deaths instead of simply leaving the battlefields bloody or better yet giving them a proper burial.

"Firstly, you label under the illusion that I either care or believe in your imaginary friend, secondly fear. My actions have sent a warning to not only the Templars and Corypheus but also to any would stand in our way of closing this Breach, that should you stand in our way, you will meet with the same fate. I will not abide enemies, not when Thedas lies within the grasp of even greater tyrants"

"Yeah, so you just going to step on anyone if they disagree are you, well who said you could do that" From the back Nat focused his eye on Sera, currently she had stood out of her chair and while quivering as she came to the realisation that he could very much kill her if he wanted to. It was brave he admitted to himself, unquestionably stupid of her since if she was of the opinion that he would kill her simply for speaking out then it would be best to remain quiet until she could slip in the knife and deal with the threat, but all the same, it was still brave.

"I did, I wasn't going to just haul myself up a mountain simply so I could consult with others. I was the one in the field and as not only the highest ranking operative but also a member of the inner council and as Advisor to the Inquisitor, the responsibility fell on my shoulders to deal with the situation in the way I believed was best"

"And you thought mass murder was best" Sera spat angrily.

"It wasn't murder, it was a legitimate act of war," Nat said calmly not at all bothered by the increased amounts of dark and somewhat terrified looks that were sent to him. Vivienne he noticed was still glaring as was Sera though for a different reason, as for Bull though he noticed the man giving him cautious looks as if he knew that type of mentality, that he knew he could justify any action if it helped win the war in the first place.

"You didn't take any prisoners," Blackwall asked doubtfully. "Not one person surrendered, begged for mercy?"

"To surrender requires an acknowledgement that there is somebody to surrender to. Nobody surrendered because nobody knew they were being attacked" Nat took joy as he watched those looks of horrified realisation spring upon the other member's faces as they finally came to imagine what the fights must have been like. No doubt they had ideas of some kind of grand battle, of him running through the front gates, blasting out spells, flinging Templars back onto cold hard walls while more charged and he fought like a demon. The truth of the matter was that with the spells he had at hand, he had simply waltzed in, entirely undetectable and then proceeded to casually slaughter every Templar he came across as if one was merely delivering post to a row of houses. Fast, efficient and with a sense of grim satisfaction.

"That's impossible, there's no way you could have killed all those Templars, even Therinfall Redoubt was obliterated" Cole shivered at the news of that old castle, memories of Templars clashing against Templars before they were transformed against their will by their more veteran comrades. Grimly he looked at the boy, he was dangerous, very dangerous.

"Yes that was an interesting one, I didn't even bother that much with spells, just enough application of explosives and the entire building went soaring into the air. Trust me you should have seen it, made for an excellent firework display" Varrick chuckled, although it was only a short one that was cut off rapidly the moment Cassandra sent a withering glare at the man, none the less when Cassandra had turned her head away from the Dwarf Varric made a motion indicating that he wanted more details.

"What is it with humans and explosives" Solas muttered in a defeated manner. Nat hid a grin, if he ever did reveal where he came from then he most certainly was going to inform the pointed ear elf just how much humans had come to love explosives, perhaps he should even show him some of the footage from 1945 see just how much his entire body quailed at the implication of what humans had achieved.

"So that's it, you wiped out all of the Templar's because they were a threat" Dorian added finally in an almost bored tone.

"Do I need another reason"

"No, no, I just thought that there would be some more nuanced and emotional season as to why the supposedly calm child went on a mass killing spree and started painting the Chantry red"

"Yes well, I'm afraid to let you down, but we have more important issues to mention such s the fact that there could, in fact, be evidence for the existence of-"

"The gods right" Valeyna interrupted with a burst of excitement. Nat turned to her, the elf woman now seemingly haven forgotten about the entire discussion of him wiping out several hundred people in a week and was instead desired more to hear about what he had discovered on the more archaic parts of his journey.

"Yes," He said slowly. "Though not for definite, I discovered some evidence, which while it cannot be spoken of here, does imply that the old Elvish Pantheon not only existed but still exists and is walking the earth this very moment"

There was a brief pause, it wasn't anything like when he had told them of his removal of the Templar order, or about how he had both started and ended the Dwarven civil war, in fact, there were incredulous looks from most of the people aside from the elves. Sera rolled her eyes as if she was sick and tired of hearing about such things, Valeyna was still brimming with excitement and was holding onto his every word, but Solas was the one that Nat focused his own attention on.

It was absolutely tiny, so fast that if a person blinked they would miss it, however, the moment he had mentioned the elven gods still walking the earth, Solas had stopped dead still, as if he had been shot through the heart and then had been turned to stone. A look of utter shock appeared before it was hidden by one of confusion and then replaced by panic only to then be entirely covered up by a calm and emotionless face.

Yet despite how quick it went, despite the fact that it was so small and should never have been seen, the reaction was detected and so behind his glasses, Nat only narrowed his eyes even further onto the man. There was a connection it seemed, just how strong that connection ran, was yet to be discovered but Solas indeed knew far more then he let on about this situation.

He was going to have to watch him carefully.

"God's," Dorian said doubtfully catching the gaze away from the old elf man.

"Aren't they fables? Legends of times when people knew nothing better"

"Perhaps," Nat said. "But often rumour and legend had some basis on truth even if it has been twisted and warped to such a degree that it is wholly unrecognisable. In your own case, Ancient Tevinter once believed that they had their own gods of great power, but it turned out to be nothing more than a bunch of overgrown Geckos who were in turn captured by the Wardens and then locked deep within the earth. For all, we know the supposed gods, could have been incredibly powerful mages, individuals of such might and skull that the only way to describe them even by other legendary mages was gods"

"But what could explain that type of power" Valeyna inquired. "I mean if the mages were that powerful when it came to magic, how come Fen Harel was able to lock them away and doom my people to torment, how come no other mage with such power or skill has been seen since."

"That my dear is a very good question" Dorian added quickly as he focused his attention onto the other mages of the group wondering if they had some other theory. "One which our young friend here may be able to help solve"

"It isn't a case of genetics," Nat said out loud though it was more to himself than to inform the others of his mental processes. "Or at least I don't think it is, rather if anything it might have to do with external factors, things out of our control. Perhaps back then there simply was an increase in magic that has since declined in the world, but then again perhaps something occurred, something that we don't yet know about" Solas behind gritted teeth nodded his head slightly in agreement before he gave a warm smile to the rest of them.

"Perhaps," He said quickly, "The world is an old thing and it is not unreasonable to suggest that information regarding such times have been forgotten or perhaps twisted as it has been repeated so many times that what was merely rumour has become fact"

"Indeed Solas, that was why I was hoping you would assist me as I search for more information on this topic." Nat interrupted. "Whether such tales are true, or merely fanciful fairytales, I believe that the revealing of Corypheus, an individual who was likely believed by even some of the devout to be a mere allegory could perhaps lead credence to the existence of other "deities". If that is the case it would be best that we know not only if they truly are real, but also who they, where they fall and what possible plans they could have in store for us"

"Wait you want to hunt down fairy stories," Sera said doubtfully. "As in wasting time reading stupid old books and listening to Mr bald head over here so you can try and find something that you don't even know if it exists. Are you crazy?"

"If I remember correctly, this era was called dragon because though such creatures were thought not only to be extinct and lost forever, an individual saw a lone dragon flying, something that defied everything. As such, Dragon is meant to represent mystery, wonder and also caution as strange things have been occurring in this time period, and so far we've already been proven right on multiple occasions."

"Yeah like what" Sera argued back thrusting her head forward as she did so trying to glare into Nat's eyes and make him back down, Nat, however, didn't instead simply moving his eyes briefly back to Solas. He cared little if that blonde elf was rude or if she believed she had won some sort of silent argument, he was far more concerned with the man who was sitting silently at the back, silent for the most part but incredibly alert as though he was preparing for a battle.

"For one, A blight both started and ended within the confines of a year which resulted not only in the death of the Archdemon but also in the survival of the Warden who had dealt the finishing blow. After that, we then began to hear rumours of some sort of Darkspawn civil war which was solved again by the same Hero of Ferelden and that is without mentioning all his countless other feats such as slaying a high dragon and discovering the urn of Sacred Ashes. Secondly, a sixteen-year-old girl became the Empress of the most powerful nation on Thedas where somehow despite all the backlash and fights she has gradually turned the nation into a soft power focused nation. Then we have the tale of Hawke and what she managed to get up to which in turn resulted in the Mages and Templars splitting from the Chantry to start a civil war. Then we have the modern events, A breach in the sky, the return of a previous legend, another dwarven civil war, an Orlesian civil war, the Grey Wardens vanishing without a trace, the reveal of long lost knowledge that was forgotten and likely many other things."

"And you think that justifies wasting our time on following some ridiculous child stories told by pathetic homeless people to their children just so they could feel better about themselves," Vivienne scowled. Valeyna glared harshly at her, her bright eyes gaining a slight glow as she attempted to stare holes into her head, she opened her mouth and was about to yell but was promptly cut off by Nat as he moved swiftly in front of her blocking her vision of the smug court mage.

"With the current threats we face, it would be better to be safe than sorry."

"Besides, if we can contact the Gods then they would fight beside us and defeat Corypheus" Veleyna added though her scowl was still present. Quickly she threw another glare at Vivienne right through the human who was in front of her, not at all missing the brief look of incredulity and shaking of his head that Solas gave.

"Is that wise though, I mean you're talking about asking some ancient gods to come out of hiding and to help us. How do we know they simply won't try to kill us all?" Blackwall spoke plainly as he caressed his beard. It sounded okay for the first few seconds he thought about it, having a god on their side could allow them to destroy Corypheus, but what would happen afterwards, would they simply leave the world the way it was or would they demand some sort of charge for their services of killing an overzealous Magister. He shook his head in severe doubt, the last thing they needed was to try and speak to some kind of god, not when they had another one that was trying to kill them.

"I agree with Blackwall," Nat said. "Gods are fickle beings, prone to emotional outbursts and immaturity on scales far beyond that of humanity, the number of legends that claim that they have started brutal wars, completed horrible acts and other such crimes simply because they held such power that none could threaten them does not relieve my mind of concern."

"But I thought you said-" Valeyna began but was then interrupted by Nat again.

"That I want to discover who they are? Yes I do, I'd rather be aware of a threat so I can plan to deal with them, but the fact is we have enough concerns right now, the last thing we need to be doing is go pleading to some likely genocidal serial rapist power crazed hobo" Solas glanced at Nat his eyebrows fraying upwards and almost bristling "and piss them off in some manner. Besides, if one of them is the so-called god that we think they are then the last thing we want to do is piss That one off."

"Excuse me, but would you care to share with us which god you're referring to" Solas inquired honestly. Nat focused his attention on the bald man, his eyes flickering all over his pale form searching for even the merest hint of evidence.

Was it a good idea to tell the truth here? He most certainly could not tell Valeyna and the others of his suspicions at least not until he had gathered some serious evidence. So far everything he had was mere theories, thrown together by how his mind thought, there was no way to reveal to Valeyna that Solas was thousands of years old, the man could simply deny it and neither could he prove any connection to Fen Harel either. He simply suspected because of how the man had a tendency to wear things relating to wolves and spoke fondly and in a pleasing way about other matters.

Then again, he had been observing Solas, watching for any little ques that may give the man away, and by Merlin, he had not been disappointed. Either the man was not as good as an actor as he initially believed acting in more obvious ways, or the sheer amount of time he had not practised these skills had dulled his ability somewhat to hide facts. Then again perhaps Solas was not on guard as he should be simply because he did not expect anyone to suspect him in any manner relating to old gods, a middle-aged elf with knowledge of ancient times perhaps, but certainly not an ancient being who had lived in the once fabled land.

He needed to discover more about the man, get hints from him about certain details without giving away what he suspected. It would be difficult, especially if he was to do so on his own, Solas was intelligent and would begin to suspect things if he could not watch them constantly, over time he might grow concerned with his own lies and feel like he needed to deal with a possible threat. But that was if he was not in the know if he lingered on the outer edges of what was known and only consulted on an occasional basis.

If however he was spoken to constantly, made a crucial part of an investigative team then not only would he give advice, he was also bound to change details, make false paths and conclusions, commit actions to lead the Inquisition of his scent. If he could witness the man do that, bring him as an assistant under a false guise and observe the slightest detail, unpack and read the detail between every word he said then perhaps he could learn far more than if he was to learn from the outside.

It was going to be tricky though, with this information about the old Elf pantheon revelled, the man was going to be more cautious in the future. It was doubtful the man would be too cautious though, he would know that there was rumour that the elf gods were still alive, not that the Inquisition had any clue who these individuals may be or where to even search , but nevertheless if Solas was somehow an old servant of the gods and especially Fen Harel, then Nat could not deny the likelihood that he was stepping into something not only dangerous to his own health, but also others.

With his mind made up on matter swifter than anyone could have even guessed that he was debating the pros and cons of such a decision, Nat nodded his head towards the bald man and allowed the words to drip from his mouth.

"Fen Harel is the only one I can think of for definite considering the stories, as for the other one, I'm afraid I have no clue"

"And what was your plan in hoping to locate these, gods," Solas said slowly his eyes lingering cautiously onto Valeyna. The woman's eyes were still shimmering with excitement and if he didn't know better then would have said that she was about to leap in the air and if not then she would likely be sending some kind of notice to the others in her clan and inform them of the great news. Solas resisted the urge to shake his head in disgust at the thought of a clan dancing around a campfire, singing songs in jubilation while they then proceeded to put up even greater statues so that they could hold back the Dread Wolf.

"Well, we could, we could" Valeyna stopped her eyes crossing over as she attempted to work out a way in which she could communicate with the gods. Normally she would suggest what her clan had typically informed her, pray to them and leave offerings, yet if that had worked at all then they would have heard before now. "We could ask if someone had any idea about them" She asked with a somewhat squeaky tone. "Nat, how do we find the gods?" She demanded.

"Why are you looking at me, I have no experience in tracking down gods," Nat said the truth through the doubtful look on Valeyna's face said that she did not believe him for a second. "However I would assume that our best course of action would be to search any and all Elven ruins for any hints or clues about the gods. I doubt it would do much though, it's not as if we're going to find a convenient phone number to Fen Harel" Nat said as he mimed speaking on the phone much to everybody's confusion as they looked at him as if he was mad.

"Fone?" Cole asked in an innocent tone, "Is that some type of bird?"

"No," Nat responded drily dropping the gesture entirely. "Point is, our only hope of hunting down an ancient deity, is to hope beyond hope that somebody from those days left some ancient treasure map for us to follow in some form, find an ancient being which holds knowledge of that time and any secrets that remain, or we just happen to make enough noise and conveniently run into them"

"That's it" Valeyna spoke in a disappointed tone, obviously expecting some sort of grand plan and strategy from the one who had managed to find and kill an old Tevinter god single handily.

"Practically, unless Solas here can work his Fade contacts and discover any information about our dear Wolf Boy" Solas coughed uncomfortably grabbing the attention of all the others in the room.

"You all right there Solas," Bull asked.

"Yes, just something caught in my throat".

"Wolf Boy" Varrick spoke with a grin. "Is that what we're calling him now?" Nat shrugged his shoulders taking amusement in the way Sola's eyebrow seemed to go on the fritz for a few seconds, almost as if it was trying to escape the confines of his pale face and launch into space.

"Oh I like that, Wolf Boy, Wolf Boy, All hail the great and powerful Wolf Boy, scarer of shitty elves" Sera laughed and Solas groaned in an agonising way.

"Anyway back to the subject at hand. Our best shot of even trying to find these gods, is for us to a, either start sending archaeology teams out or B, find some grandpa demon who should have died a long time ago" Of course there was option C, Nat thought somewhat bitterly, find another not corrupted Arch Demon and force it to talk if it wanted to live. He'd lie, of course, rack the ancient gecko's mind for any information that was useful before killing it, but never the less it was still an option, even if that did mean delving back into those Magic forsaken tunnels again.

"I do not like the sound of locating some ancient Demon, with its age it could likely kill us before we gained any useful information. That or possess us" Spoke Cassandra as she creased her face.

"Are we even sure that locating such things are even a good idea. These so-called gods are nothing but fairy stories made up for the elves to believe that they were once powerful so they can get on with their dreary lives. Don't we have other concerns, like the Wardens and Empress Celene"

"Viviene is right" Lelina interrupted. "Right now the Inquisition is in a position of weakness, we don't have the resources to spare looking for destroyed relics, not when Corypheus is still out there, looking for us or gaining followers." Turning her head quickly so that she faced the Inquisitor, Leliana gave the woman a small smile, giving her as best a silent apology as possible before then turning back to the group. "But neither can we afford any attacks at the enemy, doing so would deplete our strength and leave us exposed, instead we need to focus on building up Skyhold and regaining any support that we might have briefly lost"

"But my people's history," Valeyna said suddenly.

"Will have to wait until we can investigate such claims. As Nat has claimed this Age is different and we have already seen strange and terrible things, I for one would prefer to know just what possible threats there are hiding but to do that we need the power to send our scouts out again. Unfortunately, I lost quite a number during the loss at Haven and it will take me months to recover them, not until spring can I see myself having the same amount if not greater" With a soft sigh, Leliana once again looked at the Inquisitor with a remorseful look in her eyes. She could perfectly understand what was going through her mind, she remembered that she would have felt the same had the Hero of Ferelden not taken her to see the Urn of Sacred Ashes all those years ago, Perhaps she might have still gone on her pilgrimage, yet she could only feel now that such a thing would only have lessened the experience than being one of the first to go through such trials. For Valeyna the woman likely wished to prove herself, to her people.

"It is the same with my men" This time it was Cullen who interrupted, for a moment Valeyna went to chuckle as she watched as his perfect gold strands of hair were blown out of place, but quickly she managed to gather her fortitude and only give a small smile as he quickly pated his hair down with a bright blush on his face. "Though we didn't take anywhere near as many casualties as there could have been Thank the Maker, the fact remains that if they are expected to fight against Templars then they will be in desperate need of training, not to mention that we also need to increase the number of soldiers we have at our command. Without them, we will be unable to maintain the fortresses and camps that will be required for our presence.

"Not to mention, with Winter most of the Lords and Ladies will be returning to their castles, we could use this time to build even greater relationships with them and give ourselves a political power boost so that we may speak with the Empress" Valeyna groaned at the mention of more politics but before she managed to mutter anything Nat shot her a look telling her not to make the situation any worse than it currently was. The last thing they needed to do was piss f the nobility even if they were irritating things at the best of times.

"Surely we can't just sit here all Winter though, there has to be someplace we can go even if it's just us" The blonde haired elf spoke desperately meeting the eyes of the other members who all quickly looked away or behind her to where the scene of a morning snowy breeze kept falling in a beautiful yet freezing crescendo.

"Perhaps not," Leliana said. "We have received word of missing patrols in the Fallow Mire and we have also noticed some suspicious activities in the Western Approaches." Valeyna frowned at the news before she turned her head to look at the war table and to where these places were located on the map.

"I know the Fallow Mire," She said cautiously. "It's nothing but an empty bog filled with undead, if we have patrols in that area, it's not strange to think that they are being attacked"

"You've been there before?" Cullen asked. Valeyna nodded her head.

"Once or twice, normally when we were leaving Ferelden during Winter, sometimes we would risk cutting across the Mire when we were being chased by human villages. It was risky, but it normally worked"

"In that case, it would be best that you led that expeditionary force," Josephine said quickly, then turning to Nat a smile on her face, she motioned towards the Western Approaches. "Perhaps you should lead the Expedition to the Western Approaches," She said kindly. "With your experience, you could find out any important information"

"No" Valeyna's voice cut through the words like a sharp knife through flesh, grabbing the attention of all in the room as they levelled curious looks at the elf. Even Viviene raised a carefully manicured eyebrow at the sudden rejection of the youngest member, Nat in the meantime, gave a slight tilt of his head and would have raised an eyebrow if he did not already have some suspicion of the refusal.

"No," Leliana asked in an almost confused tone. "Surely after dealing with the Templars and solving the Orzammar civil war, he can be trusted?"

"No" Valeyna repeated quickly, levelling a concerned look at the wizard. "Before Corypheus Nat warned us of what could happen on plenty occasions, since then he's proved himself and so I won't just send him away every time there is a problem. I want him with me whenever we go away, at least for the next few months"

There was a look of shock on all the member's faces and a moment of silence so loud that one could have heard a pin drop resounded for a few moments as the eyes of each member drifted back and forth between the attractive elf mage and the only recently returned wizard. Nat, still calm didn't say anything, in fact, he didn't feel anything except for a tinge of annoyance at the declaration.

She wanted him to stay with her? He thought grimly as he focused on the woman, her hair was dancing as a sudden gust of wind came through the open wind and made her shiver uncomfortably. That wasn't good, this position of power he had just gained, becoming her advisor, finally being trusted by Leliana to have more responsibility, and the first thing that the woman wanted to do was to take that away from him, to leash him like some kind of pet animal to take with her wherever she went? He hid his scowl at the very idea, he didn't need bloody hand holding, he had killed an ancient dragon amongst other things, he could very much handle most threats he came across.

"Is that even a wise idea" Blackwall gave Nat a reluctant look, obviously not at all liking the idea that somebody of his age could be given command of an expeditionary force, especially as so little was known about his back-story or what he knew of war. Yet, on the other hand, Valeyna was showing a rather large amount of favouritism here, demanding that Nat stay with her like was one of those posh noble bastards demanding some sort of special grapes simply because they were better than everyone else.

"There are other mages, my dear" Viviene said in a sweet almost velvety tone before she then flashed a look of disgust towards the wizard. "Mages who have had years more experience, who have the knowledge of the Circles, mages who are older and more accomplished. The boy here is nothing more then what he appears, a boy playing at magic, and if his story is to be believed, one who has no self-control or ability to think reasonably"

"Bitchy here has a point you know, what makes the long-haired twat so special" Sera said in an annoyed tone as she stared down at the woman when suddenly her face lit up in an evil grin forcing her to chuckle as if she had just heard a really good joke. "Oh, don't tell me that you've developed feelings for the poor boy" Sera's grin got even wider. "What you want to do? Find somewhere special and have your way with him, or do you want to make an even bigger collection to satisfy your hunger" She said giving a not at all subtle wink to Bull who both laughed and to Nat's incredible discomfort gave an analytical look of the wizard seemingly undressing him with his eyes.

"You know I would be open to sharing our night's together with the kid if you're interested, I wonder just how far down that hair goes" The large Qunari spoke in a sultry tone enjoying the way that the normally calm individual made as subtle an effort as possible to move away from him. It was quite impressive actually the man thought to himself, there was a strange deftness combined with a royal elegance that he had only seen those nobles from Oralis use. "What you say, kid, interested in spending some alone time with me and the Inquisitor?"

"No" Nat as elegantly as his background in nobility could, rose himself higher so that he could look down the best as he could at the grey man not that it was possible as even sitting down the sheer mass of the man far exceeded his height, fixed him squarely in the eyes where after drawing his magic in a more outward display that for a brief moment he seemed to glow with an unnatural light he spoke in such a powerful tone that it seemed to shake the very ground itself. "I have no interest what so ever in wasting my time on such trivial pathetic matters, not when there is a war to be won, not after the war is won, not ever"

Like a small animal, Bull quivered unexpectedly, he felt horrible like he was being squeezed of all life as if he had been placed within the firm grip of a giant that was squeezing in a slow but none the less constricting manner, his head began to feel light, his vision to his horror began to blur, his teeth chattered in his mouth as he seemingly was thrust into a snowstorm a thousand times worse then he had felt before, and his heart began to pound at such a speed that even the greatest of war drummers would bow their heads and call him a god in respect. He felt death as he stared in his eyes and no words could escape his lips nor any other sound instead he watched with unrelenting horror as though a demon was about to possess him but far worse as Nat stared into his eyes.

Then suddenly it stopped. He gasped for breath, happily gulping the substance which gave him life or like a swimmer starved for air before narrowing his still petrified eyes onto Nat, he wished to make a comment at that moment, to either call him out on what had just happened, but the moment he felt, panic seemed to strike again and so carefully he reclined backwards in his chair not daring to catch the eyes of the wizard.

To the side of the great man, Solas watched in a both respectful yet also disturbed man as he watched the normally brash individual cower as though he were but a tiny creature facing a giant predator. It was cold, ruthless and though he had not felt the effects himself he could admit that the very fact that it only required less than a second to secure the reaction that the wizard desired was something else. Silently he looked around wondering if any of the others had detected it, yet not one had turned their head to watch Bull until he had started gasping uncomfortably and start making jokes.

"I'm not taking Nat with me because I want him in bed," Valeyna said in a tired manner as she rolled her eyes at the group. "I want him because if we encounter Corypheus or if we find ourselves fighting someone really powerful then I need someone who is powerful themselves. Think about it if Nat was able to wipe out the Templar's in a week and solve the Orzammar civil war in a few days then that means he can handle himself in a battle. I'd prefer not to be caught off guard again"

"You believe a simple child is more powerful then those of us who have lived for far longer" Vivienne snarked angrily her eyes lingering with distaste on the hilt of the word that the boy's hand rested gently on. A curious choice she thought, the idea of a mage carrying a sword rather then taking the route of an Arcane Warrior was an odd if not unusual on, she would have to look into this later.

"How many of you have killed so many Templar's in such a short time? How many have you ended a civil war in only a day? How many of you had the idea to move our forces away from Haven before it was attacked, and how many of you even had an idea of who or what we were fighting before Corypheus?" Valeyna almost yelled her beautiful cerulean eyes twitching and glaring at the older woman as she sat there sipping a small glass of wine as if nothing had happened before then rolling her eyes in an arrogant manner.

"A lucky guess"

"A guess?" Roared Valeyna "He explained his reasoning from the beginning and once he did he immediately not only warned us but also made plans, ensuring that we were aware of the back passage that existed before we even had use of it. And was it a simple guess or luck as you would call it that he was able to solve the problems that he found in Orzammar, do you truly think so low of my advisors that they would such a sensitive mission to a child if he was unsuited"

"Inquisitor" Nat's voice rang out like a quiet bell, barely audible yet the distinct tone caught her attention swinging her around so that she could face him. "Leave the matter be, we have more important concerns, then such trivial things"

"Inquisitor," Valeyna said gently barely making the words as she realised just what he had called her. She blinked once and then again as a horrifying sensation came down on her, he had called her by her title, as if she was a thing, an object of power as if she wasn't an elf. "Why?" She whispered her eyes quivering slightly. There he was she thought dimly, standing calmly his feet spread apart as if ready for battle, his face utterly calm as if she had not been yelling and his covered eyes were still emotionless. There was nothing wrong with him, no quiver in his face, no small smile indicating a like of her supporting him, no way in which his eyes diverted left or even a lone faint blush for being praised, it was if nothing happened. Sensing the trouble, Josephine interrupted quickly.

"If you do plan on leaving for other area's can I suggest gathering what resources you can find, our current finances are limited and w don't even have the ability to repair the castle. At least not until we get out first delivery of funds from the other noble families"

"I can sort that out," Nat said quickly catching the attention of all the others. Before they could question what he meant though, Nat's wand had already appeared in his hand and with a quick yet elegant flick, he directed a spell towards the broken window behind them.

Suddenly without warning, the group watched as the old pieces of destroyed timber, glass and stone all that had been swept to one of the man sides of the old stone fortress picked themselves off the floor where then by some invisible force were sent hurtling towards the busted window. Then however much to the surprise of those who did not have magic, the small pieces instead of flying out the window and cleaning the room of their mess as had been originally expected, the pieces instead flew together smashing and forming together as if they were being formed anew from their original pieces of material. They watched as two obviously century-old pieces of timber flew into one another the wood cracked and broken de-ageing before their eyes forcing the darker wood into a brighter stronger wood where the cracks then vanished entirely out of the wall before then flying towards it's allotted place in the timber window frame where it then forced itself against the also repaired stone. Straight afterwards, the old pieces of glass that had long since been smashed and would cost a pretty penny to replace flew back into its place perfectly intact and clean fusing with the rest of the glass yet not leaving a single mark. After that, with another flick of the wand the other side of the window, the one that had been coated in dirt and grime and snow became instantly clean as if time had turned back itself. Finally, with one last flick, the centre of the window where once had been a painted picture of some woman changed shaped entirely to that of a single long sword stabbing an open eye while the symbol of a sun with twisting beams wrapped around.

All that happened in only a few brief seconds however the moments of staring and awe lasted minutes as they stared at the handiwork. Slowly but surely Cassandra who's eyebrows had risen up approached the now repaired window and gently touched the glass allowing her exposed hand to feel the texture on her skin.

"Amazing," She said gently. "I did not know that such a spell existed" She said honestly before turning her attention to the wizard. "Can it do other things?" She asked curiously.

"So long as it's not a living being and the item hasn't been enchanted by magic then yes" Nat replied in a calm manner his face kept onto the expressions of the impressed looking muggles. Viviene, on the other hand, raised a narrow eyebrow obviously not impressed by his spell yet that did not affect him, after all, if she knew such a spell then she would have taken the first moment she could to impress the others and would have cast such a spell ages ago.

"What do you mean if it's not been enchanted, does something affect the spell," Dorian asked now so curious that he was leaning forward in his seat. Nat turned to face the man, so the man wanted to know more about how spells worked did he?

"It depends on the spell, most enchantments don't affect the repair spell, but some do"

"In what manner, do they just prevent the spell from working or do they do something else instead like start a chain of events" Nat resisted the slight urge to grin as he heard the question, the way the man eyes glimmered curiously the way he held his entire attention transfixed on the idea of learning things, it reminded him of home more specifically when he was at Hogwarts and his fellow Ravenclaws.

"Again it depends on the enchantment placed, most won't do anything, however some spells with protective enchantments can let out a nasty curse if a person who it doesn't recognise is trying to do something different, while other items may turn themselves invisible or transport themselves to a whole dimension or shrink, grow tall, increase or decrease its mass. It's why you generally don't use other spells on enchanted items unless you know what those enchantments are?"

"Ah, safety matters," Dorian said knowingly before a slight smile emerged on his face "It's good to know that there are individuals out there who value such things and try to keep things in good order, rather than simply waving their staff about like some crazed lunatic"

"Tell me about it, had this one kid in our class, Charles. He wasn't the brightest kid, kept using his wand more like a hammer than a finely tuned instrument, set the entire room on fire" Dorian laughed loudly and threw his head back at the idea.

"Oh yes I saw something similar happen, this one girl was going to try casting a firestorm spell during a test, somehow she accidentally cast the blizzard spell and turned the entire tower into one great icicle. You should have seen it, we were up to our balls in snow and freezing our ruggedly good chests off while we had to start flinging fire spells in every direction. By the time we had thawed the entire castle out, the damage done from our spells sent the entire tower toppling down, forcing it to be replaced" Nat chuckled as he imagined such a situation at Hogwarts, it was one of the differences in magic between here and there.

"Idiots am I right," Nat said causing Dorian to give a happy smile as the two seemingly found themselves caught up in memories of happier times before they were subjected to the task of defending a continent from an army of demons and whatever horrors that lurked behind the Veil.

"It truly is a wonder at times how society even manages to run with such imbeciles"

"Trust me, never underestimate the power of stupidity. The moment you do it hit's you in a way you never even thought possible" Again Dorian laughed joyfully at the comment, neither of the two magic users cared about the somewhat irritated looks from the other members of the Inquisition from having their conversation derailed whereas Valeyna much to her shock watched as Nat a person known for his emotionless and calm attitude, joked with somebody else.

"Oh care to give some examples"

"All right gentleman back to the topic at hand" Cassandra cut in quickly detecting the way that if the two of them were allowed to speak that the conversation would forever be stuck on strange topics relating to magic and individuals who seemingly couldn't cast a spell.

"Why my dear Cassandra, we are simply conversing pleasantly there is no need to be so rude" Dorian answered in a teasing manner, before then fluttering his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

"Ugh" Varrick chuckled as the woman threw her arms up in exasperation and then walked back towards the now fully repaired window, seemingly having given up on stopping the conversation between the two mages.

"Anyway, Nat how long will it take you to repair this castle?" Josephine asked pleasantly.

"So long as I have a map and people stay out of my way, no longer then an hour, two at most" Nat replied honestly taking amusement in the way that darker skinned ambassadors eyebrows shot up in a mix of disbelief and also relief now that she knew that a great burden had been entirely taken off her shoulder allowing her to focus on the more important matter of fathering more coin.

"If that's the case kid, could you lend me a hand with my own place, once you're done. You know move some furniture" Varrick asked suddenly in interest his eyes gleaming as he flicked to the repaired window and then onto the rest of the limited furniture that lay within. Obviously, the man wanted someone who could move hard or difficult items quickly so that either they stayed out of the way or as Nat more likely suspected, the dwarf wanted some excuse to get him alone to propose some kind of deal between the two of them.

"If you can repair the castle in a few hours, then could you lend some assistance to the craftsman down in the valley. With how fast you work we might be able to fit them into actual houses rather than just a set of tents" Cullen added quickly.

"We also need any magical defences you can put up, make sure we aren't taken by surprise again" Leliana concurred with a sharp nod of her head towards the wizard. Nat leaned back and resisted the urge to sigh as he glimpsed towards Josephine who like the others he noticed, was looking at him in a calculating way.

"Let me guess, you want me to remodel the entire castle as well," He said knowingly. "Change the carpets, get new curtains, paint the walls, get new furniture, improve the lighting, make the guest's rooms better. Turn this place into an actual palace that you can use to show off to the Orlesian nobility" Josephine gave a slightly embarrassed blush at having been read so easily yet none the less she did not bother to defuse the notion of wanting to make serious improvements to the castle if she had access to a person with his apparent abilities.

"If you find the time," She said quietly almost hoping that the young wizard wouldn't hear her.

"Very well," He said calmly. "Does anyone else want some DIY done or are you all good" Valeyna shared a quick glance with Bull before both soon found themselves with a small impish grin on their face as if they were children who had thought of some type of dastardly plan.

"Well, the courtyard could do some work, a proper training area will be useful, not to mention that the rest of the Chargers would prefer somewhere a bit more private sleep then some barracks with the rest of the men. Preferably somewhere that has a large area of all the ale. Yeah that's it, we want somewhere that also has it's own tavern, but it also has to be warm"

"Inquisitor," Nat said calmly though internally he was already fearing what she was going to say.

"Well, there are a few things you could do to help improve my quarters," She said with smile lightning her face up at the thought of getting rid of cold mornings. However, when she saw that Nat had not cracked a smile on his even harsher face or even give a slight chuckle as he had when he had spoken to Cullen, she couldn't help but feel a slight pang in her chest. "No, I just want to sort out the cold breeze, you see there's this window" She started to explain.

"Does anybody else desire home improvement" Nat carried on sarcastically however when he caught the look of interest in both Blackwalls and Dorians eyes he simply shook his head. "Very well, I'll make a list and give it to Josephine, she can assign time spots, no longer than half an hour at a time. I have a feeling that my new responsibilities are going to keep me busy"

"And how do you expect us to keep track of such precise measurements like half an hour" Cassandra questioned curiously. Without missing a beat, Nat pointed his wand towards the centre of the table. Suddenly before the eyes of the inner circle, a circle of silver appeared out of nowhere filled by some cream ceramic where a set of symbols that they could not recognise were joined by three varying pieces of black material pointed in a rough arrow shape.

"This is a clock, it tells the time," Nat said in a bland tone as he watched the group lean forwards and stare at the device, Cassandras' eyebrows seemed to move with the beating click of the second-hand going up and down at a constant rate.

"How does it work" Oddly it was Varric who asked this question, the man Nat saw had gotten out of his seat and had proceeded to pick up the clock and tap the perfectly set glass that was within. "I'll explain later, just know that this is far more accurate then those water clocks that Orzammar has invented, not to mention, more portable" Nat revealed his left wrist to the others, upon his pale skin was a black device made out of finely crafted steel wherein the centre was another clock face only smaller and matching the time on the larger one.

Nat explained the basic functions of the clock quickly, ignoring the somewhat derivative snort that came from the Court Mage and the sneer that soon came afterwards.

"And what do these symbols mean, some sort of made up language" Vivien scoffed loudly.

"Their called Roman Numerals, they correlate to the numbers 1 through twelve, although I would be fine with giving normal numerals" He corrected understanding that only he would not get confused if he saw such old numbers on the walls. On more than one occasion he had seen some poor muggleborns not able to understand a time on a clock because it was in Roman numerals, then again it didn't help that they weren't taught in either Hogwarts or muggle primary schools or at least not anymore.

"Roman's," Leliana said acutely realising that she had yet another piece of information she could use to discover more about the mysterious wizard

"An ancient civilization, it fell just over 1500 years ago" Nat answered swiftly.

"What can you tell us about them," Solas asked quietly his cold eyes locked firmly onto the now obviously foreign individual. How could he not be descended from some all group, the way the boy mentioned such an empire suggested heavily that he held knowledge on such an empire not to mention these strange symbols that not even he could read even with his experience in the Fade.

"Wait these symbols are 1500 years old and you can read them," Valeyna said shocked as she gazed at the symbols, not believing such a claim. After all, how could such a thing even be considered possible, her people had been destroyed for around the same time and yet barely anything remained. For Nat to not only have kept such information but also to read it was, horrible she thought grimly. Not even now with him being the last of his people had this Roman Empire's memory died, even if he was not born there, he held a connection to such an ancient place, It was sobering.

"They're far older then that actually, but yes I can read the script of an ancient language"

"Wow" Valeyna whispered, "

"Okay, back to reading these clocks, how do we do it" Varric interrupted. Nat quickly told the group how the clock worked including the different directions in which a clock went, what each of the hands meant and how to read the clock and give correct time frames, it took about ten minutes as he answered a few questions from a confused Sera who struggled to get her head around such a device but the others, for the most part, were able to understand not only how to tell the time but also gave complimentary remarks.

"An efficient design," Solas said as he glimpsed over towards the clock that Nat had just conjured from nowhere and then placed high on the wall illuminated by some candles. "I imagine that such a device allowed your people to keep track of things on an easier basis" Nat nodded at the remark not desiring to engage in a longer conversation about something as dull as timepieces, none the less he made a note that he should get all of them their own watch for personal use.

"These clocks, how easily could they be reproduced," Dorian asked thinking of all the ways he could show back in Tevinter if he had some incredibly accurate manner of measuring time, he could just imagine the faces of other mages as he seemingly knew exact times that shouldn't have been possible.

"As much as I desire to answer the question of how the mechanics of clockwork, the truth of the matter is that we need to get back to the task at hand, lest we be distracted over another little thing" There were blushes at the wizards words as the group did realise that they had been distracted by not only some strange device that they had never seen before but also by some complex magic that had just done intensive repair work that would take weeks of craftsmanship to do.

"Leliana, Cullen, Josephine do you have anything to add or should we get back to whatever we were doing before," Nat asked.

"No I think we have dealt with all the matters at hand, if anything else comes up we can summon another meeting" The red-haired woman said slowly her eyes diverted back at the clock watching as the small hand constantly moved by as seconds passed away in a strange mesmerising manner that she had never even considered possible.

"I have nothing to add" Cullen agreed.

"We might have a visit from some Orlesian nobility soon," Josephine said slowly. "I have been putting them off for a week, at least until we get the castle into a better state, but if you can get Skyhold repaired in a day then I will invite them immediately"

"In that case, I'll focus on the castle first, and if you want some more luxurious items to decorate the place, tell me and I'll create them. Same with things like colour, just choose a design you like and I'll handle everything else" There was a sudden gasp a with yet another flick of his wand, the colour of Vivienne's elegant grey dress hand stitched by the greatest seamstresses and made of the greatest materials and created from colours that required significant amounts of time and effort to grow and gather turned from a light grey a bright scarlet the colour of blood in an instant.

"My dress" The woman cried indignantly. Nat hid a smirk as with yet another simple gesture Bull suddenly leapt up from his seat and stared at himself in pure horror, for his normally grey and muscular skin typical of the horned species that hailed from Par Vollen had changed into a mix of black and yellow horizontal stripes. Varric burst out laughing.

"Looks good on you stripey"

"Kid what did you do" Bull yelled his lips almost quivering as a mirror also appeared in front of them enabling the large man to stare at himself as he gently caressed his oddly coloured skin attempting to see if it felt anything different. There wasn't any, but none the less the large man turned quickly towards the wizard a strange amount of a joke and a glare in his eyes and took one step forward only to then stop suddenly. "My horns"

This time it was Valeyna's turn to do a mix of a laugh and an odd look as her eyes raised onto what was now a set of teapots that were not only sticking out of the top of his head, but had also come attached with a set of saucers and cups which were currently pouring a watery brown substance. Moments later as the man opened his mouth to speak, the group could only listen in astonishment as a high pitched steaming noise bellowed forth.

"Did, did you just, awesome" Sera said with a huge grin on her face almost unable to believe her eyes in what they were showing them. "Hey, Viv can you do that" Sera yelled to the obviously frustrated woman as she still mourned over her dress as if Nat had just poured wine on top of her. At the front of the room, the advisors who had not been able to hide their amusement all giggled though it was Leliana who gave an evil grin as she glanced at Nat and the new teapot horned Qunari. This was going to be fun.

"You have to teach me that spell" Dorian commented as he quickly walked towards the large man, grabbed one of the floating teapots before then putting it to his lips and took a quick sip. "Uhm delicious, what kind of blend is that?"

"Darjeeling although I also enjoy, Assam, Pekoe and Chamomile"

"You wouldn't by any chance have any spare that I could have. I'd be willing to pay for it of course" Dorian amended quickly.

"I'm sure we can arrange something"

"Excellent" Dorian said as he took the tea that had just been created by Bull and walked back to his seat where he began to drink it happily much under the very curious eyes of the others.

"Can I have some of your tea too iron Bull?" The blonde haired spirit asked suddenly.

"Uhh, sure I guess" Cole wasted no time in giving a reply instead shooting out of his seat with a sense of excitement and curiosity that sent Bull's still stripy skin crawling but none the less the man stayed still as the strange creature grabbed the floating cup of tea, only he then made it even more awkward when he gripped Bull's head and tipped him sideways so that more tea poured into the cup before then pulling it back.

"People are never going to believe even half this shit when I put it in a book" Varric muttered as he began to wonder just how he was going to explain the big tough Qunari stacked with broad bulging muscles was made into a teapot and then used to pour drinks for visiting dignitaries. He shook his head and sighed, and he thought Hawke had been a strange one.

"Uhm kid can you stop the-" Bull was interrupted by another high pitch steaming noise that bellowed from his mouth this time followed by a full set of steam that followed soon after and blasted over the dwarfs head.

"Very well, anyway after I've done the castle and the likely village that's going to pop up I'll get to work, speaking of which we could invite people to live and charge them tax for services" Nat said innocently though he directed it towards Josephine whose eyes lit up at the idea of having their own tenants that they could have live on the land and work for them in return.

"It's certainly an idea, but we would need building materials to create such houses, timber, iron" She began but was cut off by the wizard.

"Clay actually, clay, cement, copper and a whole host of other things but I'll give you a list later"

"Clay," Josephine said curiously, "Why do you need clay to build houses when Timber will do?"

" Because A the houses I'm planning will be built like the ones back home and that means clay for bricks, B timber houses are freezing compared to our houses, C timber houses are primitive compared to what was used, D, I prefer brick houses, E because I want to and F because I'm making the village, therefore, I determine how it's built"

"Clay is hardly cheap, it's far more expensive than timber or stone, not to mention that you would need plenty of it" Nat stopped her there and then with a simple look forcing her to sigh as she looked downwards. "Very well I will inquire if there are any empty clay deposits, in the meantime, we can find more blacksmiths, we'll need them if we want to re-outfit our army."

"Okay building an entire village aside, what else needs to be done or are we finally free to return back to what we were doing before" Nat ended as he threw a quick glance to the other advisors, Cullen Nat noticed was still taken curious glances at the clock mentally trying to work out how to tell what the time was.

"No that should be it for now" Josephine ended with a light smile. "I just need to speak to you in private when you get the chance." Nat nodded and turned back to the group.

"Right we're finished, Solas stay behind please we need your advice on some matters"

"Finally" Sera cried as she quickly jumped from her seat landing elegantly on the floor with a sense of grace that one would not have believed could come from a person with a mouth so crass and quickly sped out of the room. The others were far less speedy in their retreat from the room, Vivienne was the next to leave as she slammed her staff hard into the sold stone then followed by Cole who gave Nat a very strange look as if he was deep in concentration. Bull was next, but before he did so he stopped before Nat peering down with softer eyes then Nat would have expected from a man that he had just held in a magic grip and threatened to kill.

"It's good to see you back kid, once you got some free time come over and we'll have a chat and I'll show you some good fighting moves in case you ever find yourself in trouble again" Throwing his arm forward Bul went to give a hard but still friendly slap of the young wizards back only to then find his hand stopped in mid-air. Turning his attention towards the mage Bull gave a slight grin as he realised that he had been intercepted by the kid.

"I'm afraid that I won't have the time" Nat replied calmly. "With this war" He began before then shaking his head. "I'll rest once this war is over," He said calmly before then turning towards Blackwall who had stopped behind Bull. In fact much to Nat's well-hidden surprise everyone aside from those first three who had left had all formed a gathering around him as if waiting to speak to him.

"Bah, fucking demons ruin everything" Bull yelled before then gesturing towards where the two large teapots on either side were located. Taking the hint Nat quickly gave a flick of his wand and returned the man to normal removing him of both the teapots and also the stripy complexion that he had unexpectedly gained. With that then completed Bull walked off following the direction that the other members had left confusing other members of the Inquisition as he muttered about demons and tea.

"So you made it back from a civil war, I'm impressed, I've seen too many kids our age march to war and find themselves embedded on all kinds of weapons. It's good to know that you have a strong head on your shoulders. Maker knows we're going to need it if we're going to beat this Corypheus bastard" Blackwall began slowly his eyes raking up and down the strange to him lack of scars or any other type of injuries he would have expected for a person who had just come back from a warzone to carry on him. Nat rolled his eyes at the motion but never the less allowed the man to speak, Blackwall seemed different now, his eyes were more haunted than before and there were obvious bags underneath his eyes from when he hadn't been able to sleep as the most likely struggled with the fact that after having found a worthy cause that he couldn't do much to protect it.

"Not everyone made it back," Nat said calmly almost emotionally yet Blackwall nodded his head sympathetically already table to understand.

"Not everyone does," He said as he met the covered eyes of the wizard, regret hanging heavy in his tone. "You're just going to have to deal with it, in your own way. Whether that's drinking, fighting, fucking, screaming, Maker I even once knew a lad who dealt with the shit he saw in a war by writing fucking poetry." The grizzled man laughed as he remembered reading all those silly and morbid lines about how war was horrid before then gave a purely gentle and sympathetic smile. "If you ever need to talk to someone about this type of shit then just tell me," He said honestly before then giving a quick goodbye and walking out of the room.

"So you're the mysterious child mage I've been hearing about," Dorian said swiftly a large smile adorning his face as he leaned forward inspecting Nat's clothes with a strange set of perfection. "Tell me is there a reason for wearing only black, do you not have any sort of bright colours that you could wear."

"And why does the colour of my clothes affect you so?" Nat said blandly his eyes turning towards the rather garish and entirely unsuitable outfit that the Tevinter mage had decided to wear today.

"Oh come, you cannot expect to go every day wearing such dark and depressing clothes, you'll bring the mood down in the room, lower the fashion choices of everyone around you and quite frankly it's a bit droll to look at. I mean sure black is okay on some days, but to wear only black makes me think that you're up to no good or some criminal or perhaps even a blood mage"

"I hardly see the point of changing the colour of my day to day clothing. Black is practical, especially if I'm fighting at night" Dorian simply snorted as he waved his hand dismissively.

"My dear Tempest we're in winter, now is the time for even brighter colours, show the world just how much you love the season. White, blue, gold and silver I believe are the popular colours at the moment in Orlais although" Dorian smiled as he raised his hands upwards into the air as if he was exclaiming a loud tada, behind Leliana instantly switched of the friendly conversation she was having with the Inquisitor and quietly approached the two from behind her eyes gleaming with fun and excitement.

Fashion she thought to herself. Brilliant

I did hear something about red and green but that was when that person was very drunk, everybody knows that green and red don't mix"

"I know, I once attended a ball with the Divine and saw a noble in a bright green dress with red highlights, it was so garish that she was kicked out " Leliana interrupted her eyes glancing down back to Nat a speculative look on her face. Nat followed the eyes not willing to read the mind of Leliana this close to Solas, even if the man couldn't detect when he used magic which he was pretty sure the man could, then the man might be able to peer into his own mind while he was away in the admittedly pretty woman's head. "Dorian's right we need to get you a new colour palette"

"Colour- I'm not a piece of art" Nat argued.

"But you could be," Leliana said with a joyful smile. "I mean you have quite a pretty face when I look at it, like a noble but it's a bit more gentle like a woman's. Do you take after your mother?" She said sweetly.

Nat froze for a brief moment, his heartbeat suddenly took off like a rocket to the moon or a jet fighter that had just blasted through the sound barrier, his nose twitched and his lips quirked into a quick snarl while his eyes began to glare daggers into the front of Leliana's head making her pause just a moment in unknown fright forcing her to step back. Shaking her head in confusion she looked back to Nat missing as that look vanished the very moment it appeared however behind her Valeyna who had also gotten curious of the conversation blinked in shock.

"I wouldn't know" Nat lied.

"Well, I see the problem" Leliana continued unabated "Your clothes are too casual, it makes it harder to pick out your face, makes you appear plainer then it is and hides your features. If we changed your clothes to something more complimentary then I'm sure you would be getting a lot more attention from all the ladies" Leliana said giving a knowing wink to Valeyna causing the woman to give an almost evil smile as she walked round to the front so she could inspect him better who was then quickly followed by Josephine.

"Your right," The dark-skinned woman said in surprise. Gently she raised a hand and went to lay it upon Nat's face before he then pulled away. "You have very striking features if you stare at them correctly, I never noticed them before. How odd"

"And just look at that bone structure, that's either nobility or descended

from someone who was well known for a stunning appearance, I can only imagine what your parents looked like" Dorian stated seemingly entranced like the others as he followed the contours of a much disturbed Nat as he stepped backwards despising all the attention that had been laid upon him.

"But I don't understand how he looks different now," Josephine said in a confused manner. "I mean he does look different now yet not, is it the clothes?" She inquired towards Nat expecting him to give her an answer to her quandary.

"Partly, but there's something else at work here, maybe some form of magic," Leliana asked Dorian.

"I wouldn't know if there were spells to affect one's appearance then they would be very popular with the nobility in Tevinter, In fact, I could even see some regular folk asking Magisters to enchant them so they could look better for their spouse. Not that they could afford it"

"It's an illusion," Solas said suddenly as he rested on his staff. "A spell that is designed to make him appear far plainer then normal unless put under intense observation." Nat glared evilly at the man behind his glasses. Silently he made a not to do inflict some sort of painful punishment to the man as recompense for his actions.

"Why would you keep an illusion spell up," Valeyna asked softly. Once again she raised her hand in an effort to trace around the contours of Nat's face with her fingers. It must have been a powerful spell, especially since nobody had recognised it until Leliana started looking unusually closely, in fact even now she felt her eyes seemingly trick her as his face morphed between one or the other attempting to trick her away from what she had seen.

"That's none of your concern" Nat replied coolly. Quickly he took another step back and allowed his hand to rest upon the hilt of his sword, his finger clenched ready to pull the blade if they approached once again. Startled by the sudden and very unusual action, Valeyna took a step back her eyes blazing with care. "This matter is finished"

"But-" Josephine interrupted.

"Finished" Nat repeated with a sense of ruthless finality.

"I'm just going to leave," Dorian said quickly before then rushing away as fast as possible to the nearest exit leaving the last few members alone.

"Now that's done, onto business," Nat said as he conjured himself a bright silver tray much to the astonishment of the others. However, that surprise took them again as on top of the incredibly well-crafted tray a set of high-quality ceramics that they had never even heard of before appeared before their eyes. There was an assortment of them they soon realised, some were simply empty and sat on a small ceramic plate, others were larger and contained milk or fine white material that Leliana recognised as sugar, besides this though there was also a few large jugs where steam rose gently out of its lid. On another set of plates, the group could only marvel as seemingly out of nowhere a collection of scones, jam and even cream alongside a few tissues sat innocently ready to be used.

"In the meantime, it's time that I explained the in-depth details of what happened when I was gone. " Solas glimpsed over towards Nat watching with a slightly impressed look on his face as the collection of ceramics, tea, jam and cream all lifted themselves off the air with a sense of refined grace before then settling themselves onto a large table and a set of comfortable that was also then conjured out of nowhere.

"A peculiar set of magic" The bald elf mage commented as he approached his chair. Just as he was about to place his hand on the top of the furniture however, the chair pulled itself back allowing him the room to sit down. Solas acquiesced to the demands of the enchanted furniture and then allowed it to tuck him carefully into the table ensuring that he had the perfect amount of room to be comfortable.

"Yes well, very few of my people were warriors of any sort really so instead they lived normal lives which meant spells to assist them in that regard. Spells like these are generally considered basic spells although admittedly they probably couldn't get as nice a table or chairs" Solas raised an eyebrow at the last bit but true enough as he glimpsed at the table he noticed that the wood was made of high-quality mahogany all of which had been cut and placed together by the finest artisans and carved with incredible image. He blinked at the sheer amount of refinement and then gave a respectful nod at the wizard before then turning to the wizard.

"I don't like tea," He said plainly his eyes leering at the familiar scent on the table.

"Fair enough" Nat replied calmly. "I have do have coffee as well. Personally, I don't drink it, can't stand the taste but I always carry it in case I need it for someone else"

"Coffee, but I thought that stuff was beyond what we could pay for at the moment," Cullen said surprised.

"It's a remnant of my people," Nat said swiftly.

"Your people grew coffee," Valeyna said curiously but everyone watched her distracted head with a sense of amusement as the woman despite being in the middle of a conversation was far more interested in the flying cups of as they flew over her head then stopped suddenly and lowered to the floor.

"Greenhouses" Nat answered taking enjoyment as he saw Leliana frown. "With the right knowledge on agriculture and a little bit of magic we could grow an incredible amount of coffee if we so desired and trust me, a lot was needed"

"Your lords drunk that much" Cullen exclaimed shocked. Nat chuckled at the question before leaning back on his chair giving the command for the pots of tea to raise themselves and then move to the empty cups. Then like some great display at a circus, the teapots moved to the exact same height and then tipped themselves slightly allowing their contents to pour downwards revealing the brown liquid as it danced merrily down and filled the cups.

"Oh, sweet Merlin no, Tea and coffee were drunk by everyone on a regular basis. It was a common drink, not something kept for the minority"

"And nobody ever tried to prevent that thing"

"Some might off, but they were so swiftly cut down in Parliament or received so many death and rape threats that they soon backed off. Never get between a Brit and their tea, the results aren't pretty" Nat ended with an evil smile.

"Brit is that what your people called themselves?" Solas said slowly his mind processing such information and the best way in which he could use it when he fell asleep later.

"Yes but that's not important," Nat said quickly desiring to move the conversation on before it managed to get stuck on some type of trivia, the last thing he needed to be doing was spending time answering useless bloody questions simply to satisfy these people curiosity. "Anyway as you can guess Solas most of the stuff I told just is not something we want the others to hear, at least not until we know that they can be entirely trusted." With yet another flick of his wand Nat silently cast a set of privacy charms coating the entire room preventing any sort of sound or other sensation leaving the room, when that was done he gestured towards to the repaired window where instantly the transparent glass instantly became as black as the night not allowing anyone to peer through if they chose to do so.

"I assume this has something to do something with the information you discovered about the Evanuris" Solas said slowly his eyes hardening as the room was lit up with magical light. Then before his and everyone eyes, an image appeared floating above the centre of the table depicting none other than the familiar sight Orzammar as it was carved into the mountain.

"Yes, the others already have a basic idea, but I got to a lot more than just resolving a civil war, in fact, I went on a bit of an adventure" And so Nat began explaining in far more detail what he did to get himself into Orzzamar first by using an illusion charm to hide what he looked like and then how he had detected a strange magical presence with the other Lyrium seller. After that came a magical holographic image of what had happened in the fight depicting the manner in which the king was swiftly dispatched and how he alongside Elyria and Gerald retreated downwards into the pub before he had then come to the realisation of ensuring the safety of the air.

Once that had been completed Nat then made a slight effort to the memory changing the image of the modern vehicle to that of the horses he had conjured earlier. Then after what was several hours of riding the group could only watch in muted horror as Nat and the other two were thrown wildly from their horses onto the ground, both of his subordinates knocked out cold and Nat seriously injured and bleeding but unable to heal himself as he was immediately forced to fight enemies at close range with a broken right leg and fractured left wrist all the while blood pooled from a nasty gash on his forehead. The battle was short and swift, Nat having taken out a considerable amount of Darkspawn even with his injuries but then fading from consciousness as the lack of blood and sheer pain combined with a series of dark magic attacks from the Architect struck him hard.

"Are you okay" Valeyna aksed quickly her eyes locked onto the holographic form of a downed Nat. A rising and horrible feeling of coldness swept up from her stomach making her feel ill as moment by moment she could only watch as Darkspawn Hurlocks and Genlocks approached with a sense of dark glee their corrupted bodies foaming at the mouths.

Was that what it was like to be in the Deep roads she wondered unable to repress a shiver as it speared down her back like a cold icy night. They were vile nasty things, monsters formed of utter evil and pawned from those who had been violated in the worst ways possible, the cruel malice that gave the creature a sick lustful look in their eyes as they then laughed in a deep but haughty tone. She had only heard stories of the nightmare creatures but staring at them as they approached gleefully in front of their master snickering all the while. It was made even worse however and she was forced to fight down the bile that was in her throat when she watched the creatures pick up the three of them, kill their horses and then drag them into the blackness all the while, the dark creature known as the Architect watched in muted silence.

"I'm perfectly fine, no damage done"

"I doubt that kid, it's bad enough to fight them but to be captured?" Varric winced as he saw the hurlocks corrupted and grubby little fingers pry into Nat's jacket. "Are you sure you haven't been infected"

"I am fine there is no need to concern yourself with my health" Nat repeated hating the number of concerned eyes and worried expressions that were laid upon him by the other members of the Inquisition. It was horrid, those fake looks as if they actually cared about him as if his life had any actual value. "Stop looking at me like that it's in the past"

"You were taken by Darkspawn," Leliana said regretfully her eyes scrunched together in stress. She had been the one to send him there to Orzammar, if she hadn't of sent him then he wouldn't have been taken by the monsters.

"Perfectly fine" Nat tried again hiding his annoyance with the constant pandering. Quickly he looked over to Solas but just saw that the man was keeping quiet, whether out of respect or because he wanted to observe the situation carefully he did not know, but all the same he appreciated it from the bald man. It was far greater than the concerned look that Valeyna was giving as she gently held the knife in her hand her scone all but forgotten.

"So what happened" Cullen inquired. Gingerly he lifted up his sliced scone and gave an awkward look at the treat, neither the jam nor the large dollop of cream that he had placed onto top looked like it had been done by anyone reasonably competent. Nevertheless, he quickly thrust his head towards the strange treat and took a bite before then chewing and swallowing. "Oh this is good," He said happily taking another bite.

"Well for the next two weeks I was unconscious, when I woke up however I found myself in a rather... precarious situation" With a gesture of his hand to move the moving image along, Nat located his own scone where with far more precision he quickly and elegantly applied a slight warming charm to the food before then spreading the jam and adding a nice amount of clotted cream to the top where he then spread that too. He didn't particularly want to watch the next bit especially as even though he had applied a set of thin clothes to himself he did not like the idea of seeing the bemused smiles of the women in the room. Valeyna he noticed seemed to have a very interesting look in her eye as she noticed the manacles that had held him down.

The image soon quickly changed to that of when he had woken up, he was confused he looked down at the position he was in before he then quickly reverted his attention onto the large entity that came hovering in slowly as if he was gilded. Valeyna shook at the image flashes of Corypehus and the similar deformities that had struck him as part of being tainted by the Taint.

The Architect looked far worse, however, where Corypheus seemed to have part of his clothing melted onto his skin, the Architect looked far more alien in his design, the tall hat, the long gangly but grey arms with blackness running through his veins and those disturbing milky eyes all made out for a rather freaky character. It was only made even worse however when the creature opened its old cracked lips began to speak.

"The Architect," Cassandra said darkly. Gripping her sword, the Seeker shared a knowing look with Leliana, while neither of them had ever come across an evil such as this one until Corypheus, both had heard rumours of such a creature. Quitely she then gave another look to Varric. The dwarf-like her though leaned back into his chair his fingers clenching slightly as if he still had Bianca in his hand and he could unleash a bolt into this ugly creatures head and end it forever once and for all.

"I assume you heard the rumours," Nat said slowly before he paused the magical video and focused on the features of the creature. True the monster was now captured and could be seen in person, all knew at that moment that the creature was going to be taken somewhere and dealt with in the best possible manner.

"Not many" Cassandra answered truthfully."We only knew what was reported from Amaranthine during the time he was supposedly active after that nothing had been heard about him until Hawke met one of the Wardens former companions" She said slowly glimpsing towards Varric.

"Had the same name as you kid, Nathanael Howe. We didn't talk to him much but he did briefly mention something about an Architect though we didn't really know what any of it meant at the time. If we had then..." Varric trailed off, though he did not want to admit it, in truth he didn't know what he and Hawke would have done if they had encountered something like that when they had been in in the Deep Roads. Andrastes tits he hated the memory of Corypheus when he and Hawke had awakened and then supposedly killed it but that was when the monster had only just woken up before it had regained it's power and was still on the back foot. If they had encountered the Architect however then he could only have imagined what would have occurred.

"We should have investigated this sooner, the Wardens should have warned the Divine" Leliana interrupted. Quickly she looked at the monster, was that what her friend had fought and killed all those years ago back when they were younger and after the Blight had been prevented. She had not been present but she still remembered the way the Archdemon had roared, the way it induced panic, Denerim burning in a raging inferno the smell of burnt crisp bodies clogging up her nose and the smoke choking at her lungs and burning at her eyes.

"Agreed, these Darkspawn goes beyond the responsibilities of the Wardens. Had the Divine known then she would have given far more support to the Wardens, perhaps even an Exalted March on the Deep Roads itself"

"And achieve what Seeker, death, destruction, the loss of life with no gain. We know these creatures can't be killed, however, they do it I don't know but they can avoid death even when their bodies have been destroyed." Leaning back on his chair, Varric resisted the strange urge that was telling him not to eat the scone, there was nothing wrong with it he knew, it was just a case of seeing something that ugly and corrupted made him think for a second time. Josephine, on the other hand, wasted no chance in bringing the beautiful scone to her mouth and then biting down, savouring the sweet taste.

"These are really good," She said happily taking another bite not noticing in the slightest when another scone appeared from nowhere ready to be cut open and eaten the moment she was finished with her current one

"Blood Magic, it's the only way" Cullen answered with a fierce growl. Without any warning whatsoever though, Solas soon found himself the centre of attention then the focus of the group was laid onto him. Solas blinked owlishly his hand moving towards the convenient napkin where hs gently tapped the side of his face removing some jam that had gotten stuck.

"What makes you think I have the answer?" He inquired.

"Come on, you know all kinds of things speaking to those demon friends of yours, I'm sure there's got to be at least a few who have offered immortality or something similar"

"To believe in such a notion from a demon is foolhardy, I can assure that no demon can grant knowledge of such things."

"But the elves had immortality" Valeyna shot quickly. "Before Tevinter came it is said that we were immortal and beautiful but when we came into contact with humans we lost it. Perhaps there is a way"

"We did encounter an elf when I was travelling with the Hero of Ferelden, somehow he had managed to extend his life with some type of curse. If it hadn't of been lifted then it is feasible he could have lived forever" Leliana added causing Cullens eyes to go wide in memory as he gave a dark look as he remembered the individual who had come all those years ago to put the Circle back to where it had been.

"Demons can also live for a long period of time, according to some legends there are a few which are several millennia old"

Imshael Nat thought to himself. Though he was yet to get to that bit in the story, he could remember that demon. He looked fairly normal on the outside taking on the form of some hapless mage, but he had seen straight through that guise he hid and straight into those cruel and calculating eyes that were burrowed into his skull. He was a tormenter, a demon that for all its notions on philosophy simply liked to watch people make interesting choices so long as they were in their desire. It reminded him of Loki somewhat, going around making fools of people all so that it could entertain itself and likely in this world feed off whatever emotions it created.

He wondered where the creature was this moment and what was it doing. It wasn't searching for the Dragon he knew since the moment he had gotten his magic back he had with some difficulty considering the size of the dammed thing gotten the corpse of the old Tevinter god into his personal chest where aside from the initial place he had stabbed it was still in perfect condition. So the demon hadn't managed to make it's way to the demon or it had and not done anything except for perhaps to gloat.

Nevertheless the demon was a powerful doe, one that even he had been forced to obey while he was in a state of weakness, then again considering the girls attitude at the time and his own, he likely would have still killed her and the rest of the clan so it wasn't any big loss, not that he would tell Valeyna that. Since then though it had been weeks and who knew what an ancient demon could do in that time, what knowledge and allies it could have secured while he was venturing back underground where Darkspawn lay and Dragons had been buried and Titans dwelt.

"Even amongst my own people, there are tales of those living longer then they should and those who most certainly have through various means. So immortality is possible even if it is limited in some manner, in the case of the Elves I doubt that humans interacting with humanity was what caused things, instead it was likely something else, something lost to history or perhaps so wound up and covered and changed as it's past down the generations that nobody knows" Nat said as he gently began to play with the butter knife in his hand, up and down it moved twirling around his fingers as if it were in some sort of ballet twisting and turning with a skill and elegance expected of one who was taught to be elegant even when he was bored. Despite this attitude, though he had noticed the way Solas has said those words, he had not denied that immortality could be reached only that demons could not grant it.

It was peculiar as if he was trying to deflect the topic or make people think of something else, Then again considering the age of the man perhaps he was keen on grabbing the attention and resources of a growing power like the Inquisition so that he may gain its attention in regards to personal matters. That was why he had drawn the attention to himself, even now Valeyna and the others stared at him not believing his words while Solas quickly let out the barest of sighs and relaxed before then offering him the tiniest of respectful nods.

The man was most certainly pleased to have the attention drawn away from him when it came to this subject. How very interesting Nat thought, especially when it came to regards of immortality. Did that mean then that the Ancient elves had found a way to become immortal through other means or was it something else that was best not discussed?

"Nat what way's did you discover" Leliana pressed cautiously.

"There are only two I can think of for certain but even then their incredibly limited. They are Horcruxes and the elixir of life"

"What are those" Cassandra inquired curiously.

"Horcruxes are black magic" Nat answered swiftly his eyes darting towards the table in front of him, not desiring to meet the eyes of any other when it came to such a topic. Even among his own people just knowing what such a thing was could make that person be considered suspect, untrustworthy possibly even a dark witch or wizard.

"That means nothing kid" Varric replied blandly as he also sliced another scone that had appeared before him, for a moment he was about to comment on the oddity but decided not to and instead enjoy the food.

"Horcruxes are... an item that houses part of a person soul" Nat said quietly is fingers tapping gently on the table as he thought back to that time he had discovered just what the golden trio had been up to all those years ago and how Voldemort had been able to come back even though he had been killed. It had been a relatively grey day, one which he distinctly remembered being made worse with the realisation of the sheer horror that Horcruxes were.

"Hide part of a person's soul, how is that even possible" Cassandra spoke but to her own and everyone else surprise they felt some sort of cold and horrible feeling wash down their backs at such a question, almost as if they had waded into a deep dark poll of some liquid that was freezing cold and was pouring into every crack and crevice of their skin. Finally, a fell silence came across the group as they waited in bated breath for Nat to finally answer.

"You physically split your soul," Nat said darkly. "Not metaphorically or allegorically, no I mean that you take your soul and you split it in half and then with a spell you shove that half of your soul into an item. Then when you die, your soul remains allowing you to reconstitute yourself though how that works I do not know" Nat admitted honestly not wanting the shame of knowing how he knew such vile magic operated in its entirety. Despite this, though he also felt a slight amount of annoyance for not knowing how it worked either, it was like an itch that would never go away or a question left unanswered. He wanted to know how it worked he knew, not because he was going to do it now, he had more sense than to do something that depraved but rather because he had left some knowledge only halfway through when he would prefer to have it complete.

"By the maker such foul magic exists" Cassandra pale as snow with a horrified look on her face dropped her knife there and then as her normally stern eyes went wide. Quickly she picked up the knife but she squeezed so hard that her fingers began to turn white from the sheer pressure that was being centred on the object.

"I did not know such a thing was even possible," Cullen said grimly. "If a person can split their soul then besides keeping them alive, the sheer barbarity of such an act is nothing less then sacrilege to the maker. A horror that makes even blood magic seem like the art of healing others with magic. And to hide such an item, they could simply drop it at the bottom of a mountain or sell it as some random trinket making it impossible to find for even Templars"

"Or a stone" Valeyna added quickly "Or a grain of sand or a leaf of grass, trees, windows, a single brick in a house. All a person would have to do is choose the most obvious of objects and hide it in the most obvious of places and nobody would ever be able to kill them" The elf girl turned to Nat the full weight and realisation of what this meant crashing down on her like a crate of bricks if this was, in fact, the manner in which Corypheus had managed to survive. "If Corypheus has managed to survive in such a way, how would we destroy him?"

"In truth, there is only one way that I can think of now that my people are gone and that's feindfyre, though even that should be used sparingly. It is not a spell to be used lightly, the consequences of losing control especially now that I am the last of my people would be devastating beyond all belief, far worse then any blight or even Corypheus" Though he spoke calmly in hopes of not worrying the others about what would happen if he should use the spell in truth, not even he wanted to use the spell if he didn't have to.

"You speak from experience," Solas said out loud. His face was one of morbid curiosity he noted one that had grabbed the ancient elves full attention as if he wanted to make notes or learn things from it such as how to either cast the spell or use something about it to assist him in his own efforts whatever that may be. Nat hid a frown, feindfyre was not a spell he would show others, it was far too dangerous even more so then the unforgivable curses.

"What is this magic," Leliana asked.

"Feindfyre or Cursed Fire as it's otherwise known though it has through history been called Hades Fire and Demonic fire is a very powerful fire spell. It unleashes a wreath of flames far hotter than anything you have experienced, far hotter then even the planet's core, it melts even stone in it's wake and is one of the only things possible that can destroy a Horcrux but there is a heavy cost with the spell, one that makes it while not illegal to cast, a spell all the same that is ranked amongst the most dangerous for anybody to utilise without the utmost mental fortitude and training"

"It's a fire spell, how dangerous can it be?" Valeyna said not at all impressed by the way Nat seemed to be hyping up some average spell. Before she could speak another word though Nat fixed her with a calm look forcing her to close her lips tightly or else feel the consequences.

"Dangerous enough to consume entire continents if lost control of" Nat answered swiftly his eyes darting over to Cullen. He was the most experienced out of all those except Solas with regards to magic, he had felt the horror that it could befall and fight it on a day by day basis when he was in Kirkwall, he had helped Hawke fight and kill Meredith. Even so, the normally cheering man's face had turned to a frozen sheen of utter terror and one of ruthless understanding especially as it dawned on him just why Nat had not been off to use such a spell.

"Oh please no spell it that powerful, to accomplish something like that you would need all the Lyrium there is in the world" Nat shook his head at the ignorance of Valeyna.

"Feindfyre works differently, it isn't some random bit of flames, it in a sense, is a sentient creature; only it's desire is to burn and consume all that exists and turn it all to ash. When the spell is cast, a mage find themselves having to constantly battle the flame in a war of domination and will simply to keep it under control. If a mage loses control of the spell and they are not instantly turned into ashes on the spot, then their best hope is to turn away and alert every other mage to battle it before it gets too large" Nat said and with a flick of his finger the group gasped as they saw the image floating above the centre of the table changed entirely.

Gone was that of the architect and Nat's escape from the deep roads, that would come later, Instead the group could only watch a demonstration as a generic mage conjured a very red and hot flame, true to Nat's words everything around it began to melt in its sheer presence, the ground melted, the trees several hundred metres away began to dry and catch on fire and animals and people were instantly eviscerated under the sheer strain of the spell wiping them out instantly. There were a few gasps and horrified looks from the table their food all but forgotten as they then saw how the mage lost control of the fire and was killed on the spot. Only the flames got worse they realised with horror as instead of vanishing as would typically occur with a spell the flames simply spread more and more, fanning out quickly as the symbols of proud beasts a mix of lions, eagles, dragons, snakes, bears, horses and other proud and dangerous animals took form rearing their heads as they gave out loud screeches that sound like their real-life counterparts. With a burst of fiery outrage, they blasted outwards at an incredible speed burning, melting and consuming all changing the entire once lush environment into a burning hellfire as all were destroyed as these creatures of doom spread across the land. Next came a map, a symbol of where the feindfyre had started before then melting as the fire spread all over the continent consuming all only daring to stop at the water of the sea.

"Fiendfyre is no simple spell, it's only to be used by those powerful enough to control it and only for short amount of time. It is most certainly not a spell to be used in a fight against another mage, especially not against one with Corypheus's power."

"So what else can we do then," Valeyna asked her hopes of an easy victory against Corypheus via the use of such magical flame dashed there and then. It was not worth the risk she realised, Corypheus would be surrounded by demons and if Nat was attacked just once, if but a lone arrow got through a defensive gap or a spell or stone and control of the fire was lost, then it would be a disaster for everyone involved.

"Well there is Basilisk venom, but those are rare beyond belief and you don't just go hunt down a basilisk" Valeyna felt another burst of fear run down her spine at the mention of such an unknown creature.

"Basilisk?"

"Giant snake created using black magic, it can kill a person simply by looking a person directly in the eye, however, it's venom is what we would want, it's so powerful it can destroy Horcruxes as well as kill a man in under a minute with but the smallest drop entering the bloodstream. I've heard it's agonising as if your entire body is set on fire from the inside, your blood feels like its boiling and your skin like it's peeling of your body while all your muscles go into your cramp as a massive headache erupts and your eyes scream"

"Maker, what monstrosities have your people created" Cassandra gasped her mind racing back all those years ago back to when she was at the Cathedral back to when those dragons had meant to charge, soon that memory changed to when she had seen the Archdemon and its horror. "To kill a man with a simple glance, how does one fight such a monster"

"It's easy enough if you know how" Nat responded though Cassandra's doubtful face alongside Varrick's slightly curious but also worried one forced him to explain. "Your first objective is to blind it, take out its eyes into pieces and you can advance but it's other senses are also superb so all you've done is get rid of the major killer"

"And then what, charge at it with a pike, shoot it with arrows from range?" Nat shook his head.

"Unfortunately the strength of the scales on the thing makes it immune to such attacks whether magical or mundane, instead you have to attack it where it's weak... from the inside" Against his will Varric felt his chest hair stand on end as though he had been blasted by a cool frost then again as he turned to the image of the giant snake in the centre of the table glaring with big menacing evil eyes he couldn't help but keep shuddering. That thing could east him whole he realised, but worse than that, the creature only needed to look you in the eyes and you were dead, how did anybody ever manage to kill such creatures he wondered gravely. Warriors could as they were bound to look up, archers and mages who would have to target the eyes thereby looking at them would also die and even a rouge would have to somehow manage to sneak behind it and land a blow, tough that relied on not being spotted by the giant snake monster and eaten whole.

"So we throw a spell down its mouth" Valeyna interrupted a shocked look on her face.

"That's one way, not that it matters, since as dangerous as they are, basilisks are not natural animals. They don't breed like cats or dogs instead there's a lengthy process that goes into creating one and seeing as my people had managed to keep ourselves secret until our destruction, nobody in Thedas should have a basilisk nearby let alone at their beck and call"

"Thank the maker" Cullen replied in gladness. It was an ugly if terrifying creature that still hung above the middle of the table one that while not possessing the power of flight was all the same terrifying and destruction, something that was only made more prominent when one saw the size of the snake next to a human.

"You said there was another way, something about an Exlier" Josephine said her hands bracing against the armrest of her chair tightly, she tried to smile yet even as an image the group felt a malevolent energy fall upon them simply by the snake as it stared down at them with those hungry eyes as though at any moment she could be snapped up and swallowed into the creature's gut. Noticing the uncomfortable feeling, Nat gave a flick of his hand and changed the image to the standard light grey template waiting for the next topic of discussion to be produced.

"Yes, the elixir of life" Nat corrected the girl, instantly Solas focused his eyes onto the now changing and swirling grey mist as it took on the form of a bright red rock.

"It's beautiful" Valeyna commented as she observed the strange thing, it was no ordinary rock she could tell, it was about the same size as her fist but with a colour so fine that it put even the best of jewels that nobles clamoured and fought so they could place on their necks and show off to others look like nothing than a bunch of pathetic shells taken from the shore of the sea. It had an odd mesmerising look she found and as if by magic Valeyna alongside all others apart from Solas and Nat found themselves being dragged towards it as if they were magnets.

"It was also destroyed, more than thirty years ago" Or so the rumours say Nat thought to himself. "This rock was known as the Philosophers stone it was a brilliant man's life work, able to transform any metal into pure gold, alongside creating the elixir of life which turned a person immortal."

"It produced metal into gold" Varric spoke his eyes gleaming at the image floating in front of him. "As in there would be no spell, no ritual just take the rock to metal and poof you have gold?"

"I don't know, the creator of the stone was a very private person and obviously considering what the stone did and how valuable it was, the owner did not give out demonstrations let alone the knowledge of how to produce the stone itself. As such, I can only speculate on how one went about the actual process" Nat answered truthfully not that it particularly mattered he thought if he told them of the device. Even back home the old stone was only an item that people knew existed but didn't know how it worked, in fact, there were bound to have been hundreds of people who had attempted and tried to replicate the success of the Philosophers stone for themselves either to get rich or for immortality who knew but none the less Nat had a feeling that nobody ever would rediscover how to make the stone not unless they had the physical notes of Nicolas Flamel themselves or told by somebody who did know. Such was the fate of secrets hidden under a Fidelus charm, so much knowledge lost forever never to be regained.

"I can only wonder at the value of such an item, to be given immortality and to create gold from steel, Nobles would go to war over such a thing, Empresses and Emperors would destroy entire nations simply they could hold such an item" Josephine spoke in awe as she watched the mist change. Now the image was one of the rock pouring some golden liquid into a cup where a model of a man would then pick up the cup and drink it giving them a healthy aura and allowing them to live past their allocated number of days.

"Could you imagine Leliana, a way to become immortal" In a soft tone Cassandra gazed longingly at the stone, then before she knew what she was doing she had stretched her hand ut to try and snatch the image, only as her hand clenched tightly around nothing Cassandra realised what she had done. With a blush, she pulled back and utter an apology to the others including a smirking Varric.

"Nat can you-"

"No" Nat answered swiftly. The Philosophers stone is the alchemy of the utmost level, far beyond any abilities I have nor will ever have. Even if I was somehow able to make one it would take me decades perhaps even the rest of my life to be able to understand all the theory and work that went into creating the first one and that's even if such a thing is possible, most likely it is impossible hidden under a Fidelus charm"

With disappointment high in the air at the lack of ability to create a valuable asset Nat quickly flicked his eyes back to Solas. The man was being incredibly quiet about the bounds of immortality yet his face was not quite so well hidden as he would like. Nat saw the creases in the man's pale face the dark and disgusted look in his eyes and almost a mix of haughtiness that came far too often with those who wished to claim some sort of racial supremacy over others for whatever reasons. Yet there was also a flicker of wonder in his eyes as though for a moment he was entertaining the thought of what such a concoction could do. Perhaps Nat thought Solas was of the belief that the Philosophers stone could help rebuild the ancient elves via giving them back their immortality or then again maybe it was the turning metal to gold part which could help him raise the funds for a proper army, he didn't know. Yet as he saw Solas meet his gaze for just a moment Nat felt as though a sudden bolt of lightning had slammed right into the middle of their table sending people flying everywhere, decimating stone, blasting debris and heating the very rock of the building itself.

And then Nat understood.

Solas despised the Philosophers stone, he hated it on such a level that Nat could not imagine, what it was, who it was created by, why it was created but worse he despised it on a worrying level, a level of racial supremacy.

Was Solas an Ancient elf supremacist?

It could be possible after all there was bound to be some sort of resentment left in those elves who had once held everything and then only to lose it all to humans or something else. In fact, as he thought about what Solas has said about his old people with those mournful eyes of his staring ever beyond him as if he was not seeing the world for what it was but rather what it had been. Perhaps he desired to return the world to what it had once been like, perhaps Fen Harel had assigned him to deal with any threats that may have been thrust against the Dread Wolf, to kill Corypheus before he had a chance to do any real damage.

If that was the case, then Solas had most certainly failed, as instead of a calmer peaceful world more asleep and content in its arrogance allowing for an Old God to act without notice, a war had been declared rudely awakening the slumber of the continent like one pressing a wet finger into another person's ear.

Should that all be true Nat thought grimly and Solas was indeed some sort of supremacist that his purpose for being amongst the Inquisition was to wipe out the main threat to his master then he would most certainly leave once the deed is done, however not before he had put in contingencies. Like himself by getting in early with the Inquisition, the man had managed to gain himself a position of respect and power to allow him to hold influence over a group that was only gaining in power. The bald elf was bound to know that for the Inquisition to gain the power it needed to beat Coryp[ehus that it would require incredible strength and in all regions of expertise that the three main advisors of the Inquisitor provided, yet at the same time he was also bound to know that such a group could threaten his possible master in the times to come.

In that case he and the rest of the inquisition had to be careful of that old man as slowly but surely he would create small unnoticeable cracks into the Inquisition, nothing major doing so would only draw suspicion, but enough cracks so that when the Inquisition and Fen Harel did come to blows that he could take it out from beneath the very feet of the Inquisition, something that would be made even more concerning with the amount of young elven minds Solas could manipulate to his will. After all, Nat thought there was very little for the elves to lose if they were to join with a group of people or so-called God if they offered better opportunities.

Nat knew how this story went it was easy to notice back home how when some cult sprang up and started recruiting people telling that there was a better world that they could help achieve such a utopia so long as people joined them. The fascists had tried it in Europe, communists around the globe, dictators and despots as well all happily used such tactics but most presently it was the religious fundamentalists and the incredible extreme of politics that had only divided nations even more.

For the elves a chance of having their own kingdom, their own nation again one which was not ruled by humans, one that they were not forced to live in dour little areas trapped with sewage and the poor, where disease would wipe away their number with perilous ease, or where nobles could kidnap wives, rape them and not only expect no punishment but rather be cheered on by his fellow man. It was bound to cause rebellions, Merlin he had even to put one down lest it tore Thedas into two diving the support and preventing any decent moral change that the Inquisition could have provided the rest of the world through the power it would accumulate.

All that they needed was a leader, one in which the elves could see a hero, a man or woman who would take them from their old poor lives and replace it with something greater to give them meaning in life.

But then again as he looked at Solas the stern face that hid his true thoughts as he considered immortality given in such a manner, perhaps he was wrong about the elf. It would not be the first time that his train of thought had gone too far leading him into complex conclusions, perhaps Solas and Fen Harel simply decided that Corypheus needed to stop, perhaps they did not have cruel motives for the world.

It was unfair for him to judge the people of this world by his standards, in fact, it was hypocritical of him to do so after all how many times had he argued and debated with others on actions long since past telling them strictly that they could not judge their lives by the morals of today. It was natural to be protective of the elven race for Solas, he knew that had Britain fallen and the world had changed resulting in a similar situation for Brits as the elves faced here that he too would be angry, in fact, he would have already started on decimating the regimes in place. He would burn them to the ground set them against each other in war, have those that would seek to own his people inflicted with the disease and other horror and annihilate anyone who stood against him with not a drop of sympathy, they would be his enemy and so his actions were justified.

"Nat" Flicking his eyes up to the Inquisitor he saw her give a strange look at him blinking once before then carrying on. "Are you okay, you kind of just stared into empty space for a few minutes"

"Oh yes fine, just lost in my own thoughts is all, happens quite regularly"

"You just sit and stare?" Josephine asked not quite believing him.

"Helps me think, figure things out" Nat answered the exotic woman with a quick but none the less fake smile. Bloody muggles he thought, interrupting a Ravenclaws deep thoughts.

"Have you thought of some way to deal with Corypheus?" Cullen asked suddenly interceded as he tried to hide a coy smile. Nat had looked like quite a statue for a few minutes, he hadn't moved, hadn't twitched and even within Valeyna had waved her hand in front of his face he hadn't reacted in any strange way, instead he sat completely still"

"Or worked out how he got his immortality" Leliana added as she brushed a loose band of red hair out of her eyes.

"To defeat him we either have to capture and permanently knock him out where I can then place him into a handcrafted cell hidden in the middle of nowhere. As for immortality, that will be incredibly ancient magic something long since forgotten especially if he should seem to possess others. In that case, the only course of action I can recommend is searching for really ancient stuff as well and hope we stumble into some library" Nat answered quickly his words on point as he thought of the most possible solutions to the problem.

"Is that it?" Valeyna asked shrugging her hand's with a feeling of defeat. "Look for something old and hope it tells us, do you have any idea of who we could speak to that may be that old, let alone one who could speak our language and preferably not another Tevinter god" Valeyna added not noticing the very confused look on Solas's face.

"Imshael," Nat said hiding the slight amount of concern that bubbled up inside of him and the memory of those cruel and twisted eyes that the demon had held.

"Who," Varrick asked.

"The demon I spoke to after killing the old Tevinter god" Solas spat our his drink suddenly before he started coughing violently his face turning even paler as he began to pound the front of his chest. "Its name was Imshael and if the tales are true he was around when humans first began to explore the Fade which would mean that he should know something about this type of magic or at least be able to set us on the right path"

"I remember Imshael from the texts," Cassandra said gripping her sword tightly while her voice began to growl. "He is a powerful desire demon, a scourge that should have been wiped out long ago. You mean to speak with him?"

"Yes"

"But he is a demon"

"Yes he is"

"A monster who has claimed untold lives and destroyed far more with the deals he has given, who helped doomed Humanity"

"Yes"

"Why, how can you choose such an unholy path" Nat raised an eyebrow at Cassandra and then turned to Valeyna and then Varrick sharing a look, finally with a strangely amused expression he turned back to the dark haired warrior.

"Do you have a better way of working out how immortality operates? Access to some sort of ancient library long lost and holding precious knowledge from the time before the chantry existed? No then perhaps we should investigate the only lead we have on Corypheus" Nat rebuked calmly though Cassandra narrowed her eyes at the implied message.

"What good will learning about his immortality be if we learn it from filth like demons, and you yourself said that you could contain Corypheus should we capture"

"Exactly, should we capture him but that implies engaging not only in battle but also besting it to such a standard that we may move in and apprehend him, that will not be easy not to mention that even I am doubtful of the ability to hold a monster such as Corypheus"

"How come?" Valeyna inquired.

"If Corypheus can move his soul from one host to another just like an Archdemon, then should we capture him, what is to prevent the man from simply killing himself through magic. Not to mention any barriers and protections I can put up will not prevent something like what Corypheus can do. Keep him sedates, physically weak, in under anguish and held in place, yes, but to restrain his very soul? I hold no knowledge that would allow me to perform such a task." Nat replied honestly, there was no point in trying to lie about this topic to make him seem better to the others, the fact remained that Hogwarts simply did not teach students how to mess with peoples souls, not in general and especially not since Voldemort had likely used Horcruxes to keep his immortality even if the now older Golden Trio attempted to hide that notion from people.

Soul magic was ridiculously complex magic of a standard that he had only really cast the occasional time and that was for the fidelus charm where one physically hid a secret within the soul. Then again he knew how the killing curse worked, via ripping out a person's very soul but again such magic was not something he could cast, not that he had or ever wanted to try. But again those spells were relatively easy compared to what he would be looking at to Corypheus, to end him forever.

Somehow he would need to find a way to physically destroy the soul yet that was far easier said than done. He could not see souls and there was not something that one could simply extended their wand out and hope to catch a soul like a snowflake and then just so casually blow on to send it away again. No, he was going to need to find a way to hold it in place for a while, either through a spell an object or perhaps even some type of ritual but yet again such knowledge not to mention the skill required was far beyond him.

Yet it had to be done, he had to find a way to hold the enemy in place, but not just that he also had to prevent that blackened soul from ever being allowed to exist again, but the question was how. Would the killing curse if he could somehow cast such a spell to rip the soul out of Corypheus? And if so what then, how did one catch a soul and would it even be possible to make a Horcrux with another person's soul instead of their own. If that was true then perhaps he could destroy Corypheus in such a way, by trapping his soul within an item and then using fiendfyre, but again he needed to know how the man's immortality worked. After all for all he knew, the soul simply appeared in the next host's body rather than being some sort of spell where it flew across the air before then smashing into the newest host.

"Why not just keep it imprisoned, you said you would build a cage for it," Valeyna asked softly as she watched again as Nat sat straight his eyes focused onto the ever-changing image in the centre of the table. Now it presented an image of a type of prison, tight, dangerous, weapons lined the walls as did many rings of fire and invisible shields all of which helped the ever spewing green grass fill the room and clog the monster's throat as above blue Lyrium depleted the creaturs magical power. What made it all the more terrifying for her though was that Corypheus had no eyes instead just deep red sockets. Aside from that though, she noticed how the limbs of the creature no longer existed instead being cut off leaving only a pitiful cripple as it was hung by a magical rope around its neck that ever strangled the breath out of the already unconscious creature as it was hazed by the knockout gas. There were other things though as well, strange tall statues heavily armed and armoured that lined the walls of the prison alongside other animals and large amounts of ballista's and crossbows.

A very powerful defence she thought likely with other tricks that would be implemented as time went on yet despite this Nat still did not look convinced in fact she would even say that despite his calm face there was a very slight flicker of very real concern. It was replaced quickly however with a small amount of excitement as though Nat found joy in seeing his imaginary prison as if it was something to be proud of. She did not understand why, yet she did not mention it instead, leaving those with knowledge on such regards to best voice their opinions.

"Corypheus has escaped prisons before and even once thought secure places could still fall in the years that follow the time that we wither into nothing and become less than ash amongst the winds. What is to say that some group in the future will not beat my defences and rescue Corypheus and any others, no it is far greater to destroy our opponents in this battle then it will be to let them live even if caged like rabid dogs"

"Which is why we need to discover just where he got his immortality" Cullen ended on a grim note. Taking a sigh the handsome lord commander brushed some of his shot golden curls backwards as he stared up at the image of Corypheus his dark eyes shining malevolently. Not one person deemed to ask just how the wizard had managed to get such an accurate portrayal of the man when he had not been there to witness it.

"I do not like this plan, speaking and making pacts with demons, we should be beyond this" Cassandra barked out her voice harsh before then tp the surprise of the others she gave a light sigh and a nod of her head her eyes finally resting on the young wizard as he sat there happily sipping a cup of tea. "However I concede to your wisdom, if we are to destroy Corypehus then we must learn how he gained his power and as such how to take that power away from him. If we do not?" The rest went unanswered all knowing and understanding perfectly the cost of giving their an opponent a chance to escape when they finally cornered him wherever he decided to hide.

"In that case, I suggest that the moment we hear news of Imshael that we depart immediately, from when I encountered him after slaying the Archdemon-" Solas looked intrigued but before he could get even so much as a grunt in Nat kept going. "He seems to be working with Corypheus, why I'm not certain but considering all the chaos that's going around, the demon is likely having fun with all the deals he can with mortals who want to keep their lives or the life of somebody else. Therefore it's doubtful he will abandon such a friendship so easily, at least not until we have bested him"

"You want to fight this ancient demon," Solas said doubtfully. "One that has lived as long as Imshael has will not have survived without learning how to deal with those who annoy him. He will not be an easy kill" There were more dour looks from the three main advisors at mentions of that, all of them knew that Solas was right, what made it worse but went unsaid was that these demons aside from just being old were bound to be far more powerful then other demons of their age, they would be intelligent, witty and most certainly try to make a deal not relating to the knowledge that they desired.

"Well he is a desire demon, should combat not suffice we can always just strip the inquisitor and throw her at him" Nat replied blandly though he raised a closed fist to his mouth as he watched the very confused face on Valeyna's face.

"I'm not a whore" She yelled angrily much to the others growing amusement.

"True... whores get paid" Nat responded in a casual manner. Varrick choked on his tea, flinging his head forward he rapidly smacked his chest exhaling the small amounts of the liquid which had just threatened to kill him then and there. To the side, Josephine gasped her eyes flickering in disbelief as Cullen stood still not believing he had said that while Leliana gave a slight smirk.

"Are you calling me a-" Before she could even finish her rant Cassandra punched her arm once shutting her up there and then and preventing him from making any more mistakes.

"Anyway, if we are to fight this Imsahel, we must make sure that we are prepared for it, as such I suggest that leave confronting him until we know who would be best to confront such a danger, not to mention that we also have to deal with the other concerns of Empress Celene and the Grey Wardens"

"Uhm" Varrick interrupted. "Before we do that can we actually listen to the rest of the kid's story, we kind of got sidetracked"

"Oh yes of course," Cassandra said a small flush of red appearing on her cheeks. "Nat if could tell us more about what happened when you were away"

"Very well" With those words said the image in the middle of the table returned to that of when he had been lying down, trapped by the monster known as the Architect and just before he escaped.


	25. Chapter 25 Confrontations

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 25 Confrontations**

Skyhold 

Hail hammered harshly against the old grey stone causing a constant tapping sound that unlike the constant and rhythmic sound of rain instead served to only irritate the majority of the inhabitants within one of the many towers that made up the old fortress of Skyhold. Inside sat on his own by a table that was located next to a repaired glass window Nat sat still his eyes flickering over the book that floated gently in front of him.

The title of that book alongside the thirty other books that had been placed neatly onto the table and organised alphabetically sat there may of which had to the odd look of others bright coloured pieces of paper written in some kind of language that none other than Nat could understand. His eyes narrowed behind the glasses that still sat on his face Nat red every single line of the book seven times over before he carried onto the next, analysing every word, every subtext and thinking of ways this could have been said in another manner.

Quietly with deft movements that showed just how used to this experience, he was Nat gently picked up his cup of tea that as always was ever full and always at the right temperature as it sat innocently on a plate to the side next to the pile of books and another set of stationery. Taking a sip of the drink for a few moments his eyes still continuing to read through the words as he did so Nat kept progressing through the book at a pace that most standard readers couldn't ever hope to match but then again Nat thought, other readers were not in the position that he was in.

How many people had to contend with an individual who was essentially immortal he wondered silently to himself. In recent times he supposed there could be quite a few if one was to take a broad stroke to history and look at how many people opposed Voldemort in the last wizarding war, but he preferred not to do broad strokes in this rather he had to be more particular and in that case the number dropped drastically in which case there were only three that came to mind.

The golden trio he thought in a bored manner, the so-called great students that consisted of a boy who was only made special because people hadn't thought twice about a muggle born witch knowing ancient magic as well as the need for some sort of hero, a rather moody and quite frankly according to the teachers sub-average member of the Weasley family and the brightest witch of her generation who relied far too heavily on books and was seemingly helpless without them.

Those three were the most recent examples of fighting an immortal freak who could seemingly come back from the dead, unfortunately for him however those three had not taken the time to explain how they had gone about defeating the worst wizard since Morgan Le Fay and neither were they available for him to simply call up and chat. Not that it would have done him much good in the first place, Voldemort had used Horcruxes or that was at least how he had come to understand it seeing as any and all information that was linked to Voldemort's return from death had promptly been dealt with, or that was at least what they believed.

Even with Potter making the auror's a more effective force they still had not been able to defeat all crime and neither had they been able to confiscate all books on the matter. if one searched hard enough and had the currency then one could always simply get the book from the black market. Or in his case, one could simply use the power of the internet contact one of the few muggleborns that were still in their school years in another country and ask if they sold certain books that had been made inaccessible in the UK. Once that was complete there was nothing that simply prevented a young wizard from then booking himself a flight to a muggle country, find the respective magical section in that country, find the correct book shop, buy the book and then head home via muggle planes and nobody would be anyone the wiser of his actions.

He smiled internally, for all the talk of making the magical world like the muggle one that Granger was so keen about in every single social way possible, she could be entirely blind to using those very same systems against her. It was quite funny he found, the woman had put spells up to track what post was carrying to ensure they didn't carry out any dangerous items ensuring that in her mind she had done the best and yet he had still beaten her. He hadn't told anyone of course, many would use that information against him whether that be in blackmailing him for either political gain or simply to get their own version and the Gryffindors of the group would almost certainly tell the teachers who still seeing that trio as their little war darlings would be quick to tell on their own branch of students.

All the same, seeing where he was he was glad he had taken those quick and easy steps all those years ago in the pursuit of knowledge as right now this was the only real source of information he had on the topic of immortality. It was for this reason why his books got stared at when the occasional passer bye came around, not because of the titles, but rather because the fake covers eh had put around them to hide them from prying eyes all had incredibly artistic pictures of all kinds of things that simply did not exist in this world. Luckily though anything that was too technologically advanced like the fake cover of "The Battle of Britain" or with its spitfires on the front had quickly been changed and the same for books like "The battle of the Atlantic". He could only have imagined the confused and curious faces of passers-by as they picked up a book with an image of a metal ship with large cannons placed on the front and rear that depicted a destroyer guarding a convoy of other ships while flying the white ensign.

Just as he was about to return to reading his books, he detected the familiar sense of a rather gaudy and strange individual. Rolling his eyes behind his glasses he then kept them locked onto the book, hopefully, this time the blasted man would disappear and he could get back to work.

"Ah, I thought I'd find you here," The accented voice of Dorian said as he climbed the stairs his face peering over while a great big smirk formed over his face. "Looking at the books again I see, have you found anything interesting".

"No I have not read the book, I have no intention of reading that book and I will never have the intention of reading that book" Nat responded quickly as he felt the urge to sigh. Why had it had to be this man and why did he have to be the way he was. Seriously he thought the way he strutted around like a bloody peacock made the man rather easy to spot and distract attention when he was attempting to work.

"Oh and after all that trouble to pick that one out," Dorian said a set of crocodile tears rolled down his face. Nat was not impressed.

"Had the book been relevant to the topic at hand then perhaps I would have given it a look, but seeing as how it is nothing but a collection of bland erotic porn designed to seemingly dull the mind and give others unrealistic expectations of how reproductive anatomy works in the most disgusting and obscene way possible, the answer is no I have not read the book"

"Ah but the fact that you know what it is even about said just how much you read it" Dorian teased as his eyes brows wiggled over his eyes like a set of wigging caterpillars.

"I told you once already, I simply gave the books to one of the servants and asked her to read it silently to herself where afterwards she gave me a quick synopsis after about half an hour," Nat said calmly his face as ever utterly emotionless as though he was a wall of stone.

"Oh, so you got a female servant to read that and then tell you what happened" Dorian grinned evilly, "Is that your way of getting a girl ready for some fun? You like to give them ideas of what you're going to do, fill their minds full of rope and whips and-"

"Dorian do you have a reason for being here or will I need to throw you down again," Nat said suddenly taking some silent joy she saw the man wince in pain as he then subconsciously patted his chest as though he had just been wounded. Again Nat hid his joy at the slight fear in the man's eyes. Last time Dorian had tried to speak with him about such topics he had attempted to drag him out of his seat so he could go somewhere else.

The first attempts had been made using physical force, only the mage had failed as Nat had remained sitting there entirely ignoring the man's vain efforts to move him, however after enough attempts had been made physically forcing the man to try magically and this time threatening to use magic to hurt him slightly, well he had reacted instantly. One moment the mage from Tevinter was standing to the side of him looking irritated and the next he was falling several feet before crashing with a loud bang as he collided onto Solas's table covering him promptly in paint, much to the ancient elves disapproval.

"I'll get you back for that I promise" Dorian muttered under his breath, again Nat rolled his eyes at the pathetic attempt the man had made to try and get him to move.

"I have more important matters at hand then satisfying some sense honour Dorian and as you can tell I am rather busy at the moment. Either give me important information or leave" He said sternly one of his eyes flickering back to the page while the other still remained on Dorian, he would not put it past the man to attempt some form of magic to remove him from his seat and neither did he put it past him to lie to achieve the same goal.

"Come on now you've been staring at those books night and day for over a week now, have you even slept, eaten, bathed?" The man questioned pinching his nose in some effort to exaggerate just what he thought of the wizard's activities.

"We are at war Dorian; I have more crucial concerns then spending my time gallivanting across a castle looking for hidden secrets of long ago. As for sustenance and physical maintenance, I still eat, exercise and bathe so there is no need to make such a fool out of yourself in this pathetic attempt"

"Oh come on I like these dusty old books as much as anyone else but that doesn't stop me from having a good time. Take a break, relax worrying about future conflicts is only going to shorten your life and give you horrible spots, after all look at all the others, they take breaks and they're in perfect shape so surely you can as well" Dorian smiled honestly at the kid before him but that smile quickly faded when again he saw to his ever-growing disappointment that Nat did not return the smile or even laugh instead he simply picked up the device called a pen as he had called it and wrote a few notes on the pieces of paper beside it. Dorian didn't even bother glancing at it, he had tried that once already and he knew much to his own discomfort that he could not read such a language ensuring the information was entirely safe with the young mage from prying eyes.

"Tell Leliana that I am perfectly content with my work, there is no reason to be concerned with my health," Nat said calmly as he hid the annoyance that was festering inside of him. He had a job to do and all this man wanted him to do was simply set it aside, and for what so he could waste his time listening to stories or addle his brain with alcohol, it was utterly athletic and not to mention damaging.

"When was the last time you slept?" Dorian questioned suddenly his tone one of concern.

"I don't see how my sleeping habits are of any concern to you Dorian, now I will ask to to either hand over whatever information you have gathered or to leave me and my research in peace" Unfortunately for Nat despite asking the tanned man to leave Dorian refused and instead he simply snapped his fingers in what surely the man believed was a stylish man and summoned a nearby empty chair from across the room.

Rising high into the air before then rushing towards the man, Dorian caught the chair with both hands and then span around on one leg as though he was a ballerina where with a large grin he smacked the chair on the opposite side of the table from the wizard and jumped onto it sideways his legs spilling high into the air as he gripped the side where he then thrust his face forward. Once that was done in a slow but sensual manner the mage then brought out a set of purple grapes and made a rather big deal out of dropping them slowly into his mouth before then wiggling his eyebrows.

"I don't have time for your theatrics Dorian, whether they are for your own entertainment to stave off boredom or in some vain attempt to cheer me up and distract me from my work, so I will give you one final warning, either assist me or leave".

"Oh do brighten-" Dorian froze suddenly, gulping down loudly he turned to face the wizard who was now in Dorian's mind giving him one of the most terrifying calm yet "do what I say before I flay you alive while at the same time boil you in a hot pit of tar before then allowing a pack of ravenous wolves to munch on your extremities while you were then tortured by a nightmare demon all at the same time. "Okay shutting up now"

"Good, the information please" With a reluctant sigh, Dorian gently placed the piles of paper that he had been carrying in front of Nat. With a subtle wave of his hand, Nat moved the book that had been floating before him and quickly picked up the documents where he then proceeded to read them in utter silence. After about twenty minutes of him rereading the documents multiple times to ensure he had neither missed something out or had read something incorrectly or instead interpret something in the wrong manner, he placed the paper down and leaned back on his chair.

"So what is the information our illustrious spymaster had me deliver to you?" Dorian asked. Nat looked at Dorian for a moment before nodding to himself; he could do with a second opinion especially one that was not as naive as the Inquisitors, one as utterly biased as the First Enchanters and one that did not belong to an ancient elf who he was trying to trick for information. Dorian was a rather good middle ground and from what he had gathered from Leliana, the man had been a prodigy which would hopefully mean the man could understand what he said when he went into complex terms.

"Have you heard of the Eluvian's?"

"The mirrors used by the Ancient elves, the ones they could apparently use to teleport around Thedas with and speak with one another, I am aware of them. How does this information relate to them?" Dorian said his curiosity piqued.

"For the past week, Leliana received word from some of her scouts from some elves who could seemingly appear and disappear at will and travel incredible distances as though they were ghosts. At first, she was confused but a few days later one of her scouts managed to tail one of the elves long enough to see them disappear into an old dusty room that old and decaying, Nothing was in there though, it appeared to all eyes that the place had been abandoned for decades. According to the reports, there were dull knives, dusty old boxes of old things and other objects that should have been thrown out. Nothing was out of the ordinary except for a strangely ornate mirror that unlike everything else had been kept in seemingly excellent condition. Now, this was somewhat strange or so the agent thought, seeing as the room had been kept locked constantly and nobody had access to it. so the agent investigated and after a while discovered that the mirror had only arrived recently as a guest from a strange and unknown benefactor who had died recently."

"Let me guess there was something wrong with the benefactor?" Dorian said knowingly.

"Yes, it turns out that this mysterious benefactor who had just so conveniently died and left this big ornate mirror to this noble had never existed in the first place."

"A fake, surely something as grand a big expensive mirror would have drawn notice" Nat shook his head as he relayed the story that had been told to him. Briefly, he looked outside the window into the natural white light as snow continued to fall heavily outside and blanket the coat in a very thick layer of white.

"You would think so, but this noble didn't really care about the mirror and so asked one of the servants to place it in that locked room, the same exact servant who had not only presented the mirror to the noble, but also the one who had then placed it in that room and who at the strangest hours would vanish with not a lone person able to find her," Nat said calmly, he wondered how long it would take for Dorian to understand just what was at stake here . He doubted it would take long he was a smart man; after all, it was likely more a case that the man was more interested in this story about the agent.

"And that's how Leliana knew it was an Eluvian, it seems a little farfetched"

"No, Leliana suspected something was strange, but she was of the opinion of demons and Corypheus, it wasn't until I reminded her about the Eluvian's and the reports of other elves appearing and disappearing combined with the message from another agent who had also found an ornate mirror that my suspicions were confirmed.

"And what exactly does this entail exactly, are you planning on visiting, have a look at the eluvians or instead planning on capturing these elves and demanding answers," Dorian spoke his voice barely above a whisper as he took meaningful glances around him his eyes locking briefly with one particular raven with bright red eyes that seemed to stare deeply into his eyes. Hiding his chuckle as he saw a staring match between a human mage and the bird, Nat waited for the match to finally end which it did when Dorian blinked first causing him to throw his arms up in anguish.

"Ah, stupid crow" The man complained.

"That is a raven" Nat corrected.

"What's the difference?"

"A Raven is one of the most intelligent species of avian in the world capable of completing puzzles and other problems that require thinking and learning. A raven is on average larger then crows with a slight blue and purple hint to their feathers whereas a crow will have a green hue. Ravens are also known for their deeper tones then crows and can give off different sounds, they are also more private creatures preferring to hunt solitary though they will also hunt in pairs with one distracting the target. Ravens also prefer to be away from cities and they often live up to thirty years old compared to a crow that will typically only last until it hits eight, and a ravens beak is also bigger and tends t curve towards the end rather than two thirds down." Dorian blinked unexpectedly, his eyebrows rising quite substantially on his face as he gave the bird who was now hopping along quite happily a look between respect and confusion.

"How did you know that," Dorian asked impressed of the knowledge of birds.

"The house I was a part of during my education was called Ravenclaw, it would be... unwise to not know information about that creature" Nat said slowly, he had seen it once already, the consequences of members of the house of Ravenclaw not knowing a thing about the two birds that represented their house. It hadn't been pretty. "That isn't our current topic at hand though instead, I wanted to alert you that you've been selected to join the research group, congratulations" Nat continued on dryly. Dorian blinked for a moment before then a slight and mischievous grin appeared on his face, then whether out of boredom or some other type of physical click Nat didn't know, Dorian began to wrap his long rather comically evil bad guy moustache around his finger and then play with it as though he was in a film.

"Research, I assume you want to learn more about the Eluvian's" Nat nodded. "Excellent such an ability to study ancient magic could prove to be an excellent time to gather new knowledge. Tell me when do we begin and what is the noble house we will be travelling to?." Dorian said with a smile, glancing up at them Nat watched through a neutral expression at the mans playful and excited eyes seemed to glimmer with fascination at the ability to research some old magic, it was almost as if he was a small child who had been brought to a sweet store. Nat didn't say anything however instead informing the man of what he could likely be dealing with.

"You are the first to be informed of this upcoming study and a select few others will also be told in time, however," Nat said calmly before his eyes turned stern behind his glasses and his voice became as cold as freshly sharpened steel that was only millimetres away from being thrust into a person's neck. "This will be top secret, you are not to alert anyone other than those who will also be told of the information about what you are doing, no hinting, humming, shouting, singing, code making or anything at all, whatsoever, point blank. Violate these terms and trust me when I say that by the time I am done with you, nobody will even know you ever existed". Giving the man a cold look Nat watched in a slight amount of joy as the Tevinter mage squirmed in utter discomfort at the threat. It was always fun he found when those with power and were considered to be utterly terrifying became nothing but gibbering wrecks on the floor when he just allowed a small amount of his power out, it only became even more interesting when those face became paler than snow when he allowed ice to freeze the entire room.

Unfortunately for him he had more pressing matters and by telling Dorian now instead of later it would hopefully keep the Tevinter occupied long enough for him to leave him so that he could carry on with his research. Lessening the stare Nat then leaned even father back in his seat before taking a long sip of his tea and spoke again.

You will work in an area set up just for you with as many resources that can be spared alongside the best security systems that I can put in place. While I will give you a large amount of leeway when it comes to your work, your main responsibility will be to see if you can discover not only how they work, but of more importance is if you can replicate the process. Should I discover that you are diverting too many resources away from that goal without a satisfactory explanation then there will be consequences?"

"You make it sound so serious," Dorian said jokingly, Nat however much to his disappointment didn't laugh instead only giving him that ever calm face that unlike normal which Dorian had considered odd it now felt far eerier as though the young wizard was staring into his very soul searching for... something. At that moment Nat seemed very unnatural, stranger entity as though he was a spirit like the ones that had served his family as servants rather than a person Dorian repressed a shiver at the thought.

"We are dealing with magic that could very likely win us the war if we are able to utilise it and failing that the Eluvian's could be a very powerful threat if turned against us. I have no doubts that Corypheus will attempt the same and should he succeed then the consequences... would be somewhat irritating to deal with"

"Irritating, that's an understatement. If Corypheus was able to show up out of nowhere and murder our supporters it would be a bit more then irritating, we would lose support from the nobles, the Nobility would be killed quickly and replaced or worse demons could take possession of immortal people. If one of his spies was able to sneak an Eluvian into Skyhold" Dorian spoke loudly his eyes darting to the walls all around him at incredible speed. Stone by stone the man observed his eyes tightening as though the very walls of this place could speak to him. "Demons could take over the advisor, only Cullen would have the training necessary to be able to withstand demon possession. It would be disastrous"

"As I said, somewhat irritating" Nat repeated not at all impressed by the man's performance. "Aside from that I will be placing you in charge of the operation since to my knowledge you were not only a prodigy in Tevinter where they have learned to speak through the mirrors, but you also showed your talent in the very fact that you were able to successfully cast temporal magic. A marvellous success by the way congratulations, now don't ever do it again. Nat said sternly breaking the sudden happy and proud face that Dorian had gained when he had been congratulated by the wizard into a tiny million pieces that could never be reformed.

"Preferably I would like daily reports if possible when working with this type of magic, the last thing we want is to create a wormhole to Merlin knows where. However, since both of us will be busy I will expect reports every three days; a week is the absolute longest that I will allow for a stretched report and nothing else. In the meantime, I will give you a list of candidates of those mages who I will be interviewing though as you are project manager I will also allow you to give suggestions, do remember though that they must not tell anything about this project apart from those who know. Even if they are of less quality then other mages you would prefer, secrecy is the most important aspect here"

"In that case who knows about this project?" Dorian questioned.

"Apart from yourself, there will be myself and Leliana who in her case, she will be kept alert of only the most necessary things so she can improve defences or allow for the procurement of anything you may need. So, in general, you may only speak to me about it outside of your group" Dorian blinked confused.

"But what about the Inquisitor and Solas would it not be advantageous to inform them of our research?"

"No," Nat said quickly as he shook his head vigorously. "The Inquisitor is too loose with her words and not used to the idea of secrecy or more vitally politics. There is the very real possibility that the woman might let something slip either by accident when she is drunk or when she "enjoys" her time in other peoples company, as for when she is sober, her lack of training in politics could very well lead her to blurting out certain secrets to either carry favour when believes she is being smart or worse to grovel for certain things when she can see no other option" A loud high pitched whistle escaped Dorian's pursued lips followed swiftly by a rather shocked and surprised expression.

"You don't hold a very high opinion of the inquisitor do you?" He said still surprised at the very idea that the Inquisitors closest advisor and the person who had been the most defensive about Nat thought so ill of her.

"She is a young woman with no training, education or experience in politics other than being told from a young age that she will lead. She may have shown some sensibility by chopping off your old masters head-" Nat continued calmly brushing past Dorian's outraged face. "But she is not ready for what awaits her, without that knowledge she will make drastic mistakes, mistakes that could very well cost us the war because of her poor judgment"

"But that is your purpose is it not? You, Cullen, Leliana and Josephine are there to advise her on the right path to take"

"Exactly, advise. I can drag a starving animal to food all I desire but I cannot make it eat and I can advise the Inquisitor on all the possible consequences, on the best ways to progress with certain actions but that does not mean she will heed my advice, especially if something were to affect her in some emotional way. Which if that were to occur then it is more likely the Inquisitor will see me more as an enemy as I would attempt to get in her way, to prevent calamity which could in her part lead to a resentment against me causing her to reject my advice until she finally gets rid of me" Nat took another sip of tea as he stared behind his glasses directly into Dorian's eyes.

"Don't you think you're being too judgemental on the woman, sure she's young, but she can learn, and your her advisor aren't you supposed to teach her these things" Dorian countered.

Nat resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow, teach he wondered to himself darkly. Him, teach a person something as in imparting knowledge via the use of words. He couldn't do that, a teacher was a person who could adapt their method upon the student on ensuring the student learned the information in a way that suited them but it was not only that, teaching took large amounts of time, a certain type of personality of being truly friendly and wanting to teach. He couldn't teach, well properly at least not in the way Dorian was implying it, there was a difference between teaching someone a basic fact like that polar bears did not live at the south pole and the same for penguins in the north, but that was only basic. What the man meant was to take the Inquisitor as his apprentice to show her how things worked and teach her everything like Flitwick had taught him before dying of natural causes.

"I don't have the time to educate the Inquisitor on politics as it is I already have less time then I need to complete my current duties, to educate the Inquisitor would only leave me more stretched and the tasks I am in charge of left to a poor standard. It's why I'm leaving you in charge of operation Reflex, I would like to spend my time researching the inerrancies of ancient magic but I have my responsibilities to take care of."

"And what responsibilities are those" Dorian inquired slowly, all of a sudden his hand darted towards one of the many stacked books that were sat gently atop the table and flicked through. For a few moments, he read the contents trying to understand just what Nat was attempting to discover but unfortunately, the books were still written in that mysterious language that only he could read. Sighing he put the book down again and this time picked up a book he could read before then placing it down again as the page that had a bright pink piece of paper sticking out of it didn't have anything interesting as its contents.

"Aside from advising the Inquisitor, I have my lessons from Cullen, Josephine, Leliana and Solas all of which take time and all of which are essential so as to prevent myself from making mistakes in my judgements"

"Are you still really that concerned over what happened, yes you lost people in Orzammar but you prevented a civil war from breaking out, you ensured that the Lyrium continues to flow, that's something to be proud of" Dorian stared at Nat, for a brief few moments the boy said nothing instead continuing to read his book while writing the occasional note down on a piece of paper. Had an outsider peered in they would have believed that Nat to be ignoring Dorian however the Tevinter mage knew otherwise. On one occasion he had said something as he had believed the wizard not to be paying attention only to his shock and horror however that Nat had instantly replied without looking up from his work as though he knew the exact answer without even thinking.

Finally though after a few more seconds where only the sounds of Nat's ballpoint pen digging into the paper and leaving behind a trace of ink with such incredible ease that Dorian would admit he was jealous over the device, Nat looked up and met Dorian's eyes with his own, black plastic staring into a mage's eyes.

"There is nothing to be proud of Dorian, they were my responsibility it was my job to ensure that they stayed safe and out of harm's way as much as possible. Now while you and the others can count your blessing now that the threat of another civil war has vanished with minimal losses, I will not. The loss of my subordinates could have been prevented had I chosen a different path; instead, their bodies are nought but ash on the wind, their lives ended." Though he spoke calmly his face again completely void of anything that would give him away, Dorian began to feel his muscles cramp in his body while the air transformed subtly to that colder than the blizzard that played havoc outside on the men and women of the Inquisition. Shivering from the onset of cold Dorian wrapped his left arm around him before then summoning a fire in his right hand where he brought it close to his chest and sighed in relief.

"Dreadful weather, how anyone can stand to live in such a place will be forever beyond my understanding, personally I think it would be better if we were on some nice warm island where we could wade into the sea and relax. Don't you agree" Dorian said quickly hoping to diffuse not only the growing tension but also that of the weather change, soon the man knew ice would start forming down the walls, freezing over cracks and then splitting the walls very foundations if this were allowed to continue.

"No," Nat said simply.

"No, that's it?, you're not going to inform me why you don't think we should be on a nice island with attractive servants who go round shirtless?" Dorian spoke teasing his young companion.

"Tropical environments are dangerous, they invite dangerous diseases like malaria and Ebola, and warmer temperatures also give way to more dangerous aquatic life especially those of the hunt and eat humankind. Not to mention one tires far quicker in the blazing heat where you are forced to drink water constantly to keep yourself hydrated which would possibly hider fresh water supplies, then there is also the case that warmer temperatures increase the likelihood of heat stroke, the spreading of germs. As for an island, such a position without the strength of a full-sized country that can pay and afford powerful naval forces leaves itself incredibly exposed to having it's sea lanes attacked with ships plundered and stolen which in turn could lead to the danger of starvation of it became incredibly successful. Then there would also be distance making it harder for the Inquisition to sortie out at a moment's notice if a new event should occur."

"Oh is that all" Dorian replied half-heartedly, he had expected a simple answer not some giant explanation as to why having a base of the Inquisition in a warmer climate was a poor idea.

"Yes and no I will not elaborate any father we have more pressing issues to contend with such as dealing with Tevinter's old ruler" Dorian stuttered his eyes falling heavily as he let out a long sigh.

"Obviously you don't seem to be much in the mood for humour" He muttered to himself as he picked up one of the books that were sitting on the table before then placing it down. "Do you find joy in being so dour constantly, does it fill your cold heart with joy or is it simply an act?"

"Joy," Nat said unimpressed. "I don't know if you've noticed but we are currently at war with a mad man who wants to conquer not only the planet and enslave all elves, but also a man who tore a hole in the sky simply so he could bring more demons into the world, that man, has also recruited what was once a well trusted organisation by the general public but is now on the blacklist for practically all nobles, then there is the fact that he has been corrupted by the blight has made a lesser archdemon via some sort of black magic, has also started a civil war in one nation, attempted to do so in another and is profiting of a third one while he also very likely tries to start new civil wars in other nations to destabilise them. Aside from that however the man also managed to lead a successful assault on the Inquisition, which killed a large number of agents, nearly killed the Inquisitor who was our only way to deal with the problem in the first place and severely hampering the Inquisition. Oh, and how could I forget, the man somehow managed to make a fake calling to lead the Grey Wardens off to their keeps and very likely plunge them into desperation to deal with it."

Dorian hid his gaze of concern behind a cheery mask, Nat was oddly calm he noticed, no trace of fear or panic, there was no worry in his eyes that he attempted to hide instead all that lay was a seemingly serious look on his face. It was amazing he thought with some respect, many of the others attempted to hide their worry and concern by taking their mind off it, Vivienne seemed to prefer spending her time enjoying luxuries, Bull that handsome piece of muscle very much spent his day fighting and getting whacked by a hard piece of wood, Cassandra and Blackwall trained ever harder while Josephine took her time listening to Varric's stories who was only glad to hear them. Cole. Didn't do anything but then again Cole was a strange boy and Sera? Well who knew what poor sod that woman was thinking of pranking next?

"You can take a break you know, get some rest, enjoy your time speak with the others, have a joke you needn't have to keep going from one job to another, in fact, it's quite dangerous from what I've heard. We have time use it" Dorian reached over his hand aiming towards Nat's shoulder however before he even got halfway across the table he found a stick in front of his eyes glowing a menacing deep red as it aimed deeply between his eyes. It was so fast he thought, he hadn't even recognised it happened, staring into those black things that covered the wizard's eyes he scrunched his face up before then leaning back, Nat refusing outfight any comfort.

"Time" Nat hid his utter revulsion at the term. "What time do you think a small family who lives in Orlais has when a demon turns up and butchers their village, what time do you think that a young elf girl has to get away when some Tevinter thugs hold her down and violate her, what time do you believe that a young mage has when the Templar's learn of them. No Dorian I do not have time to waste and neither do I have the time to be making jokes about the situation in some effort to hide a fear that I do not have and do you want to know why?"

"Why?" Dorian asked concerned.

"Because jokes don't win wars. Every single moment that I spend on myself that is not concentrated on trying to win this war is another moment that Corypheus exists and every moment that Corypheus exists allows for more horrid and terrible things to happen, things that I can prevent. What is sleep, eating, drinking or joking and having fun when people who I have taken a responsibility to protect die or face even worse punishments because I in my selfish desire spent my time wasting it on such frivolities?"

"Nat are you-"

"Yes I'm perfectly fine" Nat again said calmly. "I do not need your fake concern Dorian I do not need pity. Leave me to my work if you are not going to provide useful information." Oddly as Dorian opened his mouth a reply already made up in his mind he felt the words slip from his mind instantly as though he had dropped his purse, sitting there opened mouth he attempted to pick himself up again metaphorically however all he could do was feel his internal organs seemingly construct tightly of their own will suffocating him as he took in the calm yet harsh withering gaze of the young wizard in front of him. It was though as he had been caught in a blizzard with no protection, snow seemingly snapping at his heels while his body encased into a giant icicle. He opened his mouth again attempting in vain to get off some last words however he could not muster anything.

"Go" Nat commanded without looking up from his book "I have more important things than dealing with some overgrown child" With a heavy feeling in his chest Dorian nodded to the young wizard and followed the directions he had been given and left without a word, quickly disappearing down the steps that he had come up.

With the man finally gone Nat yawned quietly to himself and wiped his tired eyes with his left hand. How long had it been since he last slept? He could feel his energy draining from him as though he had been bitten by a vampire or taken some strength-sapping potion. His entire body felt weak, awkward and no longer holding that same strength and speed as it typically did, the very fact that Dorian had gotten that far over the table before he had managed to stop him was bad enough, but the talk he had just given Dorian.

Sweet Merlin

The poor sod was likely cracking so many jokes because it was the only way he knew how to deal with the situation, hiding behind all sorts of jokes just so he could keep his sanity, something that would be utterly crucial when one regarded that he was bound to be taking harsh stares from practically everyone because of his Tevinter heritage. The man was likely feeling lost, homesick and under pressure and was simply looking for some stress relief and he had simply sent the man away, essentially declaring him to be a cold cruel bastard for wanting a small amount of fun when he concentrated on work.

What made it worse was that he had done it just after telling the man he was going to be put in charge of a very special project, something that was bound to put mixed signals into the man's head about whether he was trusted or not. That was the worst thing he needed, as much as his own power and skills allowed him to act, he was still rather unknown to the magic of Thedas, he needed a person he could trust to a certain extent who did know these things, and even better, one who he could actually understand. It was why he had chosen Dorian, the man was what he needed and not to mention that with him being an inner circle council member it made it far less suspicious for the two to be having meetings in closed doors especially when it came to the Eluvians, something which was vital.

Technically, he knew he should apologise to the man, say sorry for seemingly being so angry at the man when he was only trying to help, yet despite this, he couldn't help but have his doubts. Dorian he could tell would accept his apology and easily accept that he was under stress and was, therefore, acting out, yet on the other hand what he said wasn't a lie.

Was it like this for Potter he wondered to himself darkly, constantly dealing with the knowledge that you had to do everything that you possibly could to prevent the enemy from getting stronger and committing horrendous acts? Did he also feel irritation when ether he had heard a death over the radio or the torture of others for refusing to bow to a tyrant?

He chuckled to himself darkly, of course, Potter did, he was the Golden Gryffindor, the boy who could do nothing wrong and was beloved by all for his compassion and love even when he faced a dark lord, of course, the man suffered. Still, though he knew that Potter had never truly fought in the war, yes he had his encounters with the death eaters and the now thankfully dead Dark Lord, but that had been rare and when the war had truly kicked off. Potter had spent his time away from the battlefields, for the most part, never having to truly see the likely horrors that were inflicted, to see the number of bodies stack up until the final battle when so many had died.

He only wished that the man alongside Granger hadn't gotten rid of every single book and pressured other countries to do so as well on immortality, it was making this project rather obtuse. He sighed as he opened up another book this time directly to a ritual section depicting how to cleanse the body of an unwanted spirit, a type of exorcist spell typically used for getting rid of annoying passed on spirits.

He re-read the list of items and steps needed to make the ritual work and shook his head before then closing the book. There wasn't a chance that if he fought Corypheus that he could get the man to stay in place long enough for him to start the ritual and even then more powerful entities could not only resist the spell but could also use it to bind that person to the spirit and become the next host if possible. Should he have succeeded somehow though in the man not taking his body over then the magister could still use magic to attack him and considering how supposedly strong he was, there was incredibly little chance of him being able to pull off a ritual and fend for himself.

Gently though in a tired manner reflecting that of just how long he had gone without sleep, Nat tapped his fingers against the top of the table he glanced outside and peered into the endless white void. It had increased its tempo dramatically, gone was what had been a standard blizzard and instead, there was nothing but pure white moving at such speed and thickness that it appeared as though he was staring at a blank piece of paper.

It was rather beautiful, the way it cascaded down or that was how he imagined it was doing, he was unable to even make out the tower not that far away instead the only thing that told him that anything that was out there was the ever so slight sound barely mixed in with the howling wind of something heavy crashing against the outside wall.

"Kate you would love this place," He said to himself as a grim smile appeared on his face. Though his half-sister was older than him and by several years enough to officially make her an adult by all stretches, the woman had always loved to play in the snow the very few times it did so thanks to global warming. Had she been here, then he had no doubt the woman would have been playing whether by going skiing, making a snowman, or even as he had come to watch amusedly as she would fling snowballs at Ant her boyfriend if he had come home from deployment.

"I know it has its faults, one being the current demon infestation and the other being the primitive technology of these people, but trust me you would have loved to take pictures of some of these places." He could already see it, Kate rushing everywhere all sorts of expensive camera equipment in hand as she set up and raced from one place to another getting as many shots as she could of the local landscape forming incredible compositions that she could later sell as part of her business, all the while Ant would follow up behind a bemused expression as he discovered that his downtime was instead taken up by climbing up steep hills and running through weathers while a thunderstorm blared overhead.

Perhaps he should take some pictures next time he was out, it would probably be one of the better souvenirs he could take back home, especially since he outright refused to take some kind of giant pet or other creature. Maybe he should also see if he could grab one of the Orlesian masks he had heard so much about, no he shook his head he couldn't see something like some ugly gaudy mask being placed on her face. What if instead-

Nat froze suddenly as he directed his attention downwards as he detected that familiar and strange presence. Cole he thought as he brought his wand swiftly into a position, aiming towards the top of the stairs where he could feel the man/demon thing ascend. Soon enough he began to see the top of the strange and rather oversized hat of the young man as it bobbed upwards before then it was joined by the pale and gaunt face of Cole as he climbed up the steps with the grace as a predator, his eyes locked upon him. Oddly though as he locked eyes onto him he saw that his blue eyes were brimmed full of concern.

"Cole" Nat said calmly as he watched the man approach him, for a moment the man eyes fluttered over to the wand in Nat's hand as it loosely followed him before then returning to the black glasses that Nat kept over his face.

"You were in pain" Cole said in that strange mix of a human and otherworldly tone. "I came to help" The boy for that was what Cole was even if he was biologically older than him, glanced towards the chair and then without asking placed a hand on the back and plonked himself down.

"I'm perfectly all right Cole, you can go back to helping other people" Cole blinked.

"But I felt it, you were hurt" He said seemingly not at all understanding why Nat did not want the apparent mind-reading demon nearby him, even so the moment he had detected the creature he had raised his mental shields to the fullest even as the sheer strain of a complete lack of sleep for over two weeks quickly began to feel as though somebody was twisting white hot screws into his brain constantly.

"As I said, Cole, I am fine; you needn't concern yourself with my wellbeing"

"You lie" Cole said quickly. "You hurt but you manage to hide it. That has never happened before," He said oddly "How?" Cole asked inquisitively his large eyes fixed upon Nat as though he was some great artefact to study yet at the same time as though he was but a newborn kitten who he desired to protect.

"I know a technique for keeping my emotions locked, preventing others from seeing, there is nothing to be concerned about" As soon as he had finished Nat a feeling smoother than that of the best velvet caressed his mind gently only to stop suddenly as a mere moment later the man realised that what he was touching was not the thoughts and emotions of the wizard but instead a large mental barrier preventing anyone from seeing in father and threatening anyone who dared to attempt access a very painful experience. "Cole" Nat said his voice still calm but with a slightly sharp edge to it. "Stop that"

"Why can't I feel," The boy asked in a mix between fear and fascination.

"I just told you, I have a technique that prevents others from seeing my mind"

"Why?"

"Because people do not appreciate it when you start rooting through their heads, and especially not when you try to gather information that they really don't want you to have. It's the utmost invasion of a person's privacy" Nat narrowed his eyes on the creature, it was almost naive as though he could not for the life of him begin to contemplate something utterly different to what he was used to, that it was so utterly foreign that it just did not work and not even it being explained could it either change his opinion. To him, it was probably the same as two civilizations beliefs clashing against one another with neither being able to comprehend the others instead they would simpler prefer to be what they had grown up with.

"But if I could see then I could help you"

"I don't want help Cole, I want to focus on my work" Nat gave the strange being a stern look, he had already heard the rumours of the man saying rather personal things to anyone that was nearby and wished to hear them. According to Cole, it was so that he could help them heal from whatever hurt they were recovering from, yet even as Nat saw no desire to hurt him in that blonde haired boy's eyes he felt no comfort from them either. Magic could, after all, be used to hide a number of details and considering what this creature was the boy could be using the pretence of compassion to actually draw power for itself and use it on its opponents in future. That was not something he would allow from him, at least not while he was aware of it.

Cole stared at him a moment his bright eyes attempting to pierce through his stern veneer while his own magic attempted to break through his mental defences and gain access to any secrets that lay within. Though outwardly he seemed utterly serene, inwardly it was requiring an awful lot of energy simply not to scream in pain as he felt the lack of over two weeks' worth of slain thrust into the back off his head as he beat off a continued assault from the creature. Pain and agony swept over him as if he had been captured and then stabbed a million times with white-hot needles or that he had done the mental equivalent of stepping on a leg barefoot however instead of it being a normal Lego brick, this Lego brick had instead been modified to have an even larger pin stick out from within the centre causing incredible pain.

He didn't scream instead before Cole could even realise what had happened he fired off a stunning spell, the bright red light whizzing across the room and smacking the creature directly in the chest. Cole flew backwards from the force his body flipping multiple times before it then crashed with a heavy bang into one of the many bookshelves behind him. Letting out a gasp of pain, Cole felt his breath catch in his throat unable to find its way in and out, forcing him to choke without moving as his back screamed with pain.

"I don't care if you did come to warn the others of the Templar attack," Nat said coldly his eyes locking onto the creature as he rose swiftly from his seat. Cole's breath hitched as he saw the strange wood the way it was pointed at him so ruthlessly the complete and utter lack of guilt from the bys actions instead all he could see was a dark look in his eyes threatening to kill him there and then. "If you ever try to violate my mental privacy again, trust me when I say that the emotion's you feel, will transform you into a demon."

Cole stared there his eyes focused on the glowing stick in front of him, he shivered all of a sudden his eyes turning black from memory. Not the dark place, it had been cold and damp and he had been so hungry and alone, the pain, the hurt all those who were treated unfairly because they were different, all those that the Templar's took advantage off. He remembered a young girl, bright beautiful and powerful, she would have gone far in the circle he had heard the rumours say but that all changed when one night the Templar's came. He remembered watching from afar hidden partially by a pale wall as the girl screamed and screamed her mouth eventually turning dry and her voice entirely horse as the Templar's dragged her by the scruff of the hair until they eventually reached a quiet place outside surrounded by other Templar's.

They watched stone-faced, not caring about the young girl, in fact, some of them seem pleased, their eyes glimmering with hatred as their hands itched at their swords. One of them a young recruit asked to be the one to make the kill but they were refused, instead, they take the girl to a block of wood in the centre, cradled in blood from lives lost long ago. The girl struggles her lithe body twisting and turning as much as she van but the Templar's did not let go, a few laughs as the girl then cries asking for mercy saying she'd become tranquil, begging for her life that she didn't do anything wrong, but nothing happens. She became enraged her eyes afraid of what would happen and she tried to use her power to defend herself to keep safe, but the Templar's stop that and instead growl and insult her, a few even stating what they were going to do to her dead body when she was dead.

The Templar pushed her to the block and forces her head there with some iron, the girl cries some more and screams and begs for the maker as tears run down her face. She wants to live, she wants to see her friends, her family, she didn't do anything wrong, why does she have to die, she doesn't want to die, she wants to live, live. But the Templar's only mock her crying and watch happily as the Templar picks up his sword and then swings, the dull blade fails to cut her head of and requires a second and then the third cut in order to make sure the girl dies painfully.

And then she does her head rolling to the floor her pale one of utter fear, her once clean and beautiful hair all knotted and wet and her talent destroyed. Tomorrow the Templar's would come for one of her friends and do the same thing stating that the child was colluding with a traitor and had to be dealt with.

Cole gasped loudly as his heart pounded faster and faster until it eventually reached the point that it actually hurt as if each time he breathed it was as though a pride demon was smashing a Warhammer into his ribcage each time he opened his mouth. His head swivelled around quickly while his eyes flickered madly taking in every sight. That couldn't be right, he was in the Haven with the Inquisition with the boy he could not read, but how was that so he had just been at-. His mind stopped completely as he realised, slowly but surely he then turned to the boy in question and quivered in fear.

"How" He barely muttered under his quivering breath. "You saw"

"I did," Nat said calmly his eyes locked onto the spirit a spell just on the end of his lips.

"How?" Cole whispered, he felt cold, incredibly cold as though he had been outside. Struggling he reached for his legs and pulled them close to him, wrapping himself into a small ball that quivered his head entirely protected by his knees and arms. He glanced up for a moment hoping that the strange mage would go away instead though Nat took but one though loud step forwards the sound seemingly echoing for miles in Coles mind.

"It's different isn't it," Nat said his wand at the ready, "Having your own privacy violated instead of somebody else." Cole shivered up into his ball again not willing to even run, he couldn't run through, not from whatever was in front of him.

"Impossible" He muttered scared as he pulled back onto one of the bookcases. "You, you should not be able to"

"I warned you, Cole, not to attempt that with me, I let you off the first two times because I was being kind, but you chose to persist, you chose what occurred to you."

"No, no," Cole said backed up father across the cold stone floor, desperate to get away from the mage.

"Don't try to run away from me?" Nat said taking another step forward from the retreating spirit. "You wanted to look into my head and you tried and failed, yet when I peer into yours show you what it is like to be on the receiving end of such matters you panic and flee. What's the matter Cole, scared that I will find something you don't want me to find out about?, scared that I will discover the truth, that I will let the others know."

"Stay away from me" Cole barely whimpered. Nat took another step forwards again his full attention was on this creature. He held no pity for the boy, if one went around peering into the minds of others at will without any regard to privacy or the consequences of doing so, then one was bound to react in such a manner when they found that their thoughts and memories had been viewed by anyone else.

"No" Nat took another step closer, now he was at the very end of Coles' feet as he stared down the scraggly haired boy. He was so scared, Nat thought. Give him a teddy bear and he would have looked like an oversized child then what was supposedly a mass serial killer known as the Ghost of the Spire. Nat kept his wand still lit and kept forward not dropping his guard for an instinct, whether Cole looked pathetic or not this moment, made apparent with the way drool and snot was coming out of him as he approached, did not matter. Cole was dangerous and for all, he knew the creature would attempt to kill him out of fear or compassion or perhaps because he allowed his darker side to take over him and become corrupted just like Solas had told him days ago.

"Please stay away" Cole whimpered again.

"You attempt to violate my mind and ask that I simply leave you be after such an attempt," Nat said in a mock incredulous tone. "Back home use of such magic on another without just course is a one way trip to Azkaban, especially on a minor like myself"

"I tried to help," The spirit said pitifully.

"And you failed, utterly" Nat responded harshly. Cole sniffled, for a moment he thought of running away from getting away from the mage but he simply froze the moment he attempted such a thing, allowing only the slightest wing of his muscles before he gave up entirely.

"What are you going to do?" Nat stared at the man, what was he going to do? On one hand a part of him was screaming to kill him this instant, to end the life of this creature before it could do any more damage before it could report anything important to anyone else, yet on the other hand, he thought of the problems it would bring. If he killed Cole then the others would look at him suspiciously as even if they did not like the spirit man, they were also not as trustworthy as him who appeared and disappeared from places with ease.

There were benefits to killing Cole here and now, one of them being that he didn't have to keep track of the young man before he did something stupid, but on the other hand, he had more serious issues. Corypheus. He felt his blood boil at the thought of that pale bastard hiding out somewhere in the world with his army of Templar's and other scum that he had recruited to his side. That bastard had taken so many lives already was in the process of taking even more lives whether by direct or indirect actions of his cause to return a long-dead empire from the ashes.

On the other hand, Cole was still a member of the Inquisition and has been brought on by the Inquisitor herself rather than those like Blackwall and Bull whom he had recruited. As such killing the creature in front of him even if he truly did desire to would spark off quite a bit of trouble for him with that woman. Not enough he couldn't handle but enough that it would cause headaches and probably cause the woman's own opinion of him to deteriorate which could later down the line, cause substantial issues in terms of morale and cohesiveness of the inner council. If she didn't trust him and second-guessed his decisions under the belief that he wanted to take over, many more lives would die.

He narrowed his eyes at the boy allowing the magical pressure that he had formed onto the boy's chest crushing him downwards as though it was his foot to dissipate slightly. Cole's breath hitched his eyes still fearful of the strange mage that had managed to peer into his mind. He was going to live, he felt relieved he whispered to himself shutting his eyes and allowing him to be wrapped up into the temporary loving embrace that was the darkness that plagued at him from the side of his now closed his eyes.

It was a mistake as the moment his eyes crept into the darkness it instead grabbed him fully it's black tendrils taking a firm hold of him and bringing him down yonder before he could even scream and his body went slump. On the outside Nat rolled his eyes at the dramatics the boy had given over something casual, he hadn't killed the spirit/demon thing, simply knocked it out with a stunning spell yet none the less Cole had acted in his mind as if he was being taken to oblivion to have his soul wrenched apart by a whole host of legions.

"Idiot" He muttered to himself as he looked at the slumped body of the scraggly haired boy. The fool had left himself wide open for a spell to strike him and take him down easily as he had but worse than that the boy hadn't even tried to fight in any meaningful way, instead he could only watch in a small sense of amusement as the boy had simply rolled into a ball of fear. So much for the lethal ghost of the Spire, he thought grimly, if this being could not take having his own memories redirected back at him then his mental defences were entirely lacking or that the boy held not enough courage to continue fighting.

Sighing loudly this time Nat approached Cole, his wand still raised and aimed at the boy with another spell on lips, not at all taking comfort in what his eyes told him. Senses could be fooled and for all he knew the boy slumped on the floor, his body spread out in awkward positions like a puppet with its strings cut could all be an elaborate distraction geared towards him approaching, investigating and thus leaving him exposed to an attack.

Conjuring a stick out of thin air, Nat forced the stick to move closer to Cole's seemingly limp body and demanded the stick to poke the spirit softly in multiple places. While this occurred Nat moved around the body making sure he maintained a safe distance that in the case that the boy lunged suddenly at him that he would have the time to not only back away swiftly, but also shoot off as many spells and possibly call for help if required.

He would not take any chances with this thing, not when so many like it had been so easily corrupted by mere and emotion and not when so many other demons he had killed had attempted the same parlour trick of attempting t hide a fake wound to grab another strike.

Finally after five minutes of the stick continuing to press into the soft pale flesh of Cole leaving some red marks in places, Nat nodded to himself carefully before then flicking his wand towards the boy. Instantly the boy was picked off up of the ground where he then began to float through the air until he was finally deposited on the seat that he had sat on earlier. A few quick spells later to ensure that the boy's hands were in the correct place so that his head could lie on them, giving the boy the impression that he had fallen asleep at the table, Nat got to work.

"Obliviate" He whispered the words leaving his mouth as the tip of his wand began to glow a luminous white, Soon wispy strands coiling around one another in a clockwise motion before then uncoiling and then recoiling again in the opposite direction emerged outside of the boys mind emerging into the cold air before then vanishing entirely as the memories were erased. As they emerged from the boy's mind, Nat extended his magical signature down to where Solas inevitably was located.

He could feel the man as he worked on extracting Coles memories, the power that the man held at his fingertips, the way he moved with an almost odd grace to it that not even the average Elf had, more vitally though he felt the age of the man and how that relatively thirty-year-old looking exterior held back the age of a several millennia old being.

Could the man detect this, could the very act of meddling with somebody's memories so close to Solas, a being who likely had many years to learn the equivalent of ancient mind arts, know that this being, this Cole was having his very memory stripped away by what he likely presumed was nothing more than a pathetic child in his mind. Solas did not seem to react or at least now how he knew, there was no surge of the Fade nearby no hint of Solas using his magic as he hummed a very quiet tune to himself only audible to him thanks to just how much his senses were now attuned to the world around him.

He wanted to say no, that Solas was not aware of what he was doing that he was free to wipe the memories of the being who had attempted to bring his out, but yet he could not help but feel a horrid feeling in his gut when he considered this man. Aside from the knowledge the man likely held, aside from the possible true power that the man possessed, one thought bothered him greatly about this person.

Solas, just like had just so conveniently been in the right place at the right time, yet at the other was far more suspicious due to the knowledge he presided over.

He could not help but find it suspicious how a man of his knowledge just so happened to be nearby and just so happened to stabilise a form of magic that had never been seen before. And then there was the very question behind his age, just how in sweet Merlin's name had he managed to survive for so long?

All the other ancient elves were long dead, their immortality took from them, leaving them nothing more than slightly prettier versions of humans. Arlathan was in ruins and so was Halamshiral after, yet Solas had managed to live through those catastrophes to end up here. Nat wondered in a concerned manner only briefly looking at Cole as he finished extracting the memories and instead began to replace them with brand new ones.

Solas was obviously alive, but how had he accomplished that? Black magic? Perhaps, but if that was the case then there would be a mountain of bodies and a host more stories to follow, not to mention that there would be records of other mages who had managed to achieve a similar feat. Then again could it have been achieved under the men own power, a large portion of it he imagined would have to be used to keep away the creeping problem with age, but again if that were the case how come there were no other ancient elves still alive to this day. There were other methods, of course, most likely lost but may still lay within the hands of an entity as old as Solas who as the man had taught him meant pride in Elvish.

He sighed to himself and released the spell of Cole, his memories of their meeting had been changed to that of him falling asleep very early on. It was a fanciful tale, but with the privacy charms around him, nobody else would be able to say that the boy had instead been attacked and had a simple meeting erased.

With that complete, he pinched the bridge of his nose and strained under the pressure of moving his body much father before he opened his mouth and yawned in a tired manner, no doubt that if his illusion was taken away he would see bags under his eyes, amongst other horrors. He yawned again before flicking his wand towards the large stack of books and other documents that had sat contently.

Rising of their own volition, the books shot in the air at rapid yet ordered pace, moving in and out of line as though they were a group of soldiers as they ordered themselves both alphabetically and regarding their current subjects until they finally formed a straight and solid line. When that was complete, Nat pushed aside the left half of his jacket, exposing the small pocket that could easily hold a Smartphone though not much else. Undeterred by the prospect, however, the books began their march through the open air, moving in tandem with one another as the other equipment behind them such as pens and paper also rose up and neatly organised themselves before then joining in on the queue of books.

After it had travelled the first two thirds of the distance between him, the first book began to shrink, getting shorter and shorter by the second until eventually the book became smaller and no thicker then prefects badge where after approaching the young wizard, the book then happily crawled into the open pocket and allowed gravity to take it. The first book was not alone however instead being joined by the second book and then the third and then the fourth until after only a minute the entire set of thirty plus books alongside the pens and other equipment had fallen into the pocket leaving the table completely bare of all but a lone candle and the resting face of a sleeping Cole.

That boy was going to be trouble, he could already tell and not simply because of what he was, investigating too closely into people past was never something appreciated by others. He shook his head, if Bull didn't kill him, then eventually he would push Sera over the edge until he was dangling over a moat via arrows that had pierced his ears courtesy of the elven archer. He let out another yawn, stretching his arms out wide as he did so, Merlin was he tired.

He could feel his eyes grow heavy with the strain of having been awake for such a long period of time and unfortunately, he knew that a pepper up potion would do him of little use at this moment. That dwindling supply of potions he had was meant for one or two days at a time, not for keeping him as active as he had been and he could feel the effects as his foot took to the stairs. The strain in his legs, the way it seemingly wanted to buckle at any moment and allow him to fall down to the floor and allow his eyes to sleep was growing ever louder. He rubbed his eyes removing the illusion of the mirror image of everything he saw combining it with the original before he continued onwards and yawned yet again.

There was no time to rest he grumbled to himself, Corypheus was still out there, still haunting across the land of Thedas still killing and butchering, sacrificing elves to his dark gods and mustering ever more forces to his banner. At the same time there was also these gods he had to worry about, Fen Harel and the other one which still stalked the land, yet he also knew that was Imshael and all his machinations that would ruin life after life as he forced people into situations that would force them to make deals to satisfy his pleasure. Yet that was not it.

He rubbed his eyes again his head twitching to his left focusing on what his still alert mind informed him was an illusion made up from his mind as the tiredness began to affect his mental thought processes giving him the idea that he was in this place with them. Whether he knew it was fake or not didn't matter, he kept his eyes fixed to his left meeting the large, deadly and nonetheless black tainted eyes of what he knew to be a large dragon as it stared down at him.

It was an impressive beast, its large maw was open revealing layer upon layer of razor sharp teeth that glowed bright orange as a wreath of flame began to sputter outwards racing towards him. Behind that large maw, he noticed the thick and powerful body that the dragon possessed, it's once likely beautiful scales tarnished with writhing masses of tainted flesh that squirmed around constantly like maggots under the skin. Blood was wreathed on the side of the dragon, blood that the creature had seemingly bathed in giving it's scales and wings a dark red and black crimson colour. It snarled at him for a moment letting out a putrid breath that brushed over the young wizard's body as he stared into a painful death, ready to either burn him alive or consume him whole.

Nat shook his hand dismissing the image instantly and carried down the stairs however the point was made abundantly clear to his tired mind. He was utterly surrounded in this war, surrounded by so many enemies, so many monsters, people and other threats many of which could be yet to reveal themselves and there was nothing he had done.

He felt his body go weak and his once tight grip on his wand began to falter as a new image appeared before him this time it was not of the Archdemon's that stalked the land this time it was of a demon, of Imshael. He resisted the urge to growl instead levelling only a harsh stare at the smirking demon's face as he floated there contently above the stairs. He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to, just the presence of the demon alone reinforced the knowledge of what would occur if the Inquisition was unsuccessful. Imshael had likely taken that body by force or methods' close to it and how he could enjoy his time stalking upon the land making deals.

Nat grit his teeth the memory of that forest, of how it had snuck up on him and that elf girl on how it had attempted to force a battle between the two of them, and of before it had even begun he had killed that girl without hesitating. It was a necessary sacrifice, one made with the knowledge that he had at hand and the situation that was being dealt with at the present. As much as he cared for the belief of equality, the fact remained that people would never be equal, not unless there was one person alive. And in the case of the girl, her life was simply not of the same worth of his, he was the advisor to the Inquisitor, one who would help her navigate through this time whereas that girl was likely just a girl. She very likely had hunted and helped her clan, but in the end, there was not much lost from her death, but all the same, he could not help but feel that it had been unnecessary.

Had he still had his magic at hand, then he would likely never have encountered the demon and even if he had then he could have killed the creature, although now that he thought about it perhaps him being in a position of weakness was an advantage. He hated the thought, people had died because he had not had his power but on the other hand that weakness was what had alerted him to the demons connection to Corypheus and it was that knowledge that they would attack Corypheus from next.

Was it the smartest plan? Perhaps not, their best course of action in a time where the Inquisitions preferred to minimise risks was simply to inquire into old books and documents, scour the known world for any hint or clue that could tell them how to destroy the enemy once and for all. And while that would occur they would send troops out to secure areas denying Corypheus the capability to rebuild his forces and then strike back with more force thus ending their plans. But still, this war could not go on forever.

He could still remember what that dragon had yelled, about how it had plans for Tevinter, how it would raze cities to the ground and slaughter and feast on anyone it desired. No doubt the beast would have made a tremendous ally to Corypheus, and no doubt when he discovered that the beast had been killed the man would be angry beyond all reckoning. What would occur afterwards he did not know, the man's current plans of trying to incite civil wars indicated that he had no desire for a hard-fought war where tactics and manpower would play the day, instead, the man was intelligent playing the game to every advantage he could.

The Inquisitor had mentioned that in the future that Corypheus had only conquered the continent after Celene had been murdered leaving Orlais without its ruler, and weakened after another civil war. That indicated towards a modicum of patience and cunning, he was willing to bide his time and let his enemy weaken themselves in trying to deal with other matters. Perhaps that had something to do with his own immortality.

If he was willing to bide his time then it would make sense that the man would not leave his weaknesses so easily exposed and gotten too, nor so easily worked out. He wanted the enemy to weaken themselves, to put themselves in a position where only after they had believed that they had gained a victory would they then be led into a trap and sorely defeated.

His head raised sharply his eyes drawn into the image of Imshael and those dark menacing laughing eyes of the demon. It was a trap he realised, his stomach churning at the thought. Corypheus was bound to know of Ishmael's age and therefore was likely to understand that even if he didn't know the truth behind how he had gained his immortality was bound to have an idea that could set them down on the correct path. What made it even worse, was that Imshael did not seem like the type of demon to be controlled if he could strike a deal with the Inquisition for more power or something else exciting then he would likely tell others of Corypheus's weak point.

He felt his muscles tighten at the thought. Of course, this was a trap, Imshael wanted the Inquisition to work things out, the demon had specifically drawn the attention of him by stating his name, alluding to the possibility of hidden knowledge. He would know of the Inquisitions desire to stop Corypheus and would happily take advantage of that situation; it was why he had let him go in the forest when he could have killed him so easily after ruining his plans.

Imshael wanted a meeting with the Inquisition; he wanted to make a deal with the Inquisitor, one that would likely be very expensive one that could perhaps even divide the Inquisition itself, possibly causing some kind of civil war leading to a possible fracturing that he could then take advantage off. As this occurred, Corypheus would be close by waiting for Imshael to betray him but more vitally waiting for key members of the Inquisition to walk straight into a certain location where he could then cut them off from any support and overwhelm them with pure numbers.

If it worked then the Inquisitions head would be cut off and there would be nothing to prevent the man from massacring the Orlesian's like he had done so in the future while at the same time hiding the secret behind his immortality. Nat sighed again as he realised yet one more problem, very few people knew about Corypheus's immortality.

If the Inquisition was wiped out then the kingdoms would probably raise a force to kill Corypheus, and whether they won or failed would not matter as instead, they would discover much to their horror the first time round that the man could come back from the dead. The armies would strike with everything they had believing that if they killed the creature that the war would be finished, instead though they would learn to their horror later on that the man could keep coming back and no matter how many times the demon host was wiped out there would always be another at the creatures back and call ready to butcher the people of Thedas.

Truth be told, the more he considered this war that he had to fight, this ancient evil that had long slept the more he couldn't help but have his doubts about their assured victory. Undoubtedly they had delivered blow after blow to the man, weakening his resources and pulling all efforts against him in this war, but was it enough to win?

As much as he hated to think about it, this was only the beginning stages of the war as time went on both sides would get stronger and also gain allies to assist them in their campaign. He knew Leliana wanted to grow the Inquisition to countermand the threat but was it such a great idea to leave those who should be their allies so out of the loop in this fight.

They needed to know, if the Inquisition fell because of a mistake or because they were defeated in battle, then the leaders of the other kingdoms had to know what they had discovered. The question would be whether those in charge would believe their words were sincere enough as well as convince dear Leliana that telling them the problem with killing Corypheus was a good idea.

Josephine would agree he knew, the Inquisition's power had to come from more than just the strength of its spies and soldiers, but also from just how well they could converse with their allies and make peace with their enemies. It would with any luck prove to their allies that they were dedicated to fighting Corypheus and had no desire to take power over the continent as certain rumours stated.

He continued walking his still tired mind entirely abuzz as he once again went over what the consequences could be for every action. The other inner council members knew this as well, and no doubt would be irritated by simply how much time he spent thinking about things that they had already decided on; no doubt they would say to use his time more effectively. Perhaps in the future when victory was on the horizon and they had dealt enough blows to the man to ensure their victory, but for now when the war was so far away from either victory or defeat, they had to be very careful with how they moved.

Once again that led him to the smirking face of Imshael that seemingly chuckled in his mind. If this was a trap, a plan to lead out the leadership of the Inquisition in order to ambush them then it was a very effective one and they should avoid it. On the other hand, was losing the possible chance of discovering Coryphaeus's weak point such a large risk to take as well?

It wasn't hard to find Imshael nor was it difficult in the slightest to find anyone else in this world, not that he had told the rest of the Inquisition that. It was somewhat laughable at times just how often witches and wizards forgot the most basic of spells or ever bothered to use some simple common sense onto them. Had he been the Dark Lord during the last wizarding war he would have won quite easily.

One lone point me spell combined with a map and the image of who or whatever you were looking for could give an individual the exact location of that desired target so long as they did not have any spells to prevent such magic from locating them. Admittedly it was rather easy to get rid of once you knew how to protect yourself as it was but one spell, but for those who didn't know about such magic.

In his case, he had known the exact location of both Imshael and Corypheus ever since he had known about the individuals and had the magic to cast them while he had only added Solas to that map once he had realised just how suspicious the man was. The reason for why he had such a vital strategic asset secret, however, was to deal with any spies or with those who held sympathy to other groups.

Dorian held a great love for his country and though he was not too begrudged for it, there was always the possibility that the man could turn on the Inquisition to defend it. The same could be said for Bull and the Qun or for Sera and her "little people" or even for Blackwall and those he believed t be in need. More crucially though it was to stop Solas from discovering just what he could and thus making him a threat as well as ensuring that Vivienne did not use it to assist those few templar's still left in the wilds or worse to oppress those mages who lurked nearby.

Leliana would adore such magic though, and should she find out he would be in no doubt that he would be bombarded by the woman for half a dozen million maps differing in everything to be drawn up and then to be enchanted to protect them from enemy spies reading them. However if just one map was lost or read or even just glimpsed at enough to be realised of what they can do, then again the Inquisition would have to deal with a certain amount of infiltrators.

He could act this very moment if he wanted to, simply apparate away and take Imshael before the demon could even understand what had happened, in such a case he could shorten the war considerably by such action. Imshael would find itself locked in a tower within the home of the Inquisition leaving Corypheus alone to fester in concern and worry about if the demon knew how his immortality worked.

It was a potential victory, but one that would only gather him even more suspicion from his fellow teammates about just what he was capable of doing. Soon they would ask why he hadn't done more to help earlier, Leliana could inquire ever father into his past and perhaps even the Inquisitor would gaze at him with suspicion as she attempted to work out what was going on in his mind and if he could be trusted.

He could not act yet he thought grimly not with his story of fighting and killing an Archdemon single handily, something that had certainly gained some complete looks of shock and doubt from the others. It was just a good thing he hadn't told them of how close he had come to death, of how he was saved at the very last moment. How or what by he did not know but nevertheless he had been saved, he had not gotten lucky.

That only led to even more questions in his mind, questions that should be answered, questions though that he doubted would be answered any time soon and unfortunately as much as he desired them to be the fact remained he had far more important matters to deal with, matters such as the fact that the Lady Inquisitor was heading directly for him.

"Nat" He heard the warm and friendly voice of the Inquisitor as she saw him.

"Inquisitor" He replied calmly.

"I was hoping that we could talk about things"

"Could you be more specific Inquisitor, I do have my own duties to return to" Nat glanced past the woman to the dark empty corridors of the castle, even with more torches having been lit up the castle still felt more dark and dreary then Hogwarts ever had, the sound of the hail and snow continuing to howl outside however did nothing to help soften his mood.

"I was hoping we could just talk," Valeyna said. "You know about things"

"Inquisitor I have a rather busy schedule, meetings with the other mages, lessons with the other advisors, checking up on the current affairs of the continent, hiding my face from those Orlesian nobles before they get the chance to corner me down and ask questions. Then there's still the upgrades to the castle, I have yet to actually put down magic guarding the castle proper as I've been far too busy assisting Leliana and Josephine with other matters. I'm afraid that if you truly want to speak to me about non-urgent material, then it would be best if you book an appointment for my office"

"Oh come on you can't be that busy" Valeyna joked merrily, not at all gathering the message that Nat was attempting to silently convey. "I generally have all my work sorted out rather early and since we can't leave until this storm lets up that means I get lots of free time. Surely you can spend some of it with me" Nat resisted the urge to pinch his eyebrows at the girls lack of concern, she was the Inquisitor of all things, the leader of this group whose goal was to stop Corypheus, it was her job to meet with the nobles alongside Josephine, to learn the information constantly from Leliana and to regularly check in on the state of the soldiers of the Inquisition. Instead, however, the girl currently preferred to stay in her room, sometimes reading the stuff she needed and she always made sure to attend the required meetings but aside from that, he noticed that she did seemed to have an awful lot of free time on her hand for somebody in such a powerful position.

"With respect Inquisitor, every moment that I'm not working is another moment that Corypheus has time to rebuild his forces, to gain more allies and to build up his reserves of currency and other vital resources including this future demon army that I have heard so much about" Valeyna stopped her bright blue eyes twinkling in concern as she looked at her younger companion.

He looked different now compared to before, older far more mature as though once could tell in his strong movements in stride that he exuded a certain aura. One that at times was quite funny to watch. it was hard to notice at first, mostly because physically he was still the same, the same height, the same build, the exact same boy physically that had left for Orzammar over a month ago. He was also still hiding behind what she knew now to be an illusion for some reason, a secret that he would not divulge, but there were other things. For one he had no time for games now, outright refusing any and all requests made by anyone to join them for a game of Wicked Grace instead insisting that he had work to do. Then there was also the rest of his demeanour, he preferred now to work even as he moved never once allowing his mind the simple time to relax instead it operating constantly whether that be in his training with one of the other advisors or researching through a large number of books for something obscure.

"You're truly that worried about the demon army? Why Dorian and I stopped that when we killed Alexius, not to mention you prevented another civil war and got us the Lyrium, we'll be fine, they won't attack during winter" She approached stretching her arm out as she tried to grab his, however like before he was quick to pull away from her not allowing the slightest graze of even the fabric of their clothing to touch as Nat continued to head in the same direction he had been going before being accosted by the Inquisitor.

"Men and women are dying every day to those demons, Inquisitor. Families ripped apart, murdered by sloth demons if they aren't already taken by desire demons whilst children are likely forced to watch such horror until they are killed last and in the most painful manner possible. As for our soldiers, they may be able to fight off a demon here and there, but even with the current training, they have, too many of them die before they can become competent and that's against only standard demons. According to one report, I received one Pride demon managed to wipe out three whole patrols, the only reason the fourth is alive is due to some Orlesian Cavaliers arrived once the fourth had nearly been wiped out and slain the monster."

Nat said his eyes fixed ahead of him as he ignored the painful screaming that his mind was in. Valeyna not aware of what he was feeling as the effects of so long without any sleep or rest whatsoever began to affect him, simply tried to give a reassuring smile a she rushed to catch up with the still impressively quick pace that the wizard set as he twisted and turned around the various stone corners avoiding the occasional servant here and there with a strange amount of grace born from his years of navigating around Hogwarts.

"We'll win," Valeyna said putting on a smile. "We'll regroup our numbers and come spring we'll find Corypheus and beat him in battle."

"Whatever makes you think that he would fall for such an obvious ploy, not to mention that such a plan would hardly be risk-averse for us as well? If we were to meet the man on his battlefield then we would have to deal with a corrupted dragon as well." Valeyna smirked playfully. Brushing her head backwards in a dramatic manner she rushed ahead of him and fluttered her eyebrows confidently.

"Well I have you for that don't I"

"And whilst I'm dealing with the dragon, who fights Corypheus?" He said seriously his mind already having imagined a battlefield with all the little icons in coloured dots. Already he could imagine what the design of the enemy would be, most likely it would be a line of Red Templar's at the front who would charge at their lines while the Venatori would either flinging of spells from the back if they were mages or act as the weaker flanks for the red Templar's, moving to try and box the Inquisition forces into a large clump. Once that was achieved it would be a simple matter of could the Inquisitions soldiers hold the line long enough to allow their mage allies to keep defending them from the Venatori magic bombardment.

It would be a matter of Lyrium in the magic duel. Both sides would require it to restock their magic so that they could keep their magic going the longest, if the Inquisition won and they could drain the Venatori of magic then they might stand a chance, but on the other hand if the Venatori won then the magical defences would be smashed and leave the Inquisition open to a bombardment of magic. The casualties would be horrendous, but if the Templar's being elite warriors could cut through just one section of the Inquisition lines and able to cancel out the magic of mages via their abilities then the entire battle could be lost in an instant.

While this went on though, Corypheus would likely try and kill the Inquisitor, most likely by pinning her in a location with only a select few bodyguards where he could then kill her at his leisure. Meanwhile, as that occurred the dragon would probably be fighting to keep everyone else as far away from them as possible to prevent anyone from interfering.

Nat hid his doubt of victory in such a battle, the fact of the matter is that while he had hindered the normal Templar's, those that had joined Corypheus were still alive and until the man left them alone in one spot where he could then butcher them without recompense they were safe.

"I can fight Corypheus, Me, Cullen, Solas, Dorian, Vivienne, Bull, Cole and Blackwall and then you when you kill the dragon," The elf said confidently.

"It won't be enough "Nat spoke gravely shaking his head at the thought. "I fought the Architect, I sensed the power that creature has lurking inside of it, the monster is far more powerful than any mage that I have met, the things it can do are likely terrifying"

"But you beat it, you can beat Corypheus"

"No" Nat wanted his eyes turning his head in the direction that the monster lurked. "I tricked the architect into defeat, I didn't in a fair fight and I most certainly could not overpower him, at least not at my current age. Give me another six years of constant fighting and I probably would have a better chance, but not at the moment and with respect if I can't beat the Architect you most certainly can't"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like Inquisitor. The fact of the matter is that while you are a powerful mage, your education and your magical combat skills are something to be desired if you desire to fight a proper war." Though he said it calmly there was almost a hint of disapproval in his tone, actively stating that he did not approve of her position as head of the Inquisition. Valeyna baulked her eyes fluttering defiantly at the tone, stepping back she attempted to stare down the young wizard her eyes meeting his.

Raising one of her palms in front of her chest she watched as a blue flame sprang forth and danced in her open palm, moving left and right gaining and losing power as the spell became both more powerful and also less powerful.

"I can handle myself"

"No, you can't, not against the Architect and most certainly not against Corypheus in a one on fight. You don't have the training and you don't have the combat experience to pull off a victory through trickery and deceit either"

"And you do?" Valeyna replied angrily, her mouth turning into a cold and distasteful expression. "You're just a kid, what makes you better at magic then I am?"

"I already said, a proper education Inquisitor" Nat replied already tired of this conversation.

"And so did every other mage when they escaped, so did that girl that followed you around like a little lost puppy, that didn't help her" As she felt her blood begin to boil angrily within her veins at the criticism, Valeyna became so utterly focused on what she believed to be an insult that she did not notice as Nat had ever so calmly and subtly began to cast the necessary privacy spells around them to ensure that they would not be heard by others.

"Elyria's death was not due to her training, but a poor judgment on my part" His eyes locked onto the elf, she had fought Corypheus herself, she had seen the damage that he could bring to any and all that dared oppose him, she had been there at Haven holding back the line of Templars as they tried to buy time for the Inquisition to escape into the mountains and survive to fight another day. She had been the one to experience his power first hand, Merlin even Hawke had struggled to beat the monster and had Corypheus not only recently awoken, then there was a large chance that the woman would have likely died.

They did not have that luxury; Corypheus had years to regain his strength and to set his plans into motion, years to learn anything new that might be necessary, and years to learn the weaknesses of the groups he wished to oppress. And it had been successful or at least to a certain degree, Orzammar had fallen into civil war and Ferelden had nearly been placed within the same position, all the while Orlais continued to fight amongst themselves while demons were allowed to trespass freely on their land, butchering, killing and murdering anyone who got in their way, amongst other horrendous crimes.

Yet despite all this knowledge, the Inquisitor believed that she could take on Corypheus, at her current state. Had the situation not been so serious he would have found it rather amusing, like a first-year Hogwarts student trying to compete in the Tri-wizard tournament.

"A poor judgement that would get more people killed. I can beat Corypheus, he's powerful but I'll have every other mage I can find and Cullen to hamper the fade around him."

"It won't work, we don't have the power needed to beat Corypheus, and even if we did it would all be for nought since the moment we killed him the creature will simply come back alive again making all our efforts in vain and leaving us dangerously exposed.

"Why are you so unsure, I've seen you fight, even if I can't beat him on my own, with you by my side we can-"

"It won't work" Nat repeated this time more sternly. Crossing his arms he walked to the side of the wall and leaned back against it his eyes now fixed utterly on the bright ones of the Inquisitor.

"Why not?" Valeyna demanded forcing herself on the wall opposite in some type of display of stubbornness.

"Simply?" Valeyna nodded. "I don't have the magical power to destroy the barriers or other defences that Corypheus could put up," Nat admitted. "I'm fast and a competent duellist, Merlin I can hold my own against aurors easily enough, but Corypheus is in a different league, and it doesn't matter if I can out range him or out speed him. The sheer amount of magical power he carries is similar to wearing thick heavy armour, it's not invincible, but it's not something I'm comfortable dealing with since my only shot would be to increase the power of each individual spell, which is fine in theory. But against Corypheus that will leave me drained far too quickly."

"But why would it be so difficult? You talk about the speed of magical attacks and the power, but why are you saying you don't have the power to do anything?" Nat smiled gently, finally, the woman asked her first reasonable question.

"The magic I use is... different," Nat said slowly.

"Different?" Valeyna inquired tilting her head to the side subconsciously.

"The way all of you mages use magic, yourself, Dorian, Solas, Vivienne and every other mage I've come across is like a hammer. It's powerful, effectively allowing you to bash down enemies and leave them on the ground in nothing but ruin, an example of this is by how often I've watched you take out a whole host of opponents with but one spell whether that bee with a gout of flame or with a bolt of lightning that leapt across to other opponents burning them on the inside" Nat explained slowly as he waved his wand producing a colourful holographic images as he spoke.

Watching intently Valeyna observed how she seemed to watch a strange type of picture of herself and Solas in battle. It was almost mesmerising to watch as well as sort of terrifying to see how one moment a bunch of Venatori would rush her with a sword and the next they found themselves encased entirely in ice while a different group of mages could only scream in horror as Solas opened up an earthquake beneath their feet sending those men down into untold depths where if they did not die of the fall were bound to encounter those horrid creatures just lurked in the Deep Roads.

"In contrast, the way my people use magic is far more... refined. Each spell has a specific purpose and why it can take so long for my people to become healers since unlike you we do not have one generic healing spell that will remove injuries and disease, but instead have spells to specifically mend broken bones, heal cut's, repair damaged material. It's limited in scope compared to one of your healing spell, for instance, I can't use a spell that closes wounds to repair a fractured pelvis but what it does do is far superior to what your magic does. Because of this, my spells cost less compared to yours, yet at the same time they are also weaker because they do not to require so much power to cast."

"Okay but why don't you use other spells, more powerful ones to deal with Corypheus, I've watched you blow people into small chunks, wouldn't that work on him as well?" Nat shook his head.

"The core of the problem is the difference between our magical defences. When you cast a barrier spell, I've noticed that it will stay intact for a few minutes and whilst it is up you are entirely invulnerable to damage enabling you to bring down those mighty storm spells that wreak havoc upon the battlefield. Your barrier essentially acts as a temporary set of armour that lasts, my shield spell, on the other hand, is exactly like using a shield in real life, it's used only briefly to take the hit and then lowered straight after."

"Wait so is that why you move so much? Because if you keep casting a shield spell it will drain you of magic" Nat nodded in agreement. "Then why even use a shield spell at all, surely a barrier spell is far better"

"Not really, the thing with a barrier spell is that while it does last for a few minutes, it takes time for you to be able to cast it again, time that leaves you utterly defenceless not to mention it is also more powerful than a shield charm thus draining you of your magic more. If I was holding a shield spell as long as you did a barrier spell then you would most certainly have the advantage, but because I can cast the shield charm whenever needed so long as I have enough magic, it means that I'm never without a defence and combined with a far more active fighting stance I am able to limit the amount of defensive magic required"

"I get it, using shield spells allow you to really concentrate your magic into getting more attacks off and making them faster and more powerful if needed, but that doesn't explain why you never cast more powerful spells to kill more people at once?" Nat chuckled at the look of confusion on Valeyna's face, it was rather amusing at how her nose had scrunched up like that and how her eyes were pointing towards the floor as she tried to think of certain things. She would never be a Ravenclaw, but he could probably see her as one of the many Hufflepuff she had seen hunched over a book in the library as they tried to work out just what certain things meant, failing to understand and then asking the closest Ravenclaw for help.

"That's a case of different societies, the magic here is often used in war within conjunction of large battles so powerful spells able to wipe our large groups at a time are essential. In contrast fights in my people are typically one on one and that's not including how fast we can truly move if we want, so spells that take time to cast and leave you exposed are just useless and asking for a quick stunning spell"

"I get it," Valeyna said quickly pushing her chest up as she began to feel a sense of pride as she began to understand these lessons in magical theory. "Because your spells are designed for speed and complexity it means that they can't get past the defensive barriers that Corypheus puts up" Her eyes squinted tightly and her face took on a very troubled look as she contemplated just what that meant in a fight. Nat was a lethal force on a field, easily dispatching foes with an utter speed that she had never seen before, but he was correct in theory. Without the necessary power behind a spell, there was practically nothing that he could do except for wait until a barrier had ran out of its charge. "Is there nothing you can do?" She asked curiously. "No spell in your arsenal that can bust through barriers or something similar?"

"There might be one," Nat said slowly hiding his revulsion as he already began to feel those words come front and centre in his mind, the photograph of a dead muggle her face entirely devoice of any emotion as she lay on a cold hard floor. "It can't be blocked by shield spells or even enchanted clothing"

"Great, then why don't you use that spell"

"I can't," Nat said shaking his head.

"Sure you can it's just one spell it can't be that difficult" Valeyna almost joked entirely oblivious to the darkened atmosphere that had descended around them. In the corner of the hallway, flames began to flicker with an unnatural light turning a baleful sickly green for just a moment. A servant gasped in the background and the sound of clattering plates made itself known to the other servants downstairs, but Valeyna didn't notice that and neither did she notice the uncomfortable feeling that began to swirl in the young wizard's chest.

"It surprisingly is Inquisitor. It's a rather powerful spell, one that requires a rather powerful emotion to fuel it as well as the express will and intent to cause such an effect."

"Oh, so it's a rare spell?" The inquisitor sighed.

"No, but I am unable to cast it, in fact, I doubt I would get any effect from the spell at all, my emotions are... well my emotions are far too in check for me to be able to cast such a spell"

"But cold you cast it? If you had the right amount of emotion I mean, could you cast a spell that could break through the barrier" Nat took in a deep breath at the question, gently he felt his fingers shake at the prospect? Him cast that spell of all things, the Cruciatus and the Imperious were not out of bounds even if he could only cast them for a limited time, but that spell, a spell that had claimed the lives of so many whose words were the last words that may people heard whether they were the sender or the receiver.

"No," He answered gladly. "With luck, I shall never be capable of casting such a spell"

"With luck" Valeyna stepped back horrified at the implications. "Just what kind of spell is this, shield breaker and why won't you cast it, isn't it better for you to kill Corypehus and save lives better than some type of morals" She accused him angrily her bright gleaming eyes locking onto those glasses of his, yet no matter how much she started to push him into a corner she found to her surprise that he would not budge as though he was an unmovable rock that not even the mightiest of magic could move or break even if they tried to.

"The spell is black magic Inquisitor. Not dark which is typically given to any magic whose purpose is to harm, but black as in its very purpose destroys the very magical laws put in place and violates certain fashions of nature that you cannot comprehend. It is an evil vile spell, one originally designed for nothing more than a simple means of ending a duel between wizards quickly but one that has instead been used over the centuries to commit heinous acts and become the go-to spell whenever one desires to kill"

Nat stared darkly at the holographic image before him as the image of the infamous spell appeared and cut down some made up mage in an instant. He watched carefully as the Inquisitor stared at the image curiously yet not in the same manner as he had, she did not hole a look of revulsion on her face as the dead mage crumple to the ground as though his body had lost its entire skeleton structure, her eyes did not seem haunted by the blank vacant open eyes as they stared upwards into nothing, and neither did she seem at all bothered by the strange paleness of the body as all spark of life was extinguished from the corpse in an instant. This was no cutting spell or blasting spell that he was more accustomed to where the result was bloody and mess of gore, it was quick, clean, and surgical even with its efficiency.

"He looks so peaceful" Valeyna muttered under her breath. Turning towards the lizard she gestured at the dead man's face. "Does it hurt this spell?"

"Only one person has ever survived the spell and even then only due to incredibly ancient magic that supposedly existed in a time of gods if not father back," Nat said grimly. "According to that one person, the spell is simply like falling asleep, there is no pain, no horror, and no last sudden memories of suffering. One moment a person is alive and the next they are dead, their soul departed from this world"

"That's it, I would have thought that such a horrid spell would deal untold harm, would be like living a nightmare or something similar, not something so... peaceful" Nat dismissed the holographic image hiding his look of disdain the woman had for such a spell. It was the same story every time, the killing curse was not something evil but rather a spell that should be used to grant mercy, after all why give a person a painful death with a hundred other different spells when they could instead send a person to the next life in a peaceful manner that left their body entirely unharmed and could be given a proper funeral in whatever custom.

"It is not what happens to the body that condemns this spell, it is how it goes about its job" Nat replied politely though in truth he almost wanted to spit the words at her. "Do not be fooled by such things as a quick and painless death, this spell does not act like most spells do by destroying the body and thereby removing the soul of its cage so it can leave. This spell instead rips the very soul out of the body by force, that is why it is painless and that is why it is so far more devastating for in one's desire to steal that soul and remove it from its anchor, it becomes all too easy to damage and chip the soul, leaving it in so many places that a person may not be able to pass on, instead being forced to linger in the world for eternity due to their soul being shattered. "

"Nat waited for a moment his eyes still fixed intently on the Inquisitor. Did she finally understand now why he was incapable of beating Corypheus through conventional means, why attacking him on an open field or in combat at all did nothing other than slow the monster down for a brief few moments? There was no killing that creature, not from what he had sensed from the Architect and that creature was barely aware of its power instead believing it was simply a Darkspawn. Had it learned of Corypheus, who knew what the monster would attempt? Would they join together or would the Architect try something similar to all those years ago in the hopes of making his Darkspawn kind like him, immortal and unable to die? It would be a horror unseen in this world.

"That's brilliant" Valeyna explained joyfully her face twisting into a happy smile. "You can kill Corypheus"

"Pardon"

"You can kill Corypheus" Valeyna repeated joyfully entirely bypassing the rare moment of utter confusion on Nat's face as he saw the complete opposite reaction then what he had been expecting.

"No I can't, I just told you I can't cast the spell and even if it did work Corypheus would be able to move to a new host. It would be of no use and only waste our time"

"No, it wouldn't" Valeyna remanded. "You said that the spell can break and fracture souls if you were to cast it enough times on Corypheus than after enough times he wouldn't be able to gather enough of his soul to be able to take over a next host. It would leave him without a body and we can then trap him or use Solas to send it back to the Fade"

"Decimate his soul" Nat almost cried. "Obliterate it into so many different pieces that he couldn't possibly reform. Do you even know what you're asking for, the type of evil that is?" Nat stared at the woman in horror, she had to be joking right. Sure this was a war but there were laws of nature that had to be kept to, certain magic locked away and never used, certain actions never to be committed, yet she wanted him to do that, to violate another soul in such a manner.

"Oh please how is any different to you turning people into abstract art on the wall"

"It's his soul" Nat almost yelled. "A body is nothing more than a set of flesh and bones, it can be re-grown, repaired and other things with magic. Merlin a new body can be created from scratch if needed, but their soul. That's black magic, the things of horror that we're taught about, the stuff that only the vile use, something that hasn't been seen since the last wizarding war and before that only Morganna Le Fay herself is rumoured to have committed such utter acts of barbarity. And you want me to do such a thing even on a person as utterly twisted and vile as Corypheus. No, point blank no, I will not violate the natural laws in such a way, not now and not ever.

"You refuse" The Inquisitor yelled back by now her entire body had turned into a picture of pure unabated rage. Her body physically shook with anger as she stared at the young mage who met her gaze with a cold ruthlessness, for a moment she felt a chill run down her back at the look he gave her, as though she was nothing moiré then a prey animal looking at the deadly weapons of a predator. At that moment she wanted to bow to, to present herself and ask for forgiveness for her actions, yet it was only a brief moment and one that was replaced swiftly with one of pure derision. "How dare you, people are being killed but this man, and you say that you will not cast such magic because it violates some rules. Do you have any idea what will happen to those people, what will happen to my clan once Corypheus learns of them?" She spat on the ground. Marching herself closely so soon that they were almost nose to nose, Valeyna brushed past the almost constant passive aura allowing her to feel the heat of his skin as he was now trapped against the wall.

"I know perfectly well what will occur, Inquisitor, I've read the daily reports."

"Hundreds will die"

"Thousands" Nat answered swiftly his tone completely lacking in emotion. He held his ground not allowing the woman to win this display of dominance, usually he would step back, but in this time he could tell that this was not one of those kinds of arguments where he could not step back, the very moment he backed down and gave her the victory she would demand that he cast that spell, that he commit such acts and in the future having experienced such a victory she would attempt even father to dominate him, to use force if required.

"And you will simply let them die" Valeyna attempted to step forward yet again only to find her foot striking against the stone wall and preventing her movement unless she fell forwards and pressed herself against him.

"There are casualties in war Inquisitor, my job is not to prevent them, It is instead to limit them and the prompt devastation that follows."

"By refusing to use a spell that could destroy the enemy? I don't see how that helps, I only see a coward hiding behind magic and letting others die for it"

"As I have told you, I am not physically capable of casting such a spell and even if I was, there is no guaranteed way that it would work in the way that you so desperately desire. I would have to repeat the process so many times, to rip apart the man's soul on so many occasions that we would simply give the man either the time they need to win by delaying this war, or by showcasing that the Inquisition is incompetent and has no true method to stop the creature.

"You're not physically capable" Valeyna scoffed harshly her temper ever growing making her body feel warm, they were nearly touching now, their noses yet despite this Nat was ever calm, ever emotionless, not even this close could she catch even the slightest hint of movement that might indicate something. "And what does physically capable mean?

"The spell is one of many that requires an intense emotional output, either a memory, desire or even simply suffering from the pain of something truly awful in the case of this spell to draw up the sheer amount of anger and desire to kill to cast. That is simply not a branch of emotion I have"

"Anger, you're telling me that you can't kill Corypheus because you can't get angry enough?" Valeyna said her voicing seething enough that even a novice could tell that she did not believe a single word he had said to her in the slightest. "Do the deaths of people mean so little to you, does the subjugation of my race, the likelihood of my people being used as nothing more than toys for sexual pleasure not offend you in some manner that you cannot bring up the emotion to cast one spell? What about those who were under your care, are they not dead because Corypheus started this whole mess, do you not feel anger at their deaths, a desire to kill Corypheus and gain revenge for what occurred?"

"I am a Ravenclaw; I will not allow myself to be overwhelmed by such petty emotions, to do so would lead to only more disaster, to even more unwarranted death. Your desire for me to languish in a hatred I do not have would illogical, and lead me to do nothing but obsess over the man, something that would prevent me from seeing the larger picture, to mitigate my capabilities to even see the specifics instead turning me into nothing more than a blood raged monster whose every moment was dedicated towards death and al for what?

"What, are you afraid of your own power? That demons will take you over? That's ridiculous. I know you, you'd never turn into a monster" Nat shook his head at the woman hiding his utter doubt. The way she had just spoken, with such conviction as if she couldn't possibly be wrong, as though he was a fool for limiting himself in power because he was afraid of the consequences. She did not understand he realised, she could never understand her mind was only simple not having experienced the war of politics and the change of things as time progressed.

"Ridiculous," Nat said slowly. "Already their Inquisition has interfered in the business of sovereign nations and desires to do so not only again but also on a far larger scale people"

"We're fighting a monster; the kingdoms haven't done anything about it so we need to?" Nat looked at her calmly hiding his doubt at what the woman said. This was just like what those people wanted, to tear down nation states entirely and allow something like the UN or better yet a more powerful institution to do whatever it desired so it could keep the peace.

"Action is needed I have no doubt of that and if the nations will not take action we have to, but all the same you are asking me to cast such vile magic is the same as me asking to use the blood of a thousand virgins for whatever reason. I simply will not do it"

"Virgins" The inquisitor scowled "What, are you even on about, we're talking about Corypheus not some stupid philosophy thing. Why does this even matter?" She blinked confused her entirely taken back at the strange manner in which he was speaking.

"I've already told you, I physically am incapable of casting the spell" Nat repeated

"And if I ordered you to become capable of doing so" Valeyna replied sternly.

"I would refuse" Nat replied plainly, not a hint of doubt in his voice.

"You wouldn't" The elves blonde hair whipped around her head. "You would dare to defy me, to allow lives to be killed for something like your morals?"

"Yes"

"You would allow millions to die, after all, you've done to try and prevent it" She shook her head disbelievingly "I don't believe it"

"I will not cast that spell Inquisitor, that is the end of it," He said softly before pushing the woman away from him and turning around to face the direction of the corridor. "Now if you excuse me, I have a meeting with Cullen to get to"

"Meeting," Valeyna said curiously. "What kind of meeting?"

"I have some new weapons that I need him to see, new weapons that may help us win this war of ours" Then without saying another word Nat increased his pace so that soon he had passed through a manner of halls and doorways giving him a substantial lead over the elf, all the while ignoring the pain and the ever-growing feeling of tiredness that began to strike at his body.

He shook his head fiercely and blinked the tiredness out of his eyes; there was no time to sleep, not when so many lives were on the line not when the fate of so many people was a horrid one. As naive as the girl was, she was correct in that people died, their families butchered and slaughtered while he remained safe in a castle simply thinking of ways to defeat the enemy rather than actually doing them.

Suddenly he felt a wet sensation in his left palm. Throwing his hand to the side he saw to his momentary confusion a large pool of blood, he checked his hand searching for any wound but there was none, yet despite this he could only observe as the pool became larger and larger, soon that small drop had taken over his entire hand and was now freely falling to the floor. At first it was only a few drops here and there but after only a few seconds it became a constant, ever growing more and more until the sound of constant water gushing forth as though he was staring at a waterfall erupted from his hand and began to pool all over the place filling the entire area with nothing but deep dark liquid. Quickly it began to flood its way behind him falling back to where he knew some soldiers retreated.

He stared down back at the floor his eyes meeting the glistening area, yet instead of his face he only saw that of Corypheus, of the man who had killed so many, who would continue to take even more. The face chuckled darkly yet did not say anything after that, instead simply watching him with a grin; this was only made worse when beside him appeared the face of the Architect and that of Imshael as well as that of a familiar scaly creature that had once been worshipped as a dragon.

Before he could concentrate any father on those faces, on those who had wrought death and destruction in order to bring a horrid world to bear, the pictures suddenly scattered as a long howling noise surrounded him from nowhere. Then there before his eyes he watched as the blood parted from those face, instead changing its shape entirely until it took on a new form, one with a large snout, sharp razor teeth and deadly looking eyes that seemed to pierce him, all of which then rested on a large powerful body that appeared as though it was going to lunge at him.

Fen Harel

Just why this once previous water of blood had now changed to that of an entire ocean that now crawled up the walls filling every crack and crevice with blood, he could already tell. Somehow, for some reason Fen Harel that supposed god desired to bring forth a massacre of unseen proportions, to kill so many people that it would be unprecedented for this world and perhaps only to be matched by disasters such as the Black Death on Earth in such equivalent times. So many dead, so many corpses and so much fear, and this Fen Harel wanted to bring about that, to bring such destruction and decimation?

He met the beast's eyes with his own and moved his wand to aim at the creature. He would not allow such a thing, now while he was here, not while it was his job to protect the people of this world from the horrors that inhabited it. The beast snarled again and lunged forward, but he held his ground all the while ensuring to keep his eyes aware of the surroundings, somehow he knew that if this was the lead wolf, then there were bound to be others, all following its orders with one perhaps already behind him, ready to strike.

The beast did not cower instead it only raised itself up staring at him, unconcerned as the blood continue to soak into the walls of the very castle itself turning them red with the blood. Yet despite the snarling, Nat couldn't help but note the slight look of sadness as though the creature was almost sorry for what it was about to do, for all the lives it was going to take and ruin it but just a few moments. It snarled again challenging him not to a fight but almost to move and get out of the way, as though he desired for him to be away from the damage. Nat ignored the warning that he somehow understood and instead continued to stay in the way of the large wolf, even as it attempted to walk around him and get to its target. It growled one last time this time demanding that he move instead of waiting patiently like a somehow civilised wolf or he supposed god as the elves would call it.

A look of finality passed between the two, his stern and entirely unsympathetic as he readied a battle stance and the wolves' one or acceptance that the two were now enemies. The wolf howled once and ten pounded it's feat towards him and leapt high into the air. He raised his wand a spell on his lips, he would kill this monster now, before it could hurt more people and fare more importantly before it could massacre of a bunch of people.

The spell struck hard against the wolf a loud bang as though somebody had fired an artillery bombardment against the beast but it did nothing. Instead smoke billowed around the wolf's form as it approached closer and closer. This time he instead cast a more physical spell; two large pillars shot out from the ground and rocketed up towards the wolf. Both struck with tremendous force, easily enough to bring down skyscrapers if they managed to hit the support columns and topple it, yet against this wolf, they simply crashed and broke into a million different pieces. The wolf howled it's fury at him and kept descending towards him, it's mouth no so large that it could seemingly swallow the largest ever great white shark in but one gulp, or failing that cleave him in two.

He took advantage this time calling summoning up a small fast bird where he then drew out and attached some black powder and flung it towards the wolfs large open maw. The bird reached closer aiming entirely of its will to be eaten, just as it approached, however, the wolf's jaw slammed shut. The bird crashed into the wolf the explosive blasting into the wolf's face, knocking it off track as debris flew everywhere.

A large cry was heard as the sharp pieces of metal that made up this grenade flew straight into the wolf's left eye and shredded it harshly into nothing but a bloody red mss. The wolf was partially blind now he realised, partially blind and had fallen to the floor in pain leaving it exposed to more spells.

He raised his wand, the tip cackling with electrical power and aimed for its eyes, and everything went white.

"My lord, please wake up, my lord" He opened his eyes again, the familiar sight of the stone walls meeting him.

"Ugh," He groaned rubbing out the feeling of intense pain in his eyes lids, he felt even weaker than before and his eyelids, it was as though somebody had attached them to five hundred elephants that had then been pushed out of a plane. It was almost impossible to keep them open and even when he did barely manage to see through the cracks, the world was blurry, devoid of any and all detail. Not even when he looked to his right, noticing the servant who was now gently poking his shoulder could he make out anything other than a slightly tanned appearance and dark hair.

Was he that tired? It had only been over two weeks maybe three since he had even the barest hint of sleep, he couldn't be feeling tired, yet that was exactly what he was feeling. He took in another breath allowing the cool air that poured in to wake him up slightly, but it was not enough.

"Hello," He said sleepily. "Is there a problem"

"My lord, I found you unconscious on the floor" The sweet voice answered.

"On the floor? Was there any blood?" Nat responded tiredly as he picked himself up step by step, as he did so he felt his muscles scream in utter process. His body wanted to sleep he realised.

"No my lord, but are you okay, should I fetch a healer?"

"No" Nat cried out far more forcefully. "I'm perfectly okay, just tripped is all" Yes trip, far better to give that lie then allow the others to think that he was spending too much time studying. If the Inquisitor or Dorian discovered that he had fallen unconscious due to fatigue. He shook his head in disgust, he had no freedom to fall unconscious or to sleep, Merlin he had not come close to earning such a privilege. The last time he had slept was when the Architect had grabbed him, forcing him to lose weeks of effort and the deaths of. His eye squinted at the thought and then mentally cursed his weak pathetic body, he could still work in this state, he just needed some extra tea, there was more caffeine in it and it helped to clear the mind enabling him to not think about that all feeling sensation of the walls crushing him from pressure.

"My lord if you're not okay, I can get a healer"

"As I said, miss, I'm perfectly alright; I simply bumped my head that is all." The girl did not look convinced in the slightest.

"My Lord of you have tripped then I insist that you see a healer, you could be seriously injured"

"I am fine, that is the end of it. Now please return to your duties, I can handle myself from here"

"But-" Nat glared at her heatedly his blurry eyes focusing in on hers burrowing into her soul forcing her breath to hitch and her back to shudder. "Right away my lord" She muttered and ran off not even daring to spend another moment with the young mage.

Nat sighed loudly again his eyes trailing over the blurry vision of the servant running far away in the distance. He couldn't go to sleep; he had too much work to do. So many lives depended on him. He repeated this time and time again in his mind as step by step he fought against his ever weakening body, taking in another breath of fresh air his eyes closed and did not open again; instead, forcing him to travel forward a few more steps before all strength left him and sent him crumpling to the floor. Just before he did, however, he muttered one final word and allowed the small portkey on his neck to activate teleporting him out of the castle to his chambers.


	26. Chapter 26 Foul Places

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 26 Foul Places**

The Fallow Mire

"Of all the cursed places in Thedas, why did it have to be here?" Grumbling loudly, Blackwall cursed as once again he felt his foot sink into the deep smelly waterlogged hole that made up the surrounding area that he had found himself dragged to.

"You heard Cullen, the Avvar in this region have taken some of our soldier's hostage and they've blocked the road that leads through this area. We're here to rescue them and regain control of the road" Valeyna said. Slowly lest she accidentally get distracted conversation and fall into the vile water that lay beneath them, the elf led her group father into the deep, damp, horrid bog; all the while doing her best to ignore the pouring rain as it thundered from the sky and splashed all over her.

"Why would we send soldiers through this mess in the first place? Didn't you say that this place has walking corpses" Blackwall rebuffed the woman, doing his best to cut out the sound of squelching as he pulled his leg out of the bog and brought it forward where he then felt the water clog up his now soaked through hoe that covered his leg? It wasn't enough though since as soon as his foot pushed through the water and step on the next bit of ground he felt once again as the water poured through all some the small holes in his boots.

"Well yes, but that's why Cullen thought it was a good area to control," Valeyna admitted as she did her best to keep to the shallower areas of the bog.

"It was a stupid idea, what's the point of controlling this mess if it stinks this badly" Sera interrupted from the Inquisitor's left. Glancing over to her, Valeyna had to suppress a snicker at the comical sight of the elf archer pinching her nose as tightly as possible to try and keep the stench out as much as possible.

"Technically it is a valid tactical move, the dislike of this area combined with a fortress means that it is relatively lightly defended, once it is in our control we will have a relatively safe transport route for our men," Nat answered calmly.

"Yeah, well tell me why we're the ones who have to truck through this bog getting our clothes wet and dirty, while you get to stay nice and dry," Sera said grumpily as she turned to the other mage in the group.

True to her word, Nat unlike the other three in the group who were currently doing their best to not take a wrong step, fall in, get soaked and possibly drown, was not facing such difficulties in the slightest. Much to her consternation, the wizard was currently standing alongside them entirely dry and warm as though he was walking through a dessert rather than a bog. It was only made far worse to the elf however when she noticed that unlike them who had dark smelly splodges or brown all over their clothes and skin from where the water had splashed, Nat was perfectly clean and content looking as though he had just come out freshly bathed.

"Stupid magic" Blackwall muttered menacingly.

"I offered to use the spell on you"

"That's because we're not a group of twats afraid of a little water" Blackwall stated disdainfully only to grunt again as he felt his right foot get sucked in by the floor underneath him and then seemingly attempt to swallow him whole. "Maker dam it"

"Yes, afraid of the water," Nat said smugly as he watched the man tug at his leg only to trip and fall headfirst into the water. "Or it could be the fact that I have no interest in ruining my clothes with such filthy black water" He continued to say calmly even as Valeyna rushed toward her companion, quickly grabbing him by the shoulder and yanking his now soaked body out. Grimacing at the smell, Valeyna quickly stepped away from the stinky man and pressed forwards into the bog clutching her staff tightly as her eyes examined for all traces of undead activity.

"Tell me" She yelled at Nat. "Can you see anything with that strange trinket of yours, oh mighty watchman?" Rolling his eyes, at the comment, Nat continued to observe the bog keenly from the way some of the tufts of grass stuck out to the way some of the water rippled forwards ever forward into the bog. Disturbingly he noticed how even when the ripples touched the edge of land they seemed to continue on the other side after a while as though the land had not existed.

With the bog water receding around his clothing, as though there was some kind of force field around him, causing it to splash and pool unnaturally, Nat quickly grabbed the set of binoculars that hung from his neck and brought them forward. Bringing his eyes up to the magically clean lenses, Nat peered through and watched calmly the road ahead.

It wasn't a particularly pleasant path that he could see, all the old timber bridges had seemingly been destroyed due to fire or some other occurrence leaving no straight dry path through the filthy bog that they had found themselves in, and in the local area he could see the outlines of a fair few gaunt figures stood still hunched over with a couple of weapons in their hands.

They appeared dead for all that he could observe, their bodies did not move and their rotting flesh only occasionally danced when a light wind brushed over them, yet despite this Nat was careful to gaze upon the weapons that lay within their dead hands.

Old and rusted they were, a mix of cleavers, broken swords, chipped spears and cracked bows, some had armour on in places, most of it was plate and had been obviously weathered and perhaps even the cause of the demise of the once alive person by weighing them down too much in this treacherous terrain.

Continuing to peer through the thick black hazy steam that seemed to emanate from the local surroundings to a pale sickly green light sparkling off in the distance. Beneath that pale glow, he noticed the rough and unrefined movements of creatures that stalked ever around, creeping and crawling as though they were hunting for something or someone.

Suddenly a flash of green lightning struck behind them for a moment illuminating the area and allowing the wizard to see more carefully at what lay there. Terror demons he noted as the main threat of the now fade spawned demons. They were easy to identify given their long lanky appearance and razor-sharp claw hands that he had witnessed on more than one occasion rip straight through a man's armour and come out the other side of their punctured chest, like some sort of hog roast.

He turned his attention away from the demons and the glowing crystal-like structure that hovered over above their head like a Halloween interpretation of a Christmas angel and instead turned to the large gloomy structure that lay farther afield.

Damp dark grey stone hung in the distance, but it was not the typical stone formed by natural geography but instead it was made up of many smaller pieces of stone that had been gathered together and laid atop one another to form a powerful castle that overlooked not only the bog in front of it, thus forcing enemies to cross large treacherous ground that would make it no doubt difficult to even set up a camp nearby, but also gave the defenders some respite as they held a useful road through these lands.

Why the place had been abandoned for so long given its position was troubling to Nat. While the bodies of those long dead did irk him to some degree as he watched their unmoving almost statue-like stillness in those dark waters, the fact remained that these creatures according to the knowledge gathered were not Inferi. They did not require those who could easily bring the power of fire to bear upon them to drive them from their homes, instead, they could be killed by just the common man with a weapon.

So why had the previous lord abandoned such a position that even with its unpleasant locale would have been bound to bring in at least some form of wealth from taxing the roads? Perhaps it was the seemingly large army of corpses who stalked this area, or perhaps it was those odd pale shadows that he could just about make out in the far background where their grey like hair and large muscular bodies could be seen shining in the moonlight as rain continued to hammer hard down on this magic forsook place.

Nat shook his head quickly pushing aside those thoughts, they were here to retake control of that far off castle and if they were still alive, to rescue those men who were likely still left inside. Wondering about why a person would abandon this place would have to come later, when he had the time to investigate he would, for the meantime however he moved the binoculars away from his face and replied to the Inquisitor.

"There are a few corpses ahead, most of them are in the water but there are one or two nearby some burnt down houses. Aside from that though there are also two rifts that I can see, one of which is oddly quiet, however, all the bridges have been taken out so you're going to be getting a fair bit wet"

"And the soldier's can you see them?" The Inquisitor cried back.

"Negative, I can barely make out the shape of some of the Avvar. This rain and darkness make's it far harder to notice things"

"Got it, is there anything else?"

"Just some strange mounds, they all have some sort of obelisk, I don't know what they're for, but I can tell you that they still have fires burning near them.

"Is it safe to advance?" Valeyna said as she pulled the hood on her mage's cloak closer around her body, protecting it slightly from the rain.

"Safe would be if no undead hosts were lurking in the water, no barbarians kidnapping our soldiers and no demons lurking about" Nat replied sarcastically. "In that sense, it's not safe, if however, you mean is the threat something we can deal with, then yes, there's not that many enemies to deal with that I can see."

"That you can see. Why do I have a feeling this is going to change" Blackwall grumbled as he wiped some errant raindrops of his face and beard.

"I don't like this, dead thing's should stay dead" Nat nodded at Sera's assessment of the situation, the sooner they got out of this bog, the better.

"Let's just hope they're not inferi" Nat muttered as he sat very comfortably on his golem and not at all like wet thanks' to the courtesy of some well-placed spells. Sera glared up at him, her eyes accusing him every moment on just why he was completely fine in this weather whereas her clothes had already started to stick tightly to her skin.

"Inferi? Do I even want to know what those are?" Blackwall asked.

"They're like the undead, only instead of corpses being taken over by spirits, their instead corpses that have been reanimated to be lifeless puppets. They can't use weapons or anything, but they can only be killed by fire, but they're also faster and stronger than normal humans". Blackwall shuddered in his armour his mind attempting to conjure up an image of some sort of ramshackle corpse moving about the area, however instead of moving slowly the idea that they were both stronger and faster then a normal human, combined with the ability to only be killed by fire, made them a terrifying opponent for a normal man to face.

"Your people could create such creatures," He asked accusingly no.

"It was illegal" Nat countermanded not at all impressed with Blackwall's tone, "We're taught how to defend ourselves against them in Defence against the Dark Art's class."

"That's still freaky and unnatural shit tough" Sera spat on the floor angrily. "Stupid mage's always fucking shit up, just because they can" Nat rolled his eyes but none the less continued to keep staring forward as he looked at the scenes that lay ahead of him. Through the continuous storm, he watched as every time a bolt of lightning raced from the sky and crashed into the background and lit up the area around them in a brilliant but also awe-inspiring haze, how he could make out the outlines of skeletal shapes.

"Come on, let's move while we can" Waving her hand forward, Valeyna braced herself against a sharp hallowing wind and led the group forth father into the dark bog that awaited for them.

"I don't like this place," Nat said softly. Unlike the others who were currently content to keep their weapons in a place that was less likely to bother them, Nat instead had his wand at the read, the tip giving out a constant pale red glow as he prepared a spell to be launched at the first thing that charged him, while his other hand gently tapped on the hilt of his sword.

"What's wrong kid, afraid of the dark?" Blackwall, said as he pushed himself forward, narrowly avoiding another deep dark hole that lay beneath them.

"No, I'm quite content in the dark. It's the aura of this place that gets me, feel's... unnatural, wrong even"

"You've been to plenty of battlefields, and you've fought demon's and darkspawn, what make's this place special" Nat glanced to his left his magical sunglasses enchanted to not only give him protection from things like spells and sunlight, but also to give him a certain amount of night vision enabling him to focus on the small ripples that kept forming nearby as drops of rain fell from the sky and continued to flood this place.

"This place isn't a battlefield, I've visited those, stood on land where many people were gunned down and butchered as the machines of wars previous raged and cut short the lives of young men in an instant, I've walked amongst the rebuilt ruins of a several thousand-year-old civilization where not a century before, it was obliterated in an instant. As for my school, as strange as it would sound to you, the school was haunted by several hundred ghost's and where again only a few decades ago a large battle took place and a great number of children were butchered in defence of our civilization. None of it felt like this place, not even with all the death does it hold the grim feeling that this place does."

"Wiped out in an instant" Blackwall muttered to himself. "What do you mean a city was wiped out in an instant?"

"Yeah, and what's with that machine's of war bollocks" Sera added.

"Sera machines of war are obvious, that's thing's like siege towers, ballista, trebuchet" The bearded man explained.

"Oh, then why didn't he say that in the first place instead of trying to make himself seem smart"

"Why don't you ask him"

"I am not going to explain my word choice, it's a very simple sentence to understand where I'm from" Nat replied swiftly hoping to end the conversation, the last thing he wanted to explain was what a tank was and how it was used in combat and hoe essentially the only possible things that might be able to take out one in this current time frame would be either an exceptionally powerful mage, a large enough flying object with the force of gravity or perhaps a giant if it's blunt weapon was capable of smashing through modern armour.

"Ugh, mages" Sera complained.

"Muggles," Nat said casually stopping the elf archer in her tracks as she came to terms with what she had just been called.

"Oi what dd you call me you long-haired twat"

"Muggle" Nat replied. "It's a term used to describe those people who are born without the ability to use magic. "You are a muggle Sera"

"Oi take that back you long-haired twat, I'm not some Moogle, or any other type of shit, I'm Sera"

"Oh, would you also prefer me to start calling the moon the sun and instead refer to bears as cute scaly things" Nat drawled sarcastically. "A muggle is simply a term used to describe a type of individual, it is no different then me calling you an elf or Blackwall a man"

"But' of course Blackwall's a man, he has a beard"

"And what a fine beard it is, one that truly deserves praise and attention" Valeyna added with a grin causing the man to flush slightly with pride.

"And if I were to give you a beard Sera would that make you a man?"

"Course not, stupid question" Suddenly she paled as she remembered what had happened back in the meeting room when he had come back, what he had done to Bull, how he had made his horns, a physical part of him into a cup of tea. "You can't do that can you, give me a beard?"

"Sera I could give the Inquisitor a set of fox ears and tails if I so chose to"

"You could" Petting her head softly as though working out just where such a seat of extra appendages would be on her, Valeyna gazed at Nat with a curious look which then quickly turned to an almost evil grin. "Do you think you I would look good with fox ear's?"

"Oh sweet Merlin, I'm surrounded by furries" Pinching his nose tightly, the young wizard turned away from the smirking mage doing his best to not imagine the elf girl with a large poufy tail coming out from behind her as well as twitching ears on her head. "No I'm not giving you extra appendages, now can we drop the subject and get back to finding the Avvar and then massacring them please?"

"Aww, but I think I would look cute with fox ears"

"Inquisitor, we have people to kill"

"But"

"We're in a bog" Nat added. "A dark, smelly bog, with rain pouring all around us and lightning flashing in the distance. At the same time, we also have to deal with a bunch of rotting corpses which have refused to have the good decency to stay dead and have decided to show us their vagrant ways in the most violent means possible"

"What about when we get back to-"

"No"

"But"

"No that is the last of it I will not carry on this conversation any farther." Sighing to himself, Nat quickly found himself taking the lead of the group as he waded through the ever-deepening dark water that made up the bog. Step by step they took each one of three aside the wizard purposely keeping their voices down lest they accidentally wake something that could be lurking down there. It went well for the first few minutes, the group continued to talk about random stuff, whether that was boring advice from Blackwall on how to wield a sword properly to the man openly joking with Sera about terrible jokes. At other times however the Inquisitor hoping to keep the mood light and not allow their spirits to be dampened by the poor weather tried to entice Nat into a conversation.

"So Nat, do you have anyone important in your life?" Grinning, Valeyna could swear she heard the internal groaning of the young man as he trekked through the water, his wand still in hand while his left began to finger the hilt of his sword in a more agitated manner.

"No, and I will not have this discussion" He answered sharply.

"Kid, we're in a bog, who are we going to tell"

"Everybody" He replied without a moment of doubt or hesitation."One does not have to frequent the tavern to hear all the ridiculous rumours that are going around. Stories of the Inquisitor's conquests, about how some noble screamed at a servant, how Varrick is smuggling wine in and how Bull like's to be whacked with a stick after fighting demons for some reason. Just because I work in isolation doing my best to work out how to defeat Corypheus does not mean I can escape the endless drivel and gossip that spreads around. You're all like a bunch of children" He ended harshly.

"You don't trust us" Valeyna inquired.

"Not when it comes to such matter's no." Pausing suddenly, Nat's head veered quickly towards the side, focusing his attention quickly, he watched as hidden behind an old burned oak tree the ripples on water began to move closer and closer to them.

Expanding his senses out, Nat felt as he detected the strange presence seemingly shamble closer and closer towards them. It was an odd feeling he felt, one that he had never detected before. A spirit of some kind was heading towards them only instead of it being a spirit in their true form, he could instead feel it trapped within the body of some poor soul who had been lost long ago.

Drawing his sword quietly so as not to draw the attention of any other corpses that lay nearby, Nat gestured towards the distance where one of the many mounds that made up the distance from them to the castle jutted out of the bog as though it were a castle holding against a besieging army. Taking notice of it quickly, the group moved swiftly through the water, their legs becoming more and more drenched as they pushed the water away, making a loud noise.

Suddenly a sound of bone's popping combined with a throaty growl emerged from behind the tree which was soon followed by the sight of one of the many ramshackle corpses that made up this place. Turning it's partly bashed in the skull towards them, the skeleton watched for only a brief moment before letting out another throaty growl and rushed towards them.

"Shit" Sera yelled. Her face turned pale in disgust at the sight of the corpse, whether it was from the obvious pieces of flesh that had been torn off its body ex[posing some of the bone, or the way that some of its skulls had obviously been bashed in leaving a very noticeable art of matted blood covered hair to fall over one side of it's caved in head.

Obviously, Sera did not appreciate these undead people.

Neither did the corpse seem to appreciate the presence of those who trespassed on its land since after growling once more, the corpse turned it's attention to the sound of water moving softly towards it. They're approaching it with a slow but determined look was the young wizard, his wand having been put away for a more silent weapon so as to not draw too much attention from the Inquisitor and give an even larger inkling of the power at his command.

More practically though, as Nat advanced towards the corpse his sabre in his hand, he watched the way those dead eyes seemed to track his movements for a few seconds. Good, he thought to himself, he had needed the ability to test his actual swordplay in combat, to see if he could truly defend himself with a blade if it came to it. With the corpse now focused entirely on him, he brought his sword to bear and slashed down quickly.

Not to be slain so quickly, the corpse brought it's axe upwards, expecting the rusty weapon to take the blow, however, if it could think, the skeleton would have gasped in shock. As Nat's blade impacted that of the of axe he watched in satisfaction as the enchantments placed upon it allowed the blade to slice straight through the old handle, cleaving it into two pieces with a nice fine elegant cut. Carrying the blade downwards for his headshot as initially intended, his blade effortlessly struck the unguarded head of the monsters and swept downwards facing no resistance until it came out the other end between the skeletons, legs cutting the monster in two. The corpse now split in half fell to the ground in two loud splashes sending several more ripples into the water.

"Nice sword," Blackwall said his eyes admiring the strange shape of the weapon as Nat walked up towards the hill. "Where did you get it?"

"I made it"

"You made it? I doubt that you don't have the look of somebody who has ever worked at forge. Their bigger, bulkier, tougher" Blackwall said doubtfully as his eyes lingered onto the more athletic build that the kid sported.

"I'm a wizard I simply used magic to forge and the blade" Blackwall nodded almost disappointedly

"An odd design, most men carry a normal straight blade and armour," He said almost accusingly.

"As I said, the blade is enchanted; one of those enchantments is the ability to slice through pretty much anything that isn't magic. Armour is nothing more than a hindrance to my enemy, slowing down their movement and making it all the easier for me to get that cut in and carry on to my next opponent"

"Wait so you have a spell that makes armour useless" Valeyna inquired her own eyes flickering over to the blade in the young wizard's hands. It was a rather unassuming thing or at least it was compared to the swords that others carried around and especially compared to those of the Orlesian nobility. With little to no flair whatsoever, the design aside from its odd shape it reminded her far more of the average soldier with their weapon, sturdy, kept to a decent condition and would rarely see battle seeing as how swords were not the mainstay weapon of any army. Yet despite all of that, there was a certain amount of magic coming off the blade she could tell, more so then most blades she had seen yet it was done in a more regulated manner.

"All normal armour is useless against magic, the only reason I'm using it currently is because my normal style of combat is a bit too loud, especially if we're trying to avoid undead and Avvar spies. " Twirling his blade in a fit of boredom, Nat felt the perfect balance in the blade, something that was formed by the fact that as he used the blade the weight would go up or down compared to how he needed it. When the blade came down on an opponent the weight was increased at the edge whereas for most control it was in the handle keeping it close towards the strength of his arm.

"Good idea, I should do the same thing as well" The Inquisitor stated quickly as her eyes rounded expectantly on towards the wizard after a few moments had passed and Nat had done nothing she narrowed her eyes. "Well come on then, give it to me" Nat raised an eyebrow.

"I'm afraid Inquisitor that I only have one of these weapons on me, I could conjure you another sword but it would not have the same abilities as my own. And before you ask Blackwall, we don't have the time for me to enchant your blade at the moment. Not that it really matters, this sword here was a rush job, it's nothing impressive, I only made it as a just in case" With another quick flick of his wrist the cold steel of the blade sliced through the air giving off a small whooshing sound before it was then returned to position in the young wizards sure grip. "Besides we should figure out what these mounds are for?"

Turning her head, Valeyna approached the centre of the mound where a large collum of grey stone jutted out powerfully. It was an odd thing, one half there was a small metal brazier stuck out and unlit whereas on the other side there was a diamond shape that had been built into the stone itself and jutted out yet was blank and seemingly held no purpose, to the right of the strange piece was a stone statue of some kind of humanoid figure though nobody could work it out. On top of the strange rock though was a torch that somehow to the confusion of the group has not been extinguished even as a heavy downpour that could over time likely extinguish a house fire continued to pour.

"Odd, what kind of place do you think this is" Blackwall muttered as he took a closer look at the statue on the front. "Some type of temple, or offering"

"Maybe," Valeyna said. "This place look's like it's been visited recently, otherwise that fire on top shouldn't have lasted this long"

"Is it some kind of resting place then, somewhere that soldiers can sleep and not have to worry about the undead attacking them" Taking another look around, it was obvious to the group that compared to the soaked, boggy marsh that they had just been travelling in, this spot of land seemed unusually dry, in fact as Valeyna observed much to her wet feet's joy was that there didn't seem to be a single bit of moisture on the ground at all, in fact, she would have even stated that she could have fallen asleep within this makeshift circle around the stone and been completely fine.

"Don't tell me this place is enchanted" Sera shivered at the prospect of staying close to such an area for long.

"I don't know I can't sense anything" Valeyna answered as she gently pushed her hand against the mouth of the statue and peered closer. "What about you Nat"

"There are faint traces of magic, but it's not some sort of drying spell. But there is something though, I don't know what but I have a feeling that something is hiding here as odd as it sounds"

"Hidden like under a rock or something"

"Perhaps" Nat answered the blonde archer. "With magic, it's generally best to leave hidden things in the most mundane of things, makes it harder for others to interpret your work."

"Can you detect where the hidden thing is" Shaking his head at the question, Nat turned around and also approached the stone. Unlike the other two, however, instead of looking at the statue of the strange triangle shape on the back he instead focused his attention on the unlit brazier that hung innocently off the side.

"Does nobody else find it strange how all the torches in this place have been lit but this one?" He asked steadily. Like the rock itself, the brazier was rather inconspicuous and would not be given another look had it not been for the strange situation surrounding it. Gently lifting his blade towards the brazier he ran the sharp metal along the edge, silently commanding the enchantments on the weapon to not slice through it. Through his sword, he felt the shape, of the thing, from the spikes at the top to the metal basket design at the bottom which left a convenient hole large enough that could fit a torchlight of some kind.

"Maybe this was a resting point, somewhere people could stop and take a break," He said to Blackwall. "It would explain all the braisers, keeping people warm and dry enough so they could reach the next point, and it's also large enough for a couple of merchants and some wagons to hitch up and sleep if they wanted too."

"Why would anyone want to sleep here," Sera said incredulously as she gazed at the wet damp place that was this bog, mentally trying to come to grips why anybody would even come near the place.

"Soldiers rarely have a choice when it comes to sleeping, you make the best out of what you've got and pray that you wake up the next morning warm and dry" Blackwall replied as he took a closer look at the surrounding area. This place, the village was oddly arranged he noticed, while it wasn't uncommon for the odd few houses to be split off from the main area, this place had no main area, instead al of the houses were split all over the place, typically located on the only raised bit's of land that existed. Though long since abandoned, however, the man was able to make out the shape of small narrow wooden boats that had likely been used by the occupants of the village to ferry themselves from place to place.

"Agreed, but perhaps there's more to it than that, this statue could be a shrine of some kind"

"That would explain the pyre's" Valeyna agreed. Pulling herself away from the statue in front of her, Valeyna moved herself to where Nat was standing and looked at the lone unlit brazier, it was odd she agreed mentally. Every other pyre had been lit allowing this place to stand out easily amongst the dark haze and fog that surrounded this place, all bar this one lone torch that had been left entirely out. "I have an idea," She said quietly.

Without another thought, Valeyna called upon the power of the fade allowed it to flow to this dimension where then after shaping it into the form of what she desired, she felt how a sudden warmth burst forth focused around her right hand. There in her hands could now be seen a swirling mass of bright green flames flickering for a brief moment before with a flick of the mages hand, the fire was sent hurtling away from her hand and instead directly towards the brazier, instantly catching it alight with its bright glow. The very moment the brazier caught alight, a loud piercing scream echoed throughout the dark void around them. Suddenly in a flash of green light, a demon appeared in front of them.

"Attack" Valeyna yelled as she brought her staff to bear and unleashed a quick flurry of blasts at the creature, striking it hard and with enough fury to take out the monster with a groan as it's life force was obliterated.

"Well that explains the brazier, it's veil fire, how did you know Inquisitor" Nat muttered as he slashed his blade through a nearby demon that had appeared directly in front of him. Like the shambling corpse before, he was much relieved when he saw his blade face no resistance, it was as if he was wielding a blade that had been superheated to such a degree that nothing could stand in his way, and as he finished his cut on the one demon and then turn around on his heel to thrust the blade straight through the skull of another rushing corpse, he became very thankful that he had not put away the blade.

There was no time to think about the situation however as a moment after, the sound of another shriek from the same type of demon filled the skies some distance away before then appearing directly in front of Sera. Gasping loudly at the sudden appearance Sera drew a fresh arrow from her quiver brought it to her bow and then loosed in a quick but well-disciplined fashion striking the head of the demon-killing it in an instant.

"I remember Solas showing me some time ago, I just thought it might help" Thrusting her hand forward a powerful wave of telekinesis blasted against a set of corpses sending them flying several metres into the air before then crashing down into the water with what would have been a loud bang had it not been for the sound of thunder.

"Good, that explains why I sensed something was hidden, we should have a look when we're finished" Flicking his wand a burst of three bright red lights raced towards an encroaching lot of demons, that had appeared directly in front of them. Striking hard and true the demons had no time to react as the magic struck at their undefended necks allowing the cutting curses to spate their heads from their bodies with a wet plop. Spinning on his heel in rapid succession he then conjured and threw a silver spear right past Blackwall's ear impaling one of the corpses that had rushed at Blackwall's exposed left flank.

"I had that" The man grumbled."

"Better safe than sorry" Nat replied just as courtly sending another demon back to the land of the Fade as he immolated it with another flick of his wand. After ducking quickly to avoid an arrow from a father back skeleton, Nat focused on those corpses father away who had taken the advantage of resting in the deep dark waters and were now taking shots at them.

Without warning, the water surrounding the corpse's feet exploded upwards with tremendous force sending their creatures rocketing into the air, breaking them with a horrid cracking noise as bones snapped, tendons tore and entire chunks of the bodies were pummelled into a bloody mess a thee force of a bus striking them at full speed hit their frail bodies. It was not finished however as instead of the water then falling back to the ground via the force of gravity, the rest of the trio were forced to watch out of the corner of their eyes as they continued to fight, as the water began to group and coalesce into a series of dark horses that neighed powerfully into the air. Then with a sharp gesture from his wand hand, the horses gave a powerful neigh before galloping suddenly into the rest of the corpses in the water and trampled them down with the force of an angry stallion, pummelling their frail corpses into nothing that could be resurrected. Finally once that was done, the horses still mid gallop took an unnatural turn and raced towards the final few corpses that had reached the land and crashed into them with an almighty fury.

After a minute and with the last of the corpses now scattered across the water, Nat with another sharp gesture let the spell go and allowed the water to receded into the bog. When he turned around to face the other's however he saw only irritated expressions.

"Why didn't you do that earlier" Sera said her eyes hovering nervously onto the water.

"It's not a spell for individual opponents when more of them came, I used a more powerful spell"

"Why horses though, why not something a lion or a wolf or maybe even an eagle"

"Horses are what came to mind," Nat answered. Putting away his wand, he moved back to the statue. It was far clearer this time, that feeling that had been avoiding him, that sensation of something that was hiding from him had vanished and instead, all he could feel was a magical presence on the back of the stone. Upon reaching the other side to where the diamond shape jutted out, he was not disappointed when he saw a glowing rune shape that had seemingly been engraved on it. "Curious" He muttered.

"The girl has a point kid, why horses, why not fish or a shark, or something like that" Nat rolled his eyes at Blackwall's question. Gently he rose his hand towards the rune and inspected it closely, it wasn't anything special in fact if anything he would say it looked like a capital F only it was less neat then what he was used to and reminded him more of the old Norse language that he had studied back at Hogwarts.

It's a rune of some kind, I can't tell what it is though, you'd need to get an expert for that. I'll speak to Leliana when we get back to Skyhold" Valeyna nodded once but none the less sensing that the other's were still desiring an explanation for his spell earlier, Nat decided to carry on walking.

"It's not a complicated spell, learning how to control water is something we learn in about our fourth year, the horses are simply for flash"

"Flash" Valeyna questioned. "Then wouldn't that mean that you're wasting time and effort on making pretty spells?" Nat shrugged his shoulders.

"Not entirely, most wizards and witches like to show off when it comes to spells and add stuff to them, whether that's a certain flair with their wand or more impressive things like adding detail to certain spells. It's a symbol of competency and bragging rights, but in this case, by shaping the water into the shape of horses, it made that power they deliver all the more powerful since it was more controlled. Warping the shape of fire, on the other hand, has no benefits since it just engulfs the target either way. But water, when enough pressure is applied, it can cut through steel and it has more than enough power to break down buildings and flatten enemies, hence the shape of a horse." Nat explained quickly.

"So you made the horses to make the spell more effective?" Nat shook his shoulders.

"No, I did it because I was bored" The wizard answered truthfully.

"Because you got bored? We were under attack from the undead and demons and you got bored?" Valeyna yelled.

"I've been stuck in a castle for about two weeks's now with only paperwork and research to keep me busy, of course, I got bored"

"I thought you did that stuff because you liked it"

"Of course I do, I just also happen to enjoy magical combat as well" Nat answered as he began to lead the group onwards through the bog. Taking another look back he nodded with grim satisfaction as he noticed that the rain which had once previously refused to rain down on that mound began to start hammering on it now. Soon that place would be as soaked through as the rest of this bog was.

"You like fighting kid," Blackwall asked in a surprised manner.

"Surprised," Nat asked questionably. Blackwall nodded for a moment as he watched the boy quickly put his weapon back into its position, hanging by his side allowing it to be struck by the rain.

"You don't strike me as the type to enjoy combat, I've seen those who do, fancy knights who ride around on horses swinging swords at one another whilst clade in heavy armour as though it were nothing but a game. They also like to play around with their opponents, using flourishes they don't need, all so they can look pretty for the women."

"And I don't?"

"No you don't" Blackwall shook his head. "You just gut the enemy without a care in the world, using weapons that nobody could defend against. No sense of fairness, you just want the job done"

"You can thank my teacher for that before he retired and became a teacher, he was a rather renown duellist." Giving off a small almost pained smile, Nat turned to face the direction of the castle before continuing. "I wish I could have seen him in his prime, he was still able to put me down on my ass easily when he died, then I am now with my current skills in magic. You should have seen him in combat"

"And where is he this teacher, I assumed he died in the war?" Nat sighed and glanced father into the darkness. Bringing his sword to bear he inspected the blade carefully, there were no chips, break's or anything that one might have expected from a typical blade made from a blacksmith or even a machine, in fact the magic he had laid upon it ensured that it was practically indestructible to anything that wasn't magic and even if that we'rent the case the blade was enchanted to also repair itself automatically.

"No actually, he died of old age believe it or not, or that was what was said anyway"

"You didn't believe it" Valeyna queried closely, they were approaching the second mound now she saw with relief. Soon they would get back to dry land and be able to continue investigating this region, and hopefully, by extension get their men back.

"There were rumours, even before he took me on it was said that he could be heard crying at times in his office. It got worse over the years or so I was told."

Didn't you try to investigate, see what the problem was?"

"I did, but I was younger when I was still in school, so concentrated on my work so I could graduate early, my free time was highly limited so I couldn't just investigate some random thing that took my interest. Not that it would have mattered he was a private man and he was the leader of our house for a reason, The likelihood of me finding out anything would have been painfully small."

"So when did you find out what happened" Valeyna looked at her young friend, it was so odd seeing him like this. He was still calm, yet she couldn't help but notice almost a regretful look from him, a feeling of guilt that had been placed upon him and one that he was doing his best to speak calmly about and not try to show his true feelings.

"When he died, believe it or not. Of course, a lot of suspected thing's there were stories of the man breaking down crying at random points, he could be seen staring into space at times and sometimes he would freeze when he heard certain names or become emotional at the sight of new students. Of course, it was only after he died in his sleep peacefully, Thank Merlin that was able to put things together and worked out that the man had been struggling with survivors guilt. The reason he cried, was because a few decades ago there was another war and a lot of children who he had seen from the age of eleven and watched them grow up were killed and tortured with whole families, people who he had taught become almost like a parent to, get butchered."

Nat ignored the pained and sympathetic stares that came to him from Valeyna and Blackwall, in fact, the more he saw those pitied looks as though he had been the one hurt only made him roll his eyes. How weak did they think he was, that by loosing admittedly his favourite teacher, the only one who he could ever say that he had liked and gotten along with, perhaps even the closest thing he had to a friend, that he was upset. Did they seriously believe him to be that weak? That it was him who has suffered greatly from the man's death rather than that of the man's family and the rest of the school?

"Are you okay?" Valeyna's voice turned to a soft comforting mellow one. "I know that this thing can be difficult"

"Yes fine" He responded quickly, far too quickly. "There's no reason to be upset, in fact, the man wasn't young by any account, not really old like Dumbledore, but it's not like he was in his forties or anything, he had a good life and I know he enjoyed teaching, despite all the pains that we put him through at times. In fact, given the age of some of the other teachers at Hogwarts, if there hadn't of been another war so soon, then it was expected that they would have retired soon or would have joined Flitwick. So we were somewhat prepared for his departure even if it was rather sudden when he went"

Despite the casual tone, Valeyna noticed that Nat had slowed down slightly, his voice as ever was entirely calm and had he shown his face to her then she no doubted that he would also refuse to show any emotion. Despite this, however, he seemed almost lost, the typical mix of grace and precision that he walked with had faltered slightly and the hand in which his sabre was held had lowered so that it now skimmed the surface of the water. Was he mourning she wondered, she wanted to say yes but in all honesty, she didn't know, Nat was never one to talk much personally about his past, he preferred his privacy yet now he had just revealed something that was likely quite important to him.

"What was he like Kid?, this Flitwick guy" Nat let out another breath of air, hiding his revulsion a the smell that was incoming. While he had ensured that he would be safe from the water that they were now pulling themselves through, it was more vital that he be able to detect if something were wrong with the area such as a dangerous substance in the air that he may smell and could be used against them. Nevertheless, the smell of the bog was a foul putrid one and he was glad of the distraction.

"He was kind for one, had a tendency of giving out sweets to the new years to make them feel at home as well as always ensuring to be polite to everyone at all times and he had a tendency to add new books to the common room every year, as well as give us suggestions for new books. Caring as well, a lot of first years struggle in the beginning months because they were separated from their family, as such he always made sure to schedule appointments with them at least once every two weeks and us older lot at least once every month just so he knew where we were and how we were doing. Excited was another term that could be used on him, if you got him talking about some new concept of magic or even if you were repeating something he had heard a thousand times before, he would always listen excitedly because he wanted the best for us." Nat smiled again though this time he turned his face insuring that the other's could not see his pained face as he remembered the man, the way his old face had brightened whenever he had a new class to teach or just how far you could get him into a random conversation on academic measures. "Intelligent, wise, and witty, trait's that you absolutely need if you're going to be the leader of Hogwarts finest smartasses, also pretty knowledgeable and not just in matter's like magic but also more personal matters as well"

"Like what, he knew what underwear you were wearing" Sera joked loudly.

"No" Nat replied calmly. "Not everybody had the best family life, some came from less affluent families, some came from families with less than stellar family dynamics. When a student began to slip in class consistently he had a tendency to know or at least have an idea of what was going on, and always would he try to fix it or at least offer some support, whether that was in the form of some encouragement, taking a kid of out classes or some cases spending some more personal time with kids to help them get through"

"Like trying to become their parent? and you would be just fine with that, a complete and utter stranger?" Valeyna asked as she sceptically raised her eyebrows not quite believing that one man would truly go so far for his students. Yes, she knew that her clan had looked after her and anyone else who had lost their family but that was because they were a clan, a large family, not some random collection of kids with a strange adult who would be looking after them on a daily business far away from their families.

"We were Ravenclaw's, despite our differences in backgrounds, our interests and our talents, our age, gender and whatever else, we had all been chosen to join the house of Lady Rowena Ravenclaw where only those of fair mind shall go. We were all quite similar in way's, least of all was our fascination of learning, pursuing our skills to the best of our ability, our academic desires and performances and our above average mind's. In school we were always the first to breakfast, typically by an hour before even the early risers of any other house, also unlike the other houses, we had a specialist table in the library for us since at least one of us were there from the moment it was open to the time it closed and even after that" He said with a slight wink. "We also had a bit of a tendency of both simultaneously showing off our knowledge and irritating our teachers with our never-ending bombardment of questions, turning them grey, before their prime. And while we didn't always treat each other with the utmost respect and courtesy, we did help one another"

"You make yourselves sound like a family?" Valeyna noted carefully.

"That's true," Nat said chuckling as he thought of the idea of Flitwick dressed up like a traditional father trying to lead all his kids into a car so that they could go to a museum or something and allow them to look at whatever they caught focus on. It would have made an interesting experience he thought, but the idea of a magical fight breaking out in the museum of natural history was probably not a good one seeing as that many Ravenclaws in one place, all who would no doubt begin to speak in chorus about magical history and about how certain aspects of muggle history that had been revised were outright wrong and so would utterly confuse the local muggle population. "But relatively speaking, out of the four houses, we were the quiet nerdy kids with our heads in books letting the other's do what they wanted"

"Then what did that make the other house's that you mentioned?" Nat chuckled again as he remembered his time in Hogwarts and how all the houses acted, it was quite funny actually, looking back now that he had left. It was both hilarious and yet also slightly worrying what the separation into houses based on personality traits meant, what happened to the Slytherins only proved that.

"Well Hufflepuffs, are the nice hard-working kids, their not the most popular, or the smartest, their just the typical group who has a medium group of friends and is generally okay with most people. They do their homework on time, behave well for the most part and rarely will cause trouble, though they can always be relied upon if they are your friend. Gryffindors, on the other hand, are those loud active kids, you know the physically active ones who keep spouting some utter bullshit, keep throwing parties, are popular with people for no discernable good reason and are never afraid to show their true feelings and are always up for a fight. They also do what they think is best, are naive generally and have an awful habit of causing a mess for the teachers that have to be sorted out as they never bother to think for a moment."

"And what are these Slytherins that you have mentioned before?"

"Oh that's easy, Slytherins are the political lot in school. For them education is not so as important as playing their little schemes, whether that is to get another student into trouble without getting caught, becoming the dominant member of the house with everybody else paying tribute to them, or getting their way no matter what dirty tricks that they have to use. If you're in Slytherin your daily thoughts are what is going to happen politically and how to take advantage, they're also terribly ambitious and untrustworthy, and they will not do you any kind of favour without a reward"

"In other words, their nobles" Blackwall spat the word out in disgust. "Nothing but a group of jumped up sods who destroy peoples lives for fun and play pathetic little games that the normal man or woman has to correct because they have a dispute with one another" Growling he turned to the kid and inspected him with a ruthless look.

Nat resisted the urge to chuckle at just how easily the man had turned against the Slytherins, no doubt he was a Gryffindor at heart, believing in things like honour and nobility when fighting, that despite its advantages magic shouldn't be used because it was unfair against the opponent. It was quite cute he thought and ultimately why he doubted he would truly get on with the man, Blackwall was a dreamer, a practical one thankfully but a dreamer all the same.

"Perhaps" Nat answered slowly. "But it's the Slytherins who can best handle politics, they are the ones who know how to work the system, how to get away with things that they shouldn't, they may exploit people, but it's when they get caught that's when we close those breaches"

"You think such behaviour is acceptable" The dark bearded man glared at him harshly as he gripped his sword. It was a subtle move Nar recognised and also one of the easiest to deal with, keeping his face calm he stood calmly and moved his blade downwards to a more relaxed position. "You are okay with rich twats sending good men to die in pointless wars, all for the sake of some reward that those men will never see."

"That depends" Nat replied slowly.

"Depends on what?"

"It depends on whether that soldier was forced to join the military or instead voluntarily decided to give his time in performing the more... violent actions of the state to whom they belong." Going to interrupt the kid Blackwall opened his mouth but much to his confusion, he suddenly found himself unable to speak. Trying so again, he formed the words again but like before no noise, whether that was a sentence or even a muffled cry escaped his lips, he rounded on the boy again only to be stopped as Nat seemingly entirely unaware of what had just occurred carried on. "It also depends on what the goal of military action is to achieve, some are truly pointless other's on the other hand even with a high casualty rate and the malicious actions that follow are justified when one removes such a petty thing as morality from the subject"

"Petty" Blackwall repeated angrily suddenly finding his ability to speak returned to him. "You think it is a petty thing to consider the fact that when those noble bastards send men to war, those good young men die in brutal means while their pompous asses are never touched and are instead treated like guests until a big sack of gold comes"

"If you take away the emotion from the equation and look at it factually then yes. I understand your hatred Blackwall, but if you truly desire to bring down the nobility perhaps like Sera's more... radical accomplices, then you must understand how they act, and why they do it. When you are commanding a battlefield an emotional connection to your troops is a hindrance. Should you hold friendly feelings towards them then you may be reluctant or hesitate to send them out and fight, as you fear you may lose them, whereas if you despise them, then you may find yourself rushing them out in order for them to suffer only to later find yourself beaten as those troops could have been used in a more promising situation."

"So you would just command men to die to achieve some goal, to sacrifice lives without thought or caring about what will occur afterwards"

"That is the role of a battlefield commander is it not, that is what you have done before. Did you not send your men to attack that noble family, you must have known that there was the chance that some of them that could have died and you also did not consider to think what would happen to your men when word of your action was spread around the empire. Where was your morality then Blackwall, or did you value it so little that it was only worth a few measly pieces of coin"

"Nat" Valeyna's voice echoed loudly, her face was aghast as she heard the words that poured forth from his mouth, though lacking in the poison that she had heard others speak in before, they did not lack for sharp edges and the thrust that they gave was ice cold, as if she had been frozen solid. Turning to the soldier she saw that the man had stopped still. His face was entirely horrified, his lips were bent into a terrible frown, his eyes had hardened and the beard that made him look very handsome at time's almost seemed to sharpen with an invisible edge that she swear could have been used to cut somebody.

The two males in her group locked eyes with one another and lack a set of duelling stags they appeared to be getting ready to crash into one another for a colossal fight. As Blaxckwalls fingers hovered by the hilt of his sword however his face having turned a mix between an angry pulsing red and a regretful and sorrowful expression of a man who was lost long in the past, did the elf begin to notice just how onesided this fight was going to be?

She wiped her eyes removing a few drops of water that had splashed on her face from the pouring face and wondered top herself. How was Nat still so calm, hs stood not proudly like Viviene would have after such a thing, sneering at her opponent, but instead as though he was waiting for a strike in a cautious manner. Was he expecting Blackwall to strike with a sword and to start the battle, would he honour the man in a fair fight to restore some honour. By the gods she hoped not, that weapon the wizard carried was too unfair of an advantage.

On the other hand, though, Blackwall was the superior fighter when it came to matters of the sword, his skill and experience showed with just how precise his cuts were and with how much power he could wield behind them, and then there was the shield. All he would have to do is catch the wizards blade with his shield and thrust into the entirely unarmoured boy and kill him stone dead.

"Stop" She called out. "Nat apologise this instant"

"For merely stating the truth" Nat replied not at all caring for the elf's opinion. "He desired an answer and I provided, if he is so offended by another simply stating an opinion then perhaps he needs to readjust his priorities"

"Yes because unlike you I'm not a murderer" Blackwall growled out in a low tone his eyes seething as he clutched the hilt of his blade even harder.

"A murderer, I assume you meant those Templar's"

"You say that you do not kill others for their opinions, as if you were better then I, but you're not, you're just some noble bastard who only care's about himself. You get others to do your dirty action's so you can stay clean"

"And that is where you are wrong Blackwall, I did not kill the Templar's for their opinions on matters"

"Oh then what did you kill them for, their armour," Blackwall asked darkly. How could this mere child be so heartless, to see soldiers as nothing more then tools to be used by others, that killing so many men and women was not murder, how could he see the world through such a hateful lens, no doubt the boy didn't even care about the Inquisition itself likely seeing it as some kind of means to an end rather then an organisation that could better the world and use the might and power to improve the lives of others and strike down those who would harm the weak and innocent like those foul bandits who had taken advantage.

"I killed them for their actions, not their opinions". Nat stated plainly not at all impressed by the man. "Do you have any idea of just how many people I would have to kill if that were the case. I mean personally I despise most sport, football, cricket, rugby, baseball, basketball, tennis, practically all of them are droll dull affairs that I will not attend even if it was a for a little child who was dying of cancer, but it doesn't mean that I will simply kill those who do. I mean honestly, there are those who would call me a heathen and not for my magic, but simply because I believe that pineapple goes on Pizza which they in their lunatic minds believe is some sort of deranges sin. Bloody idiots the lot of them." He finished shaking his head. "But here's the thing I'm not forcing them to eat a pizza with pineapple and neither are they trying to barge into my house take me to some gigantic tower, lock me up for the rest of my life and say I can't have kids because I like pineapple on my pizza. And in all honesty, if they did try that or even attempt to pass some backwards law that prohibited pineapple on pizza, then yes I would fight back, even kill if it was necessary, thankfully it isn't."

"What's a pizza" Valeyna commented oddly.

"I'll show you other time," Nat said returning his attention to Blackwall who seemed much to Nat's amusement flummoxed by the strange analogy used.

"You would kill? for food?"

"It was a joke, obviously you people have no concept of comedy"

"And you do?" Blackwall demanded harshly.

"We went to war over tea" Nat replied without a thought, "Twice"

"Tea, why would anyone go over tea, it's yuck" Nat turned slowly to Sera his face once serious now beeing one of mock horror.

"I should kill you now for that transgression, however, I am a merciful man and therefore I shall only cast a spell that shall transform all liquid you drink into tea"

"No" Sera screamed. "Get your magic away from me, stay back, stay back" Rushing behind Blackwall to use him as a shield, Sera narrowly locked her eyes onto the magic boy who was threatening to turn all her ale and everything else into horrid, horrid tea.

"You're joking, you can't do that. Can you?" Valeyna asked curiously all thought of their surroundings seemingly forgotten.

"I could if I truly desired, but the amount of effort it would take for such a spell is too much for such a little thing."

"So you won't turn my ale into tea" Sera asked nervously as she strung her bow.

"I'm not a fool Sera, we both understand our unspoken agreement"

"Yeah, and what's that then?"

"You don't play pranks with on me and in return I don't use my magic on you, break that and it's a free game"Sera considered him for a moment, narrowing her eyes as she swayed from side to side, Nat watched her astutely as she tried to work out of this deal was a good one to make or not. On one hand, the girl would no doubt like to try and prank him, whether that was throwing pies in his face, dropping filthy water on him or hiding something precious, yet, on the other hand, he knew she feared retaliation from his part. What no doubt crossed her mind often was the demonstration he had used in Bull during their meeting, did she want to risk being turned into an animal or perhaps have her skin change colour entirely, or perhaps have her ears shortened or made longer, he very much doubted so, others would laugh but more importantly she feared what he would do if he was angry.

"You think you can beat me in a prank, ha" She cried out in laughter. "You're just some moody twat who only thinks about work, you'd never beat me"

"And yet you haven't played a prank on me once"

"What, are you talking about of course I have, I tried-"

"Stop lying to yourself Sera, we both know the reason why and we both know that the moment you try anything, the recompense will be rather extreme, especially with my skills in magic. Therefore I'm offering you this deal before such a petty war starts. We leave one another alone and I don't just mean in terms of pranks either. I will stay away from you in general, I won't visit your little room in the tavern to speak with you, I won't strike up casual conversation and I will leave you alone in peace. The only time we will have meetings is when we are called together, in return I expect the same courtesy from you and your little friends."

"Why" Sera called out suspiciously. "What do you get from all this." Nat raised a careful eyebrow, seeing this Sera elaborated. "I mean yeah if you stay away from me that's good, I hate magic, but what do you get from staying away from me?"

"Aside from the peace and quiet? The fact that such an agreement will mean that I will no longer have to clean your mess"

"It was just a few plums" Sera gave a mix between an obnoxious snort and a giggle. "Plums"

"I'm not referring to your attempt at abstract art via the medium of fruit, I'm referring to the rather irate nobility that you have a penchant for stirring up trouble with. Already I have had to deal with more than a few of your... blunders to put it kindly"

"Oh, you mean those tosspots who treated the servants like filth just because they thought they were better than them. Pah, fuck them they deserved way more then what they got" Suddenly the elves normal amused face as she remembered the horrified looks of that time she had dropped some bird poop on them when nobody was looking. It had been hilarious, the way that noble lady had started screaming in front of the servants making an utter fool of herself and the few other nobles that had been present if only she could have done it more often.

"While I agree with the sentiment that they were rather rude, that does not warrant the use of faeces thrown upon a powerful ladies dress. And that's without mentioning the time you nearly managed to trick another noble to walk off the side of a cliff"

"I haven't heard that one" Blackwall muttered. Looking over to Sera he gave the blonde girl an impressed and appreciative look, smirking Sera seemed to almost prune under the attention as a slow malicious grin crept onto her face. Nat resisted the urge to sigh, that girl was going to ruin the Inquisition politically with her stupid gambits, when she did- he shook his head, it appeared he was going to have to keep a very close eye on the girl less her actions result in the destruction of the world.

"Yes well-"

"It doesn't matter," Nat said cutting the girl off mid-sentence. "What I want Sera is you to stop harassing the nobility and to never attempt a prank on my person"

"Hah, and what if I refuse" turning her head to the Inquisitor, Sera much to Nat's distaste began to have a large beaming smile stretch from ear to ear as though she had just thought of the ultimate excuse. "Oh yeah nothing, because the Inquisitor won't let anything happen, will you"

"Uhm, what were you intending to do with her if she broke the rules?" Valeyna asked not at all noticing the slightly disturbed look that Sera seemed to gain as she focused more and more on the young wizard.

"Oh nothing" Nat replied cheerfully. "Just her book her into a psychiatric institute"

"And that is what exactly?" Nat smiled again.

"Oh nothing to worry about Inquisitor, nothing to be concerned with at all"

"I don't like the sound of this place" Not saying anything more, Nat turned around and this time finally led the group up to the second mound to where the next large stone was sitting tall and upright looming over this bog-like some kind of old watchman caring over the people who had once called this place their beloved home.

Like the last one of these places they had found, the second stone was quite similar. Firstly the area was like a small hilly island that jutted out from the bog giving a relatively pleasant place to stop, well relatively pleasant compared to the wet damp of the rest of the bog that at times could go up to the top of your legs and hit the bottom of your stomach for the average man. The ground outside of the makeshift circle of burning pyres and torches were still soaked through with every step on the grass making a horrible squelching noise that became all the more easy to spot when waves of water spilt forth from where the group had walked. Therefore when they reached the ground in front of the stone, the three that were not protected by very convenient water spells took the time to enjoy being in the relatively dry, only to then start shivering as the cool winds began to scrape upon their wet frail bodies and sned a freezing chill up their backs.

"Maker dammed wind" Blackwall swore. Sweeping his arms around himself in a vain attempt to keep warm, the man sauntered towards one of the fires and simply stood there as close as he can. With how close he was he felt the flames try and cook his face, his skin felt red hot and his beard began to tickle, yet he ignored it in favour of staying close where it was warm and the ruthless winds and cold wet spells did not strike him down as though he were some forbidden lover.

"That's a bad idea" Nat spoke simply as he inspected the statue, searching for clues. "The longer we stay warming up and cooling down, the longer we are in this place and the longer we're in this place the more time the Avvar has to kill our men or the demons decide to come calling for a chat, oh as well as increasing our chance of freezing to death by changing your body temperature so rapidly and so often."

"Give a man a moment to warm up, we don't all have magic to keep ourselves warm you know" Growling Blackwall slowly began to unhook his arms from around his close armoured body and move them gently towards the flames. As he felt them warm-up, the work of that energy filling him with a renewed sense of vigour and strength he did his best to ignore the vile feeling as though he was being watched.

"Does anyone feel like their being watched?" Valeyna asked cautiously. Scanning the area she noticed that behind an abandoned and worn down village house was one of the two rifts that Nat had mentioned earlier. Like normal, there were several demons nearby, yet that was not what caught her interest, instead it was a man, a very tall man.

Peering closer she could only watch as this tall man whose long white hair stayed still in one place staring at them directly. Valeyna shivered as another wind struck her back forcing her to such in a deep harsh breath and then exhale it. That had to be one of the Avvar she had heard so much about, they were just like she had heard them described she noted, tall strong, muscular from all the physical work they did regularly and were grey-skinned.

Not as grey as a Qunari like Bull, but the man's skin was still an unnatural shade and combined with that large hefty mace that he carried casually on his shoulder, gave the elf the impression of a tough and powerful warrior. One who could very easily take on the smaller and less bulky forms of the Inquisition soldiers, but that left the question of just why they would need to take hostages.

That made her curious, the Avvar never took hostages, they would typically kill any they fought against and if they were a young female at child-rearing age they might take them to be part of their clan if their previous clan was lacking in such females, but that was not the case here. Their leader whoever it was had decided to draw her and three other members of the Inquisition into this bog for a reason.

It could be for gold but she doubted that; Avvar preferred their own stuff and if they wanted material they would rather steal from what they claimed was their land. So maybe they wanted to meet with her and offer a political thing, or could this and she hated to admit it be nothing more than a trap. If Corypheus knew that she would go to save simple soldiers of the Inquisition perhaps he had kidnapped some, used the Avvar as an excuse and was simply waiting for the right moment to attack.

Grumbling as another drop of rain struck her, she noticed that the dark cloudly skies would make for excellent cover that would hide the approach of a dragon, something that Corypehuys would no doubt use to great effect if he so desired in this war that he was waging against the people. Frowning she glanced over to Nat, he hadn't said anything yet, no warnings of a great threat, just an uncomfortable feeling of being in this place but that was likely due to the necromancy of this place. Once they got farther away he would probably be more content then he was now.

"Nat can you sense anything ahead" Closing his eyes Nat allowed himself to concentrate on his surroundings more. Focusing his power on his ability to sense nearby magic he quickly began to feel the pulse of the smaller creatures nearby, insects, a few mammals even some smaller things like shrews that were hiding in nests, yet their presence was weak and could easily be ignored for those far larger things in the distance, larger things such as the prevalent feeling of demons not too far ahead, that of a human and those of many more spirits who had thrust their incorporeal bodies into those long since dead and should not have been disturbed.

"Nothing but the usual, are you expecting something in particular"

"Just Corypheus" Valeyna said grimly.

"You expect it's a trap" Nat said hiding his approval, Finally the woman had begun to think about things, it might not be enough for her to tell that this wasn't a trap and that Corypehus was still located in northern Orlais where he currently hovered over the border of Orlais and Tevinter and therefore he could not arrive quickly even if he desired to, yet it was still an improvement and one that she would hopefully work on.

"Yes, it's just so convenient this place, the dark sky, the undead and spirits. We can't even move an army in because of the ground to support us if we needed it."

"I agree, that's why I already made to check in with the scouts of the areas nearby this place, they hadn't seen a dragon recently, therefore, we can be safe to assume that he doesn't know of this mission"

"Good, I would rather not fight him again so soon, I can still feel the pain he did to me the last time" Just then as if it had been summoned, the mark that laid across the Inquisitions left hand flared in pain, forcing the Inquisitor to clutch onto her hand tightly as she was forced to her knees as the strength in her legs failed her and sent her careening into the floor.

"Inquisitor" Blackwall cried loudly. Rushing towards her bent and seething forward, all thoughts of the creatures that surrounded them gone, Blackwall forcefully yanked her hand away from where the woman had held it close to her chest so that he could see it loosely. Blackwall grunted in annoyance, the wound was sparking with pure magic energy, green jolts of what seemed like lightning-sparked off in all directions, some struck his armoured hand singing it painfully as the electricity courses through his metal-covered body. "Shit" He swore for a moment before then returning to the task at hand and glancing carefully at the wound.

There wasn't any blood, though whether that was a benefit or a curse he couldn't tell at this current moment. If there was blood then he would be better able to diagnose the problem and perhaps ask for assistance in dealing with it, yet on the other hand, the lack of blood comforted him slightly. Wounds could be nasty things to deal with especially those inflicted on by magic, what made it worse was when it was the mage who was hit as the pain often had a tendency of preventing them from focusing their power or so he had been told and thus prevent themselves from healing the pain.

Hissing in pain, Valeyna did her best to ignore the sounds of large splashes approaching towards them, they were slow unrefined something that was not similar to an animal but rather that of a man who was not used to walking in such places. Yet her growing concern was only made more prudent when the sound of snapping bones seemed to echo disturbingly loudly from wherever they were., though when she looked up suddenly, hoping to see and perhaps point out what was going on she could only notice how the rain had begun to beat down even heavier.

"Blast this fog, Kid can you do anything about it" Blackwall yelled.

"It's not natural" Nat yelled, being forced to by the ever-increasing sound of the rain."Some sort of magic is at work here, I can't tell what or who, but this place doesn't feel right"

"Should we move to get out of it"

"I don't think it would do anything, this fog is only getting thicker, in a few minutes we won't be able to see each other."

"What's happened " The two heard Sera yell but to the worry of the older and far more experienced soldier he saw how Nat's prediction came true as the ever-thickening fog had seemed to envelop her wherever she was and to such an extent that Blackwall couldn't see even as he helped the Inquisitor back to her feet, the pain seemingly vanished in an instant.

"Nat, can you make the fog go away"

"Maybe I do know some spells that can supposedly change the weather but that's for non-magical weather events, not unnatural fog that the undead are using to get closer"

"What," Valeyna said loudly her face turning clammy as she stared out into the thick fog, she could see nothing now, nothing but the thick grey fog that blocked her entire vision of everything around her on all sides. Not even Nat who before was no more than three metres away could be seen and Sera who was now calling out in a very brave but also petrified way was starting to get distorted as though the sound itself was beeing changed somehow like Sera was being picked up and moved.

"All right demon, reveal yourself" Nat's voice resounded outwards in a deep resounding bellow. Not a gentle bellow mind you of a person simply trying to catch your attention, but one that made her very bones shake in trepidation and her arms shiver as his voice blasted past her and into the fog.

"Nat, Sera where are you?" She called out again desperate that one of them would respond. Scared she glanced upwards to the tall man that guarded her safely with his large powerful frame and sharp metal blade and a large shield. Blackwall would protect her she knew, if any of the undead rushed out of this fog to harm either of them, then the fake grey warden would strike her down.

A low grinding sound like that of teeth chattering sounded in the distance, it was closer this time and it was followed by the unmistakable sound of something metallic scraping against a hard surface, like steel on stone.

"Inquisitor, where are you"Sera responded, she sounded to Valeyna's right and she also sounded close, but again she could not pinpoint the location from where the elf was coming from, instead she just seemed to fade off again as though she was calling from a distance.

"Demon?" She asked Blackwall questioningly. "Nat told a demon to reveal itself, do you think?"

"I don't know, and frankly I don't want to find out" Tightening his grip on his shield Blackwall listened to his senses. Years of training and even more years of combat had granted him far more astute senses than the common man, they were not superhuman like that could be granted via magic, but rather the kind that was gained through the arduous process of having to notice things that most people ignore. Such things included when a thief was trying to steal from a man's purse or when a pretty girl gave you a certain look or when some noble bastard looked down on you for not being born in some crib of the finest gold and other such bullshit.

Through these senses, he was able to work out just by the sound of the marching feet just how many were walking towards them. Fifteen at first but that soon grew twenty, thirty, forty they easily went past fifty and sixty until he arrived at a final count of seventy-nine in total. None of whom he could see, something that made it all the worse especially when one realised that if he stretched his arms forward they would be absorbed into the fog and he couldn't see them.

"You couldn't blow this lot away could you," He asked the elf at his back nervously.

"I'll try, but I doubt it will work" True to her word, Valeyna called upon the power that lay within the fade and brought it within the confined of this world. Swiftly she felt how the fade responded to her call and as she commanded it mentally her thoughts and her desires shaping it into the form of a powerful gust of wind, one like that which on the mountain tops in front of Skyhold that could blast men off the tops without a single thought. As she did so she ignored the calls of demons and other creatures that lurked in the other side of the Fade, from their callings of just allowing them in, to more personalised responses.

One demon that she recognised as a desire seemed to notice her desire to escape this area and promised great power if she were to let the demon into her, it even said that it would leave her body and find a new host. It was all a lie, of course, Valeyna knew better than to trust a demon, yet all the same, she could feel the demons had more power in this place, more so than before the breach when all these rifts gave large portals for its inhabitants to escape. This place as Nat had noticed before was festooned with death and as she focused her power she could feel the presence of that demon Nat had called out to.

It was old and powerful, more so than even your average pride demon that so often showed of its raw brawn, yet despite this, she could not find it anywhere. It held no obvious shape that she could see, it was like it was hiding all around her, lurking int he waters as some kind of monster, which only made her feel even more suspicious.

"It's new" She breathed out carefully.

"What?" Balcakkwas said confused.

"The demon, it's new to this place"

"How do you know that?" Blackwall demanded.

"Because every time my clan has passed through this area before, we have never encountered anything like this demon, which means it must be new and is what Nat sensed"

"Great, where is it now"

"It's in the water I think"

"Brilliant, we have a demon in the water. How come it's only attacking now"

"It must have sensed the mark, I don't know why but whenever I seemed to think about it too much it flares up. That must have made the demon aware of us"

"How about you get rid of this fog first and then we can speak about the demon"

"Right" Not wasting any more time on the conversation and the spell now long since ready, Valeyna blasted off her spell and loosed a powerful blast of wind in all directions. Though she could not see anything, the two could only hear as the sound of a loud and powerful smack struck against what must have been the side of one of the many rocks faces that hung around like a curtain wall around the stone giving it some form of protection. This was combined with the sound of what the two assumed to be one of the pyres as the flame whooshed in and out as the sudden burst of oxygen forced it into the bottom of its pan before flaring up again. The sounds of a wet floor also echoed as the grass-covered floor was sent careening backwards, and the sound of wet pools splashing against the corpses of dead man and women became more apparent only a few metres away.

Behind that, though a sudden recognisable and yet girl screamed followed as Sera the elf was seemingly struck by the spell and send flying into the air only to then crash into the floor with a mighty thump. After that, there were only two more noteworthy sounds, that of skeletal figure crashing into the scenery below in a mix of broken bones and shattered limbs and that which sounded strangely like a chantry bell as it collided with what Valeyna guessed was a shield sell created by her advisor.

"Watch where you flinging that stuff" Nat yelled from out the fog. "You just hit Sera" Valeyna turned to where she had heard Nat's call out. Had she been able to see him then she would have perhaps asked how he was able to see or hear what had happened when she had not been able to, but that would also be alongside the question of how he was still alive in this fog when she and Blackwall had nearly been overrun.

"Sorry" She called back hoping that Sera, wherever the poor elf girl was trapped, could hear her, the lack of reply only sent a worrying chill down her spine. "Nat get Sera and bring her here" She ordered loudly.

From within the fog, Nat rolled his eyes as he concentrated on the location where Sera had crashed and began to make his way quickly through the thick hazy fog with no detriment. It was another reason why he had refused to take of his glasses since coming to this place, since while the first purposes of those enchanted black pieces of plastic was indeed to protect his eyes from flying debris or as he more likely dealt in his old career, spells, they were also enchanted so that they could see through thick obscuring methods such as pitch-black via night vision or in this case the thick fog though magical in nature had no idea that he could see the various sights in a miz of bright green hues making it incredibly easy for him to navigate.

With this advantage, he was easily able to carve his way through a selection of undead even as they attempted to gang up on him from the side, with quick and precise strikes, until he reached the other side of the island where he saw Sera. As soon as he saw her, he knew instantly why she hadn't responded back to Valeyna's calls.

Having been taken by surprise by the Inquisitors spell and with no protection whatsoever, the poor blonde elf had been swept high into the air and sent hurtling over the island until she had crashed n the other side with a large splash. The impact had knocked her out hopefully removing any pain that the girl had felt on her harsh landing, but the fact that she was now laying headfirst into the swamp her bow now floating away and her quiver hunched forward spilling arrows out over her head indicated that she was not going to survive long.

Not wasting a moment he pointed his wand towards the downed elf and silently cast the levitation on the weak downed body of the elf, instantly lifting her up from the black bog and into the air where she was at less risk of drowning. Still aware of his surroundings and the incoming horde of skeletons that seemed to be coming around every bend and corner, Nat quickly levitated her down towards his position on a slightly raised rock and laid her gently downwards.

Instead of instantly reviving her like others though, he knew better than to cast certain spells without knowing the rest of the bodies state. Due to this he cast a quick diagnostic charm only for when he saw the results for him to summon up a quick shield around himself and Sera enveloping the two in not the strongest barrier magically speaking, but one that as the undead began to approach in that trembling but grotesque way would hopefully act as a strong enough barrier.

Once that was completed he flicked his wands to where he could see Valeyna and Blackwall as they flung out spells and gave quick harsh blows towards the enemy as the continued to advance on their untenable position. With a distinct unmanly yell, he returned back to Sera inspecting her magically even as Blackwall was pulled off his feet and sent hurtling through the air towards him at an extreme but none the less controlled manner before he then landed on his feet firmly. Valeyna, on the other hand, was slightly less alert, since with Blackwall having been taken mere moments later she barely managed to give off a gasp before it felt as though somebody had thrown a whip around her insides and yanked harshly in one direction.

None the less she managed to turn around quickly and notice the strangle clear yet obvious clear dome that the fog was forming around making some form of a dark grey building. Quickly recognising this as the work of her fellow mage, she allowed her self to be dragged along until she felt her skin tickle slightly as she passed by the barrier and entered inside.

The inside of this suddenly made makeshift bubble wasn't anything to look at, it wasn't homely and it wasn't a defensive position, something that was made all the more prominent by the fact that after only a few seconds of looking, those corpses of the undead, blasted creatures that they were, had entirely surrounded the dome on all fronts and were now physically trying to climb on top of one another to enter. Other in the meanwhile threw their bodies against the magical shield with reckless abandon, trying to break down the barrier with their sheer weight, yet to her 's and Blackwall's relief the shield didn't even seem to so much as twitch from the treatment.

"Will the shield hold"?" She asked worryingly her attention now quickly focusing on their downed team member.

"So long as there are no powerful mages or demons nearby to break down the shield, yes. In the meantime, though I would appreciate if you fight back"

"Fought back, it's a large barrier, how do we fight back?"

"It's a one-way barrier" Na replied instantly., "Seriously do they not even teach you the very basics when it comes to shielding techniques"

"Got it," She responded instantly before then turning around and launching a powerful fire blast against the corpses directly behind her. As the fire struck, the old flashes, Valeyna did her best to think about something other than the smell of old corpses being burned alive, it was a disgusting rancid smell and it made her feel sick, like that when you had eaten far too much and just the scent of food wanted yo make you vomit there and then. None the less, now that she was in a safe and secure position with no way for the enemy undead to strike her, she quickly took advantage of this position and launched all sorts of attacks.

Ice, fire, lightning, rocks and even telekinesis blasts were all used in her stalwart defence of her allies, soon much to her relief as she began to wipe out the number of undead she began to notice that fog also seemed too disparate as though it was linked to the number of corpses that the demon had under its control.

"How is she," She asked Nat as her eyes flickered over to Sera.

"Well, thankfully your blast just knocked the wind out of her and sent her colliding with water, had she hit a rock I could be dealing with a major injury, as it stands now I can have her fight this instant, though admittedly with a headache"

"She won't like that" Blackwall muttered darkly. Despite his dark tone one look at the man showed off that he was indeed very happy that the admittedly rude elf was going to live and even better that she could fight as soon as she woke up.

"Yes I just suggest we deal with the demons first, I don't particularly think that she will like the idea of waking up to the image of old slimly here as the first thing she saw"

"No, I don't imagine she would" Blackwall agreed. Turning back to the boy for a moment he frowned and then knelt at Sera's side inspecting her possible wounds carefully making sure not to touch her more than gently. "Do you have anything to deal with her headache"

"Not magically no, but I have Aspirin, Paracetamol, Calpol and one of those potions that the quantity officer gave us"

"Aspirin, is that some type of plant?" Blackwall sounded curious.

"A drug actually, one manufactured on a large scale and is typically taken for more serious headaches and migraines. I'm just cautious about using it because for all I know she could have an allergic reaction to it. Which if that does happen, she's fucked."

"Couldn't you deal-"

"No" Nat shook his head carefully. Gently he picked up Sera by her head and placed her into a sitting position. "My knowledge of healing magic is restricted to injuries, cut's bruises, broken bones, Merlin if I need to I can reattach a limb. But diseases, allergic reactions and that lot are more specialised care and since aspirin is swallowed if she does react, I can't do anything for her." Seeing Blackwall's concerned face, Nat offered him a small look of comfort. "Don't worry, she's entirely fine, give her a good nights rest and some time to recover and the headache will be gone, if the headache is really that bad I will give her some paracetamol, but only if she signs a document stating that she understands that I'm not a fault and she took it under possible risk".

"I have a feeling Sera is not going to accept medicine from you" Valeyna stated blandly, blasting away another three undead creatures with a large slash of her staff.

"It's her choice, and it's only temporary relief anyway, a few hours and then it comes back again, it doesn't get rid of the pain so much as numbs it."

"So it's not very good then" Bringing her staff down, Valeyna allowed a small grin to appear on her face as one undead who had been charging at her from across the other side of the shield with a wicked rusty knife was frozen solid in a block of freezing five in one go. With a snap of her fingers, she then commanded the block of ice and commanded it to create large interlocking spikes of ice on the inside that with a horrific squelching noise the creature's last moments were filled with sudden anguish as sharp pieces of ice impaled it all over.

"They do a well enough job considering that there is no magic whatsoever in their construction, and when you're suffering from a headache, your hardly going to refuse. "

"In that case why were you carrying them?" Despite the ruckus that was going on all around the Blackwall feeling protected by his two mage companions, one of whom had created a shield to guard them and the other who was now decimating the incoming waves of undead asked the question.

"Just in case, I do have a few potions on me as well but I'd rather keep them for absolute emergencies since I can't replace them"

"What type of potions?"

"Blood replenishers mostly, they don't so much heal you like your potions do, but instead just allow your body to replenish lost blood. Bloody useful when your dealing with major injuries and especially if it hits a major artery. But otherwise, you don't use them for anything else"

"How come you can't replace them?" Blackwall peered closely and gazed at the boys clothing noticing a rather lack of pockets seemingly large enough to carry a potion comfortably and without it sticking out.

"The ingredients where I come from are slightly different, I don't know if it's magic or just the different climate, point is I can't use ingredients here that I could back home simply because they don't have the same properties" Nat said, easily brushing past the weakness of not having a potential lifesaver in mass quantities.

"What do you have?" Blackwall asked still interested, noticing him shooting a look of concern at Sera Nat resisted the urge to sigh. The last thing he needed was the man to start asking him to use his very limited supply of potions on a girl when she did not need it.

"It's a limited list, things mostly for everyday things rather than serious injuries, cures for colds, fevers, internal bleeding, regrowing limbs-"

"Regrowing limbs" Valeyna squeaked.

"You'd be surprised what can happen with magic" Nat replied dryly. "Options, to deal with overgrowing body parts, dreamless sleep potions, one or two to change the gender of a person" Seeing another surprised look Nat again had to roll his eyes and then gave a quick explanation of how sometimes tricksters liked to play pranks on people, something that had happened a lot more in recent decades much the irritation of guys who seemed to be getting stuck more often. "As well as a few more"

"But I thought you said you had a small list"

"How are most of those small scale things? Changing gender?" Blackwall said trying to contemplate just why one person needed to carry so many different options that could all do some rather complex things by the sound of it.

"That is a small amount" Nat stated. "Compared to a person who's job is a healer or even to those who worked as an Auror before the war started, my list is pretty small and only useful for daily affairs. In the case of war, I would be carrying a lot more on me"

"But we're at war now, and you came from a war beforehand, why didn't you have any more?" Valeyna questioned suspiciously. Blasting way another incoming undead person she turned towards the young mage and looked at him suspiciously, there was something odd about his person, every time he had spoken before of his past he had always mentioned a war that he had been in, yet this story about potions seemed lacking, after all even if he was but one lone survivor, he should have had at least a few on him for more serious conditions (well she assumed serious since according to him the ability to regrow limbs was something that could be done) before he arrived, yet he now spoke as though he hadn't come from war, and that he wasn't prepared to fight one.

"Our enemy was rather intelligent before the war even began, certain people began to go missing, powerful warriors, stalwart politicians, people who were rather vocal about certain things that were left exposed, wandmakers and of course as you can guess, potion brewers"

"Surely they didn't get all of them," She said surprised.

"Before the war no, but as it was a surprise war combined with the fact that we had no standing military and enemy agents within the ranks of the Aurors and other high ranking positions that we're able to pass on critical information, well it turns out that within only a few months of the war beginning, we had already lost all our prominent potion makers. It was only made worse by the fact that our was enemy offering higher wages, protection and other things that we couldn't"

"You weren't ready, not in the slightest?" Nat shook his shoulders and let out a deep breath. Glancing around he saw much to his and the relief of the other that the thick haze of fog that had surrounded the place had worn down substantially leaving the area relatively clear so that they could now see again. In the distance, he was able to make out the dark and gloomy shape of the castle that cast a dark impression on the entire area and not too far forwards he could make out the shape of a tall human fighting a contingent of demons in the area.

It was somewhat impressive in all honesty, the way that the primitive weapon of what appeared to be mostly local wood with some iron bumps on managed to smash through the demons head and turn them into a gooey mess, it was also somewhat amusing when one of the green glowing demons unleashed a barrage of magic attacks that the great man took with minimal effort where he then grinned maniacally. Turning back to the others however he saw their interested gaze and so seeing as there was relatively little harm in telling them and thus increasing his trust with them, he decided to continue his "fictional" version of the last wizarding war.

"The government wasn't no, they ignored all calls that the leader in charge of the enemy group had returned, it was only after he had revealed himself in the central government building in front of hundreds of onlooker after having fought a battle that he then finally believed it"

"Typical, idiots in charge who always ignore a problem until it blows entirely out of proportion. Let me guess he also called anyone who said that this person who had returned was criminals who should be locked up, or are after their position or something"

"Yes," Nat answered plainly. "We were given warning of about a year before the enemies return and nothing was done about it, and we ignored it" Blackwall shook his head in disgust.

"Typical, you were lazy, refusing to listen to sense and it cost you your entire civilization"

"And what exactly were we supposed to do" Nat replied his voice cold and biting. He had heard this same reply before, so many times had those who had come from muggle raised families stated that if only they believed one person that the war could have been over far earlier, that all they needed to do was be open to suggestions, entirely ignoring all logic and instead playing the faithful unthinking lapdog of the current government."Listen to the words of a fourteen-year-old boy, who had just been kidnapped and returned with the corpse of his friend and was in clear emotional trauma at the time?"

"Yes," Valeyna almost yelled.

"No, our society was one built on logical action, we weren't about to set society into an utter panic over the crying words of one child, we needed evidence, statements, investigations, all things that the leader of this merry little band of fighters that the kid belonged to refused to give us. It also doesn't help the fact that this particular individual had a very well known track record of getting into trouble at both schools and with the law on other occasions and had the reputation of apparently doing the impossible. For all, we knew it was nothing more than an extremely elaborate prank, that the kid had actually killed his friend for fame and was now going to try and ride the bandwagon until further glory"

"So you ignored the threat" Blackwall shook his head.

"Hindsight's a bitch. And while the Minister wasn't the most competent person in the world, the fact is that he behaved mostly in a logical manner. Had Dumbledore made contact with other people in the Ministry that we'rent part of his Glorified KFC group such as the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and given key details that could have been used and might lead to father investigation that could then yield evidence that the Minister could then show to the people, then perhaps we might have prevented war. But the fault remains on more than one idiotic minister and trust me when I say we've had a lot of them"

"How in makers name were your people able to survive for so long?" Nat chuckled at the comment.

"That's simple, we have a surprising history of a strong and stable government that has lasted for entire centuries. We do get utterly shit politicians at times, such as the last lot" Theresa May, David Cameron, Jermy Corbyn, Nick Clegg" Nat said quickly making a coughing noise as he said the first few names that came to mind when it came to utterly shit politicians that the country had suffered from in rather recent and terrible years. "But we're British and we have the tendency to tell our politicians to fuck off when we want to. All in all, Fudge his name-" Nat elaborated before he had the group wondering where on earth a sweet treat had appeared from "Had his flaws, beeing a corrupt twat and all, but he did behave sensibly regarding this, for the most part anyway. Ignoring his paranoia about dumbledore wanting his job, which was admittedly rather ridiculous seeing as the man would only need to put himself for office and he would immediately be chosen."

"He is responsible for destroying your civilisation and you defend him?" Valeyna cried out, utterly confused. How could a person who had watched their entire civilization get destroyed, watch his family friends, loved ones and every other person he knew get slaughtered and killed because one person had refused to listen to the warnings of some other people? Did it not mean anything to him? Was he simply that heartless that he would allow logic to dictate his actions and never once allow himself the ability to think with his emotions, or was he trying to stay strong and come to the fact that everybody he knew was lost and he would never see them alive, and this was simply a lashing out.

Did he need attention she wondered in a concerted manner?, he never asked for it but then again when he spent all of his time alone, focusing on work, never playing games even when asked to, and then taking on more and more responsibility that if the tumours that some of the servants said were true, that he was physically collapsing from the pressure, then how did he cope?.

"The man had his problems like all people do. One person's hero is another's villain, where one sees a person who inflicted horrendous cruelty another will look past that and see what it achieved. I don't care for him, Fudge was weak, corrupt and mostly incompetent and yes while his inaction did lead to dear old Riddle gaining power, there was very little he could do, and starting a war was well out of his reach"

"How come he wouldn't declare war" Valeyna sked. "Was he too afraid" Nat sighed again and looked at Sera, though she now looked perfectly fine and the magical scans indicated that aside from the headache she would gain that she was also in okay condition, he couldn't help but grow concerned in this environment.

It was like the deep roads this place, old, horrid terrain, large amounts of creatures that lurked nearby and were waiting to inflict damage all the while he was trying to move ever forward to an objective. Had the elf been hurt badly then it would have been a difficult thing moving Sera through this terrain without the use of some of his more impressive magic and that could lead to the elf archers death, something that while he didn't say out loud would be unfortunate. It was difficult enough trying to increase the Inquisitions, espionage agents with all his current duties, it would be even harder when Sera who acted as a mini spymaster assisted in that as well.

Turning back to Valeyna he flicked his wand at Sera waking her up only to then receive a rather foul reply he then continued explaining the previous history.

"Yes as he should have been, the last time Voldemort was around, things became rather grim. In short, he was kind of like how Corypheus is now, old, incredibly powerful, brilliant, intelligent, had an awful lot of followers and he was also considered rather charismatic. The man became so feared that people didn't even dare speak his name and even after the war had ended with his death people still didn't dare say it, they were so afraid."

"But I thought you said he was dead, or at least believed dead?" Blackwall spoke.

"He was, and our people celebrated for the most part. With him dead it became far easier to mop up his remaining followers and deal with them at our leisure. Of course what only became known in the second war however was that the reason nobody said his name was because the man had placed a taboo over his very name" Seeing their looks of confusion, Nat idly wondered if there was a similar type of magic in this world. While he hadn't found anything yet, it could indeed be possible when one considered that the ancient elves had made the Eluvians, Corypheus had punctured the veil to the Fade and Dorian himself had been [part of a group that had discovered time travel magic. And when one considered the faith of old elven gods that could be just incredibly powerful mages that had mastered magic that was not known to the general public, and it became rather easy to see how the gods knew when the people were praying to them.

"A taboo is a form of magic that alerts you when a certain thing is said. It's incredibly powerful magic, something I can't even hope to do as of yet, but what made it so deadly was the fact it gave away a person's location, something that with how much Voldemots forces were spread across the country made it easy for them to intercept those who said the words and quickly enact punishment. Hence he became known as he who shall not be named for if they did-"

"Then they would be killed" Valeyna finished darkly. Blinking hard she turned to Sera, for now, the woman seemed to be physically alright, yet despite this, it was rather apparent to Valeyna that she did not seem emotionally okay, not at least when they both considered the fact that there was magic out there that could be used to such deadly effect.

"How did you deal with the spell?" Blackwall inquired, though he did his best to hide the morbid curiosity in his tone. Whether it was a natural fear of magic like any sensible person should have or instead wanting to know how this would affect a battlefield, or then again maybe he just wanted to hear another war story that would keep him distracted from the undead corpses and the apparent demon lurking by, he didn't know. What he did however know was that he was going to have to treat the kid with a lot of care since if his lot of mages got more powerful as they got older and they had spells to determine when a person was talking bad about them, it made it a dam lot harder to stay alive.

"It was dealt with the moment Voldemort was killed, once that was done the majority of the remaining death eaters were captured and dealt with later, and over the following decades all of the last few struggling supporters were soon then brought to justice."

"The war ended again, but I thought you said he fought in your war" Nat gave a pained chuckle.

"Yes well, it turns out that the bastard does not have the common decency to stay fucking dead. Twice we've put that bugger in the ground and twice he came back, making it three times he has run around with his little army galavanting across the country, raping, killing murdering and beeing a rather lot of distasteful sods"

"But his army was destroyed?"

"Yep it was" Nat replied in a sarcastic drawl after popping the P. "But it turns out that when the new government who starts taking radical measures to prevent this thing from ever happening again, starts to be incredibly cruel on those children of the faction who did not fight, and start stripping them of everything, and well you get a lot of unhappy people who don't have much to lose anymore. And so the war started again, only this time we were still recovering from the last one and Voldemort got his act together and killed the guy who killed him the last two times, and then followed it up by the leaders of the last war, which again due to the casualty count meant that after only a short time, the entire government was now leaderless and relying on children to fight the same bloody war. Again"

"Again," Blackwall said horrified, his face has gone ghastly ale his eyes hardened and his beard still splashed by the blood of the undead seemed to sway slightly in the cool breeze that surrounded them. "You allowed children to fight for you" He finally said in a mix of utter disbelief and terror.

"How do you think I got so good at killing stuff" Nat lied easily the words rolling off his tongue. In truth the first time he had truly killed something and he meant in a fashion where he was not killing a conjured snake or flooding an ant's nest out of border on or even setting some spider that had dared to come into his room on fire, had been when he came to this world, when he had killed those demons without hesitation.

"So you were a student before your war began" Valeyna shook her head. "I killed my first living creature when I was younger, eight I think. I was with the hunters and they had brought down a dear with their bows, it wasn't dead so the hunter brought out a knife and was about to kill it but before he could our Keeper told me to do it. The thing was she gave me the knife, instead of making me do it with magic, I never got why until I was older, Well technically that's not true out keeper did tell me why, but it wasn't until I was older that I finally understood"

"No offence Inquisitor, but I would prefer that we focus more on the current matter at hand, more specifically the demon that is lurking in these waters" Blinking quickly, Valeyna peeked towards the black waters that surrounded them. While it was true that the waters were dark, ugly and not appealing in the slightest, especially not with her he boots would squelch in the mood or Sera would complain about the filth, thus dragging her attention towards it. She couldn't help but agree that there was something deeply wrong about this place, both from the darkness of the colour to the sheer amount of undead and the thick fog that loomed over them.

"Demon," She asked concerned. "What type"

I'm not sure" Nat answered swiftly his attention still locked onto the dark water. "I would say fear, but it's more powerful than that, and it's physically bigger. Not giant, at most I would say the same physical size as a pride demon, which is why the fact that it can hide in this bog is so concerning"

"What do you think it want's," Blackwall asked quickly as he drew his sword closer to his body in a more defensive manner.

"I don't know, like all demons those of fear want to feed on the emotions that are created, perhaps it came here to feed on what emotion remained from when this village was first sunk, perhaps it was brought here to guard the water and is instead some type of guardian for Corypheus when it comes to this pass. I don't know in all honesty"

"Well, we could always ask it" Valeyna added helpfully.

"Yeah sure, because a demon that is actively lurking in the water summoning the undead and directing it to attack us would make for the best conversationist. I wonder what we could talk about, other than the kill count of course."

"When you said that the demon could be guarding this pace, do you think that might be the actual cause," The elf asked, by now they had already begun to advance even faster through the water. It was an odd sensation for the party, Sera was beeing carried via Blackwall after it being said that the elf archer was not going to take the news of a giant demon lurking in the water like some kind of shark well and thus could limit their plan of attack. As such she was flung carefully into the men back as he did his best to travel through the water, his eyes doing the best they could to look for any unnatural shapes of ripples in the water surface that may alert them to any possible attack.

Looking to his left and right he was glad to have the two mages who were holding up his flank, both with their weapons ready and both it seemed could unleash a spell at a moments notice if anything occurred before it was too late. Yet despite this, as he felt his linen clothes continue to get soggy in the ever pouring rain and damp bog water, he mentally made a note to himself to have a long hard bath the first moment he got.

"It would make sense, to take this place" Blackwall added as he heard the conversation between the two mages carry on. "This road was meant to help our supply lines, with it being so empty we can easily get things travelling to the troops without having to deal with refugees. With it gone it would be far easier for some spies to dress and burn down c caravans without anybody knowing"

"Agreed," Nat said quickly. "But don't you find it odd, normally a more powerful demon would have revealed itself by now, instead though it just seems to be lurking in the water"

"And there are the mounds" Valeyna added quickly, her attention switching to the barely visible pieces of dirt as they extended into the sky. "The demon only seems to be alerting the undead to us when we activate the veil fire, aside from that the undead only attack when they've been disturbed"

"Perhaps this place is sentimental" Seeing the confused faces of the others on him, Nat simply nodded and looked at the islands on the horizon. While he was no expert when it came to buildings or architecture, even he could notice that the way that the houses had been built on the land and then left abandoned were not designed for this type of area. There were no stilts to deal with the water and stone and timber were used in the construction, something which shouldn't be done with such heavy materials. Instead, he would have said that the building materials that had been used looked like they belonged far more to a standard village.

"I'm sorry but why would a demon find some old drowned village sentimental," Blackwall said condescendingly as he gazed at the ruined village below.

"Well I was talking to Solas the other day, and in basic terms, he said that all demons were spirit's who had been corrupted or lost their way."

"And that help's us how"

"Demons may be malevolent creatures, but spirits are more the opposite, they represent things like wisdom, Justice or in Cole's case of Compassion. While it is a random theory, for all we know this demon could once have been a friendly spirit at one point, but then something turned it from its original purpose into a demon"

"And some memories could have remained" Valeyna'sfinished her eyes dashing towards the dark water and back to the young mage who had just given here the idea of how they should proceed. "You think the demon might be trying to protect this place in some manner" Nat shrugged his shoulders and followed the elves glance back to the rather dingy water. This was a place he wanted to get out of as soon as possible.

"Maybe, but it could just be a random demon, after all, if a demon this powerful had been here earlier, then I'm sure the Templars would have long since dealt with the problem"

"Perhaps it hid" Nat shook his head again.

"I don't think so, with how long the village has been like this no. The only real reason I can think off would be that the spirit only recently turned demon and came to this area and that's going off on the theory that it was a friendly spirit in the first place.

"I'm sorry are you saying spirits can be friendly, after what that man Anders did in Kirkwall" Nat turned to Blackwall his face still calm unlike that of the ex-soldiers more flushed and angered expression. Of course, he would be angry he reasoned, he like most others were bound to believe in the maker and so for a mage to go blow up a church was probably blasphemy of some kind.

"Justice is neither good nor ill Blackwall, it is simply an emotion, specifically referring to that where one wants a certain outcome because another individual or group has carried out some act. In all civilizations, we deliver justice to those who break the law, in Ander's and his spirit's case he took justice for all the wrongful acts committed against mages"

"And the innocent men and women he killed, the war he plunged Thedas in, the death of the divine, Corypheus, that is justice?"

"Yes," Nat said simply. "Justice cares about nothing but revenge, for that is what justice is. The world can burn for all justice cares so long as they get to kill that one person who killed their mother, but likewise, justice will inevitably want vengeance on that person who allowed to the world to burn"

"And here people say that justice is blind" Nat chuckled at the quote and gave a slight smile. He wasn't expecting a talk about philosophy, but he would never the less treat it as a rare opportunity to pry open the man's mind, well more then he could already by seeing his memories.

"If you want a spirit to consider matters, you want wisdom. But even then, wisdom is cold, harsh, ruthless, logical. Wisdom will not care if a family starves to death in war because as far as it is concerned it is more useful to keep those materials for the soldiers. Wisdom is knowing when to do something with no thought for opinion until it affects them. A wise commander may sacrifice person after person, simply to gain the approval of another and increase the number of troops at their disposal "

"Wait if there's a problem with justice and there's a problem with wisdom, then what's Cole's problem" Speaking slowly Valeybna tried to consider Nat's words, she had never thought about such a thing before, the way he spoke at first sounded like Spirits were good things, but by stating that they had weaknesses, flaws even, it made her think. If spirits were flawed, did that mean that demons were too, if so what was a good point of a pride demon, or a desire, demon, or perhaps a sloth or rage demon? Perhaps she should ask later when they had more time to contemplate this.

"I would say compassion is focused more on the short term in general. It tries to help whenever there is a problem, whether that is giving food or coin to a starving family, saving the life of another person, showing mercy perhaps, giving a person more time to pay a debt, or perhaps even writing it off entirely. In short, I would say that it's weakness is that one is charitable"

"Charitable" Blackwall sounded angry now. "How is it wrong to be charitable, how is it wrong not to save a life or to help those who are in need. We all take to much and never give back anything, beeing compassionate is good-. Without compassion, we would turn on ourselves like a pack of rabid wolves"

"Once again Blackwall you are correct, civilizations would fall apart if we did not feel compassion if we could not pull together and assist one another when we needed it. Yet compassion can be manipulated and turned against both the one who gives and the one who receives"

"Explain"

"I won't lecture to you about the fact that a person may take advantage of compassion shown to them and stabbing a knife in the back, you're a soldier after all, but those like Sera know what I am talking about."

"And what's that"

"When one receives compassion, it can create jealousy in others"

"Murder" Valyena muttered darkly.

"Maybe, but if one gives one person charity and not the other it will cause resentment, or in the other case, if news of your compassion spreads then other's will come. But we don't have much more time to debate the morality of such matters instead it is in our best interest to work out what type this demon is and end it before they can do any more damage"

"Why, don't you want to give them any compassion" Valeyna teased the young wizard however as she was coming to expect as the norm from him, he ignored his comment and they moved forwards towards the next mound.

Quickly time passed by and after a few hours and more then one or two bloody battles with the forces of the "Bastards who couldn't be polite enough to stay dead", as Nat had coined them, the group of four had finally managed to decimate the final swarm of the undead and were now not that far away from the castle walls that they had spotted not so long ago.

Grunting in a slight amount of pain, Blackwall refused the urge to hiss as the ache in his arm became more pronounced. With the combat now over, he was finally free to search around his surroundings only as he had expected to come face to face with the look of horror that surrounded him.

Corpses, over a hundred of them in that last fight had been destroyed butchered, transformed and decimated by him and the two mages that he was accompanying them. All around them he could smell their rotting flesh even above that of the bog that they had found themselves entirely unwarily in. Blood was splashed all over the dark floor and was much to his slight disturbance sinking into the floor far faster then it should, and the bodies, those who had long since died in some kind of flood as they had discovered, still stared up at him with those pale gleaming face and milky white eyes.

Walking up the incline just before the castle gates that had been entirely abandoned by the Avvar, the group then turned back towards the water and focused on the threat that lurked within.

None the less they had more business to deal with, or more specifically, dealing with a demon that was lurking int he water around their feet somehow. Sighing he glanced towards the water and nodded his head.

"Okay you, two what's our plan in fighting this thing"

"Simple, you two will distract it long enough for me to throw a spell down its mouth and blow it up from the inside"

"And how exactly are we supposed to manage that" Nat smirked

"Well I was originally planning on putting the Inquisitor here in swimwear, tie her to a pole and leave her as a sacrifice, that aways works in the myths anyway"

"What?" Blackwall almost yelled. "Sacrifice"

"Swimwear?" Valeyna added in a teasing yet interesting manner.

"It was a joke" Nat cried rolling his eyes for what seemed to be the umpteenth time. "I know where the dam thing is and I'll grab its attention by flinging a spell at it, that should piss it off and we can finish it"

"Oh, that's a shame I swear I could pull off the innocent maiden act" Nat raised an eyebrow and gave her a look over.

"You, maiden?" He said sarcastically. "I have no desire to know what you get up in the bedroom, but knowing you and Bull I think I can reliably say that you have no innocence whatsoever left to take" Instantly as soon as those words had left his mouth, Nat slammed the palm of his face into his hand as the blonde elf turned a mix of slight pink and a slight lecherous look appeared.

"Oh Nathanael inquiring about that "innocence" I didn't know you were so informal, if you were just curious You could have just asked, I would be more then happy to show you"

"No-No-No. I have no interest in that thing, none whatsoever. I regret what I said now can we move on" Waving his hand in front of Him, Nat did his best to ignore the snort that emerged from Blackwall's mouth and the generally humours laugh of the Inquisitor as they watched him rush away from them as though he had just witnessed something particularly foul or had his hand caught stuck in the cookie jar. However, he felt his heart drop and his stomach churn when he noticed a particularly nasty gleam that had stretched across the elf mage, swiftly her grin became like that of hyenas who had caught her prey and unfortunately he was not able to leap away before she made her move.

"Is that a blush I see"

"No" Nat responded his voice still calm, yet to his growing horror Valeyna ignored him and instead leaned closer, her eyes fixed on his cheeks. Seeing him caught off guard, Valeyna continued her pursuit bring her face closer and closer to his, enjoying the way he leaned his back obviously out of discomfort yet also refusing to take a step back refusing to give in to her dominance, however, there was only so far a human could bring their head back and when he had reached that limit, Nat found himself almost touching noses with the woman.

"Oh, I think I see something" Valeyna chirped happily yet as Nat noticed instantly her eyes did not match her smile and instead she seemed entirely disappointed. Nat resisted the urge to smile when he saw the look of defeat in the elf's eyes, of course, there would be no blush or other such emotion. The elf no doubt was trying to see how far she could push him, before he did step back, see if she could get some sort of emotional response that she could use on him, whether that was for teasing and her amusement or because she desired to manipulate him via politics, he didn't care, the result was the same.

"Perhaps you should go to Specsavers" He replied dryly. Ignoring the joke as she had no clue what such a thing meant, Valeyna only allowed herself to move that slight bit father and leaned in until now their lips were only centimetres apart, hers curved upwards enjoying the game between them while his as ever, were straight and bored not taking any fun out of her teasing.

"Are you not enjoying our game?" She asked honestly.

"I find it tedious, especially since we are in the middle of a bog with a group of ill-tempered tribesmen behind us and some sort of demon in front of us" Giving off a frown of irritation Valeyna suddenly stepped back and admitted her defeat in this staring contest she threw her arms up into the air and sighed.

"You know you can have a little bit of fun at a time, you don't have to behave so seriously. I mean didn't you even enjoy one moment of that, you didn't feel your heart flutter from having a beautiful woman just inches away from kissing you, did my breath not do anything?"

"I will have fun Inquisitor when there is the time for such things"

"And that is when? when we get back, tomorrow, a few months. Or are you going to wait until this entire war is finished" She cried angrily? "You do know that you could die at any moment, that Corypheus could just swoop in and destroy everything. What will you do then huh, what will you do when you become a slave and you don't have a single good memory or you're dead and you never had any fun because you were always trying to do something".

"In such a scenario I would have more vital concerns then reliving some moments of past glory, such as escape or in the case of death, I needn't have to care about what my thoughts are when I die, either way, my body will become a corpse and nothing more"

"And that's it, you just don't care, It's always business never pleasure"

"Inquisitor need I remind you that we are in the middle of a bog attempting to save the lives of men who got captured, at this particular moment in time I do believe we have more pressing issues than talking about whether I want to pop round for tea."

"You insufferable little-" Before she could finish, a strong firm hand laid itself across her right shoulder, cutting her off mid-sentence. Turning quickly she saw the handsome yet brooding face of Blackwall looking at her disappointedly.

"The kid has a point Inquisitor, we have a demon to kill"

"Yea and I would like to leave this place" Sera added. Valeyna sighed deeply, they were right she knew, they had to deal with whatever was causing the undead to attack, yet she couldn't help but feel a painful feeling in her chest. He had ignored her, completely, no reaction, no blush and every time she moved forward he went back, and then when she wanted to go get to know him better he refused her every advance while also well stating time and time again that something was more important.

"Okay, Nat is your plan ready" Nodding Nat grabbed the makeshift grenade he had made via gunpowder and a test tube. It wasn't exactly the best grenade in the world and was bound to be far less powerful against armoured opponents then modern ones, but he was however sure that dropping it down the throat of the enemy would kill it. As such with that in mind he ignored the slightly curious look of the elf and instead got to work adding a few enchantments that would address the aim of his throw when the monster revealed itself, finally once that was done and he gave the nod to the Inquisitor, the action began.

"Oi, you ugly" Sera yelled towards the water. "Get your ass out here I want to put an arrow behind your eyes"

"Ugly" Valeyna commented. "That's what you're going with"

"Just shut up and help" Blackwall complained towards the other. Shaking her head Valeyna tried this time.

"You pathetic demon you thought you could kill us but we're still alive"

"Come and get it you cock gobbling monster " Sera added.

"C- ugh never mind."Shaking his head at the rather muted efforts to bring the demon out of the water where it could be made, the wizard, makeshift explosive device in hand decided to go the easy way out. "Hello demon, I want to make a deal"

"Deal" Blackwall looked at Nat as if he was stupid, had the kid gone blind, there was no way that a demon was going to just reveal itself simply because somebody wanted to make a deal. The demon knew that they were trying to kill it, the demon had already attempted to kill them four times and had failed all those times, yet Nat believed it would come how just poke its head above the water, walk upon the land wearing some kind of nice clothing so the two of them could sit at a table and enjoy some type of casual meal together while they talked about business. It was stupid, ridiculous, it was never going to happen, and he noticed suddenly the water no less than five metres from his left was shuddering.

Bit by bit The man watched as the normally black water that had schemed against them their entire journey parted in one place, at first nothing was revealed other then just more blackwater however soon he heard as a deep ugly yet also curious voice cried out from the darkness.

"deal" The voice grumbled almost like a clap of thunder. "You desire to make a deal with me, mortal"

"Yes," Nat agreed casually. "Answers and information in return for something?"

"What. That wasn't part of the plan" Shocked by the sudden turn of events Valeyna soon heard as the once-quiet whispers were met by a deep and bellowing laugh, but not a normal one from like those she had heard of particularly tall men in the tavern from time to time, but it was a deep almost sultry tone that responded. As it spoke it's body still unrevealed, she felt her heart begin to quicken and her already wet skin, marred by trudging through this god's forsaken water seemed to be nothing as her body went all clammy. Gulping she gripped her staff tightly and drew it toward herself in a protective manner.

"That depends, what are you willing to give up"

"Make me an offer"

"An offer" Once again the creature's deep dark tone laughed in a menacing way, so great was his terror that those on land observed how as he spoke the water itself seemed to run away in fear and horror only for it to then be dragged back forcefully almost against its will to cover up the body of the creature. "How amusing, you desire answers yet you plot to kill me. Whatever makes you think that I would trust you little mage"

"Nothing, but we both know that the only reason you didn't strike us in the water when you had ample opportunity is because of your interest in us. Had you truly wanted us dead then you merely would have had to drag us deep underground and rid us of our lives there? Instead, however, you sent those already dead to fight against us and created a fog so we could not see, which means that either you're not powerful and are too afraid to fight us, or you just can't be bothered"

"I unlike my brethren fail to see how shortening the lives of some little mortal is entertaining. It is so dull, they only care about your deaths about how brutal they are and how much blood is spilt, yet those wiser know that true fun is watching them whilst they are alive. It is so very entertaining watching from the Fade, the way you mortals pray and pay, hoping for safety and relief, pushing aside anything away that does not agree with you and all for what power, money, sex.

"Ah but you enjoy it" Nat countered a smug look coming on his face. "You may deride us mere mortals but you take great enjoyment in watching us don't you, we're nothing but one giant theatre to you. There may be some people you like and others you despise, but you don't want that many to die because the entertainment goes away essentially replacing it with lazy writing that you cannot stand"

"Whatever makes you think that, I could end your pathetic lives now if I want"

"Oh please, if you truly wanted us dead you would have tried harder then several hundred undead, you would have revealed yourself, which means you are here out of boredom"

"What if I did, what does it matter to you, there's no way you can hurt me, now whilst I'm underwater you silly little mage"

"Do you desire to trade Demon because if so you have yet to say what you desire"

"Desire" The demon scoffed haughtily, had they been able to see it then Nat was sure it would have rolled its eyes, instead the group from the Inquisition concentrated on the water that simply moved back and forth with hurried intent. "I am not some pathetic whore demon who needs to strut around and give pleasure to you simple-minded fools, I am stronger, this place is my domain, those who live here belong to me and shall entertain me how I please, not the other way around".

"My, my someone sounds rather arrogant"

"Arrogant" The demon roared in fury. "I am amongst the greatest of all demons, the humans here once trusted me long ago, help me they cried, and so I did. But mortals are ungrateful, horrid, they treated me as some kind of servant some pathetic mule in which they could carry information around with them. Eventually, I had it, when I told them to abandon this place they ignored me and they drowned, funny isn't it."

"Not particularly, Pride demon" A moment of silence passed by the group until it was interrupted once again by the deep demonic tone that passed through the water and towards the mortals that stood upon the shore searching for where the monster lay.

"You know what I am? You have not even seen my form, how astute" It mocked darkly. "Tell me what do you want little human, why are you here?"

"That is of no interest to a demon such as yourself, so it would be in both our interests if we finish this fight here and now"

"I do what some pathetic mortal tells me?" The voice growled so angrily that the normal ripples that had come from the water instead turned to a set of powerful waves that crashed against the shore like that of a storm on a cliff whilst thunder bellowed above and lightning cracked all over the place.

"Well it's that or I force you out, and trust me when I say that forcing you out of the water will be a far less pleasant experience then you coming out willingly"

"A pathetic little threat mortal, do you seriously believe that your little spells will be any hope against me, you don't even know where I am or how powerful I have become. Why would I ever leave the protection of my water to fight with some stupid little morons when I can simply send legions of those who had once taken me prisoner to die at your hands once again. I lose nothing "

"Very well, if you have no desire to make this simple on yourself I will go after you"

"I would like to see you try, the water is my domain, enter it and I will drown you" And with those final words said, the ripples that had brushed over the bog vanished in an instant and the water itself returned to a still yet murky complexion. Concerned Valeyna turned her focus onto the wizard.

"You're not seriously planning on going in there after it, you'll drown"

"I'm not an idiot Inquisitor, besides why would I enter that filthy muck when I can simply get him to come out to me on terms I like" As he spoke Valeyna watched as once again Nat brought out someone looking objects from one of his pockets only this time she noticed they were small spherical shapes. They were black and had been designed in an odd shape with many outward bulges on them separated only by a small few thinner strips that seemed to separate from them one another. Giving him a curious look she watched as about thirty of these small balls all emerged one after another and floated in the air before the wizard.

"Nat how exactly do small balls fight a pride demon" Turning his head toward her Nat gave a small almost excited smile as though he had been looking forward toward this or he was getting incredible fun. As he did so his wand began moving in intricate shapes in front of the first ball, quickly he worked and as he did so the ball seemed to light up occasionally for a few moments before then returning to normal. Once the first ball was done however she watched as the first ball moved to the side and was replaced by the second ball which Nat then started to enchant, after that ball was done he moved to the next and on and on it went until within the span of about twenty minutes all of the balls had seemingly been enchanted to a certain degree.

"As to the answer to your question Inquisitor, did you know that pressure damage is far worse underwater then it is in the air"

"What are you talking about," She asked.

"Explosions, it turns out that it is far more dangerous to be in the water when an explosion is going off than in the air because the water allows the pressure of an explosion to decimate your internal organs far more readily. As such if you're ever given an option of surviving an explosion on land or in the water, go for land, you have a higher chance of living."

"That doesn't explain anything, what is your plan, how can we help?" Nat breathed out and looked towards the water with a sense of smugness. The bastard had thought that the water would hide him from any attacks that ultimately he could not be killed so long as he was hidden under the water. In its mind, it feared no lightning, no ice, no fire, no magic and any sense of rocks being flung at it would likely be destroyed making its position as king of this magic forsaken place unmistaken. It was wrong of course Nat thought with a growing sense of excitement, there were ways to kill large powerful resistant things under the water, the Royal Navy had done it excellently in WW2, smashing down those little Uboat's that preyed upon shipping.

"I would suggest standing back if you want to get out of the splash zone" He stated calmly. Then without any warning he flicked his wand and into the far distance all of the little balls that he had brought out of his jacket went flying through the air, rocketing at great speed and with also grat control until all of them one by one reached their destination and hovered several metres of the surface of the water where then with a final downwards slash of his wand, the balls with a great burst of speed threw themselves like a boulder into the water splashing loudly and sinking deep below the dark waves.

"Splash zone" Sera added nervously as she gazed into the water and then back onto the wizard below. Why did that sound like a horrid idea? Not taking any chances with the crazy mage she stepped back quickly and headed closer towards the castle walls. "Right I'm just going to go back here," She said quickly.

"Good idea," Valeyna said as she quickly followed her fellow elf's example and started rushing towards the open part of the castle desperate to gain some cover behind the walls of that lay behind them. She had no idea what was about to happen, but if Nta's previous achievements of slaughter and destruction were anything to go by then it was probably a good idea to have a certain amount of protection between her and whatever was about to land. "I have a feeling that whatever Nat's about to do is going to draw the interests of the Avvar, if we can hide before anything goes off then maybe we can draw their attention out of the castle"

"I suppose that could work, too, in all honesty, I was going to suggest sneaking in there and killing the hostage-takers, but distracting them will work as well I guess."Without any hesitation from Blackwall Nat also joined the other two in rushing far past the walls of the castle racing ever inwards into the old abandoned fortress until they eventually reached the large iron portcullis that reached into the ground impaling it heavily and promising any who would try to breach this place a painful death if they were so unlucky to be caught within.

Or it would have done were it not for the fact that the group quickly rushing up a pair of conveniently placed wooden stairs found themselves in one of the main outer towers that looked out into the bog giving nothing but a grim look outwards to where all of them knew were far nicer lands that did not have the stink of bog and was not invited by some large pride demon pretending to be a sea monster of some kind.

"Uhh, kid when are these balls of your's going to work?" Blackwall muttered. Nothing had happened yet, the heavy fog created by the monster still swept over the mounds in the distance and the cries of those long since dead sill seemed to echo even after all this time. It was like they were caught in the graveyard of a time long since past and one that they might not ever escape from considering how this demon wanted to treat them as nothing but puppets. Blackwall shivered to be stuck in a place like this, was not how he would have wished to die.

"Their proximity based, once the thing lurks within a close enough distance, they'll go off"

"Go off, is that magic speech for something Valeynas eyes widened in realisation.

"Mines, you put mines in the water didnt you?" Nat nodded. "How I didn't see you cast a mine spell, and even then you can't have that many at once time, I think only the most powerful mages can make four, but you made thirty? How"

"It's not about how powerful magic is Inquistor, it's about how you use it. Specifically, in this case, I have no mine spells in my arsenal, but what I do have is black powder and a mix of other spells"

"Black powder," Blackwall said slowly. "I'm sure I've heard of something similar, Gatlok I think Bull called it, the Qunari use them on their dreadnoughts or something"

"Dreadnought" Nat spat at the ground before locking his disgusted gaze with Blackwall. "I've seen those wooden barges, their pathetic little things afloat, entirely undeserving of such a title. A dreadnought is a beast of steel, thick armour and heavy guns, she prowls around searching for her prey, and when she finally finds it she will aim her guns, fire over the horizon and blow up the enemy into small chunks. HMS Warspite is a dreadnought, HMS King George V was an evolution of the dreadnought, HMS Vanguard was the last ever Dreadnought built, they were the finest most magnificent ladies ever put to sea, those pieces of chipboard that the fucking Qunari use isn't even worth shit for firewood. Don't ever insult the name Dreanought in front of me again"

"And the powder isn't that what Hawke supposedly hunted for at one point" Nat rolled his eyes, typical.

"No Hawke looked for Gatlok. The two powders have the same purpose, make shit blow up, but there are different recipies, what I'm using was called black powder"

"And how does that compare to Gatlok or the powder the dwaves use"

"Gatlok's cheap sheep shit, I wouldn't even use it if I had any other choice. Dwarven Lyrium is more powerful but far less stable and cant be used for general purposes, even a small amount is enough to bring a fortress down on its head and I'm trying to lure out the demon, not turn the bog into a crater"

"It's that powerful" Vlayne blinked quickly her minds racing with the terrifying possibility of an explosion so powerful that it could turn an actual bog like they were in now to some sort of crater like that at Haven.

"Figure of speech, but the point still stands that Dwarven explosives should only be used if you don't care about how large a dent you're leaving behind, it can't be used for more subtle things"

"And your blackpowder does have that ability?" Blackwall leaned in closing his eyes in both a sense of morbidness since knowing the boy such power would be used to kill yet also wonder because just how powerful could such a non-magical explosion become. True the conclave had been blown up as had the chantry in Kirkwall but both of those had serious help with magic and could therefore not be considered truly mundane explosions if such a thing could be coined.

"When we get back Blackwall I'm going to display some new weapons to Cullen, you'd be welcome to join if you want. If the weapon gets adopted then I'll need someone to help train the troops"

"New weapons" Blackall muttered surpised. "That wouldnt have anything to do with that secret project that the blacksmiths are working on would it?"

"You've heard of it," Nat said his eyes narrowing, if the blacksmiths had spoken to anyone, had alerted the enemy of what was coming? He nodded gravely to himself, it appeared he was going to have to check up on those men he had given the order to, see just who had been spilling his little secrets.

"There's a rumour going around that their working on something but nobody knows what, only that you've placed a very expensive order in. Speaking of which, why would you pay extra for the work" Giving a small sigh of relief Nat silently cast a small ward around them preventing any noise that escaped their lips from escaping into the outside lips. It wouldn't do for them to be caught by the Avvar as they tried to hide from them, but then again he would prefer to know what the man knew now rather than later.

"The weapons I'm having made are new, aside from myself and my previous subordinates nobody has ever used them before. Aside from that though their different to the older type of weaponry, by paying them now it gives them an incentive to get the work done rather than leaving on the pile until whatever order Cullen has got get's finished first".

"You don't trust the commander," Blackwall asked curiously, inwardly however he began to wonder just what type of weapon the boy could be having commission. By the sounds of things it was to be mass produced and handled to the average soldier, therefore it was bound to be more simple in design making the idea of some sort of specialist crossbows or something similar out of the window. On the other hand, a completely different type of weapon was something odd entirely, would it work off his magic, perhaps by using Lyrium and infusing it into something. Blackwall shook his head, he doubted Lyrium would be used, only mages and Templars could use to great effect which made him focus on swords and other traditional methods of killing. Again it was a possible choice but he couldnt see tjhe kid beeing too concerned with his order beeing put back if it was so similar to other weapons beeing produced.

"I trust the man to know how to equip a medieval army, but frankly as we've seen, the old style of combat just isn't suited for what we're fighting"

"What are you talking about? Medieveal is that meant to mean something"

"Medieval is a reference in our culture to when our technology was at the same level as your's, specifically, however, I would say that we are in the late medieval to early Rennasiance level"

"And that means what" Sera demaned angrily.

"If technology advances at the rough same pace as my peoples did, then your about six/seven centuries behind us"

"Centuries" Valeyna spat the words loudly as her entire body almost threw itself forward as though she had been flung off the ground by some great and tremendous force. "What's that to mean, centuries, Thedas is one of the most technologically advanced places there is, how can we be centuries behind your people."

"Never mind that," Blackwall said his voice starting to drip with both concern and understanding. "These weapons that you're desiring to create, there what you've used before, in the past even. Will they work" Nat shrugged his shoulders.

"I hope so if Corypheus has an army of demons at his beck and call, we need every advantage we can get."

"And these weapons your building, you believe they will give us an advantage? How so?"

"It's difficult to explain without being able to show you, but in basic terms, the weapon significantly reduces the amount of training needed for an average man or woman to fight. Of course don't get me wrong, even if the weapon is adopted it will hadly make you anything like the well disciplined and hardend soldiers of our people, centuries ago, but it will make a sizable difference, espically if we can train up the tropps quickly"

"You're expecting some kind of battle Nat" Nat resisted the urge to snort at the Inquistor's statement, thankfully he was glad that he had put up the silencing ward around them ecause at that moment, the sound of the avvar appeared suddenly. Hearing the new comers all eyes locked onto the strange people.

They were tall Nat recognised, unatrually tall compared to most humans with them standing on average at least seven feet tall though there were deifnetly some who were pushing nine. Almost gigantic in structure their entire grey skinned bodies seemed to be made entirely of pure bulging muscles which when the rain struck them seemed to only emphasise those muscles even father. Upon their well built powerful builds making them almost Qunari like in appearance, was their rather unkempt clothing and armour.

It wasn't clean Nat noticed and neither could it any terms be considered neat or proper looking. It appeared to his eyes that the Avvar had simply fashioned all of their armour from pieces of animals that they had previously killed and hardened, but then again so were their clothes. The avvaer did not wear even the more pratical clothing of Ferelden that while incredibly dull and an eye sore to Orlesioan eyes, did not seem ugly, instead they wore thick heavy fur clothing that wrapped tightly around their bodies, hugging it closely and making those muscles bulge out even father. As for its colour, it was a blend of black on white though more in a fashion as though they had decided to wear clothing of one colour and decided to take a large tub of paint and splash the other onto them without any care or thought in the world.

As for weaponry they were again unimpressice to him. As one might have expected when one was dealing with a clan that lived far away from xiclilized society their weapons appeared shoddily made though none the less still deadly if used for combat. They used two-handed weapons, for the most part, very likely taking very good use of their increased strength, their great swords were at least twice the size of him and could more then easily split him apart while their gigantic hammers which looked more like they had thrust a large branch into a small boulder would most certainly crush his spine and send his internal organs all over the place if they managed to land a solid hit on him. Finally, the few of them that did carry bows appeared to carry bows of at least twice the size of a normal bow and their string appeared less of that of a refined tool of war and more the thickness of his finger so that they could unleash shots from a ballista rather than that of a bow.

As they quickly race past their postion however howling like a bunch of wild animals that had been sent into a blood rage, their weapons often held over their weapons and ready to smash into the oncoming army of shambling undead skeletons, Nat's eyes soon followed by the others noticed one lone Avvar who was different to his predecesoors.

Powerfully built though not the most out of all them, the man seemed to be of average height and like the others seemed to wear a mask where the horns of some sort of animal jutted out, most likely to make them look far more terrifying them he was. Yet it wasnt that which caught the groups attention that aught their eye, rather it was the exceptional weapon that the man held aloft in his arms.

It was a large Warhammer of some kind or that was Nat was going to refer to it as given it's bulky two-headed shape. The reason the weapon had caught his eyes, however, was because of the shape of the two ends of the weapon, they were stylised like some type of animal, a wolf was the first anima that came to the wizards minds but given the general lack of light and long smooth curves of the shape he couldn't tell. What he could tell however was the the heads of the weapon were not made of stone or iron, but were instead made of a dark copper that seemed to have been very well taken care of, as even in this foggy night with a horde of skeletons approaching, he could see the way the weapon glimmered the small amount of light provided of the nearby torches into the nearing area.

"He must be the leader" Valeyna stated surely her eyes lingering onto the way the man barked orders in some inchorrent language that she could not understand. It didnt matter however since as soon as the language was spoken the other men of this large mostly looking unwashed tribe of savages soon followed it and fell back a few metres from the horde of skeletons where with another yell they rushed head first again back into the fray.

"Let's get him" Sera cried a small grin on her lips. Reacting quickly Valeyna grapsed her fellow elfes shoulder tightly and shook her head warning her not to act.

"No, we need to save the prisoners whilst they're distracted. Nat stay here and keep an eye on things, try to kill the demon if it appears, apart from that just make sure that this lot doesn't come back and get us"

"Right leave me with the three groups of enemies, what can go wrong" Nat let out a sarcastic drawl as he focused on the attempt of the Avvar to attack the incoming skeletons that had appeared rather suddenly out of the fog. They were doing an okay job he supposed, they were wiping out a rather decent amount of them, but they would tire soon he could tell. Those large powerful weapons might be able to do a lot of damage but after swinging them around so much and with so much force it was bound to draw their energy from their body far quicker than a more energy-saving stance like that of a sword and shield.

Still, he wouldn't exactly complain, so with a nod towards the Inquisitor acknowledging her orders on the matter, he watched idly as they quickly raced away from their positions and headed farther into the keep itself to rescue the hostages. Ass soon as they had left his sight however he refocused on thert presence that was that demon lurking in the water.

Somehow the demon had yet to activate one of his mines yet, shaking his head in a slight amount of bordemon he wondered if the monster had recognised just what they were. It was possible after all and if this demon was so powerful it might have been able to detect where the minutes had entered the water and promptly swam past to avoid them all. He sighed if that was the case then he was going to have to go with far more dangerous methods of catching whatever was in the water, methods which meant actively submerging his head and going for a dive.

A shiver ran down his back at the very thought, diving with some sort of demon monster in the bottom of some long lost and deserted bog? it was like the plot of some horror movie. He'd like to say he'd survive, but this was a bog with a demon and all sort's of other undead people living in it, the absolute last hing he needed was to get grabbed by a pile of crpses and dragged under and under until eventually his magic gave out and hs buuble charm spell popped leaving him to die a painful and slow death, that was of course if the dfammed thing hiding at the bottom of the lake didnt turn him into some form of human sushi to eat.

"Please blow up" He whispered as he waited for the dam monster to swim to at least one of the bloody mines. He only needed one of them to go off, the quick blast and the shock that would follow might only be a few seconds long, but for a wizard who could teleport it was more than long enough to get a good shot in its mouth or more specifically one good makeshift grenade down its gullet.

Despite his wish, however, for an explosive device to suddenly detonate sending a massive shockwave through the water blasting it high into the air with tremendous force, nothing happened, well nothing aside from the continuous fighting between the living and the dead anyway.

Still, the living fought the undead, hacking slashing, breaking and rending through their opponent, yet despite this nothing ever seemed to occur much. Those dead who were slain again were only replaced by more undead creating a growing horde of skeletons that the Inquistor would likely not desire to deal with when she had returned with the hostages. On the other hand, that host of skeletons were now that the had grown in number beginning to cut down the Avvar.

One by one they fell, each fighting viciously, but none the less their emphasis on being a warrior rather than a soldier left them fairly open to the enemy counter-attacks and so with the sickly sound of a weapon striking flesh, Nat watched as the Avvar were cut down, their weak flesh and pitiful armour no match for the undead. Within only a few minutes of the first man being cut down the rest of the group had fallen leaving nought but their corpses in the wake which as one would expect from a demon who was resurrecting their foes had now only risen up and began to attack their former clansman.

With horrifying screams and even the occasional amount of pleading from a friend or family member the Avvar were butchered until only their chieftain the man wielding that brutish weapon was left to stand against the horde on his own and continue the fight. Just as one would have expected however when one was but a single person and not a mage and surrounded, the chieftain was soon overcome and with a final pained gasp fell to the floor with a thud his heavy Warhammer falling beside him drenched in blood.

"Well, that solves that problem I guess" Nat muttered his bored gaze leaving the now corpse of the man and back to the water where the demon still lay. Giving a loud sigh and now knowing he had to contend with the water demon before Valeyna and the others got back, he turned off the silence ward and spoke loudly into the foggy night. "All right you slaughtered them, big deal, killing thirty men with magic is hardly impressive. "

"You think you can do better little mage" The demon's voice one again rumbled from the water. "No mortal can"

"All right I've had enough of this conversation so I'm going to give you two options. The first is that you reveal yourself and fight me in person and the second is that I come in after you and kill you in your own home"

"You cannot hope to slay me pathetic mage, I have avoided all the pathetic little traps that you hoped would force me out. Come to me if you dare, I will enjoy ripping the flesh from your bones"

"Really" Nat muttered drily. "And here I thought I was being civil"

"Civil" The demon mocked loudly. "Invading my home, killing my pets, activating old magic and closing the rifts that my kin to get to this realm is considered civil? I think you have lost all claim to that title the moment you entered my land"

"Fuck this" With the sound of a blast of tremendous thunder that seemed to shake the very walls of this old establishment itself, Nat vanished from his spot in a blur of motion. Before the demon could even react to his disappearance let alone move, it only managed to detect the presence of very strange magic emanating from above it before a sudden weight landed on it's back followed by a striking and searing pain.

Appearing just mere centimetres from on top of the creature which had in its arrogance swan just under the waters surface. Nat his blade aimed downwards towards where this demons head was, felt as his feet stuck hard against the monster. Slicing straight through the monsters thick and powerful hide the enchanted blade of the wizard easily bit through the monster's skin until only a second later the blade struck and then passed through the powerful and defensive cranium of the demon where without any hesitation it the bade pierced the brain of the monster. Then without a second thought, Nat thrusting his free arm downwards smashed through the rather ugly hole he had created in the monster, smashing through the blood and skin ignoring the horrid feeling on his hands then dropped a small cylinder he had been holding before once again with the sound of thunder apparated away.

With another loud cracking sound, Nat peering back to where he had just come from watched as a second later blast of orange light smashed upwards from below the waters surface sending a mix of water and blood upwards in a cacophony of force. In the distance, if one was to concentrate they might have even seen some of the demons grey matter as it sprang far into the sky gaining ever more speed until finally like a waterfall the water combined the remaining parts of the demon returned back to the earth in a sound like that of heavy rainfall.

As it did so the skeletal army formed from the remains of long-dead villages halted in their tracks their once somehow snarling expressions dropped immediately as their bodies ceased to work, dropping where they had stood before like a puppet who had suddenly had its strings cut.

"Stupid tentacle faced twat" Nat muttered. "Oh well time to get the others out of here" And so without another word, Nat turned back to where his fellow companions had wandered off to and joined them in rescuing the poor bastards that the now entirely eradicated Avvar had put them.


	27. Chapter 27 New Developments

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 27 New Developments**

Skyhold

Dull violet eyes narrowed on to the piece of paper that had been placed in front of them. Slowly inspecting it, Nat bobbed his head along slightly as though he were listening to some music as he followed the rather long and quite complex piece of writing that had been placed in front of him. It was an incredibly complicated thing that Dorian had put through the door. At first, he had initially believed that bored out of his mind and understanding that he couldn't just barge into his office Dorian had decided to send him yet another note asking him to some sort of social event so that he could leave his rather immaculate office and join the rest of them.

As always he refused such letters and carried on with his work of performing the smaller lest crucial pieces of paperwork for the other main three members of the Inquisition. While it wasn't as complex compared to what his fellow companions were dealing with when they looked over political messages, or spy reports or even strategic information and troop movements, he was still none the less helping them by taking the weight of Leliana, Cullen and Josephine by placing it upon his shoulders.

Unfortunately, while it was rather useful in learning how to assist the Inquisitor father as was his job as her main advisor and the ones that were to accompany to most places, especially when she left for a rather important mission or out of boredom hence their most recent excursion to a dessert. He shook his head and let out a sigh of amusement as he gently moved a slightly out of piece paperback into its position leaving it in perfect order. Had he known before accepting that goblin invitation that he was going to end up as a sectary to three different people, he would have considered not going.

Thedas wasn't exactly the most pleasant of scenarios he had ever had to deal with, what with the level of technology, prejudice against mages, Darkspawn, demons, Corypheus and Templars as well as all the other things he had found himself fighting in the last few months. Yet as he skimmed over the letter that Dorian had given him he couldn't help but feel that perhaps there was the occasional upside of coming to this place.

For one with the books on magic that had been given to him by Fiona, he was starting to gain a better grasp on a few other types of magic here that weren't focused on as much back home. Here they focused far heavier on elemental spells and the like when it came to combat rather than cutting, slashing, blasting and conjuration as he had experienced back home.

It was a different style of fighting then he was used to, not hard to counteract, the use of such spells and the amount of magic they took meant that mages easily showed off what attacks they were going to use and combined with their slow speed they were again easy to take out with barely any effort. He doubted he would use much of this worlds combat magic in future, but there were certain things such as that in front of him that he could learn to do.

Time Travel.

That was what the piece of paper in front of him was about, though a piece of paper was putting it lightly. In truth, this was simply one sheet of a rather large almost decent novel-sized tome that Dorian had given to him showcasing his work and how he had managed to fuck over the laws of time.

It was highly impressive and though he wouldn't say it out loud less risk his reputation of being intelligent to worsen, the fact of the matter was that Dorian's work had forced him to concentrate fully using all the mathematical tools he had at his disposal to save what limited time he had. It was almost mind-boggling yet at the same time also rather exhilarating to learn magic so complex, so often the Ministry had placed bans on complex magic to prevent random people from learning it and then performing it.

A fairish response he guessed when regarding something's, but it was still annoying to know that without going abroad and buying those books there, that he was unable to purchase them in his home country without the use of the black market. Of course, if rumours were to be believed then the Ministry encouraged the sale of books on the black market so they could find out just how many people were looking into "unsavoury" magic enabling them to make it easier on who they needed to track.

Still, as he skimmed through the work, mentally making a note to read it all through later he couldn't help but feel slightly awed and made more powerful by the work. What Dorian had just so kindly pushed through his letterbox was no less than the key to winning this war and beyond that winning every war in the future to come. If this magic could be harnessed, used for his purposes in destroying the enemy, then perhaps the Inquisition did truly stand a chance against Corypheus.

Should they fall and all be lost, then they had a chance of victory. A slight one true, the amount of preparation needed to cast a spell of such absolute power was immense and the only reason Dorian had been able to cast it so quickly in that alternate future was because the amulet used had acted as a foci, seriously reducing the amount of work needed, like that of a Time-Turner. Except where Time turners were limited to only the last 24 hours, this time magic, in theory, could go to before the conclave, allowing the Inquisition to stop Corypheus before anything happened.

His finger's tapped the side of the table as he speculated if this magic would even work back home. There was no war to win back home, if he ever managed to return, but he couldn't help but think about society when he had left and all its divisions, the silent threats that were prominent but nobody was brave enough top dare mention less they bring the wrath of their "War hero" Minister of magic.

Magic was bound to be discovered any day back home, it was practically impossible not to when there was the internet and so many cameras that filmed anything. In particular, it did not even have to be something as blatantly obvious as somebody performing magic in front of a camera, but instead just be a conversation between two muggle raised wizards or witches over the internet. With so many ways to monitor people, it only took one organisation or person to believe what the two magic users said and there could be a whole other conspiracy about their existence.

And when the truth finally came out there was bound to be a conflict somewhere in the world, whether it was back home or in Europe where all to often magical wars had started or in some other place. When that happened it would be a case of protecting the interests of both communities, the magical and non-magical of non-human races. Nat shook his head and pinched his eyes tightly. Leaning back on his chair he gave another sigh and shook his head.

"Focus," He told himself quickly. "Focus on the work at hand, you can focus on winning some possible war in the future, for now, you have to deal with the one you're in" Shaking his head again he returned his attention onto Dorian's work. It was a last resort, he argued to himself, not something to be used for every little mistake, not for resurrecting back those who had already departed, but rather for restarting from scratch before things had all gone to hell or more accurately the Fade.

"Yes, focus" He repeated as his eyes closed for a moment. Allowing his mind to go calm he felt as the ever rushing thoughts in his mind as though he were in the middle of some Formula one race. Bit by bit he watched as those car's started to slow down, the large bellowing noise they made coming to a slow halt as the thick black tyres rubbed against the tarmac floor until finally, they stopped leaving all things in a sense of quiet bliss.

"Yes, calm, books, forest, the Lake Country, the feeling of a dark night in winter and how snow felt rhythmically to the ground like beautiful stars twinkling in the sky"

Knock

"Yes, come in" Nat called out to the teenager behind the door. With a quiet click the mental command from the wizard undid the locks that held the door tight allowing it to swing open quietly in an almost dramatic effect until he was able to see the young man who was looking at him eyes startled and his fist raised as though he was just about to rap against the door. The teenager blinked a few seconds in surprise before then nodded his head and quickly passed the threshold of the door and walked up to Nat's large oak desk and stared down. "A message I presume," Nat asked casually.

"Yes my Lord, Lady Leliana has asked for your presence urgently"

"My presence... Did she ask about anybody else?" Nat said as he leaned back and looked at the teenagers in a calm but bored manner. He was one of the many messengers in the castle, something that was required when one ran such an establishment as the Inquisition. Off they went from room to room, sometimes they delivered messages other times he had watched as they stole the underwear of other members under the orders of the Spymaster and yet at other times he knew they acted as spies. Often they were on their best behaviour, especially around nobles yet despite this and their important role, nothing had been done to assist them in their jobs, like a proper uniform.

"Yes my Lord she also asked me to alert the Lady Josephine, Commander Cullen, the Lady Inquisitor and Lord Dorian"

"I see," Nat said to himself his face completely still as his mind ran through all the possible possibilities of why they would be dragged into the room together. If things' were just him and Dorian then it was likely about their secret little project and were it with the Inquisitor then it was some kind of mission and were it with the other advisor it was a big meeting, in general, to see how things were currently at. But all of them? He felt a growing sense of dread and almost dragged his head towards the direction where he knew the bald elf man was happily painting his murals in one of the rooms.

Why did he have a feeling Solas was involved.

"How important is this meeting, you see I have a rather large of paperwork as it is" Nat continued, pointing to the stacks of A4 paper that littered his desk in columns so high that the could have likely added them all in one spot and made a support column out of them.

"I don't know my lord, Lady Leliana only demanded that I alert you and the others and then tell the stable master to prepare some horses"

"Prepare horses" Nat repeated silently, internally he felt his face fall grim. "Great she's about top send us on a mission" Great just great he thought, they had only just recently returned from a dessert in Orlais and now they had to head out somewhere desperately. What had happened he wondered to himself. Perhaps the Empress was dead, maybe Corypheus had made another move and they were planning to strike back or perhaps he felt with a small amount of hope Leliana had found that demon and they could go searching for the dammed thing "Very well I assume she's in her office?"

"No My Lord, she's in the war room"

"Very well, go alert the other's I'll head there right now"

"Yes My Lord" Without another word spoke front he somewhat scrawny messenger boy, Nat rose from his seat and walked towards the corner of his office. In that corner right next to his rifle was hanging his still makeshift blade that he was yet to replace. Net to that however located in a rather noticeable though now sealed barrel was where several other newly created muskets had been created as were several ammunition bags, bullets and powder as well as the bayonets that were required to stab an un-armoured opponent with.

"Bloody snow" He muttered to himself. Ignoring the stashed weapon s that he was yet to use because of the constant storms that seemed dedicated to keeping all those on this mountain locked within the structures that had been built for them, Nat prepared himself to depart at a moments notice. No doubt he would have time after any emergency call-out yet as he placed his sabre into position the weight of the blade on his hip becoming more familiar with every excursion. Soon enough he would feel naked without it he thought.

"Very well I'll head right over there"

"Yes My Lord" With a bow the servant turned around so quickly that he did not catch the slight shaking of Nat's head as he heard the vernacular in which he was being called now. It wasn't false the wizard knew, he was technically a lord even if only a very minor one that nobody would even notice if he was to disappear, but none the less it just sounded so wrong being called Lord, it made him feel like a pretentious asshole.

"You don't have to call me Lord" He almost shouted after the messenger but just as he expected by the time he had left his room on seconds later the boy had already vanished down one of the stone hallways to his next meeting. With that done he turned on his heel and headed in the complete opposite direction towards Leliana's officer his head racing with all kinds of possibilities to whey he had been summoned. None of them was good.

He would soon receive his answer however since after a few minutes and walking to the other side of this large ancient castle carefully avoiding servants as they hurried food to their masters, the odd noble who was looking with curious and disdainful eyes of the decor of the admittedly better but still more practical design of Skyhold and of course those few soldiers who were garrisoned inside.

A few of them he noticed gave him a sharp look and a nod of their heads as he went by. It wasn't a salute, he had stopped that the first day that had occurred and told them to tell everyone else not to salute him either, after all despite his position of both an inner council member and according to Cullen a high ranking officer, he still knew he was doing little more than pretending. He knew he wasn't a soldier as did those who were ranked under him and as such his refusal to accept being referred to as one of those who deserved the title had garnered him some appreciation since it appeared he was somewhat less of a random brat who was given his position and abused it and more of a mercenary of sorts.

Granting the soldiers leeway as they passed him, he only quickly invaded their minds as their eyes met enabling him to have a very quick search about their current intentions. Most of the time he honestly wished he hadn't, when the soldiers weren't bored with discussing manners relating to their personal lives, or the weather or other dull non intellectual conversations, they instead seemed to be focused on either, their tasks at hand, Corypheus or sex in the local whore house that had sprang up at the foot of the mountain.

He shook his head hiding his disgust and utter revulsion of such an act was it not bad enough that a person would want to willing rub their dirty, sweaty bodies up against one another, locking themselves in some horrid embrace where a great deal of shouting, moaning and exclamations to a fictional being. No, they instead had to speak about it out loud and when that wasn't the case it had to always be in at least one soldier's thoughts.

Were it not for the morale booster it gave to the soldiers, and the rather extreme consequences of it being removed, thus leaving a lot of military-aged men alone with very little to keep them occupied, then he would have had the building burnt to the ground and a proclamation that no such business was to operate anywhere near the facility. Instead, he knew that the most he could do with his power were simply to restrict it to a certain corner and have all major roads completely bypass the area.

Still with a sense of relief as he left the last soldiers mind specifically the one that guarded the entrance to the war room on the left-hand side of the palace by the large wooden throne that had been commissioned. (A chair that in his personal opinion would be way cooler if it was made with the swords of their enemies, even as impractical may it be) And pushed open the door he rapidly made his way through the next hallway, carefully examining the large white snow-covered expanse in every window he checked his enchanted glasses enabling him to more easily pick things out, he then soon found the next door where with a single knock he pushed the large oak door where with a loud creak it opened wide and revealed those inside.

"Leliana" He greeted respectfully as he walked towards the central table his eyes instantly falling upon the beautiful red-haired woman though out of necessity rather than any less pure thoughts that a solider bore.

"Nat" She smiled slightly though it did not match her eyes and more vitally she did not raise her head away from the letter that she was holding in front of her.

"Poor news I assume" Leliana nodded her head darkly. Suddenly with a swift yet also graceful move born from her experience as a bard she moved closer towards him bypassing the large map of the known world that lay on the thick wooden tree trunk desk that lay by their feet. Going by its size and the fact that it was one solid slab that showed no marks whatsoever of ever having been created from two different parts, Nat had guessed that it had belonged to some type of great tree that had been felled several centuries prior. Though how such a thing had remained so well intact when they did not know the last known occupants of the castle, was another mystery.

"I've only just received word," She said darkly. "We'll need to act soon and before anyone else can take any more advantage"

"What's happened, Corypheus revealed himself yet, a grouping of Templars perhaps or is it instead of something more political."

"Neither of those" Leliana answered seriously.

"Going by your tone I should be concerned and given how you've also summoned Dorian, this likely has to do something Tevinter. Have they attacked, or are we dealing with people trying to get the man back" Leliana chuckled slightly at the thought. It was a bit of a bizarre thought, had Tevinter seriously wanted their errant little mage back then they would have attempted to summon him months ago, most likely after Alexius had been handled, but instead, they had remained quiet.

"Not exactly, but this mission could have you run into them whilst you're gone and giving somebody who knows their culture will be of utmost importance." Without another word, Leliana turned back on her heel and stopped by the war table in front of her and picked up a letter that had been left on the side.

Nat nodding to himself as he realised that Leliana was awaiting the rest of the group to arrive before she said anything else, quickly followed her lead and followed the woman towards the table stopping and scouring the map as he attempted to find where Leliana was focusing. It was a rather hard task given however her eyes were moving so rapidly from side to side and her hand's movements also slightly shook, but not in irritation or fear like lesser men would have, but rather out of indecisiveness. However, eventually she did stop and he was able to focus on a point in Northern Orlais.

Focusing on the map he hid his confusion behind his calm face, there was nothing up there in Northern Orlais, well at least when it came to the assets of the Inquisition. It was too far away he knew, nearly on the (to his large annoyance) undrawn borders of the map forcing him to try and work out roughly where the border lay between the large words of Tevinter and Orlais.

There were no castles or strongholds on the map which had been shown by the addition of varying sizes of castles that had been placed on the map by Joesphine, something that was rather common in Ferelden and some parts of southern Orlais, one of the best examples being the dessert that they had returned from where they had set up some small camps that were shown with small little needles that had a little Inquisition flag on them. Neither were there any daggers that the Inquisitor and other advisors had decided to slam into the rather nicely decorated map that had no doubt cost an awful lot in both time, resources and money. Instead, the area was practically plain except for the green pins which represented where known rifts were located around the continent.

Most of them thankfully were concentrated again in the South of Thedas with the amount being greater the closer a location was to Haven and the giant hole in the sky. None of those, however, were anywhere nearby where he was focusing on though, he frowned slightly and turned to Leliana expecting a quick and informative answer.

Whatever had happened, something was seriously wrong.

"So, what happened and-" Before he could finish his conversation was cut off by a loud hard bang as the door to the room slammed open with the force like a gust of wind that when it struck the stone, it physically caused a dent and splintered the wall behind sending a small amount of stone flying towards the ground a few centimetres in front striking the door that defended the new entry.

"Sorry" The slightly squeaky voice of the Inquisitor sounded out as she walked through her face one of slight guilt as she inspected the damage done to the wall. Thankfully for her Nat without even looking casually flicked his wand in the direction of the damage which repaired the wall as all the pieces quickly flew past the Inquisitor and reformed into their natural shape leaving it back in perfect condition.

"Thanks" Valeyna stated quickly as she joined the other two at the main table. "So what's happened," She asked looking at Nat hoping that unlike their spymaster who liked to wait for everyone to arrive that he had somehow managed to work out just why all of them had been gathered up in rapid succession as though they were to go out on a mission. "Has Corypheus shown himself?" She asked in a small slither of fear.

"No, but whatever's happened it appears we'll be headed to northern Orlais, specifically around here close to the Tevinter border," Nat said as he gestured to the spot on the map that all the trouble had emerged from. Following his fingers, Valeyna blinked.

"But there's nothing there?"

"That we know of" Nat answered again his serious tone starting to dampen the more cheerful one of the Inquisitor. Glancing over the map, he tried to have a quick look at some of the message that the spymaster had left out, yet much to the skill of the woman, she instead moved them preventing him from learning such information.

"The Inquisition has recovered modestly well since Haven, but we don't have the influence to set up a permanent large scale encampment in the North"

"How come, do we not have the resources," Valeyna asked curiously.

"We do for a small one, but it's less of a problem of supply and more centred around the fact that with Orlais still in civil war, it's too dangerous to send large caravans through the country." Stopping suddenly Nat looked back up to Leliana and narrowed his eyes. "That's what this problem is about isn't it, one of the supply caravans have been struck and we need to recover the contents." Valeyna craned her head back towards the area where they were looking at.

"But that doesn't make any sense, why would our supply caravans be that far north?"

"Coin" Nat answered without hesitation. "We have a lot of financial backers in the north of Orlais, it stands to reason that they would not dare send the coin themselves less it be struck by either Celene or Gaspard's forces. As such we have to transport it ourselves, aside from that though Josephine has been pulling some strings and got a few more generous donors from Tevinter. Which, if you go by this map of roads means they transported the money south to join with another Caravan which would likely have passed it onto another caravan around Val Royeux so they could go back north again.

Why wouldn't Tevinter just send the money by boat, it would be faster than walking to the other end of the continent?"

"The Qun controls the northern sea. Tevinter is better on land when it can bring the might of it's magic to bear, but at sea, the Qun has the advantage. Aside from that though there are also other pirates, those around Antiva and should they learn of a large gold shipment headed for Ferelden, then they have free pickings because we don't have a navy. By the time a shipment of that much gold would have arrived, it would be either stolen or sunk making it mostly unrecoverable"

"Mostly" Valeyna inquired with a quirked eyebrow. "What do you mean by that, if a ship is sunk how do you regain treasure". Unnoticed by her Nat shivered slightly at the thought of a ship sinking at sea.

"Well you could always go diving for it, but before you ask, you are not getting me on a ship"

"Oh don't tell me you're afraid of water Nat, it's nothing scary" Again unseen by the other's Nat relied upon his training as a child to hold back the sudden twitching his face wanted to do as images of large powerful ships, supposedly unsinkable fell to the bottom of the sea dragging their passengers with them.

"I'm not afraid of the sea, I'm afraid of what's in it" He responded hiding another shiver.

"Oh afraid of a few fishies" The inquisitor teased. "Don't worry if you see anything you can hold my hand" Smiling at the boy Velayna let out a small giggle as the invitation to hold her hand had sent off the normal reaction of the boy quickly walking away from her making as much distance between the two of them as possible as though she were some kind of predator. It was rather cute, to be honest, all he needed was his face to blush bright red, the refusal to meet her eyes and him to call her stupid.

"Stick you in a shark cage, see how fun it is then" Nat snarked almost angrily, he was about to turn to Leiana and say something to the smiling woman as she giggled at their interaction but they were stopped by the timely arrival of the other advisor who quickly rushed into the room and gave out greetings to one another.

"What's happened" Cullen demanded rapidly his short blonde hair moving oddly as though the material that was used to style it had come loose.

"The northern Caravan has been completely massacred" Freezing for a moment, Cullen's face turned to one of shock, then horror but then immediately resolved itself and hardened. [icking up his pace Cullen rushed to join the others and stared at the spot before he could say anything Leliana quick a flash retrieved one of the many daggers that were laying about on the table and with a swift motion loudly slammed the dagger straight through the map.

"Oh yes, ruin the expensive map why don't you?" Nat said calmly as he looked past the offending weapon and towards Cullen.

"How many survivors were there," He said turning to Leliana.

"None, my scouts only found them recently, they say that the battle must have been over a week old"

"None" Cullen's face turned to a pained look. "Over two hundred men were guarding that Caravan, and you're saying none of them survived?" Leliana shook her head. Nodding grimly Cullen gently gripped his nose, his eyes scrunched tightly together as he concentrated on what their next move had to be. "You said this attack occurred at least a week ago, do we have any idea on the killers."

"None, according to the scouts there wasn't even a battle it was just raw murder"

"Murder?" Joesphine added her face turning slightly pale at the loss of so many men. "Like a bunch of assassins? How is that even possible, if there were over two hundred guards at least somebody would have noticed someone acting suspiciously."

"It shouldn't be. Two hundred mean should have been more than enough to guarantee the caravan from most attacks, the only thing that could remain stealthy and kill so many would-be magic" Cullen said slowly his mind racing from years of previous experience, he himself on more then one occasion when he had served with the Kirkwall Templars had guarded a caravan or two. For the most part, it was dull work and rarely did an attack comes, however when it did it was always in an ambush and always a quick attack by low quality under armoured and armed bandits. Usually, ten Templars were enough to hold back most bandit forces, but two hundred men, only an army would have had the strength to attack such a convoy but even then not without a scene being made. "Leliana what were the identities of those that attacked?"

"We don't know, their side didn't leave any bodies and neither was there a fight, according to the scouts all the deaths were done in rapid succession and nobody had the time to draw their weapons before they were wiped out"

"No bodies? That shouldn't be possible, any host that could kill 200 men would have had to have amassed their troops, left tracks and at least lost one f their own. Is there anything your scouts can follow" Valeyna looked over Nat expectantly, for some reason despite his calm composure she could help but get a feeling that he knew something. What exactly that was she had no clue, but his pose, the straight face he kept and the scowl that seemed to radiate off him was as though he was directing a burning gaze that could pierce, flesh, cloud, bone, metal and anything else in existence.

"No" Leliana replied once again giving bad news to the group. "There are no tracks to follow at all, not in any direction. And my scouts have also been unable to find anything; they've even searched nearby towns and villages"

"How did we only just learn of this now" Cullen demanded his harsh gaze falling upon Leliana, "You said this occurred a week ago, yet we only know now"

"My scout's only just discovered what had happened and according to our protocols the escort was not to check in with us for another few days" Cullen slammed his armoured fist on the table

"Dammit Leliana, men are dead and you expect me to think you didn't know. And w you say that somehow a group of assassins managed to sneak up on 200 men, kill them all and leave no trace. Do you know how impossible that sounds."

"Oh do shut up Cullen" Stopping, Cullen quickly turned his head swiftly towards that of Nat meeting his gaze and allowed an angry scowl to mar his face. Cullen went to yell his lips open, the words at the ready but before he could so much as get even a squeak out Nat continued. "We've lost the caravan, that means gold, gift's, food but more importantly we've taken a hit to our reputation. If we don't rectify the situation now we're going to lose political and financial support, something we need to keep the group going. Apart from that however we have to look at the short term, specifically about how if we don't get another shipment of food in soon, we'll have to start rationing at our current rate of consumption in a month or so."

"Nat's right" Valeyna added. "We can't fight amongst ourselves right now, what happens if Corypheus or somebody else gets hold of the Caravan, they'll be made stronger"

"Exactly, we have to move this instant, head towards the site and find the supplies and bring them back. If we do so now before anyone else discovers what happens we might be able to downplay things. Joesphine I hate to say it but you're going to have to explain to some of them what's happened. Leliana if you could ensure that you're scouts are still there and able to send and receive messages, that will be vital in relaying us any warning if Corypheus is on the move, and Cullen in the meantime you need to start thinking of building some military fortresses on the pathway to help guard shipments" Not breaking a sweat Nat turned back to the map and began to inspect it as best as he could, though it was made somewhat hard with the multiple daggers that had been thrust into the thing without any bloody care

None the less even with the map being somewhat inaccurate due to the technology of this time frame, Nat began to quickly jot down all the major roadways that crisscrossed the continent. If they were going to retrieve this gold they had at act fast and frankly horses were not going to cut it. They were far too slow and they would only be made slower if they had to try and bring another cart as well as a whole host of soldiers behind them up north. It would take at least a week and during that journey, they were going to pass through some areas which were active warzones and armies clashed leaving them exposed to fighting, assassination, politics and death. In other words, not a great combination when they needed to get somewhere fast.

He hid his grimace as the rather large amount of poor dirt roads that plagued the continent, what made it somewhat bearable however were the large stretches of mostly intact old Imperial Highway system. They had been built over a thousand years ago back when Tevinter had ruled the continent and were large thick stone roads that were raised several metres above the ground and were continuous from the bottom of Ferelden going so far as Ostagar up to the very top of the Anderfells. They were limited of course and did not have as many routes as motorways did, but comparatively the imperial highway with its strong build, flat surface and height made it immune to flooding and also made it easy to patrol. Well, those bit's that were still intact. Never the less though Nat nodded to himself as he followed the pathworking out how long some of the stretches were and roughly how long he could maintain a decent speed for.

It would take a while, probably a full days trip with them arriving several hours later and even then after it had turned dark, none the less though were he to drive the distance and the highway remained open and they unhindered by breakdowns of caravans or attacks or tolls then they could be there swiftly.

Still, it wasn't going to be easy, continuous driving for several hours over hundreds of miles, that was going to be a mean feat and the distance appeared as though he would be travelling from roughly the Scottish border to France's Medditerean coast were he back home.

As he continued to be locked in thought his eyes transfixed on the route, something made easier as his thumb lightly rubbed against the road networks, Leiliana taking notice of him decided to speak up.

"I should also mention that it contains your Mirror Nat. You know the expensive one that you paid an awful lot of gold for" Nat froze his eyes rapidly turning back to Leliana. To the side, Dorian also turned his attention towards the red-haired woman.

"Mirror, what mirror" Valeyna asked confused not exactly why Leleiana had brought up some random piece of furniture though also in honesty she looked at Nat not quite believing that he would have bought some kind of mirror.

"An expensive one of a kind mirror" Nat replied quickly. "One of the noble's showed me a painting and said it was for sale. I gave him some gold and he said he would send the mirror down once he got back." Nat quickly shared a glance with Dorian who nodded. "If those bastards have stolen my mirror" He finished.

"I still can't believe you would buy a mirror," Valeyna asked. "You don't seem the type"

"I like pretty things as well Inquisitor, my taste is different and more practical in general"

"But still a mirror" Valyena tilted her head. "Why?"

"I've already told you, the mirror was very pretty, a rare work of craftsmanship and the man wanted rid of it"

"But"

"I wanted the mirror Inquisitor are you going to tell me that I'm not allowed to buy furniture when I spent over a week repairing this castle." Valeyna sighed in defeat.

"No, I just wanted to know why you would want some silly ornate thing" Nodding Nat turned once again to Leliana where the two of them shared a deep look. Without a word being said both of them knew what the main reason for this mission was, to retrieve the Eluvian, discover who attacked the Inquisition and to kill those people without remorse. "Anything else"

"Yes," Cullen replied his gaze landing on the wizard "How am I expected to make multiple fortresses across a road. Even If I had the money it takes years to build a castle" Nat shook his head.

"I'm not talking of stone fortresses, I mean like the Roman's. Every time your army stops marching for the day, they set up a wooden encampment made out of palisades, it's always in the same layout so it makes it easy and when the morning comes you pack it all away if you can and if not you simply make a new base the next day."

"An entirely new encampment, do you have any idea how much that would cost or the training that would be required"

"It isn't as difficult as you make it sound Cullen, each soldier would be given one specific job to do when it comes to the construction. Some will be assigned to cutting down lumber, others would then move that lumber while many more would sharpen the timber into palisades and hand it off to others who will then do others things. Eventually, over enough time, it will become second nature and more vitally, soldiers will have to learn other skills that will become helpful for when they're not marching, for instance, it will raise the need for blacksmiths and the army can have a secure location that they can fall back on."

"It won't stop a mage attack" Cullen rebuffed harshly. " One mage is all that would be required to burn down the encampment and with walls on all sides, it will just make it more difficult for soldiers toe scape" Nat nodded his head in acknowledgement. It was true what Cullen said, the soldiers of the Inquisition were indeed facing a more dangerous threat in the wild then just a bunch of barbarians or soldiers, and wooden walls while eas enough to assemble and patrol would become a death sentence if set alight at night. The chaos that would be caused as soldiers tried to abandon their positions, the amount of confusion amongst their ranks, it could leave any soldier open to attack should cavalry charge in and slaughter all who were within.

"No, but they'll buy you time and you have to remember that the enemy does not have that many mages on their side. Those who are loyal to Corypheus, yes, but they aren't so large to make such a plan undefeatable, not to mention it is your old brethren who we have to contain. Men and women clad in steel who's the main method of fighting is to close up and engage the enemy, even if the fortress does not hold such a thing would not only boost the morale of our troops but will far more help them then hinder them should they come under surprise attack."

"Not to mention Commander if you can set up such fortresses, even if they are only small ones, then they likely will become hubs of trade for local peasants and it will help increase our influence far beyond where we can send our milliary for now" Josephine said quickly recognising the potential uses of military encampments and the way she could leverage the support of local civilians against lords who may try to corral them. Cullen sighed at the idea and then pinched his nose tightly before then finally dragging his weary eyes back to the map in question.

The place where the caravan had been struck was far too the north, well beyond their current range of their, military leaving it open to attack unless there were guards to protect it. However, even that had not worked as according to Leliana, over two hundred men were dead, something that perhaps might have been prevented if the men had better defences to keep them safe and sound. Nevertheless, he felt a frown grow upon his face, it was hard enough at the moment to garrison the old dilapidated castles that they had taken in Ferelden and southern Orlais, but now Nat insisted that they build new ones or more particularly that they just carry one around with them.

It was an insane idea, one that would require a large supply train simply to carry the pieces of timber, which when added to the tents placed an even greater emphasis on carts and horses. Yet despite this and his limited knowledge in politics and economics, he could see the idea's merit. A small string of wooden palisades across the major roads would drastically help their logistical problems especially that far north. If they were kept small enough, only to the rough size of a few thousand men at most with larger forces sleeping outside then they could store precious supplies of food, coin and other things as well as act as places that his men could retreat to and recover and Leliana could instead use lookout places. Added to that was that small fortresses would be less time consuming then the camps which were damp, often overridden by other creatures and enemies and more vitally could act as small staging bases giving them father if limited access to the rest of the country.

"It could work," He said slowly, his mind whizzing with the idea of such fortresses. "With Orlais in the civil war, it isn't against convention that one of the two forces or even rouge elements and bandits could strike at our convoys. If kept small and close enough to resources to be replenished they could severely help us keep in control of the region. However" He stated the last bit sternly breaking the eager yet also calculating smile born from many years of playing the great game from their diplomats face. "We would have to keep them small at first until we can get more men to garrison them securely, building such outposts would only invite bandits to take them. Henceforth I recommend that we station only a few on key defensible locations and make them larger than average to compensate"

"Agreed" Joeshpine nodded her head to the statement, "With the civil war going on, the showcase of these places will gain the interest of both factions. If we were to agree to share them with either Gaspard or Celene, we could gain some handsome favours in return"

"That leaves our other conundrum," Nat said slowly. Gently reaching into his pocket Nat quickly picked up a black pen, took off the lid and then leaned forwards his eyes gazing onto the map inspecting the geography of the area closely. For the most part, after one got past Val Royeux the land seemed to flatten out as they went farther north until they then began to hit another line of long hilly areas that roughly marked out the borders between Oralsi and Tevinter. After a few minutes of looking and mentally debating where the best positions were, he finally started to make a total of seven locations all over Orlais, all of which the others noticed spanned across major geographical areas on main roads. Once that was completed he met the eyes of his fellow companions and continued speaking. "We're going to have to choose a side in this civil war soon. If we don't then we risk the attack on the Winter Palace occurring"

"That has been on my mind as well" Cullen admitted. "However given the complexities regarding Orlesian politics I have decided to leave that to Josephine, she would know the best option to pick"

"Why can't you end the civil war, Nat?" Valeyna asked honestly her face turning slightly confused. "I mean you ended the one in Orzammar and the one that nearly took Ferelden, why not do the same thing in Orlais. Choose one of the two sides, kill their leader and anyone else important and give the throne to the other."

"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that Inquisitor. Orlais is not Ferleden where it prefers practical answers to problems, in Oral everything has to be done with elegance, wit, political scheming, they prefer form over function. If we were simply to give our strength to either Empress Celene or Duke Gaspard it would be seen in a negative light, too brutal, too thuggish, too unrefined and barbarian" Josephine said carefully.

"Fine then can't we just kill one of them and present their head to the other" Josephine shook her head. Giving her a gentle smile Josphine allowed her eyes to linger on the politically naive elf. It was a good thing that at least her advisors knew how to handle these things she thought. If they hadn't then she could only imagine the terror Thedas would have been suffering now.

"We'll just be handing them the throne with nothing in return" Nat interrupted. "You have to remember Inquisitor these are politicians we're talking about now, we don't have much care for "honour and fair play" We fight dirty, cheat, lie, steal, blackmail, give out sexual favours in return for something else and a whole host of other things, however, the one thing we don't do is engage in a physical fight. To do so is to admit a complete lack of skill in politics, to state to the world that you are lacking in all wit and other skills and that you are nothing then some unintelligent peasant that resolves purely to physical means to resolve a problem. Should we go into Orlais, enter the civil war, then we will be considered a brutish thug by Orlais and we will lose supporters."

"Not only that, If either one gets the throne and we don't have the power to influence things, then either the Empress or Duke could turn their army around and go to war against us". Valeyna turned to her advisors her face was one entirely of shock, her delicate eyebrows blinked constantly daring one of the others to announce that it was all some kind of elaborate joke. t as she looked over all of their faces, she felt her heart drop several hundred feet and crash into an open.

"You're joking" She muttered to herself. "If we stop the civil war, they'd be in our favour, they'd help us close the Breach" All of them shook their heads. "No, that's stupid, the world is about to be destroyed and the nobles/politicians would instead prefer to sit on their asses doing nothing, just because it's not elegant" She screeched loudly. Anger boiled in her veins, swiftly her once disbelieving look soured into something far more hostile and her normally beautiful eyes that a lover could get lost in, had their appeal crack like a piece of glass and shatter as they were instead replaced with that of a glowing horrid light of magic, one that would draw people in and like a moth to flame, kill them all harshly. "Typical" She sword.

"Welcome to politics" Nat replied directing a dry sarcastic smirk to the woman. Sensing the woman's anger at the coming storm that she was going to find herself entirely tangled in however, Nat quickly carried on and replaced his dark sarcastic manner with his calmer and collected one. "In the meantime however we need to get that shipment back, we can discuss Orlesian politics afterwards"

"Right," Valeyna said breathing in slowly before releasing it. "Get ready, it's going to be a long ride and we're going to have to get there as quick as we can. Also, pack some lighter clothes, I've been at roughly the same level, there won't be as much snow that high"

"That's putting it mildly, I have no idea how you southerners can cope with such horrendous conditions down here. Truly you are nothing more than uncivilized barbarians" Dorian said giving a playful look to the wizard.

"Cullen if you could prepare the horses"

"Don't bother?" Nat said. "I'll drive us there"

"Drive" Valeyna spoke slowly tasting the word on her lips, it felt somewhat familiar and for some reason it brought up memories of her clan moving from place to place on the backs of their aravels as their halla moved them across the continent, often in times of winter to greener pasture farther north where food was still viable even if in lower numbers. But aravels were slow as were carts and did Nat seriously believe that they would require but one cart to move their goods back? She looked at him oddly before nodding her head, she'd find out soon enough.

"So, who shall we take on this merry adventure?" Dorian's grin widened. "Perhaps Bull, I think he could use a good walk around, let him use those muscles of his for once.

"Not Bull, too big, he won't fit"

"Won't fit" Dorian sounded offended. "What are you trying to do, fit him into a glass jar and place him on a catapult"

"That's a thought" Leliana commented as she imagined such a hilarious scenario.

"What about Varric" Joesphine mentioned.

"I don't have a child seat"

"Child?" Cullen said slowly. "Is that some kind of chair for a child. Why would you require such a thing?" Nat rolled his head and sighed loudly.

"It was meant as a joke," He said slowly though internally he was thankful that Varric was not present.

"Oh, I'm sorry" Cullen backtracked quickly forcing an obvious smile from him.

"Don't worry about it, we can take Varric if you want Inquisitor, it would make the journey more bearable to hear him give us a tale whilst we're in transit"

"What about Bull though" Nat shook his head.

"I wasn't joking about Bull, he's simply too big"

"What a shame, I would have very liked to watch the man tear into some people" Dorian smirked at Nat raising his eyebrow in a suggestive yet friendly manner.

"Even so, if the rumours about Tevinter slavers are true, it would be best if we were not seen with the Imperiums worst hated enemy so close to their borders, it could create... difficulties" Valeyna snorted.

"You mean that any Tevinter would just attack us the first moment they have"

"That's one way of putting it."

"These slavers," Valeyna said sternly grabbing all attention back to her and away from the more joyful tone that had taken the group on. "If they know I'm with you, won't they try to attack to take me as a slave. I don't mean to brag, but as the Inquisitor-" Before she could carry on she froze suddenly as she felt a very slight but gentle touch on her right arm. Turning her head in that direction, she could only stare in silence as Nat reassuringly patted her arm while he gave her a calm yet none the less deadly look.

"I'll protect you" Valeyna looked at him confused, though there was still a calm tone to his words she could not help but feel a small rush of warmth shoot up her spine. It was cringy the words he had spoken, but none the less her mind couldn't help but harken back to previous reports that scouts had given. She shivered slightly her mind filled to the brim of mental images of Templars impaled on wooden stakes their blood running down and pooling to the floor as though they were nothing but cattle freshly slaughtered and about to be butchered. "If they try" Nat chuckled darkly his dull eyes lighting up almost like a flare almost shining through his glasses as they became almost as bright as a sun. "Well, I guess I'll just have burn their cities to the ground"

"You're joking right" Dorian muttered not entirely sure while his feet started to quake. It was a pointless threat, Nat couldn't burn Tevinter to the ground, he was but one mage against the most powerful magical society in the world, and a child at that. Yet even though he could not see the child eyes nor the almost sadistic look of glee that sparkled and shimmered, the air around him creaked and yawned, retreating from the wizard, Like a wave of refugees from Darkspawn as hough any moment they could be slaughtered.

"Let's just hope your countrymen aren't so foolish to attack"

"Please don't" Joesphine interrupted quickly ignoring the way her hair seemed to be standing on end. It was not a particularly cold day this morning, at least compared to others that she had woken up on, yet the moment Nat had spoken it was as though she had been flung outside back to the night Haven fell only she was in the middle of the blizzard and her clothing had been stripped bare from her skin leaving her utterly helpless against natures wrath.

"You're talking about killing women, children, innocents" Dorian spoke up not at all convinced by the act Nat was trying to pull off then again even he could tell Nat didn't care at that moment if he did convince others, the moment slavery had been mentioned the entire room had entered a cold embrace.

"If they own slaves... we need to return to the task at hand. Inquisitor, Heir Parvus, Leliana, Josephine, Cullen, if there is nothing else to discuss when we should leave while we still have the dawn. " With no response given to the wizard Nat quickly gave a respectful nod of his head to the other three advisors before then turning on his heel quickly and rushed out of the doors his pace nearly at a full run yet not once did he make a single sound.

After about fifteen minutes, Valeyna alongside Dorian and Cole marched out of the castles front gates up to where the walkway only to stop suddenly as their gaze locked onto the strangest thing that they had ever seen.

"What is that?" Dorian said out loud his eyes fixed quickly onto what appeared to be a strange box or cart that was sitting innocently just in front of the main gate. It was an odd thing, roughly it held a semblance to the carts that he had long since seen merchants ride in and out of cities with, their horses at the front towing the wagon and the products within as they moved from place to place, except this thing wasn't anything like that. Without saying another word Dorian alongside Valeyna rushed down the stairs to where they could see the outline of the young wizard leaning against the front of the device.

Rushing quickly through the thin blanket of snow until they reached where the wizard was standing it was Valeyna who got to ask the first question.

"Is this that car thing you were talking about?"

"Yes, it's called a Range Rover Adventure something. They keep adding new names for the dam thing" It was an odd thing Valeyna thought and at the same time, it also seemed to be entirely impossible. Stepping towards the car she allowed her hand to gently glide across the strange-looking cart, as she did so, her eyes suddenly widened in both shock as she felt the smooth surface of the metal and also pain as the temperature of the vehicle seemed to sap out a considerable amount of warmth from her skin.

"Its metal," She said out loud as she began to walk around the front her eyes inspecting everything about this strange yet also elegant looking wagon. It was like nothing else in the world, it appeared... foreign was what she wanted to say, but that didn't explain it, instead, it was almost as though it had been shaped in the fade by spirits and demons into some sort of machine as she would guess going by the fact it was made of metal. Yet, even so, she could see no spirit influence in this, the car as it was called was beautiful, it stood taller than both her and Nat and even openly Dorian with his taller then average height was barely able to see over the top of it. It was also wide yet long with a series of dark tinted windows that had been placed on all sides preventing her from seeing in. At the front, though or at least she presumed was the front there were two sets of symmetrical mirrors that stuck out and at the back and out the back there was another window. Briefly, she considered if it was connected to a door like the side windows were with their handles, yet as she pulled them they did not move instead of staying entirely shut, even though there was no presence for anything to open "And how does it move, I can't see any horses"

"It has an engine, that drives the wheels"

"An engine is that some type of Lyrium magic" Dorian inquired. He like Valeyna had wasted no time in inspecting the vehicle. Everywhere he looked he watched in fascinated eyes. "What an astounding piece of technology, just the metalworking alone to get the body of this thing made is absolutely exquisite, did you use magic in the process.

"Cold," Cole said in that mysteriously detached tone that he would speak with. "This was not made with magic, neither was it made with hands and craftsmen. Instead, it was formed created by other things, not alive, no emotion, white in all places, it has no feelings any emotion, sterile, artificial. This was not made like a smith, there is no love only instruction" Turing his head to the towner confused entirely, Cole went to ask another question but before he could Nat sensing the growing attention on the vehicle created by attention elsewhere rapidly shoved his hands into his pocket grabbing a set of keys. With but a single press of a button the sound of locks undoing filled the air for a brief moment.

"Come on, we need to get going. Open one of the doors and sit down" He said as he quickly made his way to the driver's side. Cole did what he was told and quickly moved naturally to the back of the vehicle, where he opened the right-hand door revealing the insides to those onlookers including Sera who bored out of her mind had taken to sitting on top of the tavern and watched with wide and confused eyes. Valeyna and Dorian, on the other hand, shared a quiet yet serious look between them.

"Don't?" Nat warned, but it was too late. Rushing quickly as fast as their feet could carry them on the snow, both Dorian and Valeyna sprinted as quickly as they could until both unable to control their speed on such treacherous terrain bumped into one another as they then crashed into the side of the door, forcing Valeyna's lighter elvish frame to the floor and enabling Dorian to throw himself onto the nice black leather chair.

"Oh wow"

"Hey get out that's my spot" Valeyna demanded angrily.

"No, it isn't I got here first"

"Only after cheating" Valeyna replied harshly her eyes landing on the incredibly clean black leather surface that lay within.

"Valeyna get in the back"

"But"

"Inquisitor you either get in the back this instant or I replace you with someone else"

"Why don't you get in the back?"

"Because I'm the driver," Nat said in an obvious tone. Sensing that she had lost this battle, Valeyna grimaced as she acquiesced to the demands of the driver and soon much to her annoyance found herself sitting in the seat behind Dorian.

"Good now before we leave I want everyone to do their seatbelts up, it's that small piece of material and metal thing that's located on the upper shoulder of where you're sitting. Now I want you to drag that over your body like so and push it into this clip here"

"What are these for?" Valeyna questioned suspiciously.

"To stop you from dying" Cole responded. Valeyna blinked but seeing Nat nod towards her confirming that these strange devices were apparently designed to keep her from dying, though she did not see how she quickly did as she was told and blinked a she felt the belt press against her clothing and keep her not locked in place as she could move, but none the less limit her movement to a small degree.

"Now a few rules before we get going, this is going to be a long trip, as such please don't argue, please don't sing, do not distract me, be civil and if you need the toilet please tell me. Do not try to reach into my area, do not tell me how to drive, do not scream or shout, also do not eat strong-smelling food or drink don't spill things. Just imagine that this was your bedroom so keep it nice clean and tidy. Oh one other thing this is my car so I choose the music that is played, no exceptions"

"Music, what music?" Dorian added his eyes still dancing around the inside of the car. There were all sorts of mysteries he could see from the wheel that he guessed was to act as a ship and control the direction that the vehicle went, to the pedals underneath Nat's feat to the stick that was between him and Nat to the mirrors, and little trays and areas as well as other things that all seemed to surround him.

"You'll see soon enough. " Without wasting any father time the others carefully watched as their driver once again started to handle his set of strange looking keys until he finally chose one of them and stuck it into the front of what could only have been described to them as some sort of shelf and turned.

Thrumming powerfully, the others could only hear as all-around them an unfamiliar sound almost like a powerful animal such as a bear or lion began to growl harshly from underneath them drawing their gaze to the floor for a moment until they realised that the sound must have been that of the strange vehicle waking up.

"Weird" Valeyna said slowly as she felt her entire body vibrate left to right. It wasn't painful, but the sensation was indeed strange as though she had been stuffed inside a small glass bottle and was beeing shook ever so slightly. However, she never had any time to marvel at the odd sensation as to her right and in the middle of the small corridor that enabled her to see out the front a bright white light erupted from a rectangular image.

"By the gods" She said loudly, as without any indication images and sound erupted from the screen showing her a series of fast-moving shapes before then settling down on one which had a list of options that was lined in two rows and adorned with a pretty picture, that she assumed must have been placed there to help people see what they meant. "What is-" She never had any time to finish that question as with one strange notion, she felt as the vehicle that she had sat in began to move on its own accord.

Forwards it went, at a bit of a slow pace as though she were trotting on a horse at first, but that was only for a few metres before again without any warning the car picked up a sudden amount of speed and her small trotting pace became a bit of a light gallop as Nat drove the car past the large oak gates that protected the fortress and onto the stone bridge that connect them to the rest of the mountainside.

"Woah" Valeyna almost cried as she felt the vehicle move, at first it was like that of an Aravel giving her movement an almost comfortable familiar feeling from when her clan had moved all over the continent, but as it picked up speed she noticed rather quickly that unlike the wooden wheels of her mobile house that would often get stuck in the thick mud and snow digging in tightly and forcing her to use her magic to melt the snow very carefully, the strange black wheels of the car easily pushed it's way through the snow leaving a deep line wherever they went.

"I'm going to take it a bit slow, until we've passed the main camp, after that, I'm going to speed up"

"Speed up" Vlayna said thoughtfully, how could they speed up already this car warm and comfortable as it was, had already been moving at a speed at least twice as fast as her aravel could in this terrain, yet Nat had stated that this was a slow pace, and he was keeping it so. "How fast does this thing go" She added on fretfully.

"This is the fully upgraded model, aside from the better electronics and other comfortable things, it comes with a new type of tire that allows it to handle offroad better and a more powerful engine giving me a top speed of 245 miles in optimal conditions" Nat answered

"245 miles, in a day?" Dorian said quickly his eyes shocked and a fearful expression came over him at such a thing fixed as the car ploughed it's way through a large patch of snow forcing the powder to fly skywards sending it n all directions including that of a few shocking passersby who weren't quick enough and soon found themselves covered to head in the white cold material.

"In a day" Nat laughed loudly and smirked. "No Dorian in an hour"

"An hour?" The man's face turned deathly pale, gripping the handle of his door as tightly as he could the man became a very easy target for Nat's mocking smile as he observed the normally calm and quick-witted mage clutch at the car and brace himself tightly as though they were about to crash. It was rather hilarious at the moment, especially as he was only doing 30mph as he carefully navigated the downwards slope that left him up.

"Wait if it can go that fast, is that how you got to all the Templar's?" Valeyna inquired her eyes going wide with understanding. For a long time, everybody had wondered just how their wizard friend had managed to travel at such speed that he had managed to be in one part of the country far faster than should have been reasonably possible. After all only a bird or something that could fly would have such speed and freedom to travel. Yet as the car quickly made it's way down the mountain path, blaring past lit torch after lit torch to give those who would hike up some advantage of what was up ahead she finally realised just how Nat had moved so rapidly.

"Yep," Nat said as he adjusted the gears. Bit by bit the path was starting to get wider, soon enough he could see the main camp of the Inquisition nestled below and encased on three sides by thick wooden palisades with catapults on all sides, lit by a myriad of torches that were blurred by the movement of people below"Of course don't be fooled into thinking this is the fastest car in the world. It is impressive, but it's one of the upper-class types of models there are, highly expensive, the base version alone of this model is missing about 60mph, but I had the money spare so I thought why not put a little extra in some speed"

"Wait I thought you said you weren't a lord" Valeyna demanded.

"I did, but I never said I wasn't rich" Valeyna's eyes widened in understanding.

"You bastard, you lied to me"

"No I didn't, you simply implied that only a lord could be rich, my society was different, the rich are the owners of large cooperation's that make billions of pounds each year"

"Billions" Valeyna screeched loudly. "How"

"Don't worry about it, when you adjust for inflation, and the difference in how our currencies work, the actual amount is not that big" Nat lied quickly as he glanced back in the mirror to the utterly shocked Inquisitor.

"What's inflation," She asked.

"I'll discuss it with you later. But suffice to say it won't affect us so there's no need to worry about it"

Thankfully s they finally pulled into the camp the car going at a slower speed so as not to crash into anyone and kill them, Nat was relieved to find out that the idea od the inflation had been enough to satisfy the elves inquisitive mind so far. Something he was rather glad for since the moment he touched the main road, all eyes from thousands of individuals all suddenly stopped and trained their attention onto the car.

Soldiers, servants, dignitaries, merchants and practically everyone that would be expected in a military camp all stopped their actions simply to stare. Most with wide eyes their gazes locked onto the machine itself that so easily drove through their midst on its own, others watched in a mix of awe, especially the mages who were now starting to cast spells to try and identify the vehicle. As the spells struck the car, there were looks of disappointment that flashed over the mages faces as the car's new and improved magical shields instead reflected and gave no data leaving him to continue making his way, constantly less he allows the group of soldiers to crowd the car and prevent them from moving.

"This is uncomfortable," Dorian said quickly as his eyes scanned all over the area.

"It feels so different" Valeyna added as her eyes wandered onto the interested looking soldiers. "It's almost like we're on display?"

"Don't worry about it, the windows are tinted so they can't see in" After about ten minutes of continuing to make their way slowly through the camp, Nat having kept a relatively quick speed often so he could escape from when a large herd of soldiers had begun to get close, they made it to the exit gate where they were soon stopped by a group of guards.

"Halt" The first one cried. "Who goes there" Without waiting, Valeyna watched as with a simple push of a button on his right the entire piece of tinted glass that had separated Nat from the cold outside world disappeared into a small crevice until after a few moments the entire piece of glass had gone about halfway down allowing Nat to speak to the guards.

"Nathanael Tempest, the Inquisitor, Dorian Parvus and Cole, we're on official council business, I can't say more than that"

"And this thing," The guard said in accusing tone. For a moment Valeyna's heart skipped a beat ss he saw the man subtly point his spear in the direction of the wizard but before she could even mention it Nat simply carried on.

"It's a car, a method of transportation. Now if you have any other problems may we leave captain" Snarling uncomfortably at the vehicle the man went to argue but a stern gaze from Nat cut the man odd entirely.

"Very well sir, good luck, may Andraste guide you"

"And to you as well soldier" With clearance now officially given to the group, the reinforced wooden palisade fortress swung open with the sound of creaking timber and cracking beams until they slammed against the inside granting passage for at least four wagons to pass in next to one another. It had been shorter previously they all knew, but after enough traffic jams that had ceased, still as the car left the walled protection of Skyhold and the wheels began to strike the muddy road, Valeyna felt her heart race as in a rapid succession the car sprinted straight out with a bit of a squeal and began racing with incredible speed.

"By the gods" She yelled.

"Such speed" Dorian commented as he clutched even harder to his seat. Now they were really moving Nat thought, with them clear of the gates he could speed up considerably and speed up they did, no longer did they go at the slow and burdensome pace of thirty instead he watched in the corner of his eye as the meter touched sixty then went pas it hitting seventy where it then continued to creep ever upwards until it reached a reliable eighty.

He nodded to himself, even with the enchantments to deal with the snow, it was best not to go any faster then eighty on these dirt roads, too may potential accidents if he were to hit somebody.

"Slow down, slow down" Valeyna gulped loudly, her entire body felt as though she was being pushed against the back of her seat by either magic or a giant. Such force wasn't the most powerful she had ever dealt with, yet as she dragged herself forward she found herself struggling a little bit. It only got worse however as every time one of the large black wheels drove over a whole in the road she felt as the car bumped ever so slightly, or how at times when the car would go over a hill too quickly her entire stomach lurched and left her as though she had been dropped or had the wind knocked out of her without the pain only to be then snapped out of it as the surprisingly strong wheels took the pressure of landing and carried on.

"How have we not died, the wheels on this thing what are they made of?" Dorian's mind was abuzz as he watched the miles quickly pass by, at first he had doubted such wild claims, the ability to move that many miles in such a short time was impossible, yet here it was. Every tree that they passed was no longer a solid object like it would be were he on a horse, instead they were blurs on the background, objects that took mere seconds to pass by before he could no longer gaze upon them. Yet despite the incredible speed and how it could revolutionise the world he could not help but be amazed by the structure of the vehicle. The sheer pressure that the vehicle withstood would have obliterated a wagon sending bits and pieces in all directions and making it all but impossible to repair.

Wheels would have torn off, axels ruined, and anyone inside would have been in severe pain when riding, yet this was not the case. He could feel the bumps at times especially the more severe ones, yet the impact had been severely lessened making it far more tolerable then beeing even on a horse when it was simply walking. Yet unlike a horse which smelled and was prone to the elements this vehicle war warm, dry and to his enjoyment kept his but warm even as the weather began to turn for the worse and snow once again started to fall and blot out the sun.

"The suspension" Nat answered. "The suspension reduces the amount of impact taken and allows us this calm ride, if we didn't have it then we would be bumping all over the place. Of course, it helps that we're on soft terrain, if we were driving up a rocky landscape then it would be a bit bumpy"

"Still it's incredible, do you happen to have another one"

"No of course not, and before you ask no I won't let you drive this is my car and I will not have you scratch the paintwork"

It wasn't long before to the amazement of all bar Nat that the true power of this vehicle had been made as within only about an hour they had already managed to bypass several small villages at speed and reach the main road where they finally began to see the outline of part of the old imperial highway.

"Hang on, once we're up there it's going to get even faster?" Nat chuckled at the dark look that had crossed over the Inquisitor, then quickly threw away her normally beautiful and well-defined face had suddenly transformed into one of pure horror as though she was about t learn some dark secret from ancient history, it was just hilarious. It could have only been made better had he been a fighter pilot. None the less gave out a laugh of joy, flicked on the stereo and without any warning stepped on the accelerate.

"God's"

Hours Later

Valeyna glanced outside of the glass window that protected her from the pouring rain that slammed onto the local landscape. After hours the heavens had decided to open up replacing what had been cold powdery snow with a horrendous downpour that was so thick she was barely able to see a few metres clearly due to just how much it rained. What only made it worse was the howling winds that whipped all around the steel vehicle tearing small plants out of their earth retreats and into the sky and forcing back the trunks of trees to unnatural angles. Beneath them, she could only observe as the once muddy ground turned into a thick horrid dark brown sludge that seemed entirely impassable.

Had she been with her clan in such weather then she would have taken shelter whether they could whether that be in a cave, the forest or even an overhanging rock and had that failed then they would simply have stayed in their aravels and praying that they didn't have a massive leak in their roof. Valeyna shivered at the memory of that, there were few things worse than trying to sleep and then there being a small constant stream of water that dropped onto her as she tried to sleep a well as she could keeping her awake. Worse, had she sortied in a typical Inquisition manner with horses then she would be shivering in a tent smelling of wet horse eating damp horrid food as they all crowded around a campfire that had to be kept cared off less it goes out and they freeze in their wet soggy clothes.

Instead, what she was currently being treated to was luxury. She was warm, dry, comfortable and had some food that Nat had called sandwiches in her lap all the while she bobbed her head unconsciously as the stereo as Nat had called it blurted out the strangest music she had ever heard.

It was all bizarre, a mix of different instruments producing noises that could never even comprehend before, different beats of music from slower-paced ones that had sad lyrics that made her think back to her clan to far quicker beats that made her heart pump in such a way that every time she passed by an Orlesian soldier she wanted to jump out and engage him in a melee battle to show just how powerful of a warrior was. It was the lyrics themselves that she found the strangest and yet almost telling thing she could tell about her drivers personality, whether it was from the completely unexpected way that he burst out singing with the music joining in, adding his own rather surprising yet talented singing voice to the group, or the way he would move his body as though he were playing one of the instruments like he was part of the band. The most surmising thing though was the actual smile that was on his face.

He was always calm she knew, and it frustrated to her at no end that no matter what she did he never seemed to lose that bland boring expression that he always had, yet he was so calm now, as though he was entirely alone locked in a moving metal box as they travelled at ridiculous speed down the road.

Despite this oddity, as they passed by yet another lot of completely shocked group of merchants she couldn't help but feel slightly smug. The way they looked all completely drenched in their clothing as they did their best to take shelter from the rain forcing them to stop and yet here she was still going at a far quicker speed even if was reduced in order or care as Nat had stated. It was nice to be in a car she thought as she leaned back into her seat her head lying against the comfortable headrest, the only thing she would say was that since Nat was engrossed in singing and driving, it left he relatively bored. If only she had brought a book like Dorian or cold somehow sit in complete stillness like Cole her eyes staring into nothing as he considered something or other.

Sighing loudly she pulled her head from the side window and back to the front where that strange glowing thing giving Nat instructions and other sorts of information. In front of that was a drink stand where given how her driver was in a far kinder state of mind then he was typical, he had opened and given them all a can of liquid that they could drink from. She shook her head and picked up hers again and took another sip the strange sharp and sweet taste striking her tongue as it fizzed down her throat and into her stomach.

"Oh that's good," She said out loud as she savoured the taste. "Hey Nat"

"Yeah" Nat responded as he turned the sound down so he could hear her better.

"When we get back to Skyhold would it be possible to drink this stuff more often?"

"Maybe, but I wouldn't advise it, this drink will rot your teeth if you don't have the ability to clean them regularly. Besides, the last thing I need to introduce to your diet is this much sugar, now and again is fine, but you don't want to be consuming this stuff so often, you could get diabetes"

"But you have good teeth, Your's are unnaturally white, why' cant I do the same"

"I use magic and the other thing is that you really don't want to gain weight. While the stuff is nice, if you drink too much it could make you fat"

"Oh please, you're fine physically, what's the worst that can happen?"

"I literally just told you, you'll get fat. And before you ask, I have an incredibly high metabolism, for me, it's not a case of working to lose weight, it's actually to gain it. Even then, I use vitamins and the like for most of the heavy lifting simply because I don't have that large an appetite. You, on the other hand, are like most people, you need to watch what you ate especially when it comes to my people's food"

"So you just stay thin naturally, that hardly seems fair" Vlayna pouted. It wasn't the first time she had come across one of those types of people, the type who was able to eat far more than other people yet no matter what occurred never seemed to gain any weight or more insultingly lost it even when she had forced herself to cut back at times in plentiful summers because she had felt herself get slower.

"Its genetics, my family has had it for as long as records go back, it's just like some families who will always have brown hair or green eyes. It's inherited"

"Interesting, what are these genetics that you're talking about" Dorian commented quickly. Despite it being of less interest then other subjects he could already tell that he is driver held far more advanced knowledge on how inheritance and other things worked than other people. Perhaps he might be willing to share it, such information could help him in producing an heir if he was ever placed into such a position and was forced to marry a woman.

"Why you want a lecture?"

"I wouldn't be opposed"

"In that case, let's get started, what do you know of human biology"

And so it was that for the next few hours, from about midway to well past the time that night had fallen upon them and lightning and thunderstorms started to dance in the sky above them occasionally flinging their wrath at the poor peasants below, that Valeyna listened as Nat explained human biology in a way that she had never once been able to imagine in her life.

Though she would never admit t, she found herself both leaning in closer to listen to how despite Nat's complete bashful and innocent yet adorable reaction to her flirting, that he could explain the areas of a male and females sexual organs in a massive amount of detail explaining how they worked, what happened, why it happened and so many other things that had to do with chemicals, drugs and other words she couldn't even remember, yet to her growing annoyance Dorian could lead to a few jokes between the two.

"How long until we get there" She yawned loudly. How long have they been in this vehicle anyway, they had left at nearly first thing in the morning, and aside from the occasional stop every few hours so she could relieve herself in some nearby bushes, they had been travelling for over a full winters day.

"Still another few hours, we're about two thirds up the northern road now, but I have to slow down less I hit anything in the darkness, far harder to react especially without lights all over the place"

"Right" Valeyna yawned and blinked her tired eyes in confusion. How could she be tired she had been sitting in a car practically all day yet despite this her entire body felt exhausted. Already she was feeling the last of her strength drain away from her and it was becoming harder to keep her eyes open or listen what was being said, instead the background noise of Nat and Dorian who both seemed entirely fine as they spoke about something to do with magical theory now became nothing more than a relaxing background noise. A few minutes later she fell asleep and leaned into the side of the chair and allowed her mind into the fade just like Cole had seemingly done earlier.

"Their both asleep" Dorian said.

"Of course they are, long car trips without anything to keep you occupied often leads people to the only thing they can do and I don't really blame them, they don't get much sleep anymore, especially with Spring on the way" Nat said as he gave a warm and almost comforting look at the two of them. Had he been a soft-hearted individual he would have said that they both looked adorable, what with Cole being like a small child and that blissful smile on his face as he leaned towards the Inquisitor his arms at his side. As for their fearsome leader, she had a happy smile on her face and simply snuggled into her seat looking for some sort of extra comforts like a quilt or blanket to cover herself in.

"Yes, regarding spring, do you seriously believe that these guns of yours are going to work?"

"I hope so Dorian, as it stands our soldiers are facing far worse casualties than are being reported."

"Hence the usage of these firearms?"

"The vast majority of deaths is because close combat put simply even with training given to them, the soldiers are in no position to truly fight against such creatures. The main problem of course though is that it takes years before you can be average with a sword, which would be okay if we were going against other peasant armies, but we're not we have to deal with demons, Templars, mages and other fanatics. The fact of the matter is that too many get slaughtered before they can either get close or their skill is just too poor to properly deal with the demons. Guns, on the other hand, don't require anywhere near as much training, you can train a soldier in using one within only a few hours. Not a well trained one mind you, certainly not something that you desire to fling into an army as any professional force will crush you into tiny pieces before they then slaughter and burn your family and homes, but if required you can still stand in line and shoot."

"So that's the battle plan, train them up quickly with an easy to use weapon and hope that they can gain experience on the battlefield?"

"Of course, If I had more time then sure, I'd love to give them nine months of intense training, of shooting, marching, hiking, map reading and other lessons, but we all know once the snow stops falling there's going to be armies on the march and I have a feeling it won't just be Corypheus the men will have to fight"

"You expect to fight Celene, Gaspard," Dorian said shocked. "It's not entirely out of the picture I suppose, but you're actively trying to get the men to fight trained professionals"

"Orlais isn't going to tolerate an Inquisition army marching through their country easily. We can have as many spies as we want and a few bases might cause some irritants, but a full army? That's something else entirely, they'll panic, think we'll try to attack them or use or army to enforce our position more than we already have.

"You think they would attack out of fear?" Nat nodded darkly.

"Our time is limited Dorian and don't tell the Inquisitor, but we' have fewer recruits then we need. We have enough to get by, but not enough to replace any losses should we take them. Suffice to say, this loss is pretty big.

"They want to join the winning side, of course, they do" Dorian chuckled darkly as the thought, he knew she should have expected cynicism from other people, but still it almost astounded him that when the world itself was under threat of becoming the plaything of demons that petty political squabbles would be placed on the backfoot until this mess could be sorted out. Not that it was just the nobles were to blame, a well-trained chevalier was a useful tool, but they needed numbers to garrison the growing amount of fortunes the Inquisition were seemingly collecting like a bunch of toys in a collection,

"It's expand or die, especially since nobody else seems to be bothered to anything. I mean take Alistair he's in a relatively stable position and the calling aside, he should have had more concern in taking control of his country, killing the demons and keeping them contained so the Inquisitor can rock up, get her hand to glow and then lave. Instead, however, we have to secure every bloody place we get to and establish the camps. It's ridiculous

"So come spring what are the big objectives? "Nat took in another deep breath adjusting the speed of the car slightly as he turned yet another corner. Even with night vision courtesy of his glasses, it was still dangerous to drive at night, too much wildlife was awake and concentrated on crossing the road, especially when he was racing around. Still he hadn't hit anyone yet and with it long having since fallen into the dark night the number of people that were travelling were incredibly slim as they only had the advantage of the moonlight and whatever candle lamps they had on them, though with the civil war on those would be kept off as much as possible to avoid detection from one side or the other.

"Firstly we want to deal with the Wardens, if Corypheus has made some kind of calling and can truly influence them, then it's too dangerous for us to let them fall into his hand. After that, we'll likely have to attend the Empresses party and prevent Corypehus from assassinating them there. Merlin forbid what should occur if we fail and we can't put someone on the throne"

"Yes I can see how that would be a problem, but none the less you do have an idea od who to place in charge should something occur to the obvious candidates"

"We've been looking, but the problem is that there's nobody else who has a strong claim to the throne, sure there are a few distant cousins and that lot but neither Gaspard or Celene has any children whom the throne can be passed down, and since neither of them is married it gets even more dangerous because we can't just get them to conceive an heir at our leisure" Dorian chuckled heartily.

"Well ain't that an image, I can only imagine the look on the Empresses face as the Inquisition just crowds into her bedroom as she gets busy with her lover" Nat shook his head.

"Sweet magic, no that would be horrendous. Though that aside there have been... hypothetical queries about getting the Empress a... hypothetical romantic partner should it be required that we truly needed a hypothetical heir "Dorian's eyes widened at the calm yet almost blushing tone that his friend used. Even though as always Nat had managed to keep his face completely still something he noted could only be achieved by either training or a traumatic experience.

"Indeed I could only imagine such a terror at my own wedding"

"Weeding, you?" Nat shook his head vehemently. "I don't see it. Maybe a lover perhaps even a harem but full-on marriage, I just can't see you being the type to get on one knee and put a ring on someone's finger"

"Oh and what about you" Dorian teased gently. "Are you not interested in finding that special someone to settle with" Nat looked at the man as if he had gone completely mental for a second before then mentally sighing as once again this dammed conversation came up. What was it with people and wanting to know how your love life was?. Maybe it was the social aspect of humans and the deep prehistoric behaviour to help all in a tribe, he didn't know. Nevertheless, after quickly taking a sip of his ever-fresh warm tea that st comfortably beside him on the small table, he leaned back on his chair slightly and began to speak in a humorous tone.

"Marriage?" He scoffed loudly, I hope not, as it is I don't even want to be in a relationship let alone something like" Nat shuddered as though somebody has shoved a snowball down his t-shirt. "Marriage." He shuddered again as though some cold breeze had just been thrust down his back against his will. "Romance is just not for me"

"How come?"

"Why are you so interested," Nat asked honestly. "I mean this always comes up with you guys in nearly every bloody conversation we have, do you have a girlfriend, is there anyone you fancy, what do you think of this girl, when are you going to get married, who would you rather fuck, the Inquisitor, Leliana, Joesphine or Cassandra"

"So who would you?" Nat slapped him harshly sending a loud echo in the car that nearly woke up the Inquisitor as she slept soundly in her position.

"None of them, I hardly see how such a private and in all honesty disgusting affair such as reproduction is of either mine let alone anybody else's concern"

"It's a perfectly normal thing to ask, guys your age they start to have those thoughts, those urges. Nobody-"

"I'm more than aware of those urges Dorian, I lived in a castle for 4 years of my fellow students. " He shook his head a look of disgust and contempt becoming highly visible. "All that kissing, petting, hand-holding, the declaration of love, the chocolate, and oh sweet Merlin the fucking giggling that happened when a gaggle of girls got together. And that's just the bloody start of it. Do you know how many times I have tried to enjoy a quiet stroll on one of the very few times I had free during school, no work, no studying, no hobbies, all work completed? All I want to do is go for a nice peaceful walk around the castle, enjoy the history and the atmosphere of the school but no, there's always some bunch of students who are entirely incapable of controlling their behaviour and allowing themselves to be controlled by the brain creating chemicals and rushing them into their blood getting both of them to rush into the nearest bloody broom closet and start pawing at each other constantly, all the while moaning, shouting, yelling and making the most horrible noises possible. And it happened every fucking night, not one floor, not one area didn't have two people going at it like a bunch of rabbits in heat"

Nat shuddered once again as one of the many memories of him trying to enjoy a peaceful night was ruined. He kept looking forward to it, as the night stars and moon abounded glimmering in the sky above him, a cool wind ripping through his hair and his iPod playing gentle relaxing music, only to then be interrupted by the sound of his fellow students mating.

"So why not go somewhere else then? Somewhere you can relax" Nat turned to him and gave a sour expression.

"You seriously believe I didn't try, that I attempted to be civil about the thing at first, that I did not try to find some area that I could claim as my own and enjoy the calming ability of beeing entirely on your own, no friends, no family, nobody at all"

"They took your spot"

"What do you think." Nat almost yelled indignantly. Anyway, after I complained to the teachers, rumours then started to flood around the school about the two and soon societal pressure broke the two love birds up. Nobody discovered it was me of course, I was always careful but all the same, people started to point fingers and as I was always a loner, naturally the blame fell upon my shoulders and I was blamed for everything that had occurred."

"Did you not try to stop it? Nat shook his head and peered out the window. Even in the vast blackness that surrounded the car on all fronts he could not help but feel cautious as though a careful set of eyes were tracking the vehicle from afar. Just where from or who by he did not know but all the same, he knew he was being tracked and with far less difficulty then should have been expected. Idly he glanced upwards towards the sky hoping to see some form of creature, possibly even a dragon where a possible rider on it's back would be following them carefully like a cat stalking its prey with keen eyes gazing through the blacksmith. Except as he then throughout a wave of magical energy towards the target, the energy acting as a radar he felt nothing except the normal tells of life in the area.

"No, but again why are you and the others so curious about if there's a girl in my life. Is there seriously not anything else that would be more intellectually stimulating then discussing the lack of a love life of one person."

"I never said it had to be a girl," Dorian said with a dashing smirk only to chuckle as Nat levelled an icy glare at his person that almost certainly threatened pain and torment of an unfathomable level.

"I don't find anyone attractive Dorian," Nat said quickly and then continued in a far sterner manner as Dorian wagged his eyebrows in a form of peculiar dance, "Especially not men" Dorian rolled his eyes.

"Have you ever tried it"

"No, I have never, am not currently, or ever will find those as the same gender as myself attractive in any form whatsoever, end of story, shut up, goodbye, say or imply it again and I will rip your head off and shove it up your-"

"Okay, then why haven't you been with a girl?. Surely with your position and even small amount of coin, there's bound to have been at least one young lady who's been interested. It's the law of averages after all" Dorian asked quietly noticing that his tone had raised somewhat in his amusement almost waking up the Inquisitor as she shifted in the back seat.

"Because I'm a selfish, paranoid, uncaring, workaholic, egotistical bastard" Nat replied in an entirely dry manner with not even the slightest smidge of humour dropping from his burning remark. "I won't go into it too much Dorian, but relationships need to give and take on both sides, trust, a desire to be with one another, a willingness to give things up for other people". Nat told him. "I'm not one of those types of people. Aside from the fact that I see relationships as nothing other then a complete and utter waste of time and resources resources, whether it be in having to spend money, time in learning about that person when I could instead spend it on myself, having to worry day in and out about their safety of the ever-growing paranoia if such a person was cheating on me or even really cared about me in some sense, or anything else, the fact of the matter is I would be a horribly abusive neglectful and uncaring boyfriend who would manipulate my romantic partner for my pleasure instead of caring for them. Now I don't where you're from but in my society that behaviour is heavily frowned upon"

"And you think you're that type of person?" Dorian spoke doubtfully, slowly taking a sip of his own conjured hot drink. He was rather glad for it in a time like this as though he could feel tiredness starting to crawl onto him he couldn't help but feel that now that the two of them were alone, unrestricted and confined to a small box with nothing else could do, perhaps as he was discovering his young friend would actually open up to him.

"Think," Nat chuckled menacingly. "I know it for certain. I mean just look at my actions here, ever since I joined the Inquisition what have I done other than slaughter my way through hundreds of people, taking the lives of other people, ruining others entirely. I'm responsible for countless families that will get the news that their loved ones are not returning home because they were killed by my hands. I have created, orphans, widows, forced parents to attend their own children's funerals, I have killed so many Dorian and yet I don't feel anything." Nat stopped for a moment his eyes returning to the road. "Not once, not one time have I ever felt the slightest amount of either guilt or doubt about my actions and I still don't, I would kill everyone I have up to now without a second thought." Nat told the man honestly "I know I can continue to kill how many more I have to whether it's hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands. As dark as it sounds I know that if I had to and we had to deal with a plague I could make the decision to either quarantine it or burn the entire place to the ground without a second thought, I could sleep peacefully and it won't bother me."

"You speak as though you were some kind of monster, like a demon rampaging across Thedas inflicting harm and bringing devastation?" Dorian said confused.

"Aren't I" Nat answered calmly showcasing not even the slightest hint of regret or any emotion at all. "After everything I've done and will do in the future, am I not what we're trying to fight, what we're trying to stop," Nat replied without hesitation. "Think about it Dorian, take away the sides and both ours and Corypheus are the exact same. Both of us have killed, schemed, murdered and committed whatever morally questionable actions to advance our own desires. The only difference is that I am considered a "Good" guy is because I'm part of an organisation that has the backing of a lot of rich people who control the narrative.

"No, you've helped people, your actions are to stop the worse calamity, to prevent a Tyrant from taking over and inflicting terrible cruelty on a group of people you do not even know. Think about it, how many lives have your actions saved, I may not have been there but even now some of those circle mages still thank you for helping to save them from the Templars, some of them even revere you enough that they've started to pretend their you. Some great hero of legend to advise and protect the Herald of Andraste"

Nat scoffed in disgust and contempt catching Dorian entirely off guard. "Naiveté, typical childish illusions, they'll learn in future?"

"Learn what, that you a young mage managed to work himself up to the second most powerful position in the Inquisition, that you are trusted to not only be the personal advisor of the most religiously symbolic person in all of living memory, but that you are also trusted to be the ambassador to the other mages, a position that would be given to only the greatest of Mages in the circle towers. You're a symbol of what's possible to them, what can be achieved"

"No, I'm not" Nat rebuked harshly. "I'm a prodigy, all ways have been. Sure I worked at it but that doesn't mean that if any random mage child works hard that they too can be as "great" as me. They're setting themselves targets too high to ever achieve and when they fail as practically all but the occasional truly exceptional one or two will, then the emotional trauma they will go through could tear them to pieces"

"And who would you recommend them to look up to, their circle leaders who led them to revolution and nearly got them all killed without a plan?" Nat nodded grimly.

"You judge them too harshly Dorian, the circles didn't exactly have the luxury of being able to communicate with one another and form a perfect complex series of plans that would see them to glorious victory, they had barely any time at all. Yet despite this, a lot of the mages survived and whilst there were casualties the fact that those in charge managed to achieve such a success warrants healthy respect. It isn't something I could do"

"And look at the mess they've since landed themselves in, were it not for the Inquisitor and her Inquisition then they would have become slaves of my homeland. Forced onto boats and shipped to fight against the Qun, very few would have survived and those who did would not have lived in luxury"

"Then thank the Inquisitor, I was busy dealing with other affairs and even then my failure lead directly to the death of my two subordinates, the starting of another civil war and the loss of more innocent lives"

"I thought you said that you didn't care about other's, that you were selfish" Dorian countered with a smile.

"In more personal things, fighting a war demands sacrifices and as much as I would like to boast, I cannot win this war on my own. But a relationship, that's something private between two or more people"

"More" Dorian fluttered his eyes teasingly over to the sleeping form of the Inquisitor a knowing look in his eye. "

"I'm not at all opposed to the idea that a person can deeply love and care for more than one person at a time. Should all parties consent and are not being forced into things then I'm perfectly fine with multiple marriages, Merlin it's even becoming more accepted to have open marriages where both partners are allowed to have relations with completely other uninvolved people."

"How progressive of you" Nat rolled his eyes.

"I wouldn't use that term, compared to you people perhaps, when it comes to certain issues. In other's however, this society has been far more egalitarian then mine has been until quite recently"

"Like what example?"

"Women is the first thing. Sure in modern society the general perspective that men and women are equal, but that's recent. Even then there are still strong stereotypes and gender indifference that can not be resolved simply by unfair and biased hiring/promoting practices. For most of history men and women had separate but defined rolls, of course, I would say that we're ahead of you people in Thedas, but that's recent otherwise I would say that you're women, in general, have had more rights than ours over a longer stretch of time"

"How interesting, would you be willing to discuss it" Nat shook his head.

"Not at the moment Dorian, perhaps at a later time but the last thing I want to think about is old politics. Trust me that was a fucking nightmare to deal with. All the bloody different sides, ideology, bigotry, divisiveness. In all honesty with all the shit over the past few decades, most people including myself have absolutely no fucking clue where we stand in politics, only vague and completely out of date ideas of left and right, but those are pointless and arbitrary"

Dorian kept his mouth closed in surprised at the admittance of the complete and utter confusion if his friend towards his own politics. He never would have believed that the persons studying under Joesphine to be a diplomat would not even understand his own politics in such regard and he had been trained in the art as part of his school. Despite this, though he couldn't help but feel his curiosity grow even father at the thought of just what had occurred to confuse people so much that it seemed to have broken down the entire social order.

"You know it's kind of funny" Nat said out loud breaking Dorian out of his thoughts, "Don't tell the Inquisitor this, but this is the longest drive I've ever been on"

"Really, I would have imagined that with such technology that your people would have spread out some more" Nat resisted the urge to chuckle as out of nowhere his mind flashed of a world map and a one entire quarter that was coloured a bright red. If only Dorian had known just how much the British had spread out then he would have been less curious about persisting Solas and far more about pestering him about the old empire.

"No, we were confined to a relatively small area that was hard to get too. If we spread out too far we would have drawn attention to ourselves and given how we've avoided so many empires, religions and wars I think that's a good thing"

"In that case perhaps we can continue this discussion later" Nat nodded, at Dorian, now was not the best time to discuss such matters, he had more vital concerns to deal with, things that mattered. What was his pathetic life worth next to saving that of a continent that could collapse due to any number of causes?

As the hours once again flew by as the car continued to make its journey all through the night with Nat staying awake well into the morning though with Dorian awake as well keeping him engrossed in conversation, something that Nat was thankful for as he was finding himself unusually tired after such an activity, something he chalked up to never have done before. It was then about four o'clock in the morning when the vehicle quietly pulled into the forest and soon made it's way in the direction of the massacre, stopping a little away from the area to prevent alerting anything that may have been there. With that then finished Dorian soon joined the other two members in the back of the car whilst Nat only closed his eyes after heavily fortifying the area with magic and even then he did not fall asleep as it was shutting most of himself down allowing his eyes to close but still being aware of everything that was around him.

Hours later when he began to hear the slight movements behind him of the Inquisitor waking up did he make his presence known.

"Morning" Nat said to the tired Inquisitor as she gently rubbed her eyes before staring off in a dazed like state out her window into the unfamiliar surroundings. Valeyna shook her head tiredly.

"We've stopped. When did we arrive?"

"A few hours ago though you fell asleep far before then" Wiping her tired eyes again, Valeyna tried to move her legs only to squint as a small amount of pain shot through them. Ignoring the pain she quickly followed Nat's actions in how to open the door and soon stepped outside feeling both an immediate sense of relief as her foot touched solid ground again for the first time in hours and the immediate call of mother nature.

"Nat I'm going-"

"Go, I'll get breakfast started" Without any further comment Valeyna quickly rushed off into the nearby area her staff hanging limply at her side. Shaking his head Nat allowed himself a small quiet yawn before then taking a deep look at his local surroundings.

The forest that he had parked in wasn't much different to other places he had seen, the trees were of average height and still had their leaves, birds could be heard chirping merrily as they went about their merry business and he could also detect the presence of other woodland creatures, though nothing large as of yet that could be a threat though with how close they were to the site of the supposed massacre that could change soon.

After stretching his legs and taking another glance insider the car so he could see just how well Dorian and Cole were doing, he soon walked round to the back of the car, opened the boot and took out the cooking equipment he had stored in there just in case it was ever needed. Thankfully that emergency kitchen also happened to hold a rather large stash of ever-fresh food from magic, and while he didn't exactly need to bring it out thanks to a far more complex one in his pocket, the others didn't need to know that and especially not Leliana and Josephine who might demand that he start cooking them dinner.

Breakfast didn't take too long to cook, with a simple flick of his wand all the equipment needed was set up as well as a decent size table and chairs. Once that was done he put breakfast out on three plates which in this case was a full English breakfast for each of them and finally in the last spot where he would eat he simply poured himself a bowl of cereal. Once that was done he boiled him and the others some cups of tea before then placing all the equipment back in the boot before he could then start on his breakfast.

Suffice to say it was only a few moments later when Dorian emerged from the vehicle his nose sniffling loudly as though he were a pig on the scent for truffles and though he looked tired from not having as much sleep as he may have desired, the moment his groggy brown eyes landed onto what amounted as a feast before he quickly found himself racing to the table.

Moments later Cole also joined the group though with a slight amount of confusion as he attempted to look for just where the fire and food should have come from only to find nothing. Naturally, Valeyna as the last one back to the group could only stare in shock for a few minutes before then quickly digging into the food giving only a quick thanks to the cook before she soon scoffed it down quickly. Once the group were all finished Nat cleaned the plates and cutlery before then placing them into the car where he then locked it and continued forwards deeper into the woods.

It didn't take them long afterwards to find the site of the massacre. Even when he had been driving Nat had spotted the last few vestiges of smoke as it rose through the treetops and into the dark now light sky above. Aside from that however they also quickly located long deep tracks into the mud where the wagon had obviously cut into the soft ground leaving an obvious trail, yet it was the smelt that was by far the easiest thing to detect, the smell of foul rotting, decaying corpses that only became ever more pungent with every step they took forward.

"Odd" Dorian muttered as they followed the path. "There seem to be no signs of a battle.

"Perhaps they were ambushed in the night" Valeyna commented her keen hunter's eyes focusing on every detail of the forest allowing her to easily notice the almost disturbing lack of blood. Stopping for only a moment her eyes crossed in a slight amount of confusion. "No if there was an ambush there would be more blood everywhere, the survivors would have been cut down in the trees, followed the path back, but there's nothing"

"Archer's perhaps," Nat said as he tried to think of an explanation s to why there appeared to be not even the slightest hint of trouble. Not even his magic could detect anything whether it be in the form of clothing or blood.

"No, there would be more footprints', all these points to just normal people walking down the path then attackers trying to move stealthily"

"Well seeing as they moved from the road inland, there must have been something that would have forced them away for such shelter. Perhaps some Tevinter Slaver?" Valeyna shook her head again and concentrated on the path reading it like Nat would read a book for every detail, each little mark, the size of the shoes, the way they were trod onto one another, the distance apart from each step all gave her vital information, yet none could give her everything.

"There aren't any hoofprints apart from the wagon horses, and the footprints are too shallow to indicate the type of armour that Tevinter has. They were walking and at a reasonable pace which means they felt safe enough to slow down"

"I doubt they hid, if they had a heavy wagon with them there's not much the could do to hide the tracks. Tevinter soldiers or anyone else could easily follow them into the forest especially if they were light cavalry as Lelianas report seems to suggest"

"Exactly, and Tevinters wouldn't care if they left tracks which probably means that somebody else attacked"

"You mean like demons?" Dorian said.

"Maybe, but I can't sense any rifts around here. Can you Nat?"

"No it's quiet, not spooky something is wrong because there's some sort of ancient evil lurking nearby quiet, but normal quiet"

"What is the ancient evil in this analogy," Dorian asked questions. Nat shrugged his shoulders good-naturedly and continued to carr down the path though as always he had both of his weapons close at hand and ready to be drawn should the need arise.

"Oh you know, some sort of ancient demon that will destroy all civilization if it does not have an annual income of five to seven young souls that are murdered in strange manners where a group of people watch from behind a screen and make a betting pool out of it. Or some sort of seriously oversized animal like a crocodile or shark"

"Sharks don't live in freshwater" Cole said.

"Bull sharks do."

"Bull shark" Cole blinked at the sound of the shark,

"Do I even want to know how you know about different type of sharks?" Valeyna asked in a dry and sarcastic voice.

"Well let's just say that I'm never getting on a ship or boat again for the rest of my life. Anyway back on to the topic at hand, there's nothing here that can be construed as a threat though the lack of other sentient people, on the other hand, might point to something"

"I thought Leliana said that her spies were going to meet us here?"

"We travelled several hundred miles in the middle of winter in a span of a few hours, most likely the agents haven't been able to make it back yet or they simply didn't believe our dear Spymaster that we would be arriving in haste"

"Should we wait for them then?"

"I wouldn't, let the agents catch up when they have a chance, if we wait any longer before we start investigating we could lose more valuable time"

"Dorian is right Inquisitor, I'm no detective but if what I've learned from pop culture is anything to go by, the longer you leave a scene the longer you allow it to be tempered with. If the agents catch up to us whilst we're there we'll ask for help and if not then we'll just leave a note and nail it to he nearest tree"

Without another word being said, the group finally managed to teach the scene of the crime after another ten or so minutes of looking around. When they pushed past the larger set of thick green shrubbery consisting of thick vines, sharp brambles and wicked-looking knife-like thorns on oversized rose bushes as well as something in the far distance that Nat could have sworn was an Ent, were it not for the fact that he was in Thedas rather than middle earth, forcing the group so slow down their pace considerably, they finally pushed past the last remainder and entered the campsite.

Campsite, was what it was called, however, the group learned that was not the appropriate term to use in such a situation, such a term revolved around the use of people having equipment to have a camp, things like tents, food, fires, bed. Yet no such equipment was laid in front of them, neither were the remains of any wagons Nat noticed quickly before turning onto the rest of the massacre.

Before their feet the ground had been littered in the corpses of pale naked men and women all whom laid on the floor their dead eyes looking upwards into the sky as they lay in a pile of their own blood and faeces from where the bodies muscles had stopped forking allowing what had been in their bodies to flow straight back out.

Clutching their noses tightly it was only Nat with a spell who was able to ignore the stench, of rotting bodies, faces and the soaked mud beneath their feet. Dorian hunched over slightly his face turning pale as he locked his warm eyes with the cold dead ones of a woman who like every other person in this area had been stripped entirely and left to die in a horrid mix of internal liquids.

Valeyna was the first to step forward into the mess her grim face meticulously flicking over the corpses as she observed for every little detail. From body to body she went, occasionally dropping to her knees as she inspected one of the corpses and gently closed the eyes of some of the deceased before then moving her hands over to where the wounds were located.

"Is it normal for everyone to be killed by their throat's being slit?" Dorian said after pulling himself up after regaining his strength.

"I would hope not, a few being cut I can understand, a sneak attack is bound to get some people, but there isn't any indication that blood magic was used the cut's look too-"

"Deep" Valeyna finished her advisors sentence darkly

"You know what this is" She shook her head.

"No, but I've seen blood magic and I've seen the mark of a knife slicing open a person's throat. All these people died of the latter or other clean wounds. Also, do you notice how all the blood is pooled around their bodies, that indicates that nobody even had a chance to move, one moment they were alive and the next they were killed with no warning by some assassins dagger"

"Assassins, any idea who?" Nat asked as he inspected another body this time of a male. After inspecting his eyes and casting a quick spell to determine the time of death he finally then closed the poor soul's eyes before then inspecting the rest of the body. The corpse it appeared had been in a fairly relaxed position before death going by how his legs had seemingly crumpled beneath him. Most likely he had been standing upright talking to the person directly opposite to him about something before he was being killed, other than that though he couldn't determine. The attack had been quick and clean, made with a certain sense of precision and had cleanly severed the arteries in them hence resulting in the massive red stain that coated the man's entire neckline as well as the one beside him.

"Corypheus," The elf told him uncertainty.

"No" Dorian rejected the idea as he stood up from a nearby corpse," If Corypheus had killed them then there would be traces of magic left everywhere, ice pillars, burn marks and a lot more people would be in chunks. These people were killed but not by magic"

"I agree," Nat told him as he passed onto another set of soldiers only instead of going to look at their horrendous injuries and wounds he instead simply knelt to them peacefully and close their eyes before then moving onto the next group and the group after that. "But casualties aside our biggest question has to be why everyone's been stripped barren. There has to be a reason for it, I mean stealing peoples coin, jewellery and boots easy relatively easy enough, as well as the odd weapon, but everything these people had, clothing, personal possessions, wagons, gold, gifts, armour, Merlin they even took the bloody tents and whatever food these people had. That can't occur on a small number of people so either they've been coming back or we're dealing with a group far larger than we initially believed"

"But to achieve what, the gifts and gold I get, but why would they need the armour for, they can't possibly sell that without at least one person mentioning it" Dorian shook his head at the behaviour of the sour-looking wizard. Why he was going to such effort simply to close the dead's eyes didn't know, it wasn't as if they were going to need it, they were dead and were never going to come back, yet all the same, Nat continued his rounds like an undertaker, marking each one for death

"Perhaps their not trying to sell it, what if instead they wanted to keep the armour and weapons. It makes some sense with the clothing as well"

"To do what, recruit an army" Valeyna joked.

"It's certainly possible" Nat answered sternly "I mean if you look at all the revolutions that have happened so far, it's not impossible to imagine that somebody is trying to stir up another one in Orlais whilst they have the chance. Whether it's for Corypheus or some upstart noble though doesn't matter, we have to find what's been stolen and retrieve it"

"Great" Valeyna said slowly her once peppy and happy mood instantly lost as her companion brought forth the cold facts of reality. "Do you have any idea who would want to create an army or better yet someone who can attack our supplies and get away with it?" Nat shook his head and stared down at another body this time his attention focused onto just how clean the wound had been.

He may not have been trained to be a full Auror like his father had been, that part had been left aside for the far more crucial element that was fighting for one's life, all the same, even he knew that the scale of the attack was rather disturbing to look at. The slashes on the throat and the arrows that were well-aimed always hitting in either the throat or the hart indicated a very high level of profession from the killers, something that would not be done by just random soldiers or even knights. It pointed to those who had been doing this for a while, those specifically trained in the art of killing people as stealthily as possible.

"Only established military forces come to mind, only they and other assassination groups would seemingly have the skills of special forces, but seeing as those aren't a thing yet, I can only assume a group of assassins, most likely either human or elf?"

"How do you figure that out," Dorian said as he batted away a particularly nasty stench of the corpse as it continued to rise into the sky and pass by him.

"It's simple, Qunari and Dwarves have too much weight to their size and so leave deeper tracks when they move. Those would be harder to find, however seeing as there aren't any tracks, it means that whoever the attacker was had to have light feet" Valeyna answered quickly as she continued to look around the entire campsite.

Ignoring the dead bodies, she glanced upwards towards the sky and then blinked in realisation. Previously when they had arrived they had seen a large plume of black smoke that had drifted into the sky informing all those around that something had happened here. It had been impossible to miss it was so large, yet now that they had arrived entirely in the are that thick black direction marker had vanished entirely as though it had never appeared in the first place leaving the elf confused.

Growing concerned she lifted her staff tightly and softly began to feel the thrum of the Fade as she called upon its power. Obviously, there was some kind of illusion around the area, just who had created such a spell was unclear, yet she could not help but feel her stomach sink as she began to wonder darkly if this was another type of trap that had been set up for them. She shivered slightly at the thought, those dam marshlands had ruined some of her good clothes due to the stench and filthy water, but more importantly she remembered the way those dead dreary faces of the deceased had only stared up at her, dead, old, and decrepit with the sensation of death lingering over them like a blizzard only colder.

That was not the same here, however, there was no eerie feeling of oppression in the area, only that of the veil between this world and that of the demons become thinner as all places did when large death had occurred. There was no immediate danger though as while the veil had become thinner, it was not so thin that a demon could so easily rip a hole straight through this area and more importantly going by how Nat seemed unfazed by his surroundings, there was nothing close.

"You find anything" She called to him her voice feeling louder as it passed through the short distance between them forcing her to stop a moment as she tried to work out just what had happened.

"No" Nat cried back. "Their death matches with the report that arrived, but other than that, there's nothing suspicious, no latent magic in the air on their wounds, no strange shapes in the terrain and no drugs that took them out, they were simply executed."

"Is that it?"

"There are some small trace elements of iron and steel in their wounds, but that's to be expected given the most common material in weapon crafting" Valeyna sighed, that didn't help anything, what was she expected to do with steel and iron, were it possible to locate where those resources came from then they might be able to lead it back to a region of a country and then to a mine and then to a provider and so forth and so forth, but that would take weeks or maybe even months and all for some coin and food? "Wait a second that's odd" Nat added as he bent down to another corpse. "This woman was killed with something else"

"What" Valeyna demanded.

"There's a large trace of, gold, silver and emerald in the wound"

"Emerald? Why ever would he have emerald in his throat?"

"I believe I can answer that one" Dorian sported a large grin as he joined the rest of them and bent down. As they did so Nat flicking his wand carefully brought out the large group of materials to slowly drag out the item that had been stuck in the woman's neck until finally there in front of them covered in blood was none other than about one-third of a chipped blade. "Nobility likes to dress up their weapons, it's like a little game in who can make a piece of sharpened metal the prettiest. Of course, it doesn't happen in Tevinter, a man is far more likely to kill you in a magical duel or with poison then ever stoop so low as to cut open a mans throat, but Orlais on the other hand?"

"That would explain the use of special operatives, all nobles are bound to have at least one or two assassins on call and even more powerful ones will likely have even more." Cleaning the blood of the small fragment of the dagger Nat moved his hand allowing the beaming sun to reflect off the stained blade to get a better look at it.

The weapon was ridiculously ordained from what he could tell and not at all practical for a fight. Instead of being made primarily of steel like other weapons were, the blade was mostly all silver the only bits not being were the intricate carved floral designs that had been very meticulously engraved in gold where at the heart of the flowers a few small beads of emerald glistened brilliantly as the light caught it making it appear as though it were dancing in starlight.

"Definitely nobility, if this bit is designed like the rest of the weapon, then the dagger itself is worth a small fortune. Do you think if we sent this to Leliana she could send her agents to track its owner" Looking over at the dagger twisting the edge between his fingers, his enchanted gloves keeping his flesh far from harm, he observed the floral pattern as closely as he could, he didn't recognise it, he was no purveyor in personalised engraving nor in how much individual emeralds were worth or the gold value of such a weapon though undoubtedly if the goblins from back home were here they could find it without little trouble via going through back doors and making third party deals. It was rather humorous actually, the mental image of those greedy little shits scurrying along in that hovel of theirs all the while they would start charging exorbitant fees or even demand the weapon itself stating that it was forged from some ancient goblin smith long ago.

"Relax inquisitor I know a spell for this"

"You do" Dorian snorted. "You're telling me you have an exact spell that is designed for finding the rest of a broken dagger"

"Of course not," Nat said as he withdrew a map of Thedas from his pocket before then laying it out in front of them. "The spell was designed for finding the other parts of a broken object. The repair spell is fine for the most part, it can even just replace entire lost bits, but let's say that you have a certain magical amulet that can't be fixed with just a flick of the wand but requires the other part to make the magic work again"

Right before their eyes Nat cast the spell his magic striking the blade and forcing it to suddenly glow in a powerful white glow illuminating the area for a few seconds before then a bright blue trail of glowing gas appeared but then before that trail had even managed to make it more then a metre away from their location, Nat with another flick of his wand forced the magic into his map where instantly the trail was replaced with one glowing blue dot.

A blue dot right in the centre of Val Royeux.

"Bingo"

"Val Royeux is currently in the hands of Celene isn't it, do you think she's the one responsible" Dorian staring at the glowing dot on the map narrowed his eyes for a moment mentally trying to calculate the risk in charing the area that they had just come from before he then turned back to the wizard. "That is a useful spell, do you think you could teach me"

"Sure if I get time. It isn't just things I have stuff on me though, so long as I have an accurate mental image of what I want and it isn't enchanted I can find practically anything."

"Anything, even my missing socks. So if I gave you a description" Nat rolled his eyes.

"Accuracy is the key point in the spell Dorian, you can describe to me the pattern, texture, shape and colour of your socks in as much detail as you want, but unless I have actually seen them with my own eyes or have a picture that is exact in its detail allowing me to know what I'm looking for exactly, then I'm going off a vague thing. You getting me to find your socks will give me just as many dots on the map as me simply inputting elf" Valeyna spat out loud her eyes turning to ones of a mix of both fascination and unrestrained horror as though Nat had just eaten her firstborn child in front of her.

"What" She choked harshly. "Are you telling me you can track down every single elf in Thedas"

"Yeah, but don't worry it doesn't give me names or gender or anything else, just where every single elf is. Same thing with dwarves or demons, or Darkspawn"

"Darkspawn" Valeyna's eyes lit up. "You can track Corypheus, with such a spell we would always know where he is?"

"I wasn't there at Haven Inquisitor I never saw him and as such, I can't track him, not unless you give me a picture"

"That's how you wiped out the Templars isn't it" Valeyna felt some of her strength leave her. It was horrifying, never before had she believed such magic possible, to track down a specific person or all the members of a specific race, it was powerful potent, could even be used to find rare of long lost valuable knowledge or other clans. Her head went dizzy at the thought of such a tactical advantage, is they could use such magic to keep track of demon numbers, know where they are, roughly how many there are, they could entirely choose where to engage Corypheus or locate a group of missing people like the Wardens.

"It's a very useful spell if you know how to apply it. Most of my people only used it for finding lost keys and the like, but in military terms, it can be used to locate specific ships or people. Merlin, there's even a rumour that a few decades ago a certain group of students made a map so complex of our school that it could actively track and follow everyone who was in it at all times, and it included their names"

"Your's cant," Valeyna said her mind thinking in how much Leliana was going to adore Nat's magic. She didn't talk much with the woman but a spell that could see where that person was in the world was not something she saw the woman ever allowing her to fall out of her hands.

"If I was to continually recast the spell yes sure, but otherwise it just tells me where that item is the very moment I cast the spell. It makes it harder when a person is travelling at speed, especially with us in a car since in another few minutes you could be miles away. And there's also the fact that accuracy is the main factor here, the vaguer the item the more magical energy it takes up because you're locating more than one thing at once. And while it's a very easy spell that you can throw away easily, once you start casting that spell and get results that go so high like counting all the members of a race, then it is exhausting and terrifying as well."

"Terrifying, how would that type of spell be terrifying, you're only looking to see where something is?"

"Exactly," Nat told her. "Think of Darkspawn, they live underground, if you were to cast the spell to find them all, then you're bound to have practically the entire map glow and could you sleep at night then, knowing that there's a Darkspawn directly beneath you. Or demons?

"I see your point"

"Good, and as I said, there are too many demons in the world for me to track, the spell may mark the paper, but it's one spell to locate things and it's another to apply it to the map. Were I to faint in the first instance because of too many results then the spell is useless"

"So regarding the grey wardens, can you find the southern wardens specifically" Valeyna called Cole over and picked up the map Nat had laid on the floor.

"To find the wardens I'll be focusing on the symbol of the Grey Wardens, anywhere that has that symbol whether it's on a flag, a piece of armour, or even some ancient underground fortress long since abandoned, is going to light up. That is why I need specifics" True as his word as Nat cast the sell this time on a far more vague sense he felt what was typically an easy spell to do draw more and more upon his magic as his spell looked over the entire world searching for any place where that symbol may be found. Ignoring the strain however he could only sigh as the picture of the map was updated with the location of the symbol.

"Oh" Valyena muttered in a defeated manner. Just as Nat had said, when using such a vague term the amount of dots on the map was incredible, there were dots all over the place from locations in the Anderfells to the Frost Back mountains and even a few that were located in the sea. Those Nat guessed were from some ancient battle site or something else, not that it particularly mattered since the sheer amount of artefacts that had that symbol on them had made the entire spell useless as there were so many points that had a large cluster on them that it was entirely impossible to pick out Grey Warden strongholds unless one actually knew where they were located.

"I told you, sounds great in theory until you realise just how much it clogs your map up. It's why it doesn't work on nationalities or anything like that, you're imagining a generic look of millions of people"

"But you said you could do elves?" Valeyna said questioningly. "You said that it was possible to track down every elf"

"Yes but that's because elves and Qunari have one particular trait that makes them easier to do"

"And what's that?"

"The ear's, as derogatory as it sounds, it's the ears of an elf that allows me to find elves as is the horns with Qunari. Dwarves are the hardest because size is less useful since humans, dwarves, Qunari and elves can be smaller or bigger than average, it doesn't matter. I could put an arbitrary height on, but that is going to miss out on some taller dwarves and include some short humans, otherwise, there is no discernable trait"

"Does it work only for things like ears" Nat turned to Dorian slowly his mind swirling in suspicion. He had heard others speak in such things before, specifically his sister when she in innocent curiosity had wondered just how far he could target specific groups of people if it was by definable traits.

"No, I could if I wanted to put the parameters on something like skin, hair eye or even something like nail polish cover if needed. " Dorian grimly nodded his head as he considered all the horrifying ways that those in power back in his home could use such a spell. Though as Nat had demonstrated its use was limited, with some creative usage he could easily see those who were far more pro-slavery using it to find those slaves who had escaped and bring them back, or worse use it to pinpoint the location of elves and place them all in chains.

"Can you hide from it" Cole stated his own eyes dripping in a mix of concern and almost fear. The Templar's Nat knew as he read the boys mind, the Templars used a less precise way to find mages who had gone rogue and was why they kept Phylacteires, the boy feared that if the Templars ever rose again they could simply force some mages to use such a simple spell to find all mages in the world and bring them under tyranny.

"Yes if you know the correct spells, It's not difficult to do and in all honesty, all my clothes are enchanted to prevent anyone simply locating me if they so desired, I do like my privacy after all. But yes whether by a certain spell, enchantments or simply suppressing your power in a certain way you're safe. It's why it's best used is at the start of a war when very few people can be bothered to learn such a thing. Not that it's perfect though, the spell may be easy to hide from, but there is more than one spell for detecting another "

"Do you know those" Cole asked in a slight amount of fear. How was he supposed to hide when a person could cast a simple spell and he was known to that person. He could never hide again, never be safe, always pursued until either he killed the pursuers or he was captured.

"Unforttinetly no, after the last war the Government seriously started to crack down on some spells that were used heavily in the war. As a result, you can only learn such things if you have a good reason like being a top-ranked Auror or on a secret mission. Not even my teachers held that type of authority and devices were placed around to monitor what type of magic was being cast, since, in their opinion, there was no good reason for why a person would desire to hide that badly from people unless they wanted to get away with something"

"Suspicious, are you sure they didn't want to control you" Nat looked over at Dorian and gave a stern nod. Though they needed to get going soon, this was something he was admitted to the man he would like to speak more about later with him when they both had the time. Why exactly he didn't know, but Nat couldn't help but feel a sort of kinship with Dorian, nothing along the lines of Dorian, but the man just had an aura about him that made it easy for the man to understand things that the others didn't. They were similar, both young, both prodigies and both came from noble families with all the baggage that came with it, Dorian also understood when he talked about complex things and he understood Dorian enabling him to spend quality time with him in regards of learning new magic.

"Enough of that we need to head to Val Royeux before our thieves can pawn off what they stole" Nat raised an eyebrow at that.

"That could be difficult, we are dealing with the capital of the most powerful country on the continent, it won't be something that we can just pop in with the local lord and get pointed to a direction. Then there's the nobility, as soon as we arrive we're going to have every spy, bard and poor person looking for extra coin tailing our every movement. We go in with the car and we'll just alert the thieves that we're there, they could pack off and leave before anyone knew what happened"

"And the good points" Valeyna inquired dryly. Nat has a small smile she was starting to get used to him.

"Whilst we will draw attention when we arrive, we have a massive speed advantage, we'll be at the city far faster then the thieves could comprehend. With any luck, they could panic and make a mistake leaving a chase far easier on our part."

"We'll need a distraction, we can use the car to arrive quickly but we would have to sneak in"

"Oh please, I can cast an illusion spell over the car, it'll make us look like a wagon and we'll have to slow down the closer we get to observers less they ask where we got our "horses" from, but we can sneak right in the city and move around without anyone the wiser"

"Then why didn't you mention that in the first place" Valeyna demanded as she sighed. Much to her annoyance Nat simply shrugged his shoulders and explained.

"Because you're the Inquisitor, you asked me to help you make better tactical decisions, by not revealing everything I can do the point is to see if you can inquire and make plans for yourself."

"How am I supposed to know" Her voice turned snippy. Hastily she turned to Dorian hoping that he would interrupt and support her argument when it came to this type of thing.

"Because you are the leader it is up to you to know how to best assign everyone, where they work well, where they don't, who they work well with and what other abilities they can learn and try. You asked for my help and you've got it Inquisitor, but that help comes in the form of an education"

"You would make a better Inquisitor then me" Nat paused for a moment. Was she being serious he wondered to himself, did she believe that he a person who in his anger had wiped out a once-respected group of individuals, started a civil war and seemingly solved every problem he came across via the use of physical force would be a better Inquisitor then her? He shook his head, no leading was for Gryffindors he reminded himself, for men and women who had the courage, honour and the empathy for those they lead, they had charisma and people naturally followed them because they believed in them or some other sort of tripe. In contrast, he was a solo person dealing with everything alone and even when he did need to lead he used the position of authority granted to him to get things done.

The soldiers in the Inquisition didn't do what he told them because they thought he was some great individual, he had heard the rumours behind his back, the jab at his age, the nasty little things they said, they called him child, weak, pathetic. Some even called him nothing more than a toy of the Inquisitor to prevent anyone else from getting a high position. The only reasoned they did what he told them, was because he was a higher rank and they got paid to, were they to refuse and it became a regular thing then he would have to implement some punishment purely so he could keep order in the ranks and not because he gave a fuck what they said.

"No Inquisitor, were I to be in charge there would be a lot more dead people around"

"But"

"No Inquisitor, I think we should leave this topic and put these men and women to rest"

"But the dagger" Cole spoke suddenly. Nat turned to the man hiding his look. For some reason, he had thought Cole would have agreed with him on this matter, that the boy would see the point of burying the dead properly and not leaving their bodies out here where they could be tarnished by wolves and other such creatures. Yet despite this, Cole he noticed seemed to be concerned, very concerned as though there was some sort of great threat that was lurking around the corner ready to kill every single one of them. No Nat realised there was something about the dagger that had the man concerned.

Brining up the ruined fragment Nat inspected it closer. It was minute but there was a presence of the fade on the dagger, something small as though it were attempting to hide and bury itself into the silver of the blade, where it could try to escape his prodding magic. But it was not enough, he had enchanted enough things to be able to detect some fleeing magic and this was not nearly powerful as required to escape the keen gaze of a person with even an average amount of experience that he had in the art

"What about it Cole," Valeyna asked her eyes narrowing slightly in concern as Nat stared at the blade sharply. Was it more dangerous then she thought?

"It has some kind of poison enchantment," Nat remarked. "I can't work it out in much detail, the magic was of no particular high quality and the snapping of the blad has seemingly stolen some of its power but all the same, the enchantment in basic terms was to make sure that those who were killed died swiftly"

"Can you give any more detail?"

"Not really, but if you want a guess, I'd say that going by the lax forms of the dead, the blade might have had some sort of paralysis enchantment to it, but that's just a guess"

"So an enchanted blade that can paralyse and kill people very quickly. A perfect weapon for the assassins of Val Royeux don't you think" Dorian said smugly as he walked closer. Leaning down he gave a quick haughty look at the blade before rolling his eyes and walking away from such a pretty yet also vulgar weapon. "Though our young mage friend here is correct, the enchantments on the blade are designed to kill veery quickly and prevent anyone from fighting back. A nasty combination if I may say so, especially since whoever enchanted it tried to hide the spell itself."

"We'll have to be careful if we find out who's responsible and one of these blades managed to wound us?" Valeyna paused and looked at her companions. It wasn't the best party composition to have if she was in all honesty, they were made up of three mages and a rogue. Three of them would be at the back fighting and Cole relied heavily on his ability to hide using that strange ability of his. In a straight fight, they would be leaving themselves rather open to a counterattack if they didn't have a warrior on their side.

Should she go back to Skyhold, return to the castle return either Nat or Dorian and then gain another member to assist her in Val Royeux? It would make things easier if a major fight were to break out, but on the other hand, did she have the time to waste going back all the way south, spending all that time in the car again only to then drive back north. It would waste another day, something that could be better spent in the bright and gleaming halls of Val Royeux investigating the enemy attackers. Not to mention if the car was seen driving past the city and the enemy caught wind of just how quickly they could move when they desired?

She bit her lip, not so slightly that she drew blood, but enough that it hurt. She couldn't abandon the investigation now, not when the enemy had so willingly come in, killed their men and stolen what was there. A lesson had to be made, a message sent to all those that would oppose the Inquisition that if they tried to attack her and those that wished to return the continent back to a time of peace that they would be destroyed and their armies smashed.

"I can handle myself, Inquisitor, though I would recommend a more subtle approach when we enter the city. Should we start blowing up warehouses and starting fights we will draw upon us that which we wish to avoid"

"We'll have to be quick if Joesphine has said anything about Orlais, it's about how quickly news will spread. We can't afford to act weak not when we're still recovering."

"So we're agreed then," Nat asked with a tone of finality. Nodding her head Valeyna gestured toward the direction they had come, as she did so she did not notice as Nat stayed behind and turned to the many corpses that lay across the ground. Sighing to himself he gently called out to Cole getting the young man to respond.

"Yes," He said gently his face turning remorseful as he too looked at the many dead that surrounded them.

"I'm going to give them a burial, nothing fancy, we don't have the time. All the same, I think it would be best if you said some final words." Cole said nothing. For a few moments, silence passed between the wizard and the spirit but it was then soon cut off as with a quick flick of his wand Nat conjured in front of him a large pile of wood. It was rather obvious what their purpose was and without delay, Nat began to stack the rather large pile of wood neatly leaving multiple gaps in them where he could then later slide the bodies.

Seeing what he was doing Cole let out a small remorseful but almost happy smile before he then leaned down to one young woman who was lying at his feet and then picker her up before then placing her onto the pyre, moving her in gently towards the centre as he closed her eyes. A few minutes later after noticing that neither of them had arrived, Dorian and Valeyna returned and without any argument helped with the process of raising the dead with their magic and then allowing their bodies to join the pyre. Finally, After about only twenty minutes, the pyre was filled with corpses making it appear like a mix of a respectful pyramid and something out of a horror show as those on the sides popped out slightly.

"Does anybody want to say something before I start the pyre?" Nat said as he respectfully held his wand. Valeyna noticed that Nat was acting very respectful right now, his clothes a normal dark black seemed to have darkened and his head normally so straight ahead and lifted with a sense of power had lowered his eyes meeting the pyre as some sort of sign of respect. When nobody answered him however Nat again hid a sigh, walked forwards and with a quick thrust of his wand set the corner of the pyre aflame before then turning on his heel and marched to the others and then remained silent.

In truth, he could find no words to say. Perhaps he could have said some eulogy to the men, promoting the bravery of those he had never met or known yet their lives had been lost for the Inquisition and its fight for freedom against Corypheus, yet he couldn't help but feel it would sound wrong from him. Who was he to comment on their bravery, on if they had done the right thing, he could say nothing about them going to their version of heaven and that they would live at the Maker's side? He could also give no promise that they would win this war and destroy Corypheus, to do so would be nihilistic and foolish, they could very much lose this war and he was realistic enough to see that if they did then their fate would be terrible.

Instead as he watched the fire lick at the pyre, that mix of bright orange and yellow slick at the straw and lumber that surrounded the bodies of those who would willingly fight and die, the fire began to encase and burn away the mortal flesh of the dead filling the air with a horrid putrid stench of burning, he made a different action. Not something like raising his hand to his forehead and give a military salute.

He wasn't a soldier.

Instead, he closed his eyes for a moment, tilted his head forward and then tilted it back before walking away with one goal burning in his mind.

When they reached Orlais, heads were going to roll.


	28. Chapter 28 City Plots

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 28 City Plots**

Val Royeux, capital of not only the most powerful nation on Thedas but also home to that of the Chantry lay before the young curious eyes of the young wizard. Thick high pale grey walls surrounded it on each side enveloping the heart of all Orlesian culture, and politics in a firm and protective embrace that dared any and all to attempt and tear down its walls, even now Nat watched as he drove closer how what appeared to be several thousand men and women strode across the battlements, his sharp eyes managing to work out the shapes of bows and the armour brightly glimmering in the late morning sun that these soldiers wore as they prepared for some kind of battle. Around the tall walls, Nat observed how a series of large and grandiose towers dotted in perfect series dotted all over the walls giving those on top a clear view of all that was around.

Surely Nat thought as he still kept driving down the stone road that led to the ancient city, that the view from up there must have been a rather grand one. The ability to peer both within the confines of the great city where towers and tall buildings rose out in the distance showcasing the wealth and power of the elites as well as to gaze upon the endless flat fields for as long as the eye can see watching as farmers went about their business tilling the fields must have been an excellent one.

There was no forest to look upon though yet he was more than aware that in such an age where castles were indeed defensive fortifications rather than artefacts of a long lost time where life had been so much more dangerous. There would be no children or tourists who would be walking amongst the ruins he knew, in fact, such areas were likely to be highly restricted though out of security rather than concern for a persons health in case the several hundred-year-old structures collapsed upon them due to a lack of maintenance. Not even Diagon Alley had held such an effect on him for with the ending of the last war and a vast majority of the old blood families on both sides wiped out, it left little debate for the new blood to modernise what they could even when accounting for the fact that electricity did not work around magic. Even so, it was no longer common to see the old cloaks of witches and wizards time immemorial but instead for most to wear more muggle clothing of t-shirts and jeans.

As his attention focused on the castle walls the sight of thick and heavy stone making itself readily apparent that again he felt a small amount of joy in his heart whilst at the same time a small smile graced his lips.

"Stone" he thought gladly, what a wonderful material it was, strong, resistant, natural, the amount of time that had been put into simply making these walls something that compared to other things in the city would be considered less important next to a home of a rich family was all the same still very beautiful to gaze upon. To see the contours, the way it fitted together in such a way was a very nice experience especially when he compared it to home. Modern Architecture will skyscrapers that towered over the people reaching hundreds of metres skywards and formed of seemingly endless glass walls that reflected the harsh light of the sun on a summers day onto the denizens below cooking them as though they were in an oven, were utter horrid things. He despised them with his every being, they were ugly, unnatural, a disgrace to art and city design an affront to architecture itself and that was with the more modern buildings rather than the older takes and the utter barbarity that had been Brutalism.

Were it his decision and within his power to enforce, he would destroy every single modern building, being low the skyscrapers of old, wreck the buildings of steel, smash those buildings of glass and lay low the concrete blocks turning it into ash and then blasting it into the void of space where it could never trouble the human eye again. Such hideous things did not deserve to exist and all those who propagated such designs should have been stripped of their positions and some like those who had done the worst offences like brutalism should have been executed for such a vast crime.

With such thoughts in his mind, Nat felt himself almost relax as he approached the walls of the castle, now he was close enough to start noticing some of the incredible detail that was depicted on the large great gate to the city. It was utterly beautiful and had an appearance more of the greatest murals then that of a fortification as though he was in a church staring at the great stained glass windows, so much so that he couldn't help but feel a small amount of sorrow fill him as he realised that with the civil war and Corypheus that such intricacies could very well be destroyed in the coming months if not years. Such beauty lost, old art destroyed never to return, it was something that he could not truly bear to suffer, not when as when humanity would advance with technology that the result of architecture was not beautiful and rich but rather dull and ugly towers of concrete and glass.

What was there not to love about this city, he liked the way that the many golden lions that had long since been gilded onto al sides of the fortress seemed to stare menacingly at all those who approached, informing all that this was not only the grandest city on the continent but that it was home to the most powerful nation on the continent. He didn't agree that Orlais should be in charge of the continent, he was British after all and the Orlesian's were obviously Discount French wannabes but all the same, he was not blind and could appreciate the beauty of cultures not his own depending on what they were.

Yet despite this beauty that his eyes beheld he could not help but see past the veneer that Orlais attempted to showcase to the world, past the initial skin and to the true measure of the city. Orlais was beautiful, yes, but this was the capital of a nation and where the Empress of said nation reigned, located in her gilded palace though in truth such a place, beauty was only a disguise for the truth of this city. The ugly truth would be something one could only spot when they had either grown up long enough in such a place or like himself knew how politics worked to a certain extent that they could see every little move that had been made.

Every lion made of gold was a symbol to others, warning them of the richness of their nation that should they challenge them they could destroy their economy as they had the recourses to waste on such frivolities that others would not. The intricate carving of the doors that depicted scenes of not only past glories but that of the Chantry indicated that those craftsmen perfect in their beauty could at a moment's notice be turned to weapons of war where they would devise how opponents would meet their death. As for those grand statues of Andraste that flanked the main gate on both sides covered in more casual firm fitting appeal stated the power of the Chantry as well as the position of women in this world. After all how could it now, Andraste had been a warrior, a woman who had led armies against Tevinter, smashing them upon the field and leading her fellows to victory before her death, yet despite this, all depictions of such a woman were always in form-fitting beautiful clothing that showcased her just before she died, as though she were an angel sent by some kind of god. In truth Nat felt that such an individual should have been dressed more appropriately, in armour with her weapon in her hands and a stern expression on her face, a shield should have also leant against her leg as a symbol that not only was such a woman of strength but also one who protected.

Idly as he pulled the car in behind those other wagons that had started a long queue as they waited for those at the front to check whether they were attempting to smuggle things in, he wondered what Lelliana and Cassandra thought of these statues. No doubt Lelliana like himself saw the political message that these old statues sent from the time they were made but for the dark-haired warrior of the Seekers, did she instead see the purity that was her supposed Prophet and believe it was the correct choice or did she like him instead think that her strength should have been showcased. It didn't matter much as before he could delve too deeply into such things he noticed that the Inquisitor sat beside him turned with a serious look on her face and spoke.

"So this is where they're hiding, do you have any idea where in the city we need to look?"

"No, But I have a map, we merely need to follow it to its location. I simply hope that it doesn't bring us anywhere difficult to enter".

"Difficult to enter," The inquisitor said quirking an eyebrow as she gave a boring look to the walls, her mind flashing back to the last time she had come here. It still looked as peaceful as ever, yet she couldn't help but feel some trepidation at the idea of entering the base from where the rest of the Chantry operated. Even here outside of the walls she could make out the large towers that made up part of the Grand Cathedral and were she closer she would hear the music that would play as a myriad of bards plucked their instruments whilst the Sisters would ply their beautiful voices as they sang the Chant endlessly. Leliana had told her once that the only time they stopped was to eat, sleep or shit and even then whenever they would they had a replacement ready at hand.

"I believe it best if we don't arrive to close and not in such a large group lest we draw attention, after all, it is becoming common knowledge that when abroad we travel in a group of four. Also, I would believe it best not to enter the abode of some lord or noble, that would only create difficulties"

"That makes sense, in that case, we should look around first, the last thing we need to do is piss off the Orlesian nobility" Nat agreed, hiding his sense of uneasiness as he moved the vehicle forwards towards the main gate.

Would he even be able to make it in here? He had told the Inquisitor easily enough that he couldn't use raw force to get his way here, but it was another thing to put it into practice. He kept his head straight hoping not to show any kind of weakness even as he began to doubt his ability, magic was one thing he was a prodigy of magic he had always been, but politics, the art of reading people and coming up with vast complex strategies of dealing with the social and political world was something that he had no experience in, and yet even with that he knew that the Inquisitor was relying on him to guide her swiftly through this snake pit. Taking in a deep breath he nodded and drove the car forwards until he then reached the guards. Thankfully the queue to get in was rather short at the moment.

"Name?" The guard said not at all noticing the powerful illusion that had been placed around the car giving it the form of a normal carriage.

"James Hood" Nat replied quickly as he ever so slightly drew his wand into a more favourable position.

"And your business" The guard continued not noticing the slight giggles that erupted from Valeyna's mouth. Nat knew why of course, thanks to the illusion the man was looking more upwards then he was and as such the guard appeared to be talking to a ghost or invisible person.

"Selling fabric"

"Very well, if you could just stay seated whilst we check the contents of your cart for any contraband" Nat's illusion nodded towards the guard, as such with an obviously bored and tired look on the man's face a result that was likely due to the fact it was cold and he hadn't had much sleep or food given his still red face and sluggish movement, the guard rounded down to the back of the car before then having a quick inspection with his eyes upon the entirely nonexistent goods before he then came back around his halberd in tow.

"Very well, move along" Without any father complaint and the pathway clear of any more main obstacles, Nat accelerated the vehicle once again and drove into the actual city itself. As they progressed at a slow space lest they cause any suspicion or worse get some kind of traffic violation, the group watched as the denizens of the city went about their business in front of them.

Back and forward they ran often with their arms filled to the brim with all sorts of goods, a group of craftsmen moved at a quicker pace through the crowd their tools hanging from their hands as they spoke loudly in common congratulating a boy around Nat's age for progressing to a certain stage in his apprenticeship as a stonemason, telling him that the tools they had bought was a symbol of both respect and responsibility before then telling him they would get him drunk and head to the local brothel when the day was done. Another individual carried a few loathes of bread in one hand whilst the other, they carried a wicker basket that had a few fruits and vegetable sin that they no doubt planned on using for dinner. A different person this time, a young woman was clutching a small vial close to her chest and with such intensity that it looked like she was afraid of the thing getting destroyed in her hand though he could not see what and neither could he be bothered to search the mind of the girl to learn of whatever secrets she carried.

Instead, as he continued to drive the car forward through the throng of people, making sure that he didn't crash into anyone he refused to keep his eyes on the path ahead of him and instead of the local surroundings such as buildings and high places. Already he had noticed more than a few individuals who appeared to be spies, they looked fairly innocent enough, an elf servant who was picking up food for their master whilst also searching for any blackmail or other important information. Not too far away, a group of four bards who were playing in the middle of the street a small hat in front of them to collect money were far more interested in one relatively old nobleman who was making his way through the crowd with a walking stick close at hand. In other places, there were even a few soldiers who seemed to be paying too much attention to certain traders, with one or two approaching likely to discover more and report that information on.

"Keep your eyes out, I'm going to move use father into the city, once we've done that we'll dismount and head gradually towards our agent's base of operations. Hopefully, they'll have a rough idea of what's going on in the city before we start exploring" Nat said calmly as he continued to observe in a small amount of surprise just how many people in this place were paying close attention to every little thing that went on. It was peculiar he couldn't help but think, while he knew that those like him back home who were politicians and those who held keen eyes jobs like detectives and policemen would constantly be searching for any clues, it appeared that in this place that practically everyone was looking for that week point to exploit. Young, old, male, female, elf or human it didn't matter absolutely everyone was watching everyone else with a keen eagled eye yet not out of a desire for politics, or at least not for everyone, instead it appeared that there was more concern for the idea of finding a traitor within their midst.

Gaspard had spies in the city that anybody could guess but who they were and what roles hey had was unknown to perhaps anyone bar the spymaster of the Empress and even then one could not expect to know every spy who was within the place. Nevertheless after pulling out of another man's mind repeating the process several other times on random individuals he could see clearly that there was concern of Gaspard attacking the city at some point, something that was only made worse as Winter would be over in little over a month giving forth to spring and the battles and sieges that would follow it into the new year.

Nat hid a concerned look as he thought back to his plans for winter. His initial plan by now was that the soldiers would have been familiar with their weapons now, that he would have even created the first sets of cannons and had artillery crews practising constantly on some poor hill as they practised their aim. Instead he was yet to place the weapon in their hands, to see their fear when a gun went off for the first time, to see the myriad of concern and also excitement that Cullen would gain at the prospect of a normal soldier being able to smash through plate mail of nobility giving them a major advantage and the disapproving look of Blackwall as he recognised the beginning of the end of close quarters with swords and spears being the mainstay weapons of war. There was simply too much work he knew, so much work with politics, logistics, finance and other things that he often found himself working for several days straight simply to keep track of all the paperwork, that and the fact that it also took time for the blacksmiths to create enough of the muskets and musket balls as well as the alchemists to create black powder in such quantities that barring some major battle or disaster that they would have a constant supply of the stuff, let alone training.

As he looked over to a set of guards holding a bundle of piles over their arm as they shuffled it up to the main walls of the castle, he started to wonder if he should hire more people. He shook his head. No, it was a bad idea and not only because the Inquisition could not afford such expenditures no matter how useful, but also because he had to think about this intelligently. He was fighting a war against demons for Merlin's sake, what did it matter if the weapons were produced by either blacksmiths or other means, the fact remained that with Orlais gripped by civil war, the Grey Wardens missing and the other nations building up their respective militaries to prepare for the worst, there simply was a labour shortage, something that could be solved were he to introduce industrial means far earlier then he meant to.

It would be required he thought as he looked at the glum and dark faces of those citizens as he passed them, though the city was open and trade was flowing, there was a very high import tax something that he had only managed avoid via some very swift illusions. All of it was to fund the war and all of it again was why he and Josephine were struggling to get the tradesmen, they could offer jobs as much as they wanted, but the Empress was not stupid, she could not afford to lose so many people and hence had ensured that very few people could leave even stopping the recruitment of her citizens into the Inquisition lest it leave her armies under strength and under-equipped.

Slowly an idea came to mind.

"No, forget that we'll split up when we stop, explore the city, for the most part, make it look like that we are merchants, if we head straight towards our base we'll be spotted the instant we arrive"

"You want us to go shopping" Dorian teased in a mirthful manner, whether the man actually liked the sound of exploring this city and go looking for some souvenirs to bring back home if he ever did go back or if instead, he was curious about other peoples buying habits, Nat had a pretty good idea that it was both though the man leaned more towards the former.

"One or two things, nothing large, we have to blend in" Nat replied easily ignoring the grown man.

"And the best way to do that is via shopping" Dorian's grin grew even larger and for a moment Nat swore the Tevinter's eyes physically twinkled.

"Very funny Dorian, but yes, if we're seen shopping then we're garnering less attention especially if it appears that's all we're going to concentrate on, also keep away from the more expensive area, we need less noble eyes on us for this not more"

"What if we do get caught" Valeyna finally asked hiding a slight smile as she saw the playful banter between the two mages.

"That depends, if we're revealed as who we are, then give some excuse about us following a lead from an unreliable source that Corypheus has implanted assassins to kill the Empress and we're here to investigate even if it's unlikely that such a thing will happen."

"And if they don't know who we are?"

"Go by the story that we're a bunch of young merchants who only just got together and we don't know any better"

"Right," Valeyna said slowly not at all believing that she could pull off such an act was she placed in a position that she had been captured by Orlesian nobility. It was bad enough that she was an elf in this city, already when she last came here she remembered the sneers, jeers, sniggers as well a the lustful looks that had befallen her when she had last arrived here many months ago. Only back then she had been heralded as the prophet as Anrdaste, with what Nat was saying he wanted her to pretend that she was just some random elf no worse than that a Dalish elf and as such she would be treated poorly. "Are we going to split up individually, or are we going to go in groups of two?"

"Two would be best, having a person to watch each other's backs could be vital. Dorian, you'll be with"

"Cole" Valeyna blurted out suddenly. Nat paused mid-sentence and turned to her.

"I was going to say be with me, but you're in charge. So yes Dorian go with Cole, and for the love of Merlin Cole don't say anything creepy the last thing we need to do is alert the entirety of Val Royeux that there's a Tevinter mage running around its streets. And the same goes for you as well Dorian the last thing I want to do is sit down only to discover that half the city is burning down because a woman is wearing the wrong shade of blue.

"I would never do such a thing" Dorian sniffed indignantly and pulled himself to his max height As though to dismiss the rumours. It didn't work much to his annoyance as Nat only blinked behind his glasses and once again hoped to a long-dead wizard that somehow his companions would manage to stay sneaky. Cole, he knew for a fact could handle such a task, the boy's ability to wipe away memories was bloody useful but Dorian? Nat shook his head internally, good man, knowledgeable but not exactly... discreet.

"Please don't fuck this up, if the Empress were to learn what we've been up to we might lose the entire bloody war. We need invites to her party at the Winter Palace, though why on earth she would host a party at the winter palace when it isn't winter or late autumn/ early spring is beyond me." Muttering the last part out loud Nat soon drove the car for another few metres into the city only occasionally turning before after finding a relatively large plaza that had several different alleyways stretching off from every other side aside from where four roads meet. None the less he was grateful for the upgraded the illusion spells on the car as he could only imagine for the life of him what the muggles would have seen when they saw a wagon with horses reversing. Was such a thing possible, as dumb as it sounded, he had no clue given how everybody drove and horses were only for special events and that given the imagined weight they were carrying it should have appeared impossible for such a thing?

"Now remember this is a stealth operation, so the last thing I want to here is about how you've gotten into trouble and how we have to rescue you from the dungeons or anything" Nat repeated this time with a bit more strain, just why he was doing so could only be explained by a rising feeling in his gut, one that indicated something bad was going to happen, just what or who he had no idea but it was just how it had been when he first saw that dammed orb back in Egypt all those months ago only this time it was far fainter indicating that if something did occur it was not going to be the end of everything.

"Yes dad," Dorian said as he closed the door behind him before then escorting Cole forwards into the crowd as it passed by the alley. Nat sighed deeply again and turned to Valeyna his own outwardly calm face meeting that of a nervous one.

"Am I the only one who can feel something bad is going to happen" She inquired slowly her eyes trailing on the two men before they slipped out of view.

"Nope, let's just hope that whatever they do it's not something we can't sort out" Valeyna nodded both of them more than aware of the fact that the current party composition of those two held an advantage one that Nat had recognised when he had assembled the teams originally but was now playing front and centre.

"Well at least they're not known yet," Valeyna said before she grinned at her wizard friend a mischievous look becoming very clear as she wiggled her eyebrows. "So what are you going to disguise us as, you know I could play a very good wife if you wanted me two. I could hold your arm closely and get upset every time you leave me while scorning you out in public for being naive with money"

"No, we're not going to roleplay and especially not as husband or wife"

"Well, I could be your mistress" Sighing loudly Nat covered his face with the palm of his left hand and then shook his head.

"No" He repeated slightly more sternly this time "There are no advantages to roleplaying in such a manner," Nat said hiding his derision at the simple prospect of calling that woman "honey".

"It would be fun, there's no problem with having an innocent bit of fun whilst we're on the mission, besides it will make our story much more believable if I the only woman amongst out little trading group was at least in love with one of my fellow companions" Valeyna spoke in a loud dramatic manner stretching her back outwards as though she was about to faint before then almost rushing towards Nat with the intention of pretending to hug him and hold him close while in her mind he would accept and whisper sweet things in her ear after having taken in her scent. But that was the intent because before she had even opened her eyes from her dramatic play-acting Nat had already opened the door to the car and gotten out and was now waiting at the end of the alley waiting for her to join him. Valeyna rolled her eyes but got out of the car and joined him all the same. "Just go ahead and spoil everything, why don't you?"

"Come on, let's go find our murders"

"Who do you think is responsible," Valeyna asked as she caught up to Nat's rather quick pace. Quickly he threaded in and out of the crowd of people, easily managing to avoid brushing people even when he passed within a hairs width distance of them all the while avoiding the running and screaming children, dancing around them as though he had done it her whole life. In contrast, she was finding it far harder, so many people, far more then she was ever used to and they all moved in different directions with no way to predict them and it was only made harder by the leering faces of passers bye.

"It could be any number of people, we've made several enemies and we're bound to make more. As for the attack, though it's very likely somebody with money, the amount of skill required and get away with it as they have would be a rather rare commodity and one that's highly sought after. Without any trace left it leaves those who would track down the killers in a very hard position, or it would do were it not for attacking our supplies. Not to mention everybody makes mistakes and it can only be the smallest thing which brings even the mightiest of empires crumble to dust, in this case, it was a rather large mistake"

"The dagger," Valeyna said knowingly.

"Yes, had our killer decided not to use such an ornamental weapon it would have been far harder to rack down thankfully for us they did and even better that such a large piece snapped off in the attack. We'll soon find them Inquisitor"

"But how do we even know that this dagger is even related to the murderer, for all we know it could have been placed there afterwards or it might have been sold as soon s the owner realised what had happened. This spell of yours how can you know it will take us to the killer"

"It doesn't have to" Nat answered simply as though the answer to this whole conundrum was like taking a casual stroll, there was no worry or doubt on his face that the Inquisitor could see only that cold emotionless mask that seemingly unnerved everyone as he passed. Just what the others saw under his illusion she didn't know but given how none dared to ask him questions and those who nearly bumped into him were quick to either gasp, sucking their breath in as though to hold back some terrible monster or instead to run away, she could guess he was terrifying under that visage.

"You think you can track it through some type of seller. Even if you could it would take days to do, getting people to talk could be-" She froze suddenly her breath hitching in her throat as her mind drew to a terrifying thought. "You don't plan to ask do you" Her tone became harsh and her eyes stared at him in an accusatory tone, Nat simply turned and gave a bored look before once again returning to the traffic in front of her.

"Should they answer within a swift time whether bribed or not then I shall leave them in peace, on the other hand, if they continue to holdout whether out of fear or loyalty or even pay then I can assure you that they won't do so for long"

"You want to torture them?" Valeyna asked aghast her fingers quaking at her side. He couldn't be serious, yes she knew that Leliana got up to some unsavoury stuff but Nat? She had always considered him quiet, efficient but quiet doing his best to avoid the scenarios like those Leliana would best prefer.

"I understand your aversion Inquisitor, if it needs to be done I shall give you some moments to leave the premises before I start any interrogation, but the fact remains we have over two hundred dead men and women, killed in mysterious circumstances with nothing but a dagger to go off. I don't have the time to be playing with niceties if I can avoid them, I have other work to accomplish and if people insist on delaying me then I will simply remove the obstacle."

"But you're still talking about torture, wouldn't it be better to investigate properly, my tracking training will-"

"Accomplish nothing Inquisitor. It is one thing to read some footprints and knows just where that Squirrel hides it's nuts and another thing to be able to convince a man to give a confession or to reveal dark secrets." Nat stopped and turned towards the Inquisitor his own eyes meeting with that of the woman's.

Briefly, Valeyna noted that he had grown since coming here. Before he had been shorter, but now a few months later and he was at the same height as her and likely to grow even further with tine. Who knew perhaps by the end of this war he would tower over. "Nonetheless if we do find ourselves dealing with those who hold political power amongst other things we will need that shrewdness." Nat looked her up and down his own dull Violet eyes inspecting her for every detail.

Valeyna shivered in response at the unseen but very much felt piercing gaze, she did not know why but unlike other looks she had given this one chilled her to her bones, Nat was not inspecting her like a piece of meat that she had grown up with like other humans with disdainful loathing or even apprehension or fear, but instead it was meticulous as though he was looking for every single point on her body analysing it assessing it and mentally working out where he would be best to strike her down should a fight occur and they were to engage one another. Valeyna gulped her eyes doing their best to meet the stern gaze of her friend and not run away, she doubted she would survive such an encounter.

"You've not been attending Josephine's lessons," He said accusatorily.

"So do it matter?, I have other things to do then listen as Josephine lectures to me about dresses" Nat shook his head neither denying or agreeing with her argument instead he picked up the pace and continued to lead them through the busy streets of the city carefully avoiding the gaze of politicians as well as starting and stopping at random stalls where he would then in Valeyna's eyes anyway took a look at random products on sale.

As they waited at a store this one selling a set of nice thick winter clothing, Valeyna couldn't help but chuckle slightly to herself a small smile on her lips. Noticing the strange behaviour Nat came out of his inspection of the nearby area for the moment, he cared not for the clothing, they were of adequate make but instead he was more interested in the individual seven stalls back dressed in bright yellow that even though in normal conditions would make him stand out instead allowed him to blend in with the other nobles that dotted the market as they looked for something cheap or make rude remarks about the peasantry.

"We look like we're together don't we" Valeyna answered with a slight smirk when she felt sure that Nat's attention no matter how fleeting it was landed on her for even the barest of moments.

"Hardly, a male and individual are capable of holding friendly relations with one another that does not lead to more intimate moments, no doubt all the others see are simply two individuals standing next to one another, there is no need to jump to such conclusions" Valeyna frowned angrily causing her forehead to scrunch up, suddenly a small smirk came on her face as she went to hit the seemingly unaware wizard. Raising her fist she threw it into the middle of the air expecting to feel as it hit his back, instead, before she could blink she felt as something warm yet deeply firm gripped it mid-strike and held it there and then. With a grunt, she tried to pull back and release her hand only for it not to budge in the slightest; confused she glanced up only to see the unamused look of her friend staring down at her in again an emotionless expression.

"Oh come on" she complained loudly. "I was joking, couldn't you at least humour me. Would it hurt you simply to imagine that we were lovers"

"There is no reason to. Attempting such a thing achieves nothing it is best if we behave in a normal and appropriate fashion rather than whatever fantasy you had cooked in your head" Valeyna's sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Great I bet you were the greatest friend in that school, I bet the girls teased you, Mr Ice King"

"They attempted to" Nat admitted honestly though his attention still directed firmly on that yellow dressed man. Seriously who in Merlin's name thought it was a good idea to dress like a fucking rainbow and then subject everybody else to such a fate by making them look at their awful palette choice. "I ignored them easily enough"

"And when they attacked you" Valeyna leaned forward though unlike before where her face had been teasing and happy at the idea of wandering the streets of Val Royeux where she would be able to look at some of the nicer stores and think about what she would buy were she ever to have the money, now she instead glanced up in trepidation. Was this asking too much she thought to herself, Nat was a very private person and yet she had just asked him how others had treated him, was he like her ostracised at some point, called names and unable to play with the others boys and girls because he had responsibilities or was there something else.

"I put them in the hospital" Nat grinned ever so slightly at the memory.

It was the last mistake they made.

"You hurt them" Valeyna leaned back slightly disturbed. "You didn't bother to tell an adult or anything"

"A teacher" Nat leaned back and chuckled darkly for a bit. "Please Inquisitor we were all kids back then, kids would have only respected strength. I could have told the teachers all they want but it would have done nothing, it never does no matter the school. Instead, if you want to deal with it you must either choose to ignore it or fight back. I chose the latter"

"You didn't have to have them see some kind of healer though" Valeyna remembered the term hospital, Nat had explained it once as a building here healers would heal the sick and wounded in one large building. Typically it was reserved for more dangerous injuries, it was a strange thing she had told him, after all, wouldn't it be more efficient to have the healer come to you.

"Inquisitor I don't make attempts on my wellbeing very well, in fact, I'm rather dynamically opposed to it. Word's can do very little unless they're ordering another man to fire a rifle out of the barrel of a gun. I could have potentially taken out my attackers in a less powerful manner, but it would have left me exposed and in potential injury and for what gain, yes knew I was seriously hurting mu attackers far more then they would have done to me, but I was outnumbered and I was also confident in our local nurses ability to bring them back to normal condition after a relatively short period of time"

Valeyna went to argue again, voice her complaint, but she realised it was helpless and Nat seemed to be in no mood to give specifics instead simply speeding up his pace.

About an hour later of constant twisting and turning her eyes roving around shimmering like stars as she took in every little artefact and toy and declivous looking treats making her feel like a little girl again did the majesty of this city start to wear off as they reached a different area. Hammers clanged harsh against steel, metal scraped against the stone and the constant wail of strange devices that she had seen before used by her clan yet had never learned the name of pumped air into the glowing furnaces that were scattered all around her.

Blacksmith after blacksmith had the past, so many in fact that it seemed absurd. While they did not number in the hundreds, already they had seen over thirteen each of which was hard at work as strong powerful men with muscles like rock hard mountains kept working hard as a constant stream of sweat pooled down them in a beautiful display of human beauty. Valeyna marvelled at the sight around her, for some reason though she likely suspected the civil war to be the main culprit, all of the blacksmiths had been gathered up their entire armouries as well and then moved to this area where guards were then sent to keep a careful eye on them to ensure that no blacksmith fell too far behind on their work of preparing weapons. Everywhere she looked she saw young and often handsome young men her age or older though there was also the occasional younger apprentice was hard at work. Most were put to making simpler weapons, crafting the swords, spear tips and arrowheads while the man in charge of the forge made the ever loud ruckus as they created thick heavy plate armour for man and horse alike.

There were racks and racks of weapons and armour already completed and assembled neatly in a pile in the centre of a road where a large wagon pulled by some of the larger horses she had ever seen and this time guarded by a set of no less then six Chevaliers all of whom were again dressed in their armour, their feathers handing from their helmets as they watched in a bored manner. For a while, they watched her, powerful strong faces though and hideous by the snarls and dirty looks they sent her as she carried on her path making towards wherever Nat was hurrying towards.

She wiped her brow and gulped quietly instead switching her eyes onto one of the blacksmiths where she could watch for a few moments the rhythmic movements as the blacksmith boy forged a new sword out of molten steel before then gripping it with his tools and dousing it in a bucket of cold water, erupting a loud hiss as it struck.

She nodded allowing herself to marvel at the work in front of her for a few minutes more the blacksmith entirely oblivious to her continued to work on what was a large order that had been made by the Empress. For a moment Valeyna felt incredibly tempted, to walk up and ask if the boy would like to come down south to Skyhold and work for the Inquisition making weapons and the like. The gods knew they could use the extra blacksmiths with how much Cullen complained about them, it was every time she thought grimly. No longer was the cute handsome blonde man such an easy individual to toy with in regards to personal intimacy, instead, his mind always seemed elsewhere onto a distant battlefield his eyes never seemingly focusing on her in the way she wanted, instead always being about how he needed to protect her.

He was just like Nat, all serious and no play, only unlike Nat, he seemed to have time to speak with her about things when she wanted even if it was limited, unlike Nat who sent her away if matters were not urgent.

If she were to recruit this blacksmith, it could help solve problems with Cullen, even if it were only two or three of them. Just before she took another step forward though she grabbed her face and sighed again, such a plan wouldn't work she realised. Yes, she might help Cullen, but then she would have only made a problem for Josephine who would be the individual responsible for explaining to the Empress why the Inquisition had stolen their blacksmiths. It would not go down well and the reputation to the Inquisition would be immense. Exactly how she could not see, yet remembering what she had been taught and how Nat so often seemed to think of the world she could tell that were she to do such a thing that he would be angry.

Speaking of which, she turned away from the blacksmith and turned back to where Nat had stopped. Another blacksmith headed by an older man heavily grey and appeared to be at the point that in only a year or so would be forced to quit his job lest he kills himself or injures his back even more then it appeared to be. She blinked, why would Nat want to talk to a blacksmith of people, was it for these guns he talked about, these elusive weapons that could punch through armour and change the art of warfare?. She doubted it, the blacksmiths were already hard at work making the weapons as she had last been told, so there was no need for the other blacksmith, Then again perhaps he was there to break the news that somebody had died recently, it wasn't uncommon according to rumour that he was forced to make the march into the mages part of the Inquisition and inform somebody when a family member had been killed.

She shook her head, not she knew him if he was here then he had decided to ignore his own edict of waiting until later and instead had headed directly to where his magic had led him which was why he was there speaking to one of the old blacksmiths. She sighed quietly as she approached hearing the conversation between the two of them, more specifically about how Nat was asking about how designs for daggers and what could be made and how much it would cost to be produced. His first trip to the city and he was only ever focused on work, such a shame.

"So if I wanted to commission a weapon for my master, how much would it cost," Nat asked politely. The weapons that the blacksmith had created and displayed before him were of a superior make, not to the same standard as he had seen as those who worked on armour for royalty like he had glanced when he had visited King Alistair, but it was or more than high enough quality to be fashioned and equipped by one of the many members of Orlesian nobility that would require such weaponry.

"That would depend, you mentioned something decorative, do you have anything in mind"

"Silver and emerald" Nat answered after a while giving off a small amount of hesitation as though he was trying to think of the right combination.

"I see, yes I think I know what you want I believe I have something I can show you, just wait here and I'll get it" Nodding Nat watched as the blacksmith quickly turned around and headed straight into his store. For a few moments the sounds of bangs, rustling and a few cries of pain as the old man seemingly whacked his head on something other made them clear, however, it was all worth it when the man came back a lone dagger that was sheathed in a scabbard in his hand.

"Here have a look at this, this is the type of stuff I can do" Nodding Nat drew the blade out with a well-practised motion, feeling the weapon in his hand he twirled it twice in his palm feeling not only the weight but more vitally the magic that flowed through the blade.

"A fair blade" The wizard commented earnestly as he brought the blade to eye level and inspected it. The blade was indeed a fine one, forged from silver and inlaid with swirls and patterns of gold often in the shape of flowers though it was dull in places and more vitally he could see where a piece of metal had seemingly been grafted on to where a pretty sizable chunk had been taken out, a chunk that Nat recognised instantly as the piece Dorian had found earlier that day. "But what happened here" The blacksmith winced.

"I don't exactly, all the customer said, was that it got broken off, I don't know how though I told her explicitly that the weapon was for decoration, but she ignored that"

"That's odd, even if it's just for decoration then the blade should have been able to take a few blows," Nat said knowingly. The man agreed.

"Yes strange girl I thought she might be covering for one of her fellow-servants, she seemed rather nervous and when I asked about the blood you should have seen her pale" Nat chuckled lightly at the remark though secretly his mind whizzed with theories. So a servant had last had the blade, that did explain a few things especially why such a weapon had been used, with decorative weapons more than likely it wasn't used that often enabling this girl to steal the blade away and give it to somebody else, but who would that be and why would they do such a thing.

"Poor girl probably cut herself and dropped the weapon on accident, in all honesty, I wouldn't be surprised if she was panicking about her master finding out"

"Tell me about it, I've seen it happen so many times before. Men are slightly worse when it comes to weapons, they see the daggers and like to play pretend but the girls are the ones who I see more often, they see anything pretty pick it up and like to pretend that their the nobility" Nat quirked an eyebrow, he wouldn't have thought such a thing would have been too common, one or two incidents were bound to happen especially with younger servants, merlin the number of times he had seen even the older years play around with knives and scalpels as though they were sword was still absurd, but to do such a thing in the modern-day that was Thedas with their lives on the line for theft, he doubted that many would be so foolish.

"It's probably the jewellery, if it's a sword the noble will likely have another one spare that the servant can compensate with until they can steal the coin, but jewellery, I have heard that women can know every little thing about their jewellery" The man laughed loudly a thick guttural noise echoing as he smiled at the young Wizard.

"Aint that the truth, despite never touching the dammed thing my wife can remember every fancy necklace, tiara and everything else she's come across same with my daughter, but my son, on the other hand, can't remember shit about a sword, even when I asked him what he wanted to be made as a present"

"The son of a blacksmith and he can't remember shit about a sword," Nat said in a jokingly mocking manner. For a moment Valeyna winced thinking that the blacksmith was about to take offence instead however she could only watch slightly confused as the man then roared in laughter again almost as loud as a wild beast before then openly insulting his son in a loving yet also mocking manner.

"Indeed, I didn't want him to use that shit that the army gave him. A man needs a real sword, something that won't let them down in the middle of combat, I could have given him that but he refused states that they weren't allowed to bring their weapons. Utter rubbish, he just didn't want to get bullied by the others for having his shit"

"Well, I hate to be rude, but I'm afraid I don't have that much time to spare, unfortunately, so if you could give me some sort of list of what I could get perhaps when the best time is to speak to you that would be appreciated" Nat clapped his hands together and offered a warm friendly smile as he looked at the blade. He had gotten what he wanted, the location of the dagger and more vitally an idea on who had given it to them, he had to hunt a servant now, not something unexpected but not again too helpful.

"Yes, of course. probably be best if you came round in two days early in the morning, I'll have this dagger finished by then, I'll show you before the girl comes to pick it up. Just have to get the gold to do the highlights" The man let out an exasperated breath. "Difficult work, expensive, I'll warn you. Though price aside it'll be quite a wait, months likely. With this civil war and the demons, it's getting hard to get enough supplies in to make anything that isn't for the army"

"Well I wish you good fortune friend and thank you for your help", I'll see you in a few days hence" Without another word Nat returned the dagger to the man and then gave a nod of his head before spinning around and joining the Inquisitor who had remained silent the entire time as she watched silently from the side.

"We don't know who it is," She said sternly.

"No, but we do know it's a servant, more importantly, we know it's a very rich lord, the amount of detail on that blade is beyond what most nobles would pay so we're talking about either the incredibly rich, nobles on the poorer front or ones who really like to splash out and are hiding their financial difficulties. I have a strong feeling we're dealing with the wealthier lot"

"How come"?" Valeyna said choosing her words more carefully as she glanced around. Was it just her or did there seem to be several people watching them she turned to Nat about o ask only to suddenly stop and realise. Of course, he noticed them, she could tell by the ever so slight way he had manoeuvred himself in frond other and turned his more casual stance to one where he could strike out should the be attacked.

"The cost to repair that dagger would be immense, I would likely even say it would be cheaper to manufacture one from scratch but with the lack of materials that means the cost simply to repair the dagger has gone up. Add to that the way the guy had said girl, the servant is young most likely in her teens or early twenties, then there's the fact that the servant is very likely an elf"

"How do you know that?"

"When he talked about the servant his eyes subtly flickered over to the elves in the local area. And we have the amount of gilding that's gone on the blade, I'm no expert in Orlesian politics, but if it's anything like the masks these people wear then there would be a hierarchy and rules about how fancy a blade can be. Combine all that and you get a picture we're dealing with the higher members of the nobility, the most powerful individuals which just slims it down even more. All we have to do is inquire what types of servants the different nobles have and we'll have our answer."

"You got all that from one conversation," Valeyna said stunned.

"My father was an Auror before his death, aside from acting as guards and soldiers in times of war they were also detectives, they were trained to think about everything and how to be observant more so than other police and detectives since when magic is involved all the things that normal police use to solve crimes just don't appear. Naturally, when he taught me politics he also taught me how to solve puzzles and more importantly how to read people" Valeyna's face softened her attention diverted away from the individuals who hid in corners around the plaza for just a moment.

"You don't talk about your father much, did something happen?" Her voice was gentle, one of deep concern Nat recognised. He rolled his eyes in response.

"You mean other than the fact that he's dead, killed in the war and I'm the last of my kind still alive, there's nothing special to talk about, what about yours?"

"My father's dead," She told him sullenly. "I don't remember him at all"

"And your mother?" Nat pressed though in truth he wasn't entirely sure why. He had seen inside her mind, bore witness to her memories, he knew why she acted the way she did, the reason why she seemed so weak-willed at times, why she was so often in the bed of some random man or woman. He had seen her as a child playing with her friends and the way that had changed when she had magic and was taken to be the first of her clan, the pride her parents had felt their loving smiles and then the prompt blackness of her memories as something like a black hole struck and seemingly decimated everything regarding to an event that not even he could see.

"The same, they died when I was young, I only have faint memories of them and I can't even remember their faces. The Keeper said I forgot them to protect myself but I don't know, I wouldn't have thought that I could forget my parents not when I missed them so much"

"It's a coping mechanism" Nat replied. Valeyna turned not quite believing her friend on the matter, she went to ask but before the words escaped her lips Nat had already begun talking once again. "I'm no psychologist, but from what I can gather when a person goes through intense trauma a person can force themselves to forget things in order to protect themselves from the pain., It can depend on the severity, apparently some can entirely forget an incident and others can blot out key points, others, on the other hand, might change the memory entirely to make it less painful. I don't know, the matters of the mind are not my forte, but all the same, it does sound that in whatever pain you were in, that you forced yourself to forget what happened."

"But I was there, the Keeper said I watched everything that happened, she said I screamed and screamed, the others can remember it I remember them comforting me but I can't remember"

"It's natural, you were a child, after all, one who had watched your parents die before your eyes. It was either that or likely living with survivors guilt" Nat repeated softly, as he did so he brought a tentative hand towards the back of the girl gently laying it on her shoulder, for a moment he considered bringing his hand up and brushing the hair of the girl like he would a small pet. It was quite beautiful he thought like his own it was bright gold and had been well maintained allowing it to cascade down her shoulders allowing it to fan out, only where his kept straight and ever-practical (well as practical one could get for long hair) down his back unmoved thanks to his use of spellcraft, the Inquisitors moved with hers bobbing about and moving as she thought or how she moved.

Valeyna hummed quietly as she felt the soft hand on her shoulder, suddenly and without meaning to she found herself leaning into him feeling his body support hers as they moved along. She smiled slightly as a warm feeling washed over herself. She felt comfortable for a few moments as though when she was in this position that she was safe, secure that nothing in the world could harm her, not Templars or Darkspawn or Corypheus, the might of the world itself could be flung against her but so long as she had her advisors she could take them all on. Closing her eyes she breathed in slowly ignoring the scent and bustling noise of the city instead just focused on the past and the smell of grass after it had freshly rained and that of a fast-moving river with its white bubble froth that was simultaneously beautiful but also deadly.

"I like this," She told him snuggling her head which at some point had rested on his shoulder. It was comfortable, relaxing, soothing, she had felt this way before with Bull with her friends with every other time she had been with another person, her clothes stripped from her body as she felt their body on hers, warm, safe, loved. However this time she felt her heart quicken and her stomach almost flip. And then Nat pulled away suddenly his face one not of remorse or pity she saw, but of disgust she noticed.

"As I was saying, Inquisitor, what you experienced was normal, but unfortunately there is no time to discuss it at the present, we have to leave lest our observers decide to attack us out here in the open" Anger washed over her, once more her relaxation had been spoiled again by others, was it too much to ask for a few moments of peace and privacy in this city, she had thought Nat had put the spell around them to achieve that yet instead she was interrupted by these rude individuals.

"I don't care, let them attack now I'll kill them either way" Nat shoot her a look.

"No, best that we lead them to a place where we can ambush them and then dispose of their bodies, A fight here will only attract unwarranted attention" Growling menacingly Valeyna acquiesced though despite this as Nat quickened their pace allowing them to move far quicker through the throng of Orlesian's Valeyna kept glancing as subtly as she could directing angry and hateful stares towards individual ones when they weren't looking or had made an attempt to hide themselves amongst the peasantry.

"Who are they," She asked her companion.

"They have some Templar's amongst them, but they also have a large number of mage also"

"Corypheus"

"No" Nat stated calmly. "As odd as it sounds their all elves" Valeyna blinked on confusion.

"Elves, why would elves be tracking us, what have we done that would upset them"

"No idea," Nat said. In truth, the only thing that came to mind was when he had curbed that elven rebellion down in Ferelden however thanks to his spy he knew that the elves hadn't learned of his and the Inquisitions involvement leaving them on pretty good grace.

"Do you think they know who we are?

"If they do it isn't me, I've been suppressing my power before we even hit the city but you on the other hand" Valeyna turned her face slightly angry.

"Are you saying I'm the problem here"

"Well that depends on how they've tracked us, if they're using some kind of magic like the Templar Phylacteries to keep an eye on mages who are coming and going into the city then it might explain it, otherwise, we're dealing with someone who managed to see through our little disguise or perhaps whoever's in charge of this lot left spies to keep an eye on the blacksmith"

"In that case let's lead them into a trap, turn on the third left, there's a tight alley that we can ambush them in. Once we're there we'll see if they follow us in" Nat said nothing instead drawing his wand using the illusion around him and Valeyna to make it appear to the others that he was simply holding a book. His observers he noted those elves some dressed in servants gear and others in long cloaks that had their hoods on stayed still though they followed their movements closely watching like a pack animal that was about to ambush their prey.

"Can you think of any groups that would employ this many elves?" Valeyna asked suddenly. It was disturbing feeling all those stares that were watching her intently, in the background she saw one young elf with a dagger on his belt seemingly sizing her up as though he was debating where the best place would be to thrust that dagger into her and kill her there and then, another a woman this time equipped with a longbow of all things who were doing their best to hide on the edge of a throng of others played at the string of her bow, the final one, on the other hand, was by far the most dangerous one.

Obviously a mage even if they did try to disguise the staff in their hand as a walking stick, the flaps of fabric that rested on his shoulders clearly demonstrated that the man had come from the circle, this was only compounded by the fact when she watched the man push a hand into his purse withdraw a slowing blue potion and then down it quickly. A lyrium potion she noted, the man as getting ready for a fight.

Checking around the area for more of these possible attackers she counted much to her growing shock and trepidation that there were at least thirty of them and the number was still growing. Concerned she turned to Nat hoping that he would continue the conversation and put her at rest.

"Assassins, bandits, spies, anti mages, deluded individuals perhaps even a few religious zealots"

"Zealots, who of"

"The Chantry maybe? Perhaps some old religion that has only recently gained popularity once again, who knows? What I can tell is that these individuals are not random thugs, their skilled, dangerous, they've done this before."

"I noticed that as well, they move too swiftly. I think we should move our ambush area, somewhere that isn't so confined"

"Agreed" Nat stated firmly his own eyes constantly flickering between the ever-growing numbers of assassins and mages that lurked in the area, it was a rather telling amount he thought especially in how much it informed them of the ones responsible for the death of their guards. Locking gazes with one of them subtly he ver quickly peered inside their minds and took a peek at their memories seeing what they were here for and why they wanted them dead.

Just as he approached the first-person mind, he detected the first attack. Moving with expert grace he pulled his wand up instantly forming a powerful shield around himself as a blast of fire came hurtling towards them only to crash into the shield with a mighty roar.

Fire blasted around the side of the shield, racing around them for a few metres blasting the stones off the very ground apart sending them up into the air at incredible speed turning them into small missiles that sped first upwards and then down as gravity took a hold of them pelting and instantly killing a few of the nearby locals.

There was no time to delay however as straight afterwards the next series of attacks came racing towards them, first a series of arrows that were let loose from the quick draw and aim of the elven assassins at they threw off their cloaks and took a shot at them, this was then followed by the feeling of magic smashing through the area as a hail of spells came hurtling towards the two members of the Inquisition.

Loud devastating crack followed after powerful hisses and bellowing roars as all around them the surroundings of the once neat and tidy floor of the city of Orlais exploded around them in a cacophony of elements. Fire, ice, lightning, earth, and even raw force rushed to meet them blasting, tearing, burning and freezing the entire plaza turning it so many colours and into different forms that within only a few seconds all those who had been within the area lay dead their bodies broken and shattered in a million different ways as spells arrows continued to race towards the centre.

More heavy blasts followed and the same was with the wind, old stone houses were ripped asunder, the pieces of stone being flung into the area as though a giant had picked them up with his own hands and hefted them into the sky like a catapult. The winds upon crashing against the centre had gained such a ferocious speed and force that after turning the other spells that had fallen upon the Inquisition members into a whirling hurricanes that span and span around them suffocating the air, lifting the stones and very floor off the ground itself as the air howled with a righteous fury.

It did not end there as blast after blast of fire and ice combined with the occasional spark of blue lightning forced it's way through the howling swirling wind, leaving gaping holes for but a movement only tot hen close up as it hammered towards where the wizard should have been.

Moments passed at first then minutes until after a span of five whole minutes of endless cacophony of magic of all forms had ripped apart the centre did the mages having expended so much magic so rapidly finally relax loosening their connection to the fade no longer calling upon it as they began to breathe heavily as they gained their breath back from the exertion.

Smiling as they did so, they smirked amongst themselves victory obvious. Nothing could have survived that sudden bombardment, not even a grand enchanter even with all their power and experience had lost so much of their speed due to age that they could have won, or at least that was what they thought.

Without any warning or notice the whirlwind still howling was cut silent as it died a sudden death the once harsh fast winds that could easily shred a person's skin or lift a person up spinning them at such high speed that the force alone would have killed them, just vanishing. Their breath caught in their mouth suddenly the elves gaping as the moment the whirlwind vanished allowing them to bear witness as instead of a destroyed piece of land, their bodies smashed and broken or obliterated and burnt leaving no trace remaining or even yet a large crater from where they would have stood and the land blasted apart by such magical mastery, there in front of them stood Nat.

His wand as his side lowered casually not even glowing, his hair as always impeccable and neat and his glasses n his face were undamaged, in his left hand was wrapped the body of the Inquisitor who he was now swiftly letting go out of a once-tight grip as he had pulled her close to his body her chest pushing against his, her head on his shoulder the concern on her face vanished and replaced with an angry look as she spun her staff around a few times her eyes glowing with ethereal power and a promise of pain contorting her normally beautiful features. Slowly sensing the trepidation and fear on the elves faces she summoned up a small flame in her hand, inspecting it for any flaws though she knew there not to be any. She smiled cruelly, her eyes fixed on one particular young mage only a few years older than her who seemed to be gulping loudly. Amused she changed her movements turning them into slow sensual movements causing a few chuckles from her as she watched the thing blush awkwardly and then move his hands downwards to cover a sudden bulge.

"Well, I must say I'm terribly disappointed" Nat's calm and measured voice rang throughout the area, sending shivers and scared looks down the spines of the non-mages. "None of you can keep a bombardment up for longer than five minutes" He shook his head a merciless chuckle rising out from sending quite a few of the elves sprawling backwards in fear. "No pardon me it's worse than that, none of you could keep it up for over five minutes and that was with the use of potions" He shook his head again forming over him. "I feel so sorry for your lovers; I guess that must have been the reason for your attack. Get rid of all the people who are better than you and then they have to settle for second best. "Nat let out another sigh and shook his head as though he was a disappointed teacher who was telling of some kids in reception. "What to tell your teachers?, how about what a disappointment you are, no that won't do the inability to keep a single intense barrage up for over five minutes is a massive failure on your part, frankly I'm just shocked at how pathetic your attempt on my life was."

"Shut up" One of the voices finally rang out. Nat turned his head in a slow exaggerated manner until he met the eyes of the one who had decided to speak. The one who had yelled was in their mid-thirties, they were average looking, bald, and equipped in typical servant builds they helped to emphasise their more slender but also weaker forms compared to humans. The man was experienced, Nat could see a man hardened by many previous battles yet he saw the rivets of sweat the man was trying to hide, obviously that "intense bombardment" had tired him out.

"Now that is just not on form" Nat replied mockingly. "I try to talk in a nice respectful way to you and yet you respond in such an in-eloquent manner. What would your enchanter say" The man visibly bristles at the tone some of his hair standing on end as he dust and ice that had been flung around settled in it giving the man a rather smoky and unkempt look?

"Shut up, you're supposed to be dead" The man demanded angrily.

"Dead" Nat turned slightly towards Valeyna his face holding a fake confused look. "Did you hear that Inquisitor I'm supposed to be dead" Valeyna grinned at the act and put on her own surprised look as she looked him up and down inspecting him as closely s she could on this rare time she had been given permission.

"But you look alive, how can that be so?"

"I know, I very much feel alive but this man says I should be dead. I don't understand though, that attack if that's what they want to call it did absolutely nothing. It's a shame really, all that magical expenditure for nothing" He shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the elves who still watched them closely. "I'm so very sorry, I didn't get your name, is there a problem you have with my or the Inquisitor, I can very much assure you that if there is you can always voice it to our head of customer complaints Josephine, the address is the Holy Inquisitions headquarters, Skyhold, Ferelden."

"Inquisition" One of the men muttered suddenly very fearful their skin paling whiter than even the snow, so much so in fact that before he could even get another word out the man fainted there and there dropping to the floor in a loud heavy thump.

"Well, I've heard of people fainting when they met celebrities but I always had assumed it to be false" Nat said giving the man a comforting look before then turning his gaze towards the others greeting them with a small happy face as though he was one of those celebrities on the red carpet who was actually happy to meet their fans instead of like him absolutely despising them. "Well I'm Nathanael Tempest the second in command of the most holy Inquisition and this marvellous example of beauty and feminine charm as well as magical martial prowess in the Lady Inquisitor" At the mention of her name Valeyna gave a deep low curtsy a radiant smile on her face that helped emphasise her hair as it seemed to shine like the bright light of the sun cut a swathe through the gradually setting smoke of the destroyed buildings. "Now how may I assist you"

"Tempest, as in the butcher Tempest? The one who massacred the Templar's?" One of the elves muttered fearfully their legs shaking and their breath heavy as their hearts began to beat incredibly quickly their eyes only widening as the illusion that Nat had put around them faded in a spectacular manner revealing the two for who they were.

"Yes that would be me, it's a pleasure to meet you, may I have your names please" Behind him, Valeyna did her best not to laugh as a sudden dark silence took over the group. Nobody dared move, not the oldest of the mages that were gathered around them to the youngest newest hopefuls who had lowered their bows their faces full of fear, all of them were turning pale their eyes flickering to one another begging silently for any idea on what they should do. Most froze their breaths too caught up in their throat. In front of her she caught Nat's grinned as he bowed deeply his left-hand placed on his chest firmly, he stayed there for a moment leaving a very clear opening for anyone to attack but they didn't.

Valeyna stood there her mind whizzing at the scene, others she knew would not have hesitated to attack her but the palpable fear in these people's eyes, the way that some of the attackers just collapsed to their knees their first hand brushed against what remained of the ruined floor their heads brushed against the stone as they silently begged the maker to lend them strength. Was this the reputation Nat had gained she asked to herself.

She and the others had heard about how Nat had massacred the Templar's, she had even heard the soldiers speak about it in hushed tones their eyes glancing fearfully at Nat as he walked past them seemingly oblivious to the rumours that followed his every step. It was disturbing she guessed such information, but she hadn't thought of it much instead she had been happy with the news, some as no small amount of vengeance had been enacted against their enemies, the blood that was lost at haven avenged by their young mage. But for these assassins to fear him, for their knees to visibly shake as they battled internally to seemingly grasp control of their bodies and make a decision on their next course of action, it was absurd, as though these people believed Nat was a demon, only worse and far more deadly. The concert of silence that had surrounded the area was only cut off by one fell cry.

"Kill him" One demanded.

"Are you crazy" A panicked voice resounded back. "That's the Templar butcher, he killed every Templar in Thedas in under a week, he tore down the Templar's fortresses and mutilated their corpses and put them on spikes. How in the Makers name do we stand a chance if not even the fucking Templar's could do anything"

"He's just one kid what can he do" Not waiting for any further refusals the owner of the voice went to move only for the sickening sound of something like steel tearing through flesh and bone and blood to sound out only then followed by a heavy thump as the man's vertically sliced corpses landed on the ground in perfect symmetry.

"I would heavily advise you not doing that, doing so would be very... painful" Nat chuckled darkly his eyes quickly glancing to all of the assembled people who simply watched from the side their fearful expressions fixed on the man who now lay dead."

"Did you see that" One asked

"Didn't even move" The other replied their head-turning so quickly back to the person who had just lain their leader.

"Now ladies and gentlemen I'm going to politely ask you a question and you are going to respond, failure to do so and I will kill one of you understand" The would-be killers nodded vigorously. "Good, who are you?"

"We're part of the Antivan crows" A man cried out only to be quietened to the horror of the others as a silver spear appeared and slammed through his chest impaling the man through the head and then slamming several metres away from the man still attached into a wall where his body lay limp. Nat turned to them a neutral expression replacing the fake cheerful one.

"I didn't think I would have had to mention this rule, but no lying, do so and well" Nat gestured his head towards both the dead impaled man and the man split apart by a lone cutting curse. A muttering of horrified and shocked faces looked at one another and then back to the wizard, perhaps they had thought that this kid hadn't been the real deal, after all, he was younger than all of they were and unlike most of their more physically strong friends, the clothing he wore gave nothing away about the physique of his body. Yet the way he had so easily held of their assault and then dispatched their leader and another member without even looking or caring had shown them off.

"We don't know" One of the others admitted. Nat turned his head towards them forcing the speaker to gulp down as they realised that the full attention for their possible murderer was now fully upon them and there was nothing they could do, not even with the weapons at their disposal. "We only ever met an agent, dark cloak, wore a mask had a young's man voice"

"And where did you meet this individual, were you a group before all this" The elf shook their heads not once daring to look at Nat fearing that doing so would unleash some form of anger that would kill them there and then.

"No, they sent invitations to all of our weeks ago, had private meetings with groups of us until we all came together. We met in the Empress's whore" Nat resisted the urge to spit in disgust at the name of what he was going to presume was some form of a tavern or worse whore house. How in Merlin's name a woman like Celene would allow for such a building to stay up he didn't know, but more than likely he had a feeling the name was not done out of respect for the woman.

"It's location, and why did you attack us"

"It's in the east, nearby the docks" The voice squeaked nervously. "We weren't told to attack you, just watch that blacksmith and report back on anyone who spoke to him, our leader attacked you I don't know why" Nat turned his attention to the corpse he had split in half only moments ago giving it a dull and unimpressed look. That had been their leader, he tsked that bastard hadn't even been able to raise any sort of shield before he'd cut him up, it was truly pathetic especially for a group of assassins.

"And aside from a mask, and that it was a woman's voice, and that she wore a dark cloak, what did this woman look like, how did she sound" The voice quivered again stopping as they took in a gasping breath of air, as Nat's stare continued to spear him deeply as though he was skewing a wild boar. "Practical clothing, she carried a set of knives and she had some lock picks on her left belt, she wasn't foreign though. had a native accent"

"I see, and could she be found there now" The defeated mage shook their head tears starting to pour out from her eyes as she felt he gasping breath become painful as though somehow Nat had grasped her by the throat and began constricting.

"No, she said she couldn't be found even if we wanted, told us to leave notes in the whore if we saw anyone, she said we'd know if we have done our job"

"And where was this box placed," Nat asked his voice low and quiet his stare hard and ruthless as he glanced at these defeated individuals.

"Under a desk, the whore's owner said she put them in a safe"

"I see," Nat said softly his harsh glare vanishing in an instant. Free of the strange pressure the mage took another deep breath allowing the sweet taste of oxygen even if it had been filled with dust and other particles from the battle fill his lungs.

"Mercy sir I beg you, please grant us mercy. We only did what we were told, please let us live" The mage begged.

"Mercy" Nat said slowly his eyes sweeping across the terrified bunch of individuals, they couldn't run away even if they wanted, in their haste to blast him and Valeyna into nothing they had not noticed as he had very carefully applied a powerful sticking spell forcing them to stay stuck the floor something that as a few of them tried to back away nervously only noticed as their feet sunk into the ground forcing a horrified scream from them. "You beg for my mercy after you and your compatriots here just attempted to take my life as well as that of my companion, you beg for life when you so easily cut down the lives of all those men and women up north. You ask that I spare you"

"Please" One of the voices cried out. "We didn't know it was you if we had, then we would have"

"You would have spared me?" Nat said darkly hiding his disgust. They were at his mercy now and unable to move or escape he took advantage of it, silently peering into their memories watching the most recent things that had occurred looking for a very specific incident. The death of those men and women concerned him, that had been no natural death, not by mortal hands, and certainly not by this lot as despite their previous experience in killing the memories of victim after victim falling by the wayside like the cascade of waterfall down a steep cliff, he could not help but feel his irritation grow as he saw nothing that he wanted.

These were not the ones responsible for the death of the men, they were another set of pawns hired on what they had assumed to be a safe mission of killing anyone who dared speak to the blacksmith. It was an easy mission but one that had caused resentment due to what they believed to be lacklustre pay as there were far too many of them to do one simple job when only a few of them had been needed.

They would pay for that failure.

"Yes, if we had known that the inquisition" One of the voice began to speak but was cut off when with a quick and sharp movement Nat launched a spell at the owner of the annoying and grating voice, decapitating the head of the body in a single clean stroke.

"You would have told your employer" Nat finished the sentence for him his eyes eerily calm as they locked onto the faces of all of these elves, he smiled cruelly. "Well I can't have that now can I" With a harsh movement Nat thrust his wand outwards in a circular form a long leash of golden flames extending from the tip extending several metres before then bringing it down with a long extended slash moving his body in a spin as he did so.

As the whip of blazing fire melted it's way through the flesh, clothing and armour that the group had worn, melting and killing the-would-be assassins instantly as the group were split in half leaving a very fine and quick molten line from where their body had been cut in two, Nat let out a bored sigh before then ending the spell in an instant where he turned back to the inquisitor.

"Well that was rather dull" Nat said again his voice entirely casual once more as he flicked his wand a number of times vanishing the corpses of everyone around them one by one which was then followed by another flick which like how she had witnessed back at Skyhold initiated a repairing process of the destroyed part of the city sending rubble, timber, stone, food and everything bar the living organisms back to the state that they had been in leaving the city in a near-perfect state. With another flick, Nat then vanished the blood of the wall and then returned his wall and smiled at the Inquisitor. "Seriously, twenty-two mages in that group and not one of them could cast a spell for over five minutes even with potions, utterly pathetic they'd never make duellist level" He tsked and turned back towards the blacksmith. "What a shame though, it's going to make that person far harder to track now"

"Why did they attack" Valeyna interrupted her eyes furrowed in thought. "It sounds like they only attacked in alleyways or places that they could hide their victims, so why attack here in the open where everybody could see?"

"That is an excellent question, though one to be answered later, our first concern has to be leaving this place before the Empresses guards come" Nat answered as he turned once more to look at the chaos and destruction that had been inflicted upon the area. No small amount of damage had been done in their failed attack and enough had been dealt in such a short and well-planned attack that the roup did deserve what professional ranking it had, of course, that only meant their services hadn't come cheap.

"Right, I'll lead I've been here before" Nodding in agreement, Nat quickly followed Valeyna as she left the two of them out of the destroyed then repaired square, taking them through all kinds of back alleys and streets before then rushing onto a major road where with thanks to a reapplication of the relevant illusion spells, the two of them blended into the crowds of people and began heading their way towards the other side of the city.

Unfortunately for them however, while they moved swiftly, the large throng of screaming civilians as they raced through old streets, the short amount of peace and respite they had initially gained from escaping the destroyed area was lost as they became aware of the large group of soldiers who all began marching towards them in the distance.

Clad in heavy armour that reflected the bright suns light from the distance, it became increasingly obvious what the guards' main job was, something that only caused screams from the locals as they formed a disciplined line before lowering their pikes forwards ad began to march at a slow but consecutive pace towards them.

"They're trying to trap us," Valeyna said her eyes moving quickly over to the far end of the city, where another group of soldiers were beginning their march. Soon enough everyone would be pushed together so tightly in this road that they had found themselves on that nobody would be able to mount an attack or more importantly escape.

"Of course they are, those mages just blew up an entire square."

"Well can't you do something?"

"Like what exactly"

"Cast some type of illusion, distract the guards, anything" Nat looked at the guards carefully. Now that they were closer he could see the discipline in their eyes, the strong and steady rhythmic march that they had when they approached with their pikes brought forward. There was not a single fault he could see within the ranks, they were experienced and the constant observation from them all as they looked for any trouble makers only cemented the wizards position that these were veteran troops, men and the odd woman here and there that had served in battle and better yet than that, had killed more than their fair share of their enemies, taking their lives and ending them quickly or brutally.

"No, they're too well trained"

"They can see through it" Valeyna exclaimed. Nat shook his head.

"No, they can't see our proper appearance, but with what's happened they very likely have orders not to let anyone pass, not even nobility. If we were to approach we would only be sent back or attacked or worse. Our better chance is to escape, quietly, where no one's looking"

"They'll go through every house, we couldn't hide" Valeyna rebuked.

"We don't need to, see the positions of the guards," Nat said quietly as he pointed to where all the guards and soldiers were positioned. "They're in the alleyways and on the roofs but even then they're looking down at us, if we can get out the back into a different street we should hopefully be able to come up behind them and make our way elsewhere"

"And the other streets that are being rounded, up, do you have a plan for how to deal with them" For a moment Nat considered telling the truth to the Inquisitor, that he could very easily escape their notice and without any issues whatsoever. He very likely knew what her reaction would be were he to tell her he could turn them invisible or put a muggle repelling charm around a house so that while the guards when out arresting people left, right and centre for conspiracy, they could sit down, kick back and relax, perhaps even play a game of cards or read a book in some random person's house, or at least do so until everything blew over. It would rather humour or so one might think were it not for the other consequences.

"I can easily get us through them, but we have more serious concerns. With the blacksmith dead"

"The one who hired the assassins is going to run the moment they hear about it" Valeyna added in a concerned voice. Nat nodded. "Why don't you disguise us as guards, that way we can move around the city freely and nobody would suspect anything".

"Can't, we're surrounded, the moment our clothes change out of nowhere people will notice, not to mention the city is likely about to go into lockdown, if any other guard meets us and we can't explain why we're not where we're supposed to be, they'll just attack us".

"Then what do you propose we do, if this mission was supposed to be stealthy, you've failed at that" Nat chuckled slightly.

"No plan survives first contact with the enemy is how the phrase goes. Don't worry though I have a plan, this morning when I was driving Dorian and I discussed where we should regroup in Orlais should we ever get separated and we can't make it to our agency office" Valeyna raised an eyebrow before she nodded at him. "We said the best place to meet would be at the university, it's an obvious place to get too, I can pull off a convincing noble impression and Dorian is nobility"

"You think they'll just let you in because you can pull off being noble"

"Of course not Inquisitor, don't take me as a fool. I can pull off being a young genius who has recently been sent to the school to take my lessons at the greatest academy of learning in all of Thedas"

"And me, the university doesn't accept elves"

"They will accept my elven servant after all however could I Nathanael Tempest heir to the noble house of Tempest ever be expected to perform such menial tasks as washing my own clothing or preparing my own food, that is the work of servants" Nat said quickly his voice rising and taking on a far more regal tone then he ever spoke with, in fact as he spoke Valeyna could only watch as his entire body position moved, instead of his ever casual but calm appearance as denoted by his jacket and trousers, he instead seemed rich, powerful, mighty, his eyes while still kept hidden from her she could easily imagine were full with contempt for the others around him and his relaxed expression was now tight and rigid as though he was sneering at the mere peasantry that surrounded him. But what surprised her most, however, was the brief moment when he seemingly locked eyes with one of the upcoming guard captains, a wave of defiance seemed to wash over him daring to challenge the guard to dare tell him what to do. Also at that moment, the way his arm ever strapped to his waist seemed to become far more deadly as the wizard placed the hand on the handle of the blade firmly and gripped tightly with his fingers as though he had been incensed and was about to cut down an elf for daring to speak back with him. Yet all that vanished as just as quickly it appeared it vanished as Nat's small act vanished and he gave a comforting look. "Come on let's go"

Quickly he grabbed her hand in his holding it tightly lest he let go and lose her in this ever-growing and constricting crowd of people. Just as she had said, Nat saw how people were being forced together into a large and larger pile, while individuals pursued by guards brought other groups of people and pushed them all into their pile. Through all this pushing, however, nobody noticed as under their illusions Nat dragged his companion to the side and came across a door to an average-looking house.

With not even a word said, he used his magic casting the basic first yea charm on the locked piece of wood forcing it to open to his will where wit a gentle hand he pushed the door open and pulled the Inquisitor inside before then closing the door and locking it again.

"Okay now what, guards are going to be crawling around the roads and those that aren't will be posted on roofs to make sure people don't try to escape that way, not to mention they'll have guards in the sewer systems so don't even think about taking me to a damp smell black place" Valeyna asked her voice growing louder as she felt safer within the confines of these walls.

"Well it's the sewers or I strap you to a rubber band and fire you across the city" Natr quipped sharply as he conjured a map of the city layout and placed it on a nearby table before then with another spell he set alight the small number of candles that had been placed there giving the two enough light to see.

"They're likely rounding everyone u into these areas," Valeyna said pointing to several paces on the map. "We've likely been cordoned off so quickly because we're near a few guardhouses and we're close to the explosion, had we been somewhere else we would have had more time."

"Good hopefully that gives Dorian enough time to meet us at the university"

"And if not," Valeyna said questioningly.

"We leave a note and continue on our own"

"Is that wise, wouldn't it be better to wait for Dorian and Cole to catch up. I mean Cole could be useful, with his ability to read minds"

"Very useful" Nat admitted. "But as I said we're on the clock and we may only have hours at most before our target manages to find out whatever happened and manages to leave without a trace, and if that happens there's nothing that I can do" That was false of course, he knew who he was looking for and that person was not going to leave his sight, but he couldn't just tell the Inquisitor that he had already seen the person, he needed to act more concerned then he actually was.

"Then why don't we head to the Empresses whore"

"Because if they're intelligent then they would have been able to roughly work out where the explosion came from and if that's the case, they'll move away from the place and take any information with them just to make sure that nothing is revealed"

"Then what's to stop them from taking a ship"

"Regulations" Nat answered. "The Orlesian guard here is surprisingly competent, the moment that explosion went of they would be under orders not to let anyone leave which means that if anybody did try to board a ship or a boat and especially so soon after the explosion, they're likely to be detained"

"How do you know all this?"

Leliana, during our lessons she instructed me what to do, should something occur when I was in the city in the chance that I was performing a job for her. She told me how they deal with problems and where the best places are to hide"

"The university" Valeyna realised with wide eyes. "That's one of the best places to hide in the city, I would have thought a nobles house or somewhere else" Nat shook his head.

"Surprisingly, the university has somewhat more lax security measures, especially when they want to get more nobles in to join so they can get more money. They even offer walk-in demonstrations, all you need it the ability to look rich, sound rich and be able to showcase knowledge of certain things"

"You think they can disguise themselves well enough to get into the university" Nat shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know in all honesty, the fact is that our thief has gone running and it will take too long to catch up with them if we can at all. They could be hiding anywhere and we wouldn't know which makes me think that the captain had orders to on purposely make as loud an explosion as possible. Draw attention to the place to get the guards out and their employer at the same time can escape likely with a predetermined route"

"You don't know do you," Valeyna said her disappointment showing. "I thought"

"I' don't know everything, but what I do know is that we need a safe place to hide and rest in the city, something that we've lost. Should the city go back to normal then we can go to the tavern later and track down clues if we have too, all we'd need would be some small thing, gold, ripped fabric may be a gem. All the things we might be able to get out of the manger of the place, but until then we have to remain undetected."

"But why, you're powerful enough to beat anyone who comes against you and your illusion spells could easily hide us as a horse or wagon. Why not go straight for the tavern" Nat sighed and looked at the Inquisitor, while she did have a point, even with his limited self-imposed skill set he could get us to the tavern, the fact of the matter was that he didn't want to rush things as odd as it sounded.

"Because despite the warning, our person will not simply retreat without knowing who was investigating. With those mages and anybody else who was nearby or within earshot dead, the mercenaries employer will have no clue who was responsible"

"Oh, I get it," Valeyna said suddenly. "If they're trying to work out who's investigating they're going to need to come back or send somebody else to find out what happened, especially since the mages are dead. When that happens we can find their employees and tail them back to the employer" Nat nodded glad the Inquisitor was finally starting to learn how to strategise and make sound logical arguments or better yet at least have an understanding why he did what he did.

"Exactly, were we to rush into the tavern, not only will we miss them and it be made harder trying to track them down due to the chaos and panic making it harder for people to recall, but it also makes it harder for them to learn who we are as we didn't arrive within only a short time of the explosion. Instead we go to the university, hide their as potential students and don't visit the office for Leliana's spies, once there we'll then casually investigate the scene ask what happened and perhaps over a the span of a few days create a normal scenic pattern of walk which will make it look entirely natural for us to pass by the area" Valeyna squinted her eyes not sure of the plan, slowly she glanced towards the map recognising the layout from a time that she and a friend had snuck into the city when they were younger in a desperate attempt to have a look at the "stupid shemlen" They had used the sewers to do so and she still remembered the rank and horrid smell that had taken weeks to come out of her clothing.

Since then she had visited several more times even if only at the outer layers of the city lest she drew too much attention to her clan resulting in them having to fight for their lives against hostile humans.

"Okay we'll need to go down here," She said pointing towards a few routes. "The most obvious route is faster, but we can't afford to show that was our destination, the guards will know that a mage was responsible and the moment we start knocking people out down there they'll track us. So we need to come out early and sneak the rest of the way, the only problem is getting to the sewers, the nearest entrance is a few streets that way." She shook her head uncomfortably at the thought of entering that dark and rather disgusting place again, in fact, the more her mind imagined the place the more she felt her stomach churn until it got to the point that it was trying not to lurch.

"No we don't," Nat said helpfully. This place we're in is part of the inner city which should mean that these houses are connected to the sewer network."

"Yeah, but would only be a short" She froze suddenly and shuddered in realisation. "You're not serious, you want us to go down the-"

"I'll cast spells on us, Inquisitor, don't worry you won't have to deal with whatever horrid things are down there, all we need is a path" Valeyna looked doubtful at that, yes Nat could do some incredible feats of magic, not an hour ago he had repaired the broken piece of a shattered city, making everything look brand new as though nothing had happened, there was no blood now, something that would confuse the soldiers, but there would also be no blacksmiths and several other people something that was bound to lead to suspicions of blood magic. But that had been relatively simple stuff, not particularly foul and rank as the idea of wading knee-deep in the faeces of other people, as thick slimy pieces. She gripped the table hard again and shuddered pausing only to give Nat a quick but stern warning.

"It better work"

"You doubt my skills"

"If I come out of this smelling like shit you are single handily, washing the smell from my body, replacing my clothes and becoming my personal servant for a month" Nat shrugged his shoulders, not at all bothered by the thin threats of the Inquisitor, this would be an easy job, a few simple spells and it would instead be like dancing in a meadow of bright and nice smelling flowers as though they were in the middle of spring rather than going that route.

"And should it work, what do I get"

"Me, as your servant for a month" Valeyna responded without any hesitation before she then took on a sultry grin. "And as your servant, it would naturally be my job to"

"No," Nat said immediately "I don't need a servant, I have magic for that"

"You're no fun," She said dejectedly.

"How about you spend more time on your duties then your... other activities shall we call them," Nat said before then muttering quietly. "That should earn me a favour from Cassandra"

"You're no fun, I know Bull would have taken me up on my offer"

"I'm not an 8-foot tall grey-skinned bull-man with a bunch of horns that have no other purpose then drying the laundry and likes getting hit with a stick to clear his mental problems" Nat rebuked.

"No you're much sterner" Valeyna joked. "And you don't have the muscle I mean compared to him I bet your arms are like a toothpick"

"And what does that make you Inquisitor, a porcelain vase, so delicate and fragile that with one misstep Bull will smash you into a set of shards to be discarded and thrown away. Or that you simply crack and split at the merest touch"

"Wouldn't you like to know" She smirked daring him to come over and grab her firmly and see how his strength compared to the tough man. Unfortunately, as always, Nat saw through her ploy and simply turned around as he headed to where he assumed to be the location of the nearest hole in the floor that these savages counted as a fucking toilet. It didn't take very long, all he had to do was follow his nose, open the door and then he was met with a pungent odour that vanished the moment he flicked his wand removing not only the smell but then replacing it with the scent of lavender.

"Come on, we've wasted enough time, let's get to the university before Dorian get's there. " Shuddering once more Valeyna approached and took in a deep breath of the fresh-smelling air allowing herself to relax for a few seconds in her own world as Nat allied the necessary charms on the both of them that would ultimately leave them free of what was surely bound to come and tray and ruin their day. When that was accomplished, Nat with another click of his wand vanished the contents of others bowels from the long dark thin walls and then lifted the lid again with magic lest he touch something though nothing existed. With that done he exchanged a look with the inquisitor, stepped into the hole and allowed himself to slide down.

"You so fucking owe me Nat" Valeyna whispered before then jumping down after him.

They landed with a splash, a horrible putrid, splash that though their protected senses couldn't sense, Valeyna thanked Nat even if the bubble of pure air that surrounded her mouth and nose felt extremely weird they could detect was still incredibly foul. What made it worse, however, was that no manner of spells was able to save her from the hideous sight as she watched this slow-moving river of raw filth to the side and slightly lower them, move past and away from them as it headed towards where the sea was from. Again Valeyna shuddered and vowed never to fall into the water nearby the port.

"Well this is pleasant" She muttered as she looked around, the bright ball of dazzling white light that she assumed Nat had conjured hovering above them illuminating the entire area allowing her to start navigating their way.

"I don't know what's worse in all honesty, the fact that I'm actually in a sewer system intentionally or the fact that modern filtration has not been invented yet so all this shit goes into the sea rather than be recycled"

"Say what now," Valeyna said turning a horrified face towards her companion. "You don't seriously mean"

"Yep, we recycled our filthy water. Don't worry though it was perfectly safe, the number of safety precautions and machines we used purified the water to an amazing degree, in fact, the water we drank is far safer you'll find anything in Thedas unless it's made of magic, but all the same it' something I didn't particularly like thinking about"

"You still drank piss water, should I be concerned" Nat face palmed.

"I just said"

"I know I'm joking. Anyway let's leave quickly I don't want to be in here any more then you do, the area the university is in is this way"

"Lead the way then" Not wasting a single moment and thus allowing them to stay in this place any more than was absolutely needed, Valeyna rapidly led them through the twisting and turning dark passages that made up the underground sewer systems. As they did so Valeyna was very much pleased to discover that Na had not been fucking around with her since once she had nearly lost her footing and thought she was going to slip, even though Nat caught her before she did so, she saw as the actual filth that clung to the tunnels down here actually parted before her very eyes, seemingly repulsed by her presence and staying as far away from her as was physically possible. When asked Nat just simply smiled telling her that it was a mix of spells that would automatically clean the area that they were in and a few other spells that would repulse less than stellar things from approaching, something that was again appreciated when she noticed the glowing beady eyes of what she knew to be larger than average rats as they tracked her every movement.

Nonetheless, however, they were again made aware of the presence of these horrid creatures when as they crossed a river, made possible as Nat again showed his worth in her eye's by conjuring a nice bridge protecting them from the filth. Once they crossed, however, it went on only to reveal the half-eaten corpse of some poor woman. Valeyna winced at the site, one of the woman's eyes had been eaten entirely and the other was left dangling out of its skull. Most of the head's flesh had been cleaved off showing nothing but the pale cream colour of the woman's skeletons, but the worst part was the knees where they could see visible notches int the bone where the rats had no doubt chewed the woman upbringing her down so they could then gorge on the rest of her dead corpse.

"Lovely place" Nat muttered before vanishing the corpse from existence entirely. He would have set it alight, given the woman's likely religious beliefs and custom, but given the fact that he was in a sewer, he would prefer not to potentially set the whole thing alight by accident and instead simply muttered a quick, rest in peace before moving on.

"If I die, give my body back to my clan, they know what to do," Valeyna said her eyes a mix of sorrow as she glanced back to where the dead woman had been and revulsion at the poor state she had been in. Nobody should be forced to a fate where they were eaten by rats, it was cruel and unusual especially for that woman who had likely died alone.

"Certainly" Nat agreed. "And If I die, destroy my corpse. Don't just burn it once, don't bury it, destroy it entirely, I want absolutely nothing left of me whatsoever."

"Why, don't you want people something to remember you bye, would t burial be better" Nat shook his head disturbed by the mental image of the idea of his dead body being lowered into the earth by some type of rope while he lay in a wooden box. Merlin that was a horrid thought, to be displayed in such a fashion, it was hideous.

"Merlin no. Destroy my corpse, the last thing I want is some asshole using my body for something. I mean with inferior, undead skeletons, demons and everything else, I refuse point blank to be some shmucks tool in their fucking plans. No destroy my corpse and allow me to tell all that would defile my corpse that they can fuck right off."

"I guess that's understandable I wouldn't want to come back either, nor would I want to fight a family member who had been taken over by a demon"

"Yeah because it's the emotional trauma of other people that I'm concerned about," Nat said sarcastically trying to imagine anybody whether in this universe or his other universe who would care in the slightest about slaying his undead likely shambling corpse. After a few minutes of half intense thinking, he shook his head and came to the correct conclusion that nobody would care if he died.

"Come on men this way, you heard the captain, they're likely going to escape down the sewer" A loud voice from a fair distance away echoed down the halls. It was a powerful one Nat noticed, and one that was nevertheless filled with that Merlin awful French accent, how anyone in their right minds found it sexy especially the females in Hogwarts when they had met and visited Beaubatons during the Triwizard tournament was utterly beyond him, none the less he simply moved forward and when he believed it best he undid the light spell before then disguising Valeyna and himself as some old barrels that had been left behind and were now coated in the horrible material that ran by the side of them.

"Sweet Maker, who would be so stupid enough to escape down here, I mean the smell"

"Stop complaining" Another man shouted his voice obviously done with the other two. "We were told to get down here and look and that's what we're going to do"

"But commander, there not going to be down here, besides you heard the rumours, a mage was responsible, how are we supposed to fight the mage"

"Or the rats" One added in helpfully turning around and revealing themselves to the two members of the Inquisition.

"I count seven" Valeyna whispered.

"Let them pass, they shouldn't detect us"

"And if they do" Valeyna whispered slightly more concerned.

"I know a spell to attract rats"

"Do I want to know why?"

"I have thousands of spells in my head Inquisitor, some for combat, some for housework, some that were simply part of the book I was reading and I decided to memorise because I was bored. Suffice to say I can get the rats just as easily as I can repel them" Valeyna chuckled grimly.

"Should I call you the rat king then?"

"Hardly, it was a more common spell a few hundred years ago though it's fallen out of favour, especially after the Pied Piper decided to turn up and tarnish the spells entire reputation"

"Pied piper?"

"Stole a bunch of children several hundred years ago. it's believed to be a fairy tale by most, an allegory of something else that was happening at the time."

"And in truth"

"A major dark ritual, It was stopped, but not before every single child had to be put down. Nasty business"

"Why were the children killed" Nat shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know," He said keeping his voice down honestly his attention occasionally catching on the odd rat that might pass.

"What do you mean you don't know, I would have thought if children went missing for some kind of dark spell that answers would be demanded"

"They were Nat admitted. "But seeing as how the government never once gave any clues other than the apology for the dead children it, it can very likely be assumed that whatever was being attempted was something best lest people wondering Most likely it was so bad that admitting the truth would be so demoralising it would cause a huge despair and obviously any sort of lie would get found out quickly enough so they just closed the records off to everyone" Valeyna nodded understanding the motive, she could very easily see her Keeper doing the same thing were they to encounter something so utterly evil. True there would be those who went out to investigate what happened as people always allowed curiosity to lead them, but on the other, it was very likely for the better that nobody ever found out. Still, she could not help but wonder.

"What do you think it was?"

"No idea, demons are my first guess but there could have been other things at work and in all honesty, I would prefer not to think about the cause behind a story and a threat defeated centuries ago".

"Do you think Corypheus could do something similar" Nat raised an eyebrow at the question. "I mean when it comes to getting to the Black city again" There was silence for a few moments as Nat considered the subject matter, it had been something that had crossed his mind when he first learned of the identity of their foe and once again when he had shown Cullen and the others the Architect still hung in its trap only to be looked upon by authorised eyes only.

"I would suspect he would certainly try," Nat said finally his pale skin seeming to shin as the bright light hovered over the two of them. "Though I would suspect it would be far more difficult this time seeing as he has neither the dead elves, servants, magic, safe location and his fellow Magisters with him.

"So he plans to win the war then, beat us and make it safe to do the ritual. Well, tat's a relief, at least we don't have to worry about him ripping giant holes into the fade" Valeyna said content happy to know that the likelihood of having to deal with some kind of all-powerful Corypheus would be limited.

"Are we not going to mention the hole in the sky?" Nat said sarcastically.

"I closed that"

"For now that is true, but that does not mean it won't reopen. Who knows how long your solution will still be viable, how do we know that you closed that rift for certain or instead merely sutured the wound for a while giving us time to recover before it becomes active once again. Then again who even knows if it's possible to properly solve the rifts in the first place?

"Seriously," Valeyna said in a concerned manner. Nat sighed loudly and kept walking, his pace was incredibly fast almost as though he was jogging and a few times Valeyna herself had been forced to speed up her movements lest she be left behind in the darkness.

"I don't know" Nat spoke truthfully again not seeing much point in hiding his thoughts on this matter. "Corypheus can be defeated through force of arms; it's why he has his army. Even if we can't kill him we can still immobilise him, but these rifts? I would have liked to believe that once the big one was shut the pace that the others would appear would either slow or stop entirely, the fact that they do not indicate that there is still something at work. What that maybe I can only speculate, should it be done via some servant of the enemy then we may again be given victory via the strength of arms, but should it be natural" There was a lingering silence for a moment as Nat paused his mind racing with terrifying possibilities. "After the last war, my people learned to be more careful"

"Care to tell me more about the war" Nat shook his head.

"It was a small thing really, not much happened. I would bore you were I to tell it" Valeyna scowled.

"Oh come on you can tell me a little, at least whilst we're walking to keep our eyes of this place" And Valeyna was very grateful it was just her eyes getting violated by this place. She could only have imagined what it would have been like had she smelt the filth that flowed like a great horrid river that flowed beside them, and neither would she like to imagine the amount of time she would spend bathing simply to remove all the little drops and spots that would have landed on her from where some of the holes that led to peoples home met the sewer depositing their contents nearby.

"Short version is a man called Archie Duke shot an ostrich because he was hungry."

"What's the long story," Valeyna said doubtfully. Nat almost burst into laughter when he heard that.

"Inquisitor to give you a full account would require a good few hours in a safe location with maps, history books, and a whole load of lessons in politics and the state of world affairs. For now, let's just say a man got shot which brought in alliances of different factions which spiralled out of control and caused at the time, the single worst war the country had ever seen in its history"

"Fine, but I want an answer someday" Valeyna demanded. "And a full one not some short vague thing" Nat nodded in agreement, perhaps he would tell her how the first world war started, then again he wondered he would ever get chance, he knew for dam sure that when he found the one responsible for the attack on the men of the Inquisition their life span would be made very short indeed.

None the less the two continued down the sewers using a mix of the map Nat had and Valeyna's previous visit to the city to navigate their selves around until eventually after a few hours of hiding, talking and the occasional rat killing they found their desired exit shining a few small creases of light shone through the dark void above them.

"You first," Nat said. Valeyna sneered at him about to complain about the filth on the staircase that led down however she had no chance to as before she could realise what had happened her feet were floating in the air and she was rising steadily upwards until she just squeezed through the hole and landed on the cobblestone path outside. Nat followed soon after and moved the manhole cover back to where it was before then recasting their illusion charms and giving the two of them a good few cleaning spells for good measure.

University of Orlais

"I'm sorry Sir we can't just let anyone through these gates. This is a respected institution, we can't just let any type of vagabond walk through it simply because they say from Tevinter "The guard said rudely sneering as he took in the sight of two individual before him.

"Vagabond," Dorian said in outrage. "Have a look at me you cretin I am not some mere peasant. I am Tevinter nobility, hailing from the house of-"

"Yeah yeah you said already, but here's the thing, no self-respecting noble would prance around Val Royeux looking like some type of whore" The second guard snorted. "What did happen to your clothes, by the way, got ripped off by a qunari customer, did he make you squeal"

"How dare you" Dorian shouted again as he attempted to pass off his offended tone to the guards only for them to laugh again and call him some cheap whore looking to get a small but of pay from some of the nobles in the area. "My father shall hear of this, you shall lose your heads for dispersing such a powerful Tevinter house"

"So what Tevinter doesn't have any influence here, go back home you trashy whore and take that thing with you," The guar said pointing a rude finger at Cole who for the past half an hour had been spending his time peering up into the sky staring unlinking at a lone white tower.

"Trashy whore" Dorian's face turned between an offended one and a snarl. "I would have you southern savages know that this is made of the finest leather, cut from the-"

"Whatever just shut up and go back to where you came from"

"Why I"

"All right what's going on here" Off put by the presence of a new speaker Dorian with Cole following him twirled elegantly on their heel to face the new arrivals. It was a bit of a normal sight or at least the guards obviously thought so as they glanced at the two newcomers, one was obviously some type of noble, made obvious by the pale skin and ark yet rich shoulder-length hair that rand down his aristocratic face that helped to fame those bright blue almost electric eyes. He was human, unlike his obvious elf servant who as Dorian had long since noticed since coming to these southern lands, seemed to wear only slightly better clothes then the average elf, enough to make her stand out amongst elves he knew and give her somewhat of an elevated position, but not enough to arise suspicion something that was made obvious as the guards behind him straightened up.

Slowly the young man likely only a few years younger than Dorian himself has turned his attention onto those men that guarded the entrance a soft smile on his lips, though one that didn't meet his eyes.

"May I have your names please" The man's voice was soft and gentle, relaxing like listening to the rain pour down at night giving it a rhythmic yet also sleep-inducing tone to it setting the guards into a more natural stance forcing them to lower the pears that they had previously raised when Dorian had attempted.

"I'm sorry, nobody is allowed to enter the university sir, we've been given strict instructions," The guard said a small amount of sorrow in his tone.

"That is fair enough, I suppose when incidents like the one that has just occurred happen, it is the prerogative of the Empress to ensure the safety and sanctimony of her city and most treasured valuables." The man smiled at the guards again setting that ease entirely before then turning to his servant slowly holding the same look.

She was a cute thing Dorian guessed, like all elves she had a lither frame than humans, losing some of their muscle for speed and acrobatics, her body was a pleasing one to look at the noted, not perhaps to the same standard as the Inquisitor or even some of the younger human nobility who had only recently gained their forms that would soon be lusted after, but enough certainly for a man of noble birth to happily indulge themselves in.

"Hestia I'm sorry to ask this off you, but would you know anywhere that we might stay in the meantime" The man then turned back to the guards offering an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry it's just that I came from far in the north near the Tevinter border. You see my mother was actually the one who insisted I come here, she believed it would help me when it comes to taking over the family estate only it appears that I've arrived at the wrong time" He chuckled and glanced back in the direction of where the explosion had occurred. Hereupon this higher elevation he could see all the people as they were rapidly rounded up and then marched in columns down the roads that made up the city moving them in rather ordered formations making room for the larger contingent of soldier as they rushed on both for and on horseback to join another group that had already arrived and was now obviously investigating.

Very competent, the man noted, incredibly so.

"Yes, I can imagine" One of the two guards chuckled as they followed his gaze. "I wonder what happened"

"Probably one of the mages" The other replied. "You heard the rumours, apparently the Empress accepted some mages into the city so she could protect the blacksmiths. Fat load of use it does now seeing as that was where the blacksmiths were being kept".

"Ahh, increase the productivity," The man said with a knowing smile. "An interesting strategy though one that has unfortunately ended in disaster" The other guard shook his head.

"Nah, the empress is grouping them all together, but she's not stupid enough to put all of them in one place if the city was attacked it would be too easy to have them all killed"

"I see that is indeed a good thing. Now I hate to bother you fine gentlemen, but it would appear that with the state the city is in I will not be able to either find board and room or even get back to my carriage where I may sleep. I do so hate to request this of you so especially when you are only trying to perform your jobs, but is there any way that I could speak to the one in charge of this institution, my servant here as lovely as she is, does not have the greatest constitution with horses and though a brave face she may put on, I can tell she will soon need a place that she can evacuate the contents of her stomach if that would be possible. Which out of respect for her privacy, is best to be done somewhere private"

Dorian blinked once then again at the elf, She didn't appear to be so pale that she might throw up yet a closer inspection did reveal the young thing did look uncomfortable and though trying as subtly as she could, she was moving behind her master her face somewhat revealing a mix of fear as she glanced at the tips of the spear. Dorian winced in sympathy at the sight, obviously, the girl was afraid and was trying to do her best not to show it.

"I hate to intrude," The Tevinter said suddenly pushing himself forward t meet the well-spoken and handsome young Orlesian. "You said that you're from nearby the border, may I ask where from exactly" The man smiled at him gently causing much to Dorian's surprise, a small blush on his cheeks at the almost beautiful expression that radiated off this perfect visage of nobility. It was like something he had read in a book, some type of noble prince who would come in and sweep the maidens off their feet with their sword skills and amazing chivalry.

"Oh you must be from Tevinter, truly a pleasure to meet you, I am Alexander, are you trying to enter the university as well? I wish you good fortune" The man not waiting an instant snatched Dorian's hand in his own surprisingly delicate ones and for a moment the Tevinter noble could only wonder what he used to moisturise his hands to make them feel so soft and smooth, perhaps he should ask later if they got the time or better yet managed to make their ways into the university.

"Well yes, but these gentlemen refused me saying that I am of no proper dress" Alexander turned back to the guards and made a sour face.

"No, no my fine gentlemen, this man is obviously Tevinter, look at the quality of this leather, the features of this face and the sharpness of his eyes. Then look at his youth and his swagger, he is obviously of fine noble blood how could you reject such a perfect specimen of Tevinter nobility. Shame on you" Dorian addition know what had done it, whether the Orlesian was some kind of mage hiding his powers or he just had some natural knack for charisma, but after he finished the guards to his shock actually did look guilty, so much so that after lowered their heads and offered an apology to the men. "Better" Alexander said as he seemingly stood up properly towering over both these far older men as he then grabbed the hilt of a nice looking sword on his waist. "Now to apologise to him and before I shall have to raise this issue with the Empress when I next have the pleasure of attending one of her balls I would suggest allowing us through"

"But"

"Do not worry, I shall not seek juncture against your fine selves, let us leave this matter in its current state and start afresh. Normally I would understand the situation but I know my Hestia and aside from feeling ill she is also very tired and so she will very likely need a good night's sleep before she begins her responsibilities in earnest tomorrow"

"Inquisitor" Out of nowhere the name-dropped unexpectedly both because of the current situation at hand and also because it was Cole who said it. Confused Dorian looked at his strange companion on the fade only to see him staring at the elf who now seemingly spooked by the strange by had taken to hiding behind her master taking quick and careful looks at the boy as though he might step forth and eat her like some monster.

"I'm sorry, what," The guard said turning his plain face to that of the boy. "Inquisitor, what Inquisitor" Dorian acted immediately.

"I'm sorry," He said apologizing to Alexander. "My friend here is just a bit simple you see, he must have seen your servant and thought she looked like the Lady Inquisitor" Alexander chuckled loudly.

"You hear that Hestia, you're being mistaken for the Lady Inquisitor herself" Bowing to Cole the man smiled. "Thank you, young man, it is always an honour to hear the members of my house praised in such a manner. Please do excuse her anxiety, Hestia has always been nervous ever since she was a child, but I trust her well enough and to hear her complimented does bring me great joy" Behind him Alexander allowed a small comforting smile rest on his face as he felt the elf servant pull herself close to in obviously asking for a hood.

Disgusted one of the guards went to pull a face only to stop suddenly at the harsh and menacing glare of her master punched through him and shook him to the core resting on his heart with such a ferocity that Dorian had almost believed he was a mage in hiding. Then in a far sterner and less warm voice, one that had lost all that relaxation and was instead replaced with a deep bellowing tone as though the drums of war were echoing behind him and ten thousand knights were about to charge he demanded in a commanding tone. "Make a comment and I swear it shall be your last"

The men glanced at one another and then at their spears then at the two men in front of them, one was obviously a mage after all how could a noble that hailed from the land of Tevinter be not a mage if they were a noble, something that obviously marked him as a Magister, a person who wielded great power and could kill them both without thinking and the other, well he appeared normal if alien for his care of the elf servant. How could a noble truly do such a thing after all, elves were beautiful and elegant things yet, they made good servants all pretty and dressed up and if the rumours that were passed down correct, then the servants would often have a bed partner with the nobility and often passed around as a way to curry favour. Alexander, on the other hand, was fiercely protective risking his entire public persona to protect this one knife ear, they sneered somewhat but another glare had them shut up and their scowling sent away as the man threatened to kill them then and there for insulting his honour in the manner that they just had.

Finally it was decided if only reluctantly by the gate guard to allow the four of them to enter. They could warn the one in charge soon enough and have them kicked off-campus.

With their way finally cleared, the four of them stepped through, just as they were out of sight and Dorian was about to thank them, however, his breath caught in his throat as the entire appearance of Alexander, rich dignified, handsome, vanished like a cloak drifting in a strong wind as it was instead replaced with the ever more familiar version of Nathanael Tempest and the Inquisitor.

Dorian sighed and rubbed the front of his face "I should have seen that coming"

"Yep," Nat answered as he continued up the pathway to the grand university ahead of him. "It was made pretty obvious when Cole recognised the Inquisitor. I would have thought you would have cottoned on soon enough afterwards, but all you cared about was my hair".

"Well in my defence you had very good hair, and a handsome face and that ass" Dorian ended with a grin enjoying as he watched the tips of Nat's eyebrows moved indicating that he was rolling his eyes.

"Very funny Dorian, but we need to get on to business. I assume you heard the explosion"

"How could I miss it, you sent the entire city into a panic. I assume you're going to tell me what happened?"

"In short" Nat asked, Dorian nodded. "Mages. We found the blacksmith who was repairing the dagger and asked him a few questions, once we left a bunch of mercenary mages attacked us in the attempt to kill us"

"I assume they failed or do we have to look out for mages trying to hunt us down as well, what about any dragons, is there anything else we need to ask to the list of things that want to kill us"?"

"Oh please Dorian it's us, everything and everyone is always trying to kill us, it's simply part of the job" Dorian snorted, wasn't that the truth. When he had joined the inquisition he had expected to fight demons, Templars, maybe even a few rouge mages, all of which would make some interesting tales when he arrived home and perhaps he could share some interesting encounters he had shared with some of the more interesting men he had encountered down here. The first two had been easy, he had fought and killed and the second ad also been met, there were more than a handful of interesting men in Skyhold, it was just a shame that none of them was interested in him.

Poor Cullen as handsome and cute as he was especially when he was attempting to brood had blushed bright red when he had merely suggested the thing and Varrick had laughed it off and joked about not losing track of time and Backwall had given a horrified look and walked away whilst Bull that handsome yet also aggravating qunari had more than shown him what it meant to "bite the pillow". And then there was Nat who at first seemed to be very uncomfortable with what he teased at but then it was revealed that he just didn't like anything to do with that so it was nearly impossible to tease him ruining the good old fashioned fun.

"Dorian pay attention stop daydreaming" Snapping back to the sound of fingers clicking in front of his face the man shook his face and brushed his hair back before carrying on. "Anyway, as I was saying, mercenary mages, however, given the amount there was and the fact that somehow managed to sneak into this city then we can deduce that their employer is both rich and has connections to the right people indicating that we're likely going to be dealing with a lot of politics which then leaves the question, of do we reveal ourselves or stay undercover."

"Well, I would have assumed undercover given the advantages that it would give us in catching the murderers, though on the other hand if we were to reveal who we were we might find better assistance in those nobles who would seek to curry favour with us".

"Exactly," Nat said. "I think we need to stay undercover, while I did expect an attack, I can say i wasn't expecting it to be so out in the open instead I would have thought a more secluded spot"

"So would I" Agreed Valeyna. "On the other hand the attack has drawn the attention of everyone onto what we're investigating, we likely won't be able to get close without either revealing ourselves or landing in some kind of trouble."

"You're correct, on the other hand, the added suspicion and different actions investigating this will allow us to hid ourselves better"

"What, but I thought with everyone looking"

"Of course they will know it's us if we reveal ourselves, but we don't have to, all we need to do is be able to hunt down whoever is investigating the attack, no doubt they will try to infiltrate every group to discover what they know. Were they to do it to use they would learn we're hunting down the money and then go back to report to their boss. We can use that, act normally and when they go to tell follow them back to the next person in the chain and carry on from their" Valeyna frowned.

"Maybe, but it's a bit too risky don't you think, we're relying on one person turning up and we don't even know if that will happen, wouldn't it be better if we investigated ion other ways like ask the servants if they knew anyone who might try and do such a thing"

"Do you have a better plan?" Nat asked quickly. Dorian stayed still for a minute thinking as clearly as he could in what the best way to proceed with this investigation could be. On one hand, he knew his friend was right after the sudden and rather noticeable attack whoever was in charge of this group of attackers was bound sooner or later to send somebody out searching if only to see specifically who had triggered the attack. He knew that for sure because it would be what he would have done and what anyone with any decent amount of common sense would do, one could not defend against an enemy if they didn't even know who that enemy was. Yet at the same time and the certainty of the enemy investigating, there was no way to say that they would find this spy let alone be able to capture them and learn what secrets they posed. Spies especially Orlesian ones were trained to resist poison and interrogation and even torture considering the dangerous role they placed in the great game these southern lords were up to.

"If they don't talk," He asked a slow feeling of dread building in his stomach as Nat moved his attention to the quietest of their companions with his short and somewhat scraggly bright hair the colour of wheat when freshly harvested.

"They don't have to"

"Cole, interrogate?" Valeyna cried realising in an instant just what her advisor meant to do. "Do you think he could do it?"

"He can certainly read your feelings well enough and very likely your minds, even with knowledge of his abilities you are unable to mount a defence against his type of assault, a spy who knows nothing of magic stands an even worse chance. Of course, that relies on him being able to do it on command" Nat turned and looked at Cole. Though he was calm outwardly he narrowed his eyes behind his glasses on the entirety that took the form of the young man in front of him.

"Can you do it, Cole?" Dorian asked uncomfortably. "If we find this person could you" Dorian shivered. "Could you look inside their mind and tell us what you find out"

"I could," Cole said in that strange accent his eyes still appearing as though they were staring into space.

"Cole that disappearing thing you do where you make people forget, do you think you could do it for all of us," Valeyna asked softly. Cole went silent and looked down the floor seemingly peering past the dirt to where ants or worms that squirmed under the cobbled stone that they now walked on lay beneath going about on their bases.

"I think so, it would be hard though, I could not do if often and not form many people" He admitted

"Great" Valeyna admitted with jubilation "that means that we can get past the guards and make them forget we were even there"

"I would not be so sure, the enemy managed to get a magical mercenary group under their command and a quite expensive one going by their skill"

"Skill" Valeyna snorted disbelievingly. "You beat them easily" She turned to Dorian a smug look on her face. "You should have seen it, Dorian. All those mages fired constantly at us with all these powerful spells, I didn't see anything coming but then whose Nat had this shield around us and nothing that they launched against us even touched me, it was amazing. "Dorian turned towards his friend with an interesting look.

"It's nothing," Nat said. "Most mages are entirely unused to the idea of fighting other mages down here, place them against a person who has done so and they'll fall quickly enough" Valeyna snorted disbelievingly.

"Oh please, there's be more to it than that. I have fought against that many mages but I've done it yet I couldn't have held that shield" Dorian chuckled and interrupted.

"He isn't wrong Inquisitor, most of the mages in Tevinter would rather easily beat our southern friends, we simply have more experience fighting one another and if you account Nat's previous wartime experience then it doesn't sound so farfetched. Competent" Dorian admitted at the end. "Definitely a fast learner but prodigies in Tevinter aren't considered such unless they can fight to a certain standard. Something our young friend is rather familiar with" Valeyna went to argue with Dorian but seeing how the man was simply smiling and Nat was agreeing with him she decided not to as there would be no point. Despite this though she glanced at Nat giving both a respectful look and one of thanks, perhaps she should ask him to teach her to fight like that, if she was going to be fighting more mages in future it would be an idea to have some kind of expert show her what to.

"Okay, so what will our first plan of action be," Nat asked as he focused his attention onto the large ornate building that they were heading to.

"I thought we would look at the university, see what these Orlesian believe they understand" Nat raised an eyebrow at the arrogant tone of Dorian. He liked the man yes but did he seriously believe that Tevinter was more knowledgeable than the one lone country that had bothered to set up a university. In magic he could believe that, but in normal science, he had heard Leliana mention something about some type of circles that showed the very hand of the maker, it was ridiculous notion, no amount of shapes and colours indicated a god, but if what he had heard, if the style of these shapes, found in so many different things were correct then the professors here it appeared had stumbled upon the Golden ratio.

"We're here to investigate a thief and murderer Dorian, not read books"

"Oh, I would have thought that you of all people would have like to spend more time here" Dorian commented knowing Nat's proclivity for reading his books. Everywhere the second in command of the Inquisition went there was always a book with him, whether it was on noble houses, politics, history, technology or something else Nat always had at least one book on him and would regularly read if given a chance to something that was considered all the more impressive given his duties..

"I would that is true, the ability to wander through a university, to sit on lessons and hear how this country is advancing would indeed be an experience Dorian, perhaps one I might do once the war is over, but for now I have people to track down" Valeyna hummed quietly to herself at the prospect hiding both her amusement and silent horror at the idea of what Nat and Dorian were proposing. She may not have been as anti book as Sera may have been what with her constant complaints of reading and wasting too much time in paper and ink rather than spending it in the real world where they could do something with their time, but she wasn't so off the mark that she would enjoy spending an inordinate amount of time simply sitting down just so she could read.

"How can you bear to sit down for so long just reading, doesn't it ever get boring, don't you ever want to go outside and do something? Go out for a run maybe, take in the sights, smell some roses, maybe even catch some food or practise with a bow and arrow" Nat quirked an eyebrow.

"A run," Nat asked amused. "I do that already but it doesn't mean that I enjoy it"

"You don't? but you go running every day" Dorian commented noting how often in the morning Nat would leave the warm confines of the castle and instead proceed to run in the wind and ice swept mountains that they were stranded in. He was never in much danger as he preferred to stick to well-known paths lest he comes under attack or anything occur thus allowing people to easily find him.

"It doesn't mean I enjoy it, Dorian, it's something that I have to do to stay in top form, and it's the same with my sword or magical training. I get no joy out of it but nonetheless I do it, and the same is for the paperwork, I do it because it has to be done and I can lessen the pressure of Leliana and the others, but it doesn't mean I attack it with some great enthusiasm, it's simply work"

"Then what do you enjoy, other than reading" Valeyna inquired.

"Combat" Nat answered easily. "Proper combat mind you, not the mock training or anything I mean combat where your life is on the line, where every decision you make has consequences, where you can feel the atmosphere in the air and when you're close to death should you do something wrong"

"Don't you enjoy anything else" Valeyna sounded with alarm. "Some sort of sports, perhaps" Nat laughed slightly and turned to the Inquisitor though he didn't break his quick stride.

"Well, apart from duelling I don't care for sport in any manner. I neither watched or attended it, I found it rather dull, football, rugby, basketball, quidditch, it doesn't matter what it was other sport has just never interested me, as odd as it sounds"

Dorian blinked. "Why would it be odd" Nat smiled at the question.

"Well sport was quite big at home, in fact, it was often considered a religion especially a football so when I told others that I didn't support any team whatsoever and never once bothered to turn on a channel it shocked to them, some even ostracised me for it though I didn't really care. I have no interest in talking about how a group of people kicked a ball around a field for an hour and a half" He smiled again. "It's why I like the idea of visiting the university, had it been under different circumstances I could easily see myself stopping for a few days and asking questions, reading books... getting into debates. Unfortunately, we have business to attend to"

"Well we could always delay finding the thieves," Valeyna said slowly. Nat turned and levelled a stern glare at her but before she could talk Valeyna pushed her hands out in front of her defensively indicating that she should be allowed to speak for a little bit longer. "Not by much, of course, we have to find the thief, but while we're here I don't see a problem with looking into a few lessons at least when we return from our investigations"

"You hear that Nat, we can spend our free time in the library if we want, just make sure our work is done" Dorian cried hoping to see some kind of small excited look anything so long as it would take his friends mind's of the problem of Corypheus, yet much to his silent dismay Nat simply shook his head and stated that it was fine if they did so but in the meantime he would prefer to continue with the responsibility and not allow the enemy to recover and discover more than necessary about their identities.

"Oh come off it, they aren't going to send anyone immediately in after the explosion, it could be days weeks before we even get a hint. If it was me I would at least wait a couple of days until the investigation had dissipated, going in now is only going to raise suspicion. Besides we're at the university I'm sure there's bound to be something written down here that you could use, family lineages, politics, there are even all the young noble brats you could ask."

"Maybe" Came the stern and emotionless response of the young wizard. He did have to inquire more about these servants, most of the other rich kids here were bound to have elf servants who waited on them hand and foot, fetching books carrying them food and dinner, providing some kind of tension relief, whether through violence or other more repugnant means. Some of those servants were bound to have connections to other families and were he to gain their favour and allow him to inquire more about potential rebellions or other families then just maybe he might be able to get onto the right track that was if he didn't go after the true source.

"You're not planning on relaxing are you," Valeyna said recognising that look of concentration on her face. She sighed to herself, what would it take to actually get him to unwind, a shower perhaps, maybe a nice summers day, surely he couldn't be like this all the time, so strict so rigid and so focused on his work, he had to do something for fun that didn't involve sitting down and reading some dusty old tome about some random piece of knowledge or fictional story, he had to have a life. Yet as much as she liked to imagine him talking with others his age perhaps even enjoying a summers day she just could not see it happening, where she would relax perhaps if she was lucky as her clan had been in the past to simply go to a nearby sea and wade into the water cooling off, she could still see him going about his business as though the weather did not exist in the slightest.

"No, not with the war on, I can't afford to"

"Nat you have to take time off at some point, even f it's only a few hours if you keep working you'll work yourself into a grave"

"Better that then more people being killed because I decided to take a break" Valeyna recoiled at the small amount of venom in his voice, his tone had been commanding almost derogatory as though he was judging her for her more carefree life, saying that she was reckless for not working. She wanted to scowl for a moment, tell him that she was doing her best but that getting angry over things she couldn't control was not a good idea, yet even as the words came to her she could only feel a sense of pity rise in her chest. Quietly she went to lay a gentle hand on his shoulder and for a moment she actually managed to touch it, to squeeze through the fabric to the hard muscle underneath but it was only for a moment, one moment she was enjoying herself and the next she felt her arm gripped tightly before then violently thrown away and a hateful look directed at her that sent shivers down her spine.

"Nat it wasn't you're fault, you weren't in charge of those men you couldn't have known that this was going to happen"

"No, I wasn't in charge of those men" Nat admitted. "But I am responsible all the same, I was the one who agreed on the order with Leliana, it was y choice to put them where they were and they are dead. Tell me how that is not my fault, my responsibility"

"And how would that have changed, we both know that it doesn't matter who you put in that group they would all be dead anyway, it wouldn't have changed anything, there's no need to get angry"

"Angry," Nat said softly his voice almost a whisper like a gentle wind on a hot summer's day. "I'm not angry inquisitor; if I were... there would be a lot more bodies. I'm concerned, this threat needs putting down like the rabid animals they are and the same is Corypheus and that cannot be done if everyone is taking breaks when they feel a small amount of pressure every time a problem appears. Besides what does relaxing do anyway it doesn't solve the problem, by taking time off the enemy isn't going to sit down and be like "okay Nat's taking a break how about we leave him alone to recover" No they will attack and kill more people, causing misery, creating more widows, and orphans and everything else. Relaxing does bugger all" Nat didn't shout but it was clear from his words that he was still getting irritated Valeyna noted in a concerted manner. Relaxing simply puts off solving the problem to another day; it's laziness a lack of responsibility."

"Woah Nat just relax, we'll get the thief we'll bring them to justice but we first need to be in the correct state of mind, you know perfectly that if you have emotion running all through you. You're going to make a mistake"

Nat span on his heel a retort ready to be lasted off, instead though he simply sighed accepting that he would not win any further argument. With that done he raised his head and sped past the others racing towards the gates of the university.

He had enemies to butcher.


	29. Chapter 29 Hidden Enemies

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

Note at the bottom.

 **Chapter 29 A Hidden Enemy**

Purple eyes stared silently at the smoking ruin that lay before them. Nothing was left, all had been destroyed, the wooden timber that had once made up both the floor and the walls of many of the rooms of this old dwelling was now nothing but grey ash, floating carelessly in the wind as a small breeze took action. The stone that had made up the foundation of the place was cracked and torn down, leaving a pile of rubble that covered those few wooden poles and support that did remain, as well as several crushed bodies of those who had not been able to stay safe. Others the owner of the eyes noted had suffocated to death as they had barricaded themselves in what they had believed to have been a safe location only to find them tapped with nowhere to sleep.

Most had burned to death. A rather horrid fate Nat knew, he had inflicted it enough time on his enemies, watched as people writhed in flames as thief flesh caught alight cooking them alive, it was not a peaceful thing, nobody he had met was able to simply grit their teeth as they were brutally burned and those who did were often traumatised as they smelt their kindred, the smell of burning flesh was not a pleasant one to experience.

Even now with the enchantment that lay over him and the Inquisitor as they watched the remains of this building entirely in silence, could he imagine the stench of death that lingered here, festering for all nearby people to take in the sight and scent? He shook his head slightly and closed his eyes pushing back the growing sense of resentment that threatened to take over as he did so.

"They acted quickly" He finally said.

"It's only been a few hours, where could they have gone in that time, the city was on lockdown" Valeyna replied before then brushing a piece of hair that had blown in her face out of the way. A fire had taken hold last night in the city, when and where exactly the fire started nobody knew, all that people were aware of was that it had started rapidly, without warning and any indication, burning homes, warehouses and anything else in its path down, only stopping in the early hours of the morning when the local mages had been able to beat it back and finally kill it with the full might of their magic, yet in that time, thousands lay dead.

All around them in every direction they could hear people of all types moving across the city, their feet cracking and yawning as they moved, tears could be heard from those who simply stared in horror at the situation mourning for their loved ones, while others Valeyna had simply witnessed as they collapsed to their knees and remained silent. Even now in the early hours of the morning, she could still sense the fear and trepidation in people's eyes, first an attack and then thousands dead in a major fire. Val Royeux was mostly unhurt, the damage had been contained and to the lower less rich areas of the city, a blow for certain, but now one that the lords and ladies were going to mourn for apart form that lost bit of coin that they might have invested or for some servant who might have met a terrible fate.

"Magic" Nat said quietly like a small whisper on a day with howling winds, the words barely escaped him yet Valeyna felt a nasty shiver run down her back as though she was back in the frostback mountains when she woke up, before she could ask for any other information, however, Nat simply walked forwards into the remains of the old tavern. "The enemy has mages on their side, powerful well-trained mages, there's no way that this fire could have been so lethal so quickly"

"And how do you know that," Valeyna asked quickly placing her hands on her hips in doubt. "You may be good with magic Nat, but I know how to track and trust me a fire can spread that quickly through a city, I've seen it happen before" Nat didn't say anything instead laying but a soft hand on one of the blackened beams, it gave a small sound for a moment before then after applying a little bit more force, Nat heard it crack weakly and fall to the ground beside him, smashing the floor with no small amount of force and behind a large dust cloud of ash all over the place.

"Nat" Valeyna whined. Calling upon the power of the fade, she felt that familiar energy on the other side of the veil, calling to it she allowed it to rush forward enveloping her in a friendly blanket taking the shape she desired in her mind flowing like water before then in an instant she released it into the air watching as a small gust of wind was sent from the open palm sending the ash in all directions with great speed, dispersing it enough so that she could now see the blackened floor that creaked below them. "What do we do?"

Nat stopped and glanced down at his feet, there just to the right, lay the charred husk of what had once been a person, whether they were man or woman or even elf or human he could not tell, for the disfigurement prevented all such recognition. "Our enemy was thorough" He answered turning his head away and moving towards where he expected the area that bartenders had served their drinks to be located.

"They could have simply retrieved the information and left, perhaps even kill the bartender if they wanted to make sure, but they didn't. Instead, they caused a fire that naturally gained the attention of all the guards, drawing them from their post enabling them to walk free in the city without restraint while also removing any possible witnesses to the scene. It was risky, had they been caught they could have been killed, however going by how easy they had not they must either have access to routes other don't or hold an exceptional ability to hide in plain sight."

"You said magic was involved" Valeyna interrupted suddenly her eyes following her companion to a slightly raised piece of blackened wood. "I don't detect any though, not one trace" Nat bent down ignoring her for the moment. Gently he moved his left hand towards some of the remaining ash that had not been blown away, noticing an odd pattern in it and then gently prodded it. A light echo resounded, not something large Nat knew, but it was most certainly an indication that there was something beneath this place.

"No, neither did I" Drawing his wand Nat flicked it once at the small pile of ash creating a small but powerful enough wind to blast away the ash until the area in front of him was entirely barren of it allowing him to see the floor beneath and more vitally the untouched almost shiny wood beneath that. Nat blinked at the wood, it was oddly unique, rubbing his hand against it, he could feel nothing different to any other wood, it was hard as wood was, had been well worked or it appeared to be, yet despite this as he looked at the strange bit of wood not entirely sure what he was looking at. "Odd, this bit here hasn't been touched at all, but I can't detect any magic off it, if that even means anything anymore" Valeyna turned at the comment, her attention focused on what her friend had managed to find only for her eyes to grow wide in astonishment and shock.

"That's ironbark" She proclaimed in wonder before her eyes then blinked. "But how did it end up here"

"Ironbark?" Nat questioned as he touched the intact wood. Valeyna nodded quickly.

"Yes it's a rare type of wood, only found in the heart of certain forests, it's incredibly rare"

"I assume it has some small amount of value"

"Value" Valeyna stated in shock. "Ironbark is incredibly valuable, any clan that has ironbark on them often makes no small amount of money from selling them onto other clans when they meet, even then only the richer clans and especially the head hunters or Keepers have such a thing if they purchase it."

"Understood, that might help us solve our little problem, there's no way that the tavern owner would have been able to afford the wood on her own which meant that she was either given a loan or given it to guard something by the Dalish as by the sound of things only they know where this ironbark is from"

"That makes sense, but I can't think what would be so valuable to one of our clans that they would hide it in a city and under ironbark by the gods if the tavern owner had known how valuable it was she could have lived comfortably the rest of her life had she sold it."

"Information perhaps, but I didn't think the Dalish involved themselves in the affairs of human cities to keep attention away from them"

"You're right, if we had people coming in and out of the city, they would be recognised instantly and there's no way that a tavern owner could simply leave without anyone noticing. Maybe they were looking after something, like a jewel or weapon" Valeyna commented staring at the still perfectly intact piece of ironbark, for a moment she debated on asking whether she should ask Nat to remove it carefully and drag it with them, ironbark was rare and though she did have batter equipment than before, she could still very much see the use in a light piece of armour made of the stuff, and especially so since she would not have to pay for the material.

"Maybe, but the ironbark speaks to a more permanent thing being in place, one or two bits of information or the occasional favour yes, but this is designed to last against fire, damage and I would assume it would be difficult to spot, perhaps even blend in with the rest of the floor to such a degree that nobody would even know it was here. We're likely dealing with something far bigger here" Nat said certainly.

"What do you think that could be, the Dalish have no reason to come into Orlais it would be suicide, it's bad enough for elves here but one of my kind staying here for that long would draw too much attention" She was most certainly correct Nat knew, Dalish had the tendency to stand out amongst people if only because that they made themselves blinding obvious to the rest of the world just who they were with those tattoos they sported. It wasn't exactly the smartest plan he thought, on one hand, he got the reasoning behind never giving in and letting you culture die, it was admirable even, but there was a lack of practicality to it, a sense of limitation that they had placed themselves in. Were it him, he would have had the Vallaslin on somewhere that could be hidden more easily, beneath a shirt so that in private it may be shown off whether to family or friends, but in public allow him to move unhindered and blend in with the crowd.

"I can speculate" Nat replied though even Valeyna could tell that such reasons were not entirely certain in his mind as well. Were it not for the ironbark, he might have thought differently and not involved the Dalish, but even then there was no certainty that the Dalish were involved? There was no law against clans selling weapons made of ironbark were they to be in major financial trouble and it had been done before, but to find it in the tavern made no sense and its location was also suspect. "Perhaps the Dalish are planning a rebellion, maybe they plan to enter the war, or perhaps they have instead been spurred into action by something"

"Do you think it's Corypheus, there's bound to be word spread about him by now in which case certain clans might have spies in the city to keep watch for any news?" Valeyna asked drawing her staff towards the ironbark hatch. Once Nat had removed himself she quickly applied a little pressure and telekinetically pulled the ironbark of its hinge's with a loud snap and moved its hovering form through the air and placed it on the side.

"The idea does hold merit, no doubt Corypheus holds the Dalish in more contempt then others combine that with the general distrust of the population and you have a powder keg ready to go off. If I were them I would prefer to pay a few people I could trust and keep valuable notes safe until somebody could run them across, perhaps a trader or someone else who could leave the city without much suspicion, especially in this war."

"In that case we should meet up with any local clans, I know that there is at least one which generally stays in the area but with Corypheus more could be around hoping that by staying nearby Orlais they can use the Empresses soldiers to their use and you can use your magic to find any clustering of Dalish via my Vallaslin" Though she expressed it with some small amount of joy if only because after months of being away from her people she would now finally be able to say hello to some of them, there was also an ounce of fear and weariness that echoed in her tone, one which even though the Inquisitor trusted her friend dearly, could not help but think about what would happen were her friend to turn against her and her people, using his grand powers to see them eradicated.

It was a concern in all honesty; all ready Nat could find every elf in the world if he wanted to, was Corypheus to gain that power, he could wipe them out, find their hideouts and their clans and wipe them out for good. And even then were her people to join together in some vain attempt of safety in numbers, such an amount would only draw the ire of other nobles and hence their knights upon them. All the same, though she could hide with other elves were it needed, but the ability to use her peoples Vallaslin, the very symbol of the resistance of their freedom to destroy them was a nightmare, one she didn't know her people could recover from when they had already lost so much.

She glanced at him carefully an analysing look going through her eyes, could she trust him in such a thing. The moment she revealed other Dalish to him was the moment she revealed every other pattern of Vallaslin and left the door open for him to track them all. She took a deep breath in for a moment and smiled, yes she did trust him, Nat hadn't led her wrong before, he was trustworthy and could do whatever was needed to make sure that not only her people would survive but that he wouldn't abuse the gift of trust he would be bestowed upon.

"When do you advise we leave?" Nat said standing up. The hole that the ironbark had been covering was empty, there were no contents, only a small stone hall that could not have stored anything substantial at most only a few small things here and there but could have easily hidden vital information that somebody may have wanted that was now destroyed.

"Now, though it's probably best to leave Cole and Dorian in the car given that-"

"Given the fact that one's a Tevinter mage and the other is often considered a demon, yes I understand. I also assume that my young age will be a benefit and thus they will consider me less of a threat and help lower defences" Valeyna nodded and then smiled.

"You haven't met my people have you," She said. Nat nodded in confirmation.

"In that case, it may be best to leave Dorian and Cole to set a watch whilst we are gone, should anything occur whilst we're gone it could be problematic"

"No" Valeyna refused faster than Nat had even finished halfway as her fingers quivering at her side appeared t grab a dagger. "Nat I almost died yesterday, were it not for you I would be dead, but how do we know the enemy doesn't already know we're here. If we leave them alone they could be killed in the night or gods forbid expelled in the academy, we both know that Dorian won't be able to stay here long without your help" Nat nodded in agreement, as intelligent as the man was, Dorian grew bored of the university he could see, of course, it was to be expected, the man's dramatic persona made him rather loud and obnoxious at times and his flirting did not help, especially when it came to rich noble girls who were repulsed by his less than stellar attitude. At times it was all Nat could do to leave the girls alone and why he was glad he went under his Alexander disguise, Merlin knew if he didn't' his reputation would be in shambles.

"Okay, in that case, we simply have to worry about leaving the city, what with it being locked down and all. I don't suppose that you know of some method do you" Valeyna smiled, of course, she knew a way in and out of Orlais, what type of Dalish would she be if she could not leave the city whenever she needed to even if there was a problem leaving via the main doors.

"Of course, we'll just have to be careful, for the past year it's been more guarded than before, don't know why, but it happened suddenly"

"I should be able to disguise us well enough and I can shrink the car so we can reach the Dalish soon enough, I'm just concerned "Though he didn't say it Nast couldn't help but once again think back to the dead bodies up there, butchered and slaughtered without any sort of fight. How it had been done he didn't know but it was terrifying all the same. "However I think I can rely on you to make sure that nothing goes wrong" She then said confidently.

"Nice to know I've so trusted" Quipped Nat hiding his contempt at having to use such muggle methods to hide his presence, was he on his own or revealed his powers then he could simply leave and nobody could stop him, but that would draw attention and hasten the enemies plans with the Eluvians. Even now he knew that the revelation of the car would change the strategic nature of the enemy since when news hit that the Inquisitor could likely reach nearly all of the continent by the most distant place in the span of a day, the enemy would feel pushed and their requirement of speed would hasten all the father. "Anyway if we need to leave quickly, you best grab Cole and Dorian, bring them to a safe place and stay there whilst Ill get the car. I should be able to use my magic to track you" Valeyna shuddered at the thought of tracking and her eyes glanced down to her left hand.

There were no green sparks of lightning emanating from it, she breathed a sigh of relief and considered it for a moment. Splitting up wasn't the wisest plan but even she could tell that there was a need for speed and Nat could handle himself. Biting her lip she then though reluctantly nodded her head giving him permission to leave, which he did in an instant.

"Just stay safe" She warned however Nat gave no response as he had already turned around and was now heading swiftly away from her.

"Dam these politics" She spat angrily at the dust-covered floor only to then start coughing loudly as she felt the small tiny particles rush through her open mouth and catch on the inside of her throat ticking it constantly and causing a horrid sensation.

It didn't take long for Nat to reach the car, in fact, it only took mere moments as the very second he had left the line of sight of all nearby people it became a case of apparating back to where he had left the car. He smiled slightly when he saw it, the vehicle was still in good condition, the paint still shiny, the glass perfectly smooth and un-cracked and the wheels were now caked in mud and horrid things even if one might have expected such a thing because of what they had travelled in. Getting in he proceeded to wait for a decent amount of time that would not arise suspicion before finally heading off to meet the rest of the group again.

Turning the corner he was happy to see that Valeyna and the others were waiting there, unharmed though going by the expression that was on the Inquisitors face, she was no doubt bored of having to simply sit and wait for him to turn up. Once her eyes caught sight of him though they brightened like a set of gems that had had a streak of sunlight going through them and she moved quickly towards him.

"Do you have it?" She asked

"Of course, you think I wouldn't" Valeyna shook her head and smiled, of course, she held Nat and his abilities in high regard, but all the same her mind focused back on the mages who had nearly killed them. Even now she didn't exactly believe him on that point, not that it mattered she quickly grabbed Nat's hand walked him towards the others before then commanding them to follow her.

It didn't take long to escape the city, the use of this certain passageway combined with the magic of their local wizard quite literally allowed then to walk without panicking much to the amusement of everyone, especially when Dorian in his brashness had waved his hand at a few guards as though he was saying hello. Once that was done the group were then easily enough able to find a place that wasn't so exposed outside the castle walls where the shrunken car was rapidly made full size, this time though there was no fight as Dorian had once again managed to position himself correctly thus leaving not even the slightest amount of chance for the Inquisitor to take the front seat. Soon after the group of four drove off quickly in the direction of the nearest set of elves

Getting into the heart of the forest wasn't that difficult, the speed of a car was unmatched even when slowed down by thick foliage and the fact that the wizard had no intention of showcasing that this thing could fly if he so chose to.

"That's strange, there should be scouts around now" Her gaze fell sternly upon the trees they passed and those in front, a normal person would be far less likely to notice a Dalish hunter when they were stalking through the woods, her people's way of life had necessitated a certain amount of stealth, especially for hunting though more vitally for escaping the clutches of a bunch of shemlen when they dared attack allowing for her people to launch a tactical defence and ambush.

"Can't you see anything" Unlike the Inquisitor who relied heavily upon her training and thus could point out the small little inaccuracies or the way the birds moved or perhaps just a slight noise to enable her to see any possible scouts, Nat instead relied heavily upon magic. In a moment the normally darker vision that he saw in thus reducing the general amount of light he saw vanished and was instead replaced by a vision of mainly black.

Heat vision, though not as good as anything a professional military may have had, the spell he had applied to his glasses worked brilliantly enough and without any trouble, he could see all the different animals that were nearby as they glowed like a bright white as the heat that their bodies produced. It was rather brilliant and the speed in which he was able to go from animal to animal counting what was there, and analysing the threats had Valeyna in a bit of awe as she could not keep up even with her greater experience.

"What are you using," The woman asked interested in just how she had been beaten.

"Heat vision" Nat replied just as quickly. "If anything's alive it'll be white and if it isn't black"

"That's amazing, can you see anything" The shaking of Nat's head sent a horrid feeling down into the churning stomach of Valeyna. There should have been scouts by now, even if was just one who may have been on there way back to be relieved after a long shift, yet there as absolutely nobody watching the forest something made all the worse was that they were approaching via an obvious direction and method with no attempts at subtlety. "I don't like this, Nat speed up if you can and don't bother about finding somewhere to park, we'll just drive straight into camp"

"So you want us to drive into the heart of a camp of people who despise me, Wonderful" Dorian commented dryly. "I assume you hold the fear that someone is planning on attacking these Dalish"

"Yes" Valeyna admitted honestly, if whoever set fire to the Whore last night was anything to go by then it's not unexpected that they might come after the Dalish if they were the ones responsible for giving her the material to protect documents"

"Yes but how do we know that the Dalish are the ones involved, I've seen more than a number of mages back home who have used the material for their staff, for all we know it could have been one of Corypheus's pawns who was responsible, not some random elves" Valeyna scowled at the Dorian's comment and more vitally the horrid reminder of her peoples past, it wasn't fair that those Tevinter bastards got to use Ironbark, had they not taken enough from the people already, now they had to take one of the only resources they had reliable access to them, and worse make them into staffs the symbol of not only a mages power and control over magic, but of their believed superiority of elves.

"They are not random, they are my kin," She said deeply. "They should not hurt you while you are with me" She then added hoping to relieve her friend of his worries.

"And I'm sure they just going to throw a party for us and give us all cake and nice party hats where we'll all dance around in a happy circle singing songs and talking about how happy we are to be united. No, I still think it would be best if we approach the camp on foot, showcase we mean no harm at least compared top whatever they think this vehicle be, most likely they will freak out and call it some perversion of the fade and try to slay it"

"I hope not, I just got the bloody thing cleaned the other day," Nat said patting the steering wheel gently as though it were a small child who he was trying to comfort so much so that Valeyna gave him a queer look. "Long story" Nat chuckled. "A few years ago somebody had enchanted a car and for whatever reason it became intelligent, suffice to say the last thing I want is her trying to kill me for no good reason, I have to take good care of her especially after Orzammar" Tapping the car again in a good-natured fashion Nat wondered for a moment if it might be worth taking the car for another repair and clean soon.

"Cars can become alive," Cole asked in a monotone voice yet there was a slight amount of curiosity as he spoke and when he looked at the vehicle Nat could have sworn that even if we're only briefly that whatever Cole was had just attempted to communicate with it.

"In theory, anything can. It's not exactly easy mind you, there isn't just some random spell and bang something's alive, the general consensus is that an item or a place has to be so utterly saturated with magic that it seeps into it slowly giving birth to a sort of life"

"Really? how large can you get" Nat shrugged his shoulders at Dorian's question as he drove the car up yet another bumpy hill, thankfully the suspension took the strain and the group only felt a small amount of discomfort?

"No clue, I would guess it depends on the thing in question, it's pretty much guaranteed that the larger it is the more magic would be required. And before you ask no I haven't seen of such a thing mind you at least not with my own eyes and ears, though I have heard tales mind you."

"What kind of tales," Dorian asked glad to have some kind of subject that did not relate to the boring topic of more people being killed or investigating a bunch of Dalish who lived in the woods just so they could see if they have any clues about some money that had been stolen. Nat sighed for a moment and once again checked the normal map he had out in front of him where he had conjured a small arrow to where the location spell had pinpointed the large bunch of Dalish. It would be at least another half-hour he reckoned mostly because he was slower in the forest then a person given that unlike the forests back home where they had been farmed, these were not so and thus no straight paths to drive down.

"Apparently some people have said that my old school had an avatar, they didn't say much, only that they were young about the same age as the seventh years though it has been said that they could look younger or older and the same with gender and race as odd as it sounds, as if the castle was taking the form of whatever would best comfort you and put you at ease. Nobody really knows, and everybody describes it differently, names, location, nobody can remember what it looked like exactly at least when they try to draw it and even when others have attempted to do so from accounts the pictures don't add up. Even its personality changes though the latter can likely be explained by the fact that as a place of education if it did exist the avatar would know what forms of communication would work best with every single student"

"If it does, you've never met it?" Valeyna said slowly trying to mentally imagine some sort of young person, likely a few older than Nat and probably wearing mage robes.

"Sounds a bit like a demon" Dorian commented carefully.

"No, I haven't met it so I can't confirm its existence and without evidence for it to be proved other than testimony from other people, I can only conclude that it isn't. Though I will agree with you that it's creepy, as for being a demon however, who knows" Nat hid another shudder at the thought of Hogwarts having some kind of demon in it, the castle was ancient over a thousand years old so it made sense to have something happen to it in that time, yet when he thought back to the stories when Potter had attended, tales of Philosopher's stones, Chamber of Secrets and Basilisks that lay within, it became disturbingly clear that something else could be hiding in those old stone walls, something nobody even knew off. "Anyway, Hogwarts isn't the only thing that has supposedly been personified, so has Death"

"Death, as in like a god," Valeyna said thinking about Dirthamen of her pantheon.

"No as in literal death, not some type of god who merely presides over it"

Okay, why"

"Well if the stories are anything to go by, it's either allegory or someone manages to do something that pisses it off enough that it has to intervene"

"It?"

"Depends, some people think it's a dark-skinned man wearing a suit and tie and other's think it's a beautiful pale woman with skin as white as snow and hair that supposedly takes in all light like a black hole, apparently she makes all other forms of beauty feel sad simply by being in her presence. Don't ask, even before the destruction philosophers were still wondering if the person was suffering from mental disabilities or was simply insane. Suffice to say the latter depiction has been becoming more popular as of late, if only because of the deviant artists that are about" Nat said slowly rolling his eyes as he remembered as a random discussion between some younger students.

"And you, do you think death is real, the avatar I mean"

"Merlin I hope not, when I die I want it to be over with, the last thing I want to do is watch whatever happens to my corpse and have some tirade flung at me. Thankfully though I'll never know as the only person who would have clues is very much dead himself, though let's just say he stays dead this time, there's something seriously wrong if that bastard can survive that curse three bloody times"

"Who"

"Old head of the DMLE, suffice to say he has a reputation of doing the impossible especially regarding death, can't say I'd be surprised that if death does exist that they won't be too happy with them. And before you ask, DMLE stands for Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Oh so the Aurors then"

"Partly, the Aurors were part of it but you also had the Hit wizards and anyone else who had a job relating to law. But anyway back to business, I still can't find any scouts, Valeyna, do you still want to drive in"

"Yes "Valeyna confirmed without hesitation though Nat caught the worried look that flashed quickly across her face, she was concerned obviously but this much about a clan she may have only met in passing a few times was a bit odd. Either way, he shrugged his shoulders and carried onto the camp making sure his wand and one of his pistols was nearby just in case"

When the car finally stopped, it wasn't inside a camp but rather a large clearing in the forest. Large and cleared of a great many trees leaving while not a large area, a place that could easily be defended by the people should the need arise. In the centre of the camp, as they drive they noticed a large and deep hole, it was an odd hole, perfectly square with a few bits of gravel around the side.

"This is where the main fire would have been," Valeyna's said in a concerned tone, suddenly her eyes flashing to this large clearing. The place was unusually empty, no aravels, no elves and no Halla. There were traces definitely, scorch marks from fire, some pieces of timber fence where at one point the Halla had obviously been put and in the ground in certain places were pieces of feather and fur where it would have been stripped of an animal and possibly put to work as being a meal for anybody who would so desire. Arrowheads could be seen littering an area a bit further away on the edge of the camp as well as some leftover strings.

"This isn't right" Valeyna muttered softly as she picked up a knife that had been trampled into the dirt. Inspecting it she came to see that it was a regular hunting knife, nothing special, at least compared to what the Orlesian nobility may have carried buy all the same it was something that would not simply be discarded, the punishment and shame for losing one's weapon for a hunter would have been ridiculous. Standing up, she moved back towards the camp until she came across one of many light green patches of land. "An aravel would have been here, but it doesn't make sense, these large grooves would not normally be made, not unless the clan had to leave urgently"

"How quickly can a clan pack up and leave?" Nat spoke softly his attention focused on a piece of fallen rock, it appeared to be some kind of statue of some likely belonging to a god of some sort through which one he couldn't have said.

"It depends, the type of land we're at the size of the clan, what the weather is and how dangerous the threat is that we're facing, but looking at how things are now, the speed in which they left, I can only guess an hour maybe two. We prefer not to leave any trace of us being here, it makes it harder for people to pursue us and it also ensures that whatever clans that may come after will find the place in good standing"

"That is indeed troubling," Nat said grimly. "We only recently decided to travel here, would like to say that the Dalish had no warning of our surprise visit, but given these circumstances, I am unfortunately not able to even deny such a thing."

"But how would they have received the word, this was rushed far too rushed as though something was about to get them and there was no time for things?" Continuing her inspection of the camp Valeyna continued to feel a horrid sinking feeling made itself known in the bottom of her stomach though every moment she stepped forth taking in mistake after mistake it only grew worse. There were far too many problems with this campsite, far too many clues that gave away that whatever happened here had not occurred normally as even a rushed job would provide fewer clues then this.

True to an outsider there was not much evidence that they had even been here, only a few arrowheads here and there, some burnt marking where the grand fire had sat and some lighter than average grass where the sun had not shown for many a time, but to her she could only see the many pieces of odd stone, wood chips from the crafters who would have worked diligently crating new bows, the turned earth where useful flowers for herbs and poisons might have been placed, small holes where there were likely once plans to install newly built fences to keep their area secure and make it easier to patrol the area. The most obvious clues of Dalish activity were the large stone pillars that fallen down into the mud sinking in and covering nearly entirely with only the very topmost bits of the expanded plinth being visible, yet it was enough.

Concentrating on the stone pillar she called upon the fade focusing her mind on the ever-moving energies and river of power that lurked just behind the surface of the world, calling it towards her shaping it to her desire and doing her best to ignore the whispers that ever since Corypheus seemed louder than ever. With a wave of her hand, she picked up the stone statue and lifting it out of the mud that it had fallen in, turned it upwards before then planting it softly back on the ground. Though still thoroughly covered Valeyna recognised that shape on top and for a moment she scowled in anger at the ever-familiar symbol of the Dread Wolf.

"So why did they leave you behind" She questioned feeling a strange sense of anger wash over her as she stared at where she knew to be those dammed eyes. It made no sense to abandon Fen Harel even as he was the one who had dammed them the lesson of keeping his presence with them at all times to remind them that they must forever be on their guard was an important one, perhaps the most important one she realised as her eyes gazed upwards past the tall thicket of trees into the grey cloudy sky to where she could that spot that even now sealed left a scar upon the landscape.

"Ah so this is the infamous dread wolf, trickster god and destroyer of civilization" Dorian jested as he approached and allowed his eyes to wander for a moment before then returning towards the Inquisitor. "Your people believed that a wolf of all things was responsible for the end of civilization" Valeyna nodded solemnly.

"Yes, he tricked both out gods and the Forgotten ones into the Great Beyond laughing as he did so and preventing them from interfering when the humans came"

"An interesting story, though an unlikely one," Dorian said chuckling slightly at the idea of some world even perhaps a slightly bigger one having the guile to convince other beings of power into such a situation that they could no longer meddle in the affairs of the world. "After all how could one little wolf do so much, from what I hear your gods were wise and kind, certainly not the type to fall for such a thing, or so I've been told" Dorian added with a hint of a smile hoping to cheer up the Inquisitor and take her mind away from the rather disturbingly barren previous camp area that surrounded them, even as he did so Dorian could not help but allow his eyes to linger on certain spots, almost unnaturally as though there was something nearby though he could not sense it even through magic.

It's actually quite common" Nat said suddenly interrupting the conversation as he casually flipped something amongst his fingers. "Back home there were tales of Loki the trickster god. In the legends, he would play a major part in Ragnarok, the ending of the world if only because he sired a Great wolf called Fenrir who was prophesized to eat the moon amongst another thing".

"You have a prophecy about the ending of the world," Dorian asked his lips quirked in an amused grin.

"You don't" Dorian shook his head. "Oh, in that case, yes we've had loads of different stories about the end of the world, the coming end of the world, great disasters and all that. Call it what you want, A great flood sent by Zeus to wipe out all life, the Apocalypse with the four horseman, Ragnarok where the gods will fight one final battle or even the Aztec one where if I remember correctly they have to keep performing human sacrifice to make sure that the earth itself doesn't eat everyone, though that could be wrong. Trust me stories from mythologies where I'm from have some kind of nearly world end destroying disaster or that humans were better in the past then they were before my day. All bullshit, of course, no evidence for any of it, my people were as advanced as they had ever been"

"But your civilization came to an end," Cole said sadly. "Never again to see, your would is over and Ragnarok occurred"

"Yeah one problem with that Cole, There was no bloody Ragnarok, trust me if I go to sleep one day and there's no moon for no unjustifiable reason then I might consider it was eaten by a giant puppy dog, as it is my people fell into a war due to political, social and ideological issues, not because of a hungry dog. Besides I'm still alive, I can rebuild British Civilization to my own designs if I so wish."

"So sad" Cole repeated.

"Anyway, end of the world due to giant wolves aside, is there any reason why out of all the gods Mr. discount Furry here wasn't taken because seeing as how they took all the others I can't help but wonder if they just forgot him or if something else was playing here" What went unsaid however was just how suspicious it was that it was Fen Harel's statue that had stayed here, his mind flashed back to Solas and is ever curious suspicion that the man was working for this so-called Fen Harel. He had no evidence, of course, Merlin he didn't even know if Fen Harel was simply a stage name, somebody trying to act all cute by taking the name of a deity that was feared amongst the elven pantheon or something else. Athena and Artemis were still used in modern-day girls even amongst muggle's though their popularity waned and heightened at times, thankfully he hadn't met anyone called Aphrodite if only out of all the names it was the most pretentious one to be called in a society so obsessed with sex.

"No, the Keeper of this clan may not have liked it or perhaps they found it too much trouble to move it after it had been initially knocked down, but normally all statues are taken with us" Nat glanced back up at the statue and wondered just how a Dalish clan moved a statue like that with them from place to place.

He drew his wand in a fast and fluent motion ending with a quick flick of his wrist ending the quick cleaning spell and vanishing the mud off the statue so that it could now be seen clearly by the gathered group. It was no great beautiful thing, not at least compared to those old and worn down ruins that they had walked through near Redcliffe from time to time. There were no sharp defining edges, no dark piercing eyes that one might have expected from the creature instead the statues were made of some type of sandstone likely quarried from the Andels and the one who had performed the task was obviously no mason as in all honesty even with his sharper eyesight could he barely work out the shape of the dog that this thing was meant to represent, and it was indeed a dog and not a wolf as no wolf would look so feeble, fat and round. But it was not the quality of the hound that drew his and other's attention, it was the burn mark.

"This is only an hour old" Valeyna commented as she brushed the black soot from the dog. "But why would it have soot on it" She inspected it closer, running her soft delicate fingers around the edge of the strange marking before bringing it to her eyes so that she may see even clearer. Suddenly her eyes widened in understanding.

"It was a fire arrow, but we don't use fire arrows, they don't work well against living targets, not unless they were on a ship or if the target was?" She halted suddenly and like a moth caught to flame her eyes quickly transfixed on their local surroundings upon the green trees that surrounded them as though they were trying to fence them in. "Keep a guard on the trees" She commanded with a sudden rush only to then halt as a strange groaning sound like an old man, but the tone had been changed or sounded through some sort of old horn bellowed loudly but surely from a far off point.

"The trees? don't tell me you want to admire the foliage" Dorian commented mockingly however it was not the Inquisitor who responded and as that strange call washed over him followed swiftly by a gust of wind that knocked him back a few inches did he begin to feel something in the distance. It was old powerful and linked to the Fade, before he could speak again his lips froze silent as there in the distance some sort of strange voice ripped the branches of a number of trees upwards in a strange unnatural way, forcing them to tower before then sweeping suddenly in a way that reminded the mage of a person shaking their body after a long nap only for another one of those guttural deep barking noises to press into him.

"Great, who pissed of the Lorax" Nat asked his eyes falling upon the Inquisitor who like Dorian watched as bit by bit more and more trees began to move in strange ways obviously waking up from some sort of old slumber, before after a few minutes a loud stamp and the sound of large branches moving became incredibly clear to him. Once again he sighed and shook his head. "

Well, there's good news and bad news. The Good news is that at least we now know what likely got your clan to run off wherever they did"

"And the bad news," Valeyna asked as she drew her staff and prepared for battle, they could run was her first thought, but then she remembered that was what her clan had likely attempted as well and one only needed to have a look to see how that had likely worked out. But looking around her she bit her tongue slightly, this wasn't the best place in the world for a deafening location, flat ground in green felids where if her Keepers memories were correct, the spirits that infested these coming monsters would likely command the roots to trip her up and contain her, leaving them in a thorny pen ready to be slowly butchered in the case of the spirit.

"Aren't the Ent's supposed to be the good guys in typical fantasy stuff?" Nat asked casually as ah looked at the incoming and rather angry sounding spirits with a bored look.

"Your point" She bit out sharply already feeling weary of her friend's idle chatter on matters of so little important"

"It appears I'm going to have to make a bit of kindling, please forgive me I know you wood elves are a bit touchy about that stuff"

"Wood elves" Valeyna muttered but it was too late as with the expected speed and proficiency she had come to expect of her friend Nat had already gone onto the offensive in this battle having aimed his wand high into the air in a arc towards the nearest set of quickly approaching branches where with a strange noise she watched as a series of bright red glowing lights shot out the wand at incredible speed and raced through the sky. For a few seconds, she simply watched as that ball of light no bigger than an apple sailed through the air wistfully, only for it to end as the spell shot past one of the many canopies of moving leaves and struck against its target.

With a great burst of blinding orange, yellow and red light Valeyna had to cover her eyes as she witnessed as a great fireball engulfed the target spreading outwards with a hungry fury, large chunks of branches soared upwards for a moment before gravity took hold of them and bring them back towards the ground with force, yet her eyes concentrated on the fire as in as the strange canopy of camouflaged green stopped and the slow eventual march halted with a cry of horrid anger and pain then accompanied with a hurried set of stomping and anger as no doubt the Ent as Nat had called it rushed forward screaming in pain and agony as it gripped it's burning body only to then scram as she imagined it's body being engulfed in flame where it hissed and steamed and then exploded as air escaped until with a final thump, the forest grew silent for a moment and all that could be seen as a set of grey smoke rising up.

Valeyna turned slowly her eyes stinging slightly from the bright light and towards the one who was responsible however she was too slow as in her gazing upon the enemy she had not heard as Nat had cast over two dozen more of the spells and now she could only watch as they two fell like burning arrows of the sky, burning arrows that would no doubt catch alight all things nearby, killing them or burning them intact. She only needed to wait a few moments like the sound of explosions was heard, the sound she knew as spirit infested trees as tough and dangerous and tricky as they were said to be by her Keepers were sent into a terrified retreat as more than half their number quickly caught fire their branches and heads burning like a great many torches and then turned and drew all as one into the direction of where she assumed was the nearest stream or river.

"What," Nat said defensively noticing her stare. "They were likely going to kill us

"Did you have to use fire, you do know there's a chance you caused a major catastrophe"

"Oh yes, what you would have preferred I done use Agent Orange on them, how about I run towards them with an axe or better yet fling boulders or drown them with a flood. Their trees Inquisitor, much easier to burn them out"

"And the forest fire? You do have a plan for how to deal with that" Nat snorted.

"I'm not an idiot Inquisitor the fire I used is a high explosive but quick exhausting type of fire spell, it was designed exactly to clear away forests of unwanted trees in a quick but safe way. Most of those dammed things won't even die, seriously injured very likely, they'll have to sleep for aeons to recover, but trust me the spell is not going to create a forest fire"

"Right, and you just so happen to know a very specific type of spell for this situation?" She said doubtfully obviously not believing Nat that his people would have such a specific spell, after all why not simply use a normal fire spell and control it like her people would, by cutting lines in the forest or trenches or in the more typical tradition of gauzing it in water." Valeyna ended in an incredulous tone, some of the spells that Nat's people hat at their command did indeed seem useful but others seemed incredibly specific including this one, how often would a small society need to deal with trees in such a manner that would only burn specific ones.

"It's actually a gardening spell , you know for removing trees that might have grown in your nice little flower bed without you noticing, but it's dammed useful currently" Valeyna didn't doubt that the hedge line of quickly burning yet surprisingly controlled amount of retreating and dead tree spirits confirmed once again that a strange spell did indeed have it's use's. For a moment she thought of asking just why Nat needed such a spell given that she had not once seen him in gardens or working with potions where it could be of much use, but she decided against it, no doubt Nat knew the spell just because he could and had likely never intended to use it.

"Right, now that we've averted death by demon trees, do we have any chance of being able to track down your clan," Dorian said with an interesting look. He hadn't been too fond of the dog statue, it was too simple, too ugly certainly nothing that would have been allowed back home due to its deformities. "Nat"

"Nothing that would be effective," Nat said dismissing the idea of using any set of fingerprints on the stone to track down these people. The Dalish travelled far too much, going from place to place, touching and eating stuff, trading, they were bound to leave their fingerprints all over the continent and even if they didn't there was no way of knowing if the set he would take would even belong to a person who was alive.

"Can't you try feeling for magic" Valeyna asked him.

"I've already tried; there isn't any magic that I can detect"

"But that doesn't make sense, the Keeper would have left at least some type of magic behind even if it was just by normal spells".

"Except they didn't and there isn't" Nat countermanded as he walked away from the statue of Fen Harel. As he did so though he felt a strange feeling wash over him as though from somewhere he was being watched closely, like a set of stone-cold piercing eyes was desiring to know what he was thinking and where he was going. He glanced back at the wolf expecting the sensation to either lessen or to vanish entirely, as so often those who would use such magical spells would often panic believing that those who they were watching could see them, however nothing changed and he could steel feel their pinning eyes on his back, waiting, assuming for something, whether for him to suggest something or for the group to move.

Next he tried searching the nearby forest, the use of his thermal vision easily enabling him to pick up on the white shapes of deer, rabbits, birds and other creatures including the burning tree spirits as they ran away to the nearest stream, yet there were no human shapes to be seen, nor elves nor anything else that may like to dwell in woods and watch people carefully. Despite this, he kept his guard up and his wand close to his chest with a shield spell on the edge of his lips.

Around him, he felt a slight increase in the wind but the nearby creatures did not response instead, the birds still chirped and the dear still ran with their families and the ents, continued to rush away throwing themselves into what he assumed was water, it was difficult to tell now given the distance.

"Is that even possible, I mean to hide ones magical essence, even if it's only a small thing, there's usually a tiny sliver in magic from where the veil was breached for magic."

"Ah but you forget inquisitor, those little cracks aren't even visible to mages normally, so small are they"

"I know" Valeyna insisted, "But Nat. We all know he has a way for sensing things, if he can't pick something up then there's something wrong"

"More than that" Nat added his eyes again unable to keep still as they continually swept and scanned the area, searching for an enemy that wasn't there. "The only way to hide magic is to it on purpose, now the rush in which these people left would prevent that from the keeper, but that doesn't mean to say that there couldn't have been someone else who managed to hide their presence for anyone searching"

"Okay, but why do that though if the clan is going to leave so much mess, I mean I could very likely-" She stopped all of a sudden before then without warning she stood still and slapped her head so painfully that Dorian winced as the sound echoed out only to stop as an annoyed grumbled came out of the elves mouth shortly. "I've been an idiot, of course, I can track these markings, their easy enough to do."

"Then why didn't we do that from the beginning," Nat said in a monotone voice as he bent down following the Inquisitor's example to look at the footprint. "I assume they went that way," He said looking at the small gentle pattern of feet. It was actually hard to tell, given how the footprints were the tiniest little dainty marks in the floor, something that one would not notice, Even he could only see three of these prints and that was because where he had looked, the ground was slightly deeper and slightly muddier making the imprint much easier to detect, past that however onto the soft green grass below them it was impossible.

"We're much lighter then you are, we don't' lave much of a trace but it's the aravels that confuse me. The clan walked, that is plain and simple to see" She said gesturing at a set of footprints that only she could see thanks to the training she had been given as a child with her clan. "They were in a hurry though there wasn't any danger, there were about sixty in total, a few young children, but most were older then I so an older clan" Rushing forward without warning Valeyna went back into the camp going the opposite direction as she moved from place to place reading the store that surrounded her telling her of both the familiar yet different lives of these Dalish people.

"It was a normal day, the children were playing, for the most part, everybody else was up to their normal activity and the gate guard had returned relatively early. Nothing out of the ordinary except when people came"

"What type" Nat asked suddenly following the Inquisitors gaze as she moved from place to place, telling them a general story about the camps, she told them how the hunters were doing how one f them were slightly injured, about how one person had likely been in trouble with the keeper and how a few others had sat down around the fire in the early morning as they ate leaving small crumbs on the floor.

"Mages, you can tell by the light imprint of the staff and how wherever they were the topmost part of mud seem to have gone. Anyway, that mages came from that position, they then gathered everyone up and they spoke, likely for at least an hour, then I can only assume that however was in charge decided that they were to leave as the footprints leaving back indicate speed and a bit of chaos."

"Magic would explain the aravels," Nat said. "It would b a simple case of floating them out to save speed and I remember you telling me that Halla can be trained to leave very little trace. But why would a bunch of Dalish leave with some mages, you're people aren't exactly the most trusting" He bent down and examined the markings nearby the fire trying to determine what exactly had happened here.

Unfortunately, he was not able to as though there were some crumbs in places there was very little to go off, Valeyna had her gifts he admitted somewhat in an annoyed tone, perhaps he should have read more books on forensics, then again he guessed it would have done him very little.

"We're not which means that whoever came must have either been friendly or an elf, anything else would not have been able to gather a meeting so quickly. To leave with them though, that must have taken great trust, but that doesn't explain why they would have headed farther into the forest, especially in such a rush"

Nat glanced at Dorian, instantly the two of them gave a silent nod to one another, understanding not only why the elves had likely headed father into the forest away from humanity and anyone else.

"We'll have to go farther in then, follow these tracks and hope to locate them for all we know demons could have found them and possessed their leader or tricked the Dalish" Nat without flaw noticing with grim satisfaction how the elven woman's face dropped into one of horror and concern.

"Nat, can the car even go that far in?"

"Yes but not at speed, we'd be best running on foot in all honesty"

"Oh really now" Valeyna said challenge rising in her inflexion and a gleam in your eye, do you think you can catch up" And with that said, Valeyna dashed away in an instant towards the direction that the elves could leave, her long blonde hair whipping behind her as her beautiful eyes shimmer with childlike enjoyment as though she was racing a friend. Stunned By the sudden burst of energy, Dorian stood still and watched he left for a few moments, admiring as her elven lithe form made very short work of all the obstacles as she danced around the trees in the same pattern as an exotic dancer might have, though with far more elegance and an amused cackle that came after. Before Dorian could say anything he was then forced aback as a whoosh of air rushed past him as the younger form of Cole began sprinting behind her though slightly less grace but none the less not struggling in the slightest to catch up. Now left alone with the wizard Dorian had then expected to race Nat through the woods, but instead, he simply watched as Nat sighed for a moment and took a sip of tea that had appeared out of nowhere.

"You're not going to chase after them," Dorian asked.

"You want me to race a wood elf through a forest while she's all happy and gleaming?"

"Good point"

"Besides, I still have to get the car, I'm not exactly going to just leave it here, Merlin knows what will happen if we have to go through the Eluvian when we find it. No best let them go on their merry adventure, besides I want to ask you something"

"Oh do you want to give out your unfailing love for me," Dorian said teasingly enjoying as Nat rolled his eyes but then turned back to the statue of Fen Harel.

"As if, who would ever love your ugly face" Dorian laughed after a few moments and followed him. "Anyway speaking of ugly did you notice the statue, it feels almost"

"Yes there' obviously a spell here, but it can't be detected, that is odd" Nat nodded and focused on the dog. It was incredibly odd, he knew there was a spell on this dog, though he could not feel the presence of magic, it was like a seventh sense telling him that something was odd with the statue.

"And unique" Nat added with a hint of wariness. "No doubt they used the statue as a way to alert the spirits, the question is just what they want and what they are going to do now"

"Why didn't you tell her" Dorian inquired carefully. Curiosity brimmed in the man, Nat who was normally always so wary, and ready to pinpoint enemy movements had noticed yet not mentioned once that the statue was likely listening into their conversations. It was unusual behaviour normally he would have destroyed the statue, yet instead he had allowed their identity to escape giving the opponent an edge yet he seemed unconcerned.

"For the same reason you did not, whoever this mage is, however, they're capable of hiding their presence it's no doubt clear that they are rather skilled, in fact, I wouldn't even hesitate to say that their right here, with us watching us carefully. Isn't that right" Nat said suddenly bringing his full attention around his wand glowing with a mighty light as a torrent of paint exploded out of it spraying the entire area with a haze of bright yellow paint. For a moment Dorian was confused but only for a moment, as moments afterwards he was able to work out the shape of a 3d object, a dome in fact that unlike the rest of the surroundings stood out.

"How annoying" Came the deep voice echoing inside the protective dome. "How did you detect me might I ask, i did spend an awful lot of time into leaving no trace and yet you knew I was here" Nat narrowed his eyes on the dome, even as he went to move around he was unable to see the identity as the mage whoever they were turned slowly with them keeping the paint covered side in front of him. No doubt that while this spell was active one could see the person who remained inside.

"Fight enough people and you grow a feeling for it," Nat said honestly enjoying the annoyed tsk that came out of the mage.

"And you must be Nathanael Tempest, the legendary butcher of Templar's" The man chuckled. "I would bow, truly I would if it were not for our current circumstance. Your actions have sent every Templar fleeing for the hills whenever they hear that name, it's like an omen a promise of death, no doubt little Templar's will go to bed fearing that the great Templar killer lurks underneath ready to jump out, chop their head off and skewer them on a pike. Good work"

"Thank you," Nat said repeating the same polite mocking tone that the mage also utilised. "I do try my best after all. Now may I have the pleasure of knowing who you are my good sir, I'll admit I'm rather impressed with your ability to hide from magical detection, it's rare and a highly sought after trait" Nat bowed his head slight even as he gripped his wand tightly and readied himself for battle. However all of a sudden he turned his body and called out to Dorian. "Dorian, I couldn't trouble you for a shield of our own could I, it appears our friend has compatriots"

"Ah noticed that did you," The voice said. "It's a good job that you send your beloved Inquisitor away though I wouldn't have wanted anything to happen to her, she's far too precious after all."

"And what would that be for, "Dorian asked in a trendily mocking tone

"Please, don't take offence, we mean no harm to you or your Inquisitor, in fact, we mean to assist you"

"Why?" It was a sharp simple question Nat asked and for a moment there was a silence and some trepidation as those around halted in a cautious manner instantly picking up on the threatening tone that lay within. Nat tightened his wand twisting subtly, the moment this came to a fight, the ground beneath him would start erupting in a controlled manner sending everyone nearby away off their feet and onto the ground. It wouldn't hurt their shields given how it was a full-dome, but those extra seconds bought from the shock and change of terrain would grant him a very useful advantage.

"So young" The voice replied and though Nat couldn't see it he could most certainly feel the cold sneer that was on the speaker's tone, mocking him for his age. "Are you so sure you should be involved in such a thing, are you sure you can handle this type of thing."

"Ask the Templar's that" Another moment passed over the group and Nat could tell that his ambushers were most certainly discussing between themselves if they wanted continues on with this path and keep discussing the matter at hand. Turning slightly he prepared a shield spell and kept his mind focused on the air in front of him, ready to escape and take Dorian if needed.

"Very well, I was hoping to assist you and your lady Inquisitor in finding the culprits behind these attacks, both on your people and the ones responsible for Orlais"

"Why and who are they to you, enemies," Nat asked slower than normal purposely running down the time before that barrier would come down and he could crash upon them like a storm.

"They were, former members of ours like use they followed the same goal, worked to make a better future however they grew... discontent shall we say with the way things were being handled, they grew impatient and decided to take matters in their own hands. It was only a small group mind you"

"A small group that killed over two hundred people?"

"Yes," The man said trying to bite back a dark chuckle. "You see when they ran they took what little provisions they could carry, unfortunately for them, that meant very little in terms of gold, it's too heavy for transport; however they must have heard about your little caravan and attacked to replenish their supplies. It must have been quite a hall for them, all that food, previous objects and gold, and all that nice pretty armour and weapons, all the useful for equipping their armour with, wouldn't you say"

"And Orlais, their little attack has single handily caused uproar among the city and any plans that they may have had most certainly would have been disrupted true, but such an attack only grew attention towards them, not away"

"Indeed, their tactics were certainly heavy-handed, though given whom you are a child and the one they attacked It was only natural that you survive and a good job as well had your beloved Inquisitor died the world would have been all the poorer for it and this war would likely have been lost"

"You oppose Corypheus" It wasn't a question and even if it had been there was no sense of disarmed tone coming from Nat like one may have thought when two potential allies met instead there was only distrust.

"Most do, should he be victorious then the fate of my people and our objective is all for nought, you can have my word that my group has no interest in meddling with the affairs of the Inquisition for the most part, should you fail we all die"

"I assume then you will interfere when it comes regarding your group" There was a slight lowering of the paint covered shield and Nat took that to mean some sort of nodding of the head. "In that case why not leave yourselves hidden and only assist us from the shadows" Though he asked the question Nat knew the answer in an instant, this man, this group wanted the Inquisition to know because they did not want interference from them, no doubt with the growing power and spies they feared the Inquisition especially those in the higher-ups would start to hunt them down if they did not know their objective and what they were after. Perhaps they had believed there could be no hiding and as such having a friendly relationship now built upon having assisted the Inquisition would better their standing, enough perhaps to stay clear of this group.

"We can't have you involving yourselves with our affairs too much, trust me when I say we are allied against Corypheus and that we appreciate the work that you have made to try and improve the life's of our fellow elves, but we both know you have a much more vital issue to deal with Corypheus and for that you are going to need assistance"

"What are you proposing then?" Nat narrowed his eyes as he did so he commanded his glasses to change every type of different mode they had, whether it was for sensing electrical currents, heat vision, low light, even seeing magic, nothing ever revealed these mages around them. "Work with the elves, bringing them to our side and feeding us crucial information, for us leaving you alone, to do whatever you please"

"You do catch on quick, but yes while we respect the Inquisition and its work we can't afford to be known to other people, doing so would undoubtedly lead towards more trouble for our kind. Which is again why I thank you, Mr Tempest, as unpleasant as your actions were in Denerim, they were necessary and kept the peace? Shianni was a good woman her heart was in the right place and she had previously fought hard to keep her people safe, it was a shame to lose her however doing so would have led to the slaughter and potentially Corypheus winning. Not to mention it would have threatened our secrecy so thank you"

"Well I'm very glad to help out," Nat said with a calm look as though top-secret information hadn't at all been made aware to those around him. There was no outward reaction, no twitching or stunned silence, nor a faster than average response even as Dorian's eyes grew wide with a startling sense of relation he couldn't help for a few moments admire his compatriots acting skills. Instead, he leaned on his staff and Nat continued to stand there and carry on with the conversation like he didn't even exist. "But what should occur if I refuse this deal, I'm not the Inquisitor, will this resolve in violence."

"No, not at all or I at least hope so," The man said earnestly. "Corypheus is too dangerous of a threat and we understand highly the risk of you losing that money, believe me when I say we want Corypheus dead as much as you do. Instead, if you refuse we will leave you be, no attacks and we will also not seek to hinder the Inquisition while it makes war on Corypheus, however, we shall defend ourselves against any incursion and with far more lethality then we would otherwise. However, once the enemy is defeated then our neutrality shall end and if you seek to oppose us then you shall die also"

"An alliance of convenience then. Very well, but colour me curious, why ask me I am not the Inquisitor, as you say I am just a child" There was a mirthful chuckle from the man, one which lasted far longer than Nat would have expected to as though some great joke had been told and the man was unable to stop laughing.

"A child who wiped out the vast majority of mage hunters and made them tremble at the very mention of your name, a child with strange and foreign magic, one who has combat skills far exceeding most adults ever achieve, a child with access to strange machines and devices enabling him to travel across the continent on land with great haste and a child who is the second most powerful member of the Inquisition. You may be a child as you state Mr Tempest, but you re most certainly a unique and dangerous one"

"I see," Nat said slowly giving off a fake grin hoping to catch them off guard at the mention of his accomplishments.

"Indeed as for the reason why we did not contact your Inquisitor however, we were... concerned that she would react differently. From what we understand speaking to her clan, she is intelligent, but not learned in the ways of politics, no doubt she would ask to reveal ourselves and bring us to her side as her weapons simply because we are elves. She is also lazy shall we say, this experience against Corypheus is indeed useful, one that her Keeper hopes to bend and mould her into the person she needs to be to lead in future, but she is not there yet and she relies heavily upon her advisors"

For a second Nat was about to ask why did they approach home, even with his accomplishment it didn't make sense but then he put the pieces of the puzzle together and pushed down the sign of relief that had threatened to escape him. They could not enter the castle he realised, no doubt they would have proffered to speak to Leliana, but either by the magic of the wards he had put up or by the guards posted the elves were not able to infiltrate and as such waited for a far easier moment.

"I assume you want me to keep this little rendezvous secret from her" Nat asked.

"For now it would be best"

"Very well, Is there anything else you want to add to this or are we finished here"

"Yes. First, the group you are searching for are hidden inside of a cave in the direction that your Inquisitor is hidden in, there is no escape but it does have all your missing gold and equipment. Secondly, in return for this information, you shall give to us the Eluvian, hide it from her gaze if you must or give it to us at a later date when there are no prying eyes, but you shall not keep such an heirloom. Thirdly should you think about betraying us and trust me when I say you shall regret it"

"I assume you will send me an address and time for the mirror" There was another dip in the barrier.

"Very well I agree to the terms, though it will be difficult to keep the agents of the Inquisition if we have nothing to recognise when we are interfering with your business"

"You will not require it, shall we need things changed we shall send a letter"

"Yes but how do I know it isn't spam, or from some other person"

"The name given will be a wolf; you may refer to me as so"

"Wolf? could have been any less original?" Nat repeated hiding his incredulity at such a ridiculous code world.

"We shall be off, I wish you luck child I would prefer that my kind are not taken and enslaved by that monster" Without saying a father word, the paint around the barrier dropped suddenly to the ground as the time the spell could be held halted, and was then replaced by a great cloud of thick grey smoke, that hung from tree branch and soared upwards into the sky, covering the entire area and making it impossible to see even with the assistance of the magically enhanced glasses. When the smoke finally passed away leaving Nat and Dorian alone back in the clearing where the Dalish had apparently gone two simply looked at one another and said nothing, instead picking up their pace towards where the car had been parked, neither desiring to leave one another's side lest they be ambushed by these strange elves.

In silence they moved, coming closer to the burning stench of some of the tree spirits that Nat had taken down earlier though not enough for them to be a threat. When they finally arrived their feet finding firm footing partly due to the assistance of magic cast on Dorian's part, Nat quickly shrunk the vehicle placing it in his pocket and turned around where they rushed to catch up with the Inquisitor before she got in the mind to investigate this so-called cave before they arrived.

"Finally, it took you long enough, don't tell me you got lost" Valeyna teased as she saw the approaching figures of Nat and Dorian. It was quite funny she thought, Dorian upon reaching them bent low and began breathing heavily as he sought to regain his breath, in contrast, Nat came to a stop unhindered in any way and then began to talk.

"Unlike you Inquisitor we didn't grow up in a forest so we can't' go as fast as you in this terrain. Right, Dorian" Nat patted the man's back gently but the sudden impact was enough to send the man sprawling headfirst into the ground. "Wow you have to get into better shape"

"Hey I am in a good enough shape, I'm not fat and I don't get out of breath by running, it's just all the jumping and climbing" Nat rolled his eyes, it hadn't been that hard.

"And what about you, did you struggle"

"No I might not be as fast as you, but I can transverse myself around a forest if I need to, though if it weren't for my spell it might have taken a little longer to find you, neither of you left any tracks"

"Yeah but i trusted you and that spell of yours" Valeyna answered with an amused grin, it was quite the funny mental picture she thought, those two running through the forest attempting to catch up to her as she had rushed ahead, she wondered if either of them had screamed at any point when they saw a spider.

"Good to know, anyway I assume this is the place" Valeyna nodded.

"Yeah, all the tracks lead here which probably means that they took shelter in here. I still don't know why I couldn't find any tracks"

Good to know anyway let's give the princess here a moment to catch her breath before we rush in" Ignoring the glare from the Tevinter Nat moved closer towards the entrance of the tunnel to get a better view than the one he already had. It was dark, exceptionally so given the warning that those people had just given him, but perhaps this was a trap, for them, the moment they took the first step inside they may be ambushed removing the major advantage that their heavy mage reliant force relied upon.

Warriors would no doubt of much far use in this place or perhaps rogues better yet, mages relied a lot of room to twirl their staffs and in such tightly confined spaces it made it not only easier to hit a confined enemy, but also to be attacked by an enemy who had caught them by surprise but also hit one another if not even bring the entire structure down on their heads.

Narrowing his eyes he took a deep breath before then rushing from his side of the entrance to the other, as he did so, he made a careful note of everything that hiss enhanced vision could see. The tunnel was relatively short, only going for a few metres before it bends to the left suddenly, the craggy grey walls were also covered in damp and some sort of black fungus and the floor wasn't flat but apart from that, the initial entrance was nothing to be concerned about. There were also no spells either, whether he could sense them with his sixth sense or even with his gasses but despite that he felt a tightening feeling in his stomach and a horrible knot that threatened to shake his concentration.

It was unnatural not being able to sense those mages, as though all of a sudden they had turned invisible or made him blind to all that walked along with the earth. If this group was part of those who had informed him of the danger ahead, then there was the very real possibility that his senses could be deceiving him, that instead of seeing nothing ahead there could be a whole host of mages staring at him, and laughing amongst themselves, there could even be one behind him this very moment with a knife raised ready to strike down into his flesh between his throat. He shuddered at the thought.

"You go first," He said his voice neutral as his eyes continued to scan the nearby surroundings for anything that may look out of the ordinary. "Cole can use that trick of his and deal with anyone who tries to sneak behind and Dorian can protect you from the middle, I'll hold the rear," He said affirmatively in such a fashion that practically screamed not to question his motives for such an assignment.

"I thought it would have been better if you took the vanguard" Valeyna commented not quite getting why her friend seemed so concerned of going ahead of the rest of the group for no apparent reason whatsoever"

"We don't know if there aren't any trees or anything else out here, the last thing we want is for us to be trapped in here during a cave in and we can't escape because we've been cornered like rats. No, I'll lend support when we can, but I don't like the idea of leaving our flank so open"

Concerned Valeyna glanced up at Nat's face searching for something, anything that may inform her as to why he was acting so strangely, usually he loved to go in the vanguard, smiting enemies, left right and centre with a speed and grace that she could only dream off, to lose him arguably hr greatest combatant to the rear was concerning, but all the same she nodded in agreement deciding best not to argue lest somebody inside hear them and attempt to rush out and kill them or they ruin what possible element of surprise they may have with them.

"Very well," She said through making a note to check up with him later, something was wrong and she had to know what.

Creeping forwards the group quickly made their way inwards, Cole taking up the vanguard his knives ready and his ability to hide from others seemingly activated given how even Valeyna found it difficult at times to keep her mind upon him. Behind her Dorian held his staff aloft as a bright light glowed from it illuminating the pathway and showcasing their statues all over the grey dam walls, while behind Nat with his own wand out, followed a few metres behind though she noticed that he often seemed to cast some kind of spell going by the occasional swish or flick, as if he was checking for traps or people.

When they had rounded the next corner was when they first started seeing the next little bits of light, it was small, little beams emanating from underneath a small oak door that was partially concealed by some hanging moss that hid it partly from sight. No doubt if a person was to have a quick look they would have gone straight past the door, but otherwise it was quite clear when her eyes landed upon it that it had been put up in such a way to hide the door, a familiar way she noted with growing grim satisfaction, A Dalish way.

She looked left and then right hoping to notice some kind of passageway that would lead past the grey walls of the passage but it was not to be, there was only one way in and one way out it appeared and that way in required them to either blast their way in with magic, or find some way that would create far less noise than an explosion in a small place that was bond to echo down the hallways and alert everybody nearby to her presence. Luckily for her, she had such a person.

"Cole, unlock the door, then do that invisible thing you do, go in and get behind the leader but don't attack, I want to know why they're doing this if possible if they try to attack however you have my permission to kill them."

Cole nodded and moved hastily towards the door were bending down and moving with complete silence borne out of the need to navigate the White tower all that time ago he started to take out his lock picks and inserted them into the locked door and began to unlock it. Behind him Valeyna watched with some trepidation, why would the Dalish do this she wondered, she knew that not all the clans were the same and as the years went on some of them drifted more and more apart from this old mission but none of them was stupid, none of them would be so foolish as to engineer an attack on a human city let alone the Inquisition. Did they not know about Corypheus, did they seriously think they could hide well enough from him that they would be unbothered by that creature so long as they stayed in the forest, or and she dreaded to think like an ice-cold shower in the middle of winter that this clan had made some kind of pact with the monster or one of his agents.

She hoped to think such a thing impossible, reckless, foolish even, after all, what type of Dalish would seal their own people out just for survival, yet the more she considered it, the more she could not help but think that with so little hope and the ongoing civil war that the clan might have made such a deal. In return for being left alone, they would hassle the Inquisition, thus forcing a distrusted with the other Dalish, something that would inevitably work out for Corypheus in the long run.

There was very little else she could see being the cause for such a strike, to take out over two hundred men and women some of whom were mages, should have been nearly impossible for the Dalish on their own even with a sneak attack which had to mean that something or someone else was involved, but who and what for. She gritted her teeth tightly her lips tightening into a horrid snarl, so much so that behind her Dorian winced as he heard the sound of her teeth grinding together. Something was wrong here, very wrong.

"Don't attack them?" She told Dorian but her true focus was on Nat somehow expecting that in his normal behaviour that his first response would be to slaughter all but one, then take answers and after that then kill the survivor. "Even if it's only to defend yourself, these are my people and I don't want them dead".

Nat nodded his head neutrally understanding her orders, but on the other he felt a small amount of contempt, he held no trust in the words that those back in the clearing had spoken, they could be demons, meant to distract him and kill potential allies to their enjoyment, there was no way of knowing without being able to sense them, something that even now he couldn't do as though his magical senses could extend past the door and he could see a flickering warm orange light from underneath and the occasional movement of shadows indicating the occupancy inside the place, he could not feel anything within, no insect, no flower and especially no living being who might be trying to sneak up again.

His fingers tightened on his wand and he felt the familiar and ever comforting thrum of power as it flowed through the piece of wood and core. Ever loyal ever faithful, not once had his wand ever let him down and even now as he felt discomfort, uncertain on whether or not he would even escape, as he felt his skin shake on edge at the obvious invisibility of these individuals, he knew without doubt that his magical skill would not fail him in the upcoming battle. If he was to die it would not be due to his wand, but because of his enemies ability.

"I understand," He said carefully, taking another detailed look behind him, excepting to feel something, what that would be or where it would come from he didn't know. Currently, all he felt was a slight gush of wind as it came through the entrance and brushed against his face and then slipped under the door into the room ahead feeding the fire, soon he thought, soon if these people were responsible he could lay them low and make an example out of them. "Just make sure that you are able to do what's needed

"What's that supposed to mean" Valeyna demanded in an accusing manner.

"As you said these are your people, are you sure you can kill them so easily?".

"Kill," Valeyna said horrified. "Why must your first thought always be to kill, how come we can't discuss things first, I trust my people, they're not the type to do such a thing" She pleaded turning to Dorian hoping to see some sort of sympathy for her position, surely he would, after al would he not find it hard to kill his people, yet instead of sympathy or sorrow she saw that he too wanted an answer"

"I never said our first reaction was to kill, I only asked can you kill?" Nat replied emotionlessly as normal. "And can you also prevent your judgment being clouded from emotion if it is revealed that they are responsible, will you treat them in the same manner as another enemy?"

"Enemy" Valeyna scoffed viscously her eyes starting to narrow in hatred and disgust at the terms that her friend was using. "If they were the ones to do it than they must have been tricked or coerced or threatened," She said entirely confident that not a single one of her people would perform such an action without just cause or reason.

"I see" That was all Nat said, it was clear and emotionless, yet at the same time Valeyna felt her heart quicken and her stomach turn into knots while the hair on her body seemed to stand on edge as she heard that emotionless tone. At that moment she had disappointed him, told him she was a failure, as though she was a small child again clinging to her keepers robes hoping to use her position as the next leader of the clan to protect her, however, he didn't seem to care, he never looked past her opinion or that instead staring heart into the matter. Her words caught in her throat and she wanted to respond but when she tried to speak to explain herself, nothing was revealed. "Continue, I'll guard the door"

Then as if his very words had changed the state of the world, Cole stood up from his position vanished from sight and then stepped through the now very open door into the way within. Taking a breath of air, Valeyna nodded and turned from Nat's now exposed back and tugged Dorian to come along with her.

In they marched into the room and after only a couple of metres past the high walls of the rock that blocked her vision, for the most part, she was then able to see just what this place was. Her eyes widened in amazement in the site, the cavern was huge, high ceiling rock at least ten metres high formed over a large almost perfectly circular gap in the cut rock that was so wide it was as though she was standing inside of the large chantry building she had seen in Orlais merely hours before. Only where the great cathedral as Nat had called it once was made of well-cut perfect stone and adorned with symbols of the Maker and Andraste and others that even from the university could be made out, this place was bare and lit primarily with a glowing light that emanated from the centre of the room where a large fire, sat upon craggy rock.

Upon the ceiling she could only watch as the dancing lack of light made the shadows of the inhabitants within look as though they were alive, like shadow demons or some form of long list spirit that had been entrapped here and unable to escape. Past that however her mind and thoughts came to a sudden halt as they fell upon a glimmering golden trove in one of the far corners, then as if the weight of the world came on her shoulders, her heart screamed out in so much pain that she almost fell to the floor.

"No" She whispered in horror. Rubbing her eyes frantically desperate to un-see what lay before her, she hoped to feel relief swell her heart and in that relief to allow her to rush down and embrace her fellow people, yet it did not work, for instead or removing the picture of a vast amount of glimmering gold, dazzling silver and somewhat dull bronze, all it did was cause pain in her eyes as she saw the untold wealth that was hidden away in this caved.

There was no way that was her clans, not even in their wildest dreams and fantasies had an elf ever imagined being so rich, heaps and heaps of coin, enough to make any man rich enough with it's contents, with at least ten chests of material it was easily enough to construct herself a castle had she wanted one, or to feed her clan for the entirety of her days or as her heart fell with realization, to keep an organisation such as the Inquisition going for a couple of months enabling it to purchase food, build towers and armies, rebuild destroyed areas, bribe officials and many other things and it was in that moment why she understood the importance of the gold even as she saw the largest amount in one place she had ever born witness too.

Such a pile was enough to make any man rich enough were they to keep it for themselves, but to an army, to an organisation like the one she was in charge off, it was not much, it would go too quickly, and yet despite this, were they not to get the gold, to allow it to linger in foreign hands as it had been claimed by these Dalish made obvious by the way their Vallaslin danced in the orange glow of the flame making it appear almost as though some form of spider had climbed onto them and had made them their puppet, that the collapse of the Inquisition without such funds was very plausible.

Moving her attention from the gold, she could only watch in suspense for a few moments. Those aravels that she had wondered about lay there deep in the cave comfortable and sitting on hard unyielding rock, elves went from one to another for all kinds of different reasons, some were in love she could tell given the way that she could see a young hunter was holding the attention of a woman quite fiercely and others were instead relaxing in their age.

They were happy she noticed and her heart broke from its discomfort to instead one of joy and a great smile bloomed on her face to see such a sight. After so long she was amongst her kind again, even in the distance she could hear the words of old elven being spoken and oh how she wished to jump off this ledge now and rush towards her people and meet with them in discussion for surely they would welcome her as clans were expected to.

Just before she did though her attention flickered to the centre back part of the cavern for some reason and specifically to the item that was placed there. It was odd she thought, it was a lone mirror, a bit larger than average she admitted, in fact it was a very large and very decorated mirror considering it appeared to have gold and jewels around it, yet for some reason the mirror was being guarded by a series of statues and she could tell going by one of the hunters undivided attention that there was more than the average amount of attention being placed upon it. She blinked in confusion.

Was that Nat's mirror? The one that he had supposedly paid so much for and was determined to get back from the thieves. Why would the clan be guarding it so and why did the aravels as she looked at them more be shaped in a semi-circle around it, it was almost as though they were trying to guard it against attack, as if the mirror of all things was the most important thing in the cavern and not the rather large stack of gold.

She shook her head and glanced back down at the elves that were guarding the mirror, for a moment she thought about calling Nat in so he could look at his beloved mirror and tell him that the Dalish were no threat but then she thought better of it and a disquiet rose in her. Nat was her friend but why did he walkways want to seemingly fight first, she would have thought that given these were her people and his wisdom that he would have been prone to negotiation, yet he hadn't instead he seemed wary and only interested if she had the stomach to kill people.

It irked her to the extreme, she wasn't him she wanted to yell angrily, she was not some monster who could butcher her people like some merciless tyrant, yet at the same time, she almost felt ashamed as though she wanted to please him as if she were a dog. Her anger rose in her contempt for such a feeling and her eyes narrowed dangerously, why did she want to impress him, it wasn't as if she wanted anything from him yet she couldn't help but remember that disappointed look and it struck her at her core.

Growling menacingly at the thought she was barely able to recognise what had happened when instantly as one group below her all relaxing and happy froze suddenly as if they had just encountered something dangerous and instantly their eyes darted upwards to her staring menacingly. She hissed loudly as she recognised that she had been spotted and like a set of human war hounds the clan acted as one, shouts and yells rang out through the cavern, the sound and sight of quickly moving Dalish as they rushed towards their bows and blades in a well-rehearsed manner, something that was no doubt born of the need to defend themself at an instant moment as her clan had taught her.

Instantly her attention focused not upon the archers who were rapidly grabbing quivers full of wooden arrows with an iron bodkin, but instead on the mages for just as she had expected there was a large number, however as the scale of the mages became clearer to her, about went in total her eyes widened in a grim look. No clan had that many mages, magic itself was becoming rarer amongst the Dalish so much so that some clans were either dying or being forced to separate simply because there was nobody to take the position of keeper, given how it was reserved for a mage, yet this clan, to wield so many mages on a lone battle, was not just strange, but bizarre and dangerous in the extreme.

How had this come to be she asked herself drawing her own staff and quickly casting the barrier spell upon herself and Dorian, the latter who already seemed prepped and ready for combat given his strong stance with his staff, and how a ball of fire flickered in his other outstretched hand ready for the command to unleash it and blast the first line of warriors that rushed towards them.

"Halt right there" The first voice cried and Valeyna saw that it was a hunter, one who pointed a wicked sharp blade in her direction. "Move and you'll regret it" The voice warned harsher, thankfully though Valeyna gave no command to Dorian and especially not to Nat who given normal circumstances would have started killing his way through these elves by now. When the elves finally reached the top of the cavern, their weapons held defensively in such a way that if there was trouble they could easily cut down the two intruders they then demanded in a harsh tone. "Who are you and what your business with us is"

"I am Valeyna, the"

"Inquisitor," One of the elves said in sudden recognition. "Why are you here?"

"You know me," Valeyna said expectantly looking towards the elf who had spoken. They were young slightly younger than her though older than her wizard friend though given his appearance he had obviously been blooded and was most certainly a hunter rather than an apprentice, despite that his eyes still held youthful mirth and almost excitement as he laid his brown eyes on her, looking up and down.

"Who doesn't," The man said in awe. "You're the Inquisitor, a Dalish elf who has been made the head of the most powerful organisation in Thedas, is it true that you're some kind of chosen one to the shemlen, do they really listen to your commands?"

"Well, yes i think, I don't really order things around much I just leave that to my advisors but they do often ask for my help in deciding things" She admitted with a small flush of pride remembering how she would often have to stand in front of the war table and give instructions on how to they were to proceed with this war that they had found themselves in.

"Really, oh that's amazing, I also heard that you have like a hundred shemlen servants who do whatever you want like make you breakfast, clean your shoes, wash your clothes and you get to do whatever else you want and if any of them refuse then you just kill them for being rude right" A gleam sparkled in the man's eyes, an almost sadistic glean that made Valeyna want to lean back nervously, especially as the boy then continued to look her up and down excitedly, not as if she was the commander of the Inquisition, however, but instead in another way that she was all too familiar, one that she likely would have taken up on the offer instantly were it not for the risk that they now all lay in.

Speaking of which, as subtly as she could using her training from all those years ago, she attempted to locate Nat, surely by now he would have heard the commotion and rushed to her side to investigate, yet he was nowhere to be seen or head. She glanced around and blushed again as she heard a compliment from one of the other warriors when they said something about her beauty being even better in person then it was to the stories, almost as if she was an elven princess. More questions followed, questions on the Inquisition, and on her clan it was like a hailstorm and the once guarded hostility that they had first shown her had all but vanished, though before they could lead her back and have her sit with them a sterner voice one belonging to an older individual broke through the excited crowd like the sound of thunder on an otherwise quiet day.

"Now lethalin, while I admit it is nice to see a daughter of one of our sister clans, especially one so famous after all it has not been since the Hero of Ferelden that we have had the time to celebrate one such as yourself, I'm afraid I must still protect my clan and inquire why you are here and why you have decided to bring a Shemlen with you" Once again Valeyna was made ever aware that she only had one visible companion, Cole no doubt had already managed to sneak behind this old woman even as she approached with a gentle smile on her olf withered face, one that very much shown the elven woman just how long she had been leading these people , most likely it was a sum of several decades given how the woman appeared to be in her seventies at the least and was no doubt at this point her life feeling exhausted be young all possible belief.

"No Keeper, this is Dorian, he is a fellow member of the Inquisition, here to keep me safe from harm whilst I battle Corypheus" The old woman's eyes sparked in recognition.

"Ah so you must be the infamous butcher I've heard so much about" The old woman gave a smile; though to Dorian he couldn't help but wince as he noticed the way those crusty and frail lips parted, it was as though he was looking at an old wound and he almost expected for it to split open and puss to seep out at any moment. Gently the woman reached her hand out and grabbed Dorian's and then held them as tightly as her weak and pale finger scold. "You have my thanks, good sir, the Templar's have always been hunting us because of our mages, but ever since you slaughtered those monsters, they haven't dared showed up" Then she stepped back and in a way that only old people were seemingly allowed to do, she reached up and grabbed Dorian's chin, pulling it from side to side before then nodding approvingly at the Inquisitor.

"You are very handsome dear, it's a shame that we couldn't have more men like you if we did then perhaps we might have had a land of our own to call home".

"Wait, butcher?" Valeyna said in concerned as a sinking feeling rose in her stomach and again she glanced past the Dalish and into the camp, expecting to see something.

"Yes my dear, the butcher who killed the templar's and mocked their Chantries. The boy who saved lives in Denerim, a mage extraordinaire and rather young from what I've heard" The keeper responded and then grinned. "He's handsome, have you ever?"

"Have I what?"

"Oh my dear it's nothing to be ashamed about, at your age I was the same, I wanted to experience life , there's nothing wrong about tasting the foreign fruit now and again, just make sure that when you settle down that it's something local, the last thing you want is to be removing your bowl from the kitchen"

"Excuse me" Valeyna cried out in anger. "Who is for you to decide who I want to spend my life with? If I want to marry a human one day then I will and if I want to marry an elf or a dwarf I will, It's not for you tell me who I can or can't love" The old woman shook her head and tutted loudly as if she was speaking to a small child.

"My dear, you're much too young, in fact how old are you now, eighteen, nineteen?"

"Twenty" Valeyna answered with a scowl, hating the route that this conversation was going.

"Exactly my dear, at this age you should be thinking of choosing a partner, having children, continuing our legacy. Now I understand given your responsibilities that this might be put on hold for a few years as sad as it is, but that does not mean that you should be looking to fall in love with some shemlen as though you were a traitorous whore like those in the city. Our kind can only carry on if we marry with our own kind, and given your position, you could so much with that kind of power, you could lift us from our position, raise us a nation, become a queen, but what would that mean if your child was some half-blood monster"

"Monster" Valeyna whispered disgusted. "Queen, what are you on about Keeper, why should I be a queen"

"You don't know dear," The woman said in a surprisingly concerned tone. "But I thought you had come here to listen to us, to become one of us. Why did you come here"

"Because somebody murdered men and women of the Inquisition" Valeyna answered tersely her grip tightening so hard upon her staff that her knuckles began to turn white. "Because gold and food and clothing and items that were ours to fight Corypheus with, were stolen and then because somebody tried to take my life in Orlais when I went to look" The woman's face widened in shock and she took a fearful step back, glancing towards some of the other mages in the group she gave a subtle nod commanding them to move forward.

They did so, slowly at first unnoticed by Valeyna as she was still engrossed by the conversation but after they now took up the first row all of their staffs clutched in their hands and a small amount of power whirling around them. Valeyna then looked up nervously and began to count mentally how long her barrier would last then collapse and how long it would be until she could recast, not that it mattered. Nat was nowhere to be seen and the other side had more mages then she had, making a fight impossible unless she could act quickly, something that was unlikely given how the group had surrounded her in a semi-circle and her back was now against the cold wet wall.

"My dear, I'm sorry about what had happened, but it was necessary, we needed supplies and"

"So it was you, why would you do that, don't you know that without that money the Inquisition can't fight Corypheus, that we will lose this war and we will all become slaves to him" The Keeper smiled, but it was not the brief smile that Valeyna had witnessed when she had first seen the woman, but instead it was a horrible nasty smile, one which promised pain and insanity, something that was made all the clearer when the old woman peered in closing her eyes dancing and the shape of her vallaslin, twitching and twirling, seemingly alive in the limited light, acting in such an unnatural way like it would reach out, grab her and draw her in so that she too became a part of the woman's face that Valeyna shivered in fright.

"My dear, Corypheus is no threat, he may seem so now, but we have found the great one and soon his time of deliverance will be at hand, all who oppose him shall be destroyed, our treasured land returned to us once again and all those who have done us harm, cast aside and put in their proper place, the dark one is nothing compared to him. So rejoice dear sister, you need not worry about the lost gold of corrupt shemlen society, of being condemned due to their awful laws, when revelation comes you shall be a queen, ruling and you can have all that you desire and more?"

"What" Valeyna pulled back repulsed for the keepers face had turned now, no longer the face of a warm or even kind old woman, instead it was one of ugliness, every crack in her skin seems to become more exaggerated and the madness in her eyes shining clearer as though she was staring into the sin and the Keeper gave a high pitched cruel laugh and lunged forward.

Faster then she could breathe Valeyna expected to feel the woman's hands on her, instead however she only felt a grunt of pain emanate behind her, then like some sort of animal coming out of camouflage, Valeyna could only watch as a pile of wheat coloured hair collapsed to the floor groaning in pain as it clutched something in its stomach.

"That's not very nice demon, to sneak up on me, oh well it doesn't matter, take them" Lunging forward at her command, Valeyna found herself surrounded against the stone, trapped tightly. Quickly she tried to cast a spell, not anything that would kill but instead simply keep them away yet it was no use, her wind spell simply crashed uselessly against the barrier spell that surrounded the group of Dalish and it was only a few moments later that then crowded that her spell broke where a mere second later, her staff was taken from her and she was pushed to her knees where a sudden sensation of sleep struck her and her vision went black.

When she awoke, the first thing Valeyna felt was the burning sensation of a tight rope. All around her she could feel the way it held her there, her arms were held behind her back and her hands clasped together in such a way that just the slightest movement would break her fingers, her feet were also held tightly together and like her arms the rope was wrapped so tightly and connected to a wooden block that there was no way of escaping. It was the same thing with her mouth and she could barely manage to breathe as only her nose had been left free but given how her head had then been placed in a set of stocks forcing her head downwards without any movement o spare setting off a horrid sensation in her neck, she could only wince as she imagined that the water was to suffocate her if she tried to resist.

Slowly she attempted to look left but was stopped as a sharp electrical pain in her back sent her reeling upwards and was then followed by a cold familiar voice.

"I'm sorry my dear, I had no desire for this to happen please believe me. I thought you would have arrived to join us, after all, one in your position could be very useful to us however I saw your disgust and I knew that I would not be able to convince you through mere words. It is sad, but it doesn't matter if I don't convince, you, you shall join us in our salvation and when you do I shall send you back? On your own mind you" The Keeper chuckled. "I can't have any shemlen filth touching our queen right now it wouldn't be right, but you shall go back and serve our Lord and master and when you do you shall bring about change in the world, change that will enable us to return back to what we were, restore our old empire and we shall be rulers and all the shems shall be our slaves to do with as we please, yes"

A cold sensation ran down the inquisitions back at the madness in the woman's tone. Restore the empire, she did not know what but she could not help but think of Arlathan, the kingdom of the elves before the humans had moved south and destroyed it all, where the gods had lived among them, and before Fen Harel had betrayed them. But that was long ago and the gods were imprisoned, by fen harel, but if that was the case who could be leading this group, it could not be Fen Harel, that being despised all elves with good intentions, something that even given her position she could not deny that the intention was evil.

She did not agree with it all, but to have a kingdom of their own, to not have to wander the lands looking for scraps would be a welcome change for the Dalish. She shook her head violently pushing away those thoughts with revulsion and stared up at the woman horror evident in her eyes as she realised just what the old woman was attempting to accomplish.

"You feel it don't you, the slow degrade of your thoughts. You see my dear normally I would have preferred to speak to you on these matters, convince you of the justness of our cause and have you join us of our own free will, yet unfortunately do not have the time to do so, the very fact that you managed to track us down so quickly is terrifying, no doubt the responsibility of your second in command, the infamous butcher. It's a shame really, had he been an elf then he could have joined you and I don't just mean as a companion, but as a husband" The old woman smiled wistfully as though she was remembering a time from long ago when things were better but just what Valeyna couldn't imagine. "You'll need a powerful husband when you become the new queen, someone who will help you solidify your position and can lead our armies against the shemlen as we retake our continent, it's just a shame that you came with the intention of tracking us down to find who killed your men."

"Valeyna struggled harshly in hr bindings, as much as she tried however with her movement whether to try and snap the ropes or squeeze her guts in so that she might perhaps chance an escape, she could not accomplish anything as the ropes still kept her pinned. Angrily she rose her glaring expression towards the woman, demanding with muffled noise that echoed from her bound mouth that she unhand her that instant but nothing came.

"Don't struggle, my dear, soon the ritual will be over and when it does, you will be part of us. Don't worry though you'll keep most of your original personality, soft, beautiful, fun looking, however, we have to take away this acceptance of shemlen and this desire to live with them peacefully. You need your anger reset after which we will then return you to the inquisition where you will use that power to boost the position of elves everywhere, bringing them to our side. Of course, you will have to return your friends, that demon most certainly can't be allowed to be near you and that Tevinter man either. It's just a shame about the other boy though" Valeyna's eyes widened in horror.

They knew about him, no they couldn't that shouldn't have been possible Nat would have hidden, when he heard the commotion and made a plan, there's no way he could have been caught.

"Ah you do care about him how quaint, yes he would have made an excellent addition had it not been for his race, a shame really given from my spies that he's apparently been fair to our race, polite, courteous even offering them pay and reparations from his own pocket from previous Inquisition failures. And wiping out the Templar's, the one major enemy we already had, that favour alone could have spared his life, had only he stayed out of the business, alas."

Alas, Valeyna's mind felt light, and fiery as though in a single moment this woman in front of her had pierced her skull and stabbed her with a flaming blade setting it alight and curdling her stomach like mil in the middle of summer that would turn and make her want to vomit. Alas was a disaster and before the woman she cared not if she appeared weak instead she rapidly turned her head left and right hoping to see Nat, any trace would do, but she couldn't. Was he alive, he couldn't be dead, after all, he was Nat the one person who nothing ever seemed to trouble him, he had killed arch demons captured an Ancient Darkspawn, butchered the Templar's and more, surely this woman had not been able to kill him, yet as much as she desired to see her friend appear safe and sound, her heart somewhat fluttering in the potential relief, all she could do was lock her gaze on the woman as she gave an old mirthful laugh.

"He was rather difficult, certainly experienced," She said icily. "He took out eighteen of us, just I and my apprentice survived, but in the end he's dead and we are all the poorer for it"

"Poorer" Valeyna bowed her head, she fought the pain that now paired her as if she was being pinned to the wall and a spear had been run through her heart, everything seemed so off, Nat couldn't have been dead, how was she going to fight this war without him, his stern gaze appeared in her mind and those eyes always shrouded behind those odd glasses. She bowed her head, yes they were poorer, one of the main agents of the inquisition was dead and the main strategy she had in mind of beating Corypheus was gone.

She couldn't face him, who could, only a being with exceptional power or skill would have stood a chance and that was not her in any regard, yet she didn't care about Corypheus at that moment and a small bit of hope managed to crawl up in her. It was a small thing, no bigger than a pebble but how did she know the woman was telling the truth? Had her friend not told her before that spells like these relied upon the will of the user, already ever since the initial news of her death she could feel her skin starting to crawl at the idea of Nat dead, but she had no proof of such a thing, for all she knew this old crone was lying.

Furious she rose her head and attempted to call forth upon her power, quickly she felt the presence of the warp, the sensation of its power and began to call upon it, forming in the shape of fire, blazing hot and with the ability to kill everything nearby her, yet before she could the old woman reacted swiftly and with a speed that did not match her old age whacked her over her head, disrupting her concentration instantly and ending her crumpling to the floor.

"You don't believe me do you" The old woman growled seeing the growing resistance and feeling the spell she was trying to cast become harder as though instead of the unconscious river that it had been mere moments before, now it was as though she was trying to crash against cliffs, she could win if she had infinite amounts of time, but that was not for sure. Who knew when the others turned up and attacked in their ignorance? "Fine, I took proof, get me his head," She said loudly throwing a glance at the general direction of the camp.

Not entirely sure what she could do Valeyna could only watch as a few minutes later another mage the not that like she had been when she was with her people, was to take over the position of keeper. Quickly as though afraid of the old woman's wrath Valeyna observed how they approached the old woman quickly holding a sack where within Valeyna could see a dark red ichor dropping out slowly. It stank of death but there was not much time to observe as, within moments, the old woman snatched the bag off the first, pushed her hand inside, grabbing hold of something and brought it out in a sudden jeer revealing none other than potatoes.

"Wh-" Before the next syllable came out of her bound mouth the next sound that the inquisitor heard was that of metal on flesh drawing her eyes upwards to the old woman's face only to watch as it toppled from her body and struck the hard ground as a sharp blade passed through it. A moment later the rest of the body dropped down to the floor in an un-ceremonial heap revealing none other than the illusion of the apprentice. An illusion that quickly faded revealing none other than a familiar person who made Valeyna swell with joy and then blink slowly before she laughed.

"Sorry about that" Nat said as he flicked his wand in her direction, removing all the bindings and allowing her to move around freely. "Bitch can notice the slightest amount of magic, I needed a distraction to get in close and finish her off before she could put up any type of defence. Sorry if I worried you at all" Extending a hand down he helped the woman up to her feat catching her in his arms as she jumped and pulling her close for a moment so that in the moments that followed later Valeyna lips were mere millimetres from his ears.

"I do love you at times you know," She said honestly. "Just don't worry me again like that please, it's twice I've thought you were dead and it's not good you know" Nat chuckled and pushed back the inquisitor ignoring her hurt look as he slid his sword back in his sheath and then grabbed her staff and gave t to her.

"Oh please if you can't handle me faking my death, then you're hardly worth the support" Nat joked taking joy in the way the woman scowled. "Seriously though it was nothing, I slaughtered all the other mages when they came for me making sure that I cast so much magic when I did so to hide such a simple illusion spell, then once that was done I took the form of her apprentice followed her back and waited for the right moment to strike. Shame though" Nat ended as he looked at the decapitated head of the old woman, then without taking a second thought, he leaned back and then with a good amount of force kicked it into the air as though it were a football before turning and grinning. "I would have liked to take the bitch alive, I just had to keep the distance between us, had I used any more magic she likely would have realised that my magic on me was, in fact, me and not some curse I might have placed on her apprentice," Nat said happily before then clapping his hands loudly seemingly unconcerned by what Valeyna would have thought would have been the rest of the clan. "Anyway the bitch is dead I have the money and my mirror and all but the children and a few others for questioning are dead. So we've managed to uncover some sort of Dalish cult who wants to turn you into a queen, destroy the humans and take over the continent, all without anyone else dying. "

"But Cole, didn't he get stabbed" Nat shrugged his shoulders.

"He's alive, these twats thought they'd killed him but I managed to get him into the car and healed him soon enough"

"And Dorian" Valeyna asked suddenly thinking about what these, tyrants would have done with her Tevinter.

"He's also in the car, he's happy as well since this lot was thinking off offering him up as some sort of blood sacrifice for a ritual, nasty business, but he's fine, the only thing he has to worry about is his perfect hair"

"And you," Valeyna said still concerned remembering exactly what the woman had said and how she'd said it. "The way they talked about you made it sound like they had wanted to turn you into one of them" Nat laughed loudly. Turning he gave a friendly pat on the woman's shoulder and gestured towards the entrance of the cave, Valeyna followed, without doubt, wondering why he was not concerned with the others. The moment she was able to see into the clearing that the aravels provided however she knew why. Everybody else was dead.

All were sword wounds she could tell, slashes, cuts, heads were cut off and hearts had been impaled with clean quick thrusts. She glanced at her friends another cold feeling st in her stomach. She had wanted to prevent blood from being spilt, to stop the death of more of her people, but it had all been for nought and now more of her people lay butchered and slaughtered once again diminishing the pool of those who can help to rebuild her people in the future Gently she lowered her head and said a silent prayer for them hoping that they would fond their presence with their gods and before Fen Harel could eat their souls and whisk them down to the black void where dark things slept.

"I don't know whether to feel flattered or disturbed" Was the ever calm answer. "On one hand they considered me unique in that they would have left me alive because of my actions were it not for my refusal to abandon you to those bastards, but on the other hand, the way they talked about blood purity and tainting the queen and processes were rather creepy. In all honesty given my peoples history I wondered for a moment if they were thinking of turning me into an elf" Nat hid his shiver of revulsion from the woman, yet despite this Valeyna looked up with beaming curious eyes somehow forgetting the previous torment not quite knowing that the efforts of her friend to subtly influence her mind and not concentrate on it was the cause.

"Would that have been so bad?" She asked.

"Forcefully changing my DNA yes. But that isn't important, instead, I think we need to move this lot back to base before somebody else gets their mitts on it" Glancing as Nat gave a visual sweep of the area, Valeyna could only nod in agreement. The gold that had been stolen was still tucked away and whether or not it contained the full amount she didn't care, just so long as she could get away from all this. Seeing her acceptance Nat quickly rounded up the gold with a flick of his wand which then to Valeyna's tired frame could only watch as thousands of golden coins, chests, jewels, and other rose up off the ground and then flew into her friends inner pocket with the speed of an arrow, shortly after the mirror came next leaving everything that they had initially came for back in their possession.

Climbing up the long path back towards the entrance of the cave, Valeyna stopped and turned back to the dead elves a sad and mournful expression as she looked upon the bloody corpses of the enemy. Yet another lot of her people dead she thought bitterly, only she was the one responsible, had she not been taken by surprise or had she taken more force then perhaps she could have saved them.

Sighing she wondered if she should even give them the proper burial rights, enemies or not they were still Dalish and now that their clan was gone, if she did not give them their farewell properly then nobody would and wolves would instead simply come in and devour everything.

"Leliana is going to want to hear this, if the Dalish are starting to worship some sort of deity, believing that they'll come back then something has to be going on majorly in the world. Dalish aren't stupid to attack a fully protected caravan otherwise and even then I don't think they would have the magical skill to pull it off.

"What do you think it was" Valeyna's heart skipped a beat clinging to what hope had just been presented.

"Corypheus perhaps, in all honesty, I have no clue Inquisitor but all the same it's rather disturbing and will have to be looked into if we chance at a later date"

"Later, can't we investigate now," She asked in a concerted manner.

"I'm afraid not, we spent far too much time on this little quest, frankly we need to focus on the important things like where the Grey Wardens are if we don't get to them soon, then this is going to end poorly"

"Do you have any leads? "

"Not personally but from what I've heard off Varrick Hawke does. With any luck, we'll be following up on them tomorrow and after that, we'll go speak to them."

"Yes, speak, then what?"

"Well at the Empresses ball that she apparently gets murdered at is only in a few months after that, we'll just have to wait and see"

"That's it" Valeyna yelled suddenly anger flowing through her veins. "I just had a whole clan of my people butchered because they worshipped some god and instead of bothering to find out why or if there are any more of them, we're just going to return to normal, how is that okay. Tell me you have a plan to defeat Corypheus, some sort of spell or ploy"

Nat shook his head. "We don't have one, Hawkes father managed to trap him so maybe we can do the same and we are looking around the continent for any clues that could help, but nothing came up so far."

"So we're just going to sit around, what about Fen Harel didn't you say that there are rumours about him, if he's still alive then he will be up to no trouble"

"Perhaps," Nat said without emotion as he continued to lead the Inquisitor out the cave. "Unfortunately there's no easy fix like some sort of magical ring that if we chucked into a volcano that would win us the war"

"Wait" Valeyna. Doing as she asked Nat turned and observed as the woman began to think menacingly about the last battle with the monster. With the assistance of Legimency Nat watched silently as her thoughts focused on a lone object the man had held, especially a green orb, a dark green orb. At first, he meant to wave it away he had seen it before but as he watched the memory he saw as the woman was able to get a clearer view of the orb specifically the large almost fingerprint design on it, a design that looked awfully familiar.

"The orb, it must have some kind of power, Corypheus implied that the orb was meant to take him to the fade but when the explosion happened the power went to me"

"The power to go into the fade," Nat said slowly pressing down the feeling of both elation at the prospect of being a step closer to home and also deep fear. "That orb wasn't his, it's older than that, elven. That might explain that type of power " He muttered to himself briefly for a few minutes before there was a flash of excitement in his eyes when he realises. "Of course that orb likely has some kind of secret in it, now if we could get our hands on it and be capable of understanding it we might have a chance."

"Nat?"

"The orb Inquisitor, if what I have learned is of any use, then perhaps the orb could grant a way to victory, through its power we might contain him. Yes but it will be how to get to it, an all-out assault wouldn't work, he would simply flee the moment we got into range. No, we need him to come to us, force him into the field to face us"

"But how would we do that, Corypheus has an Archdemon" For a moment Nat wanted to correct her, Corypheus had a corrupted dragon not an archdemon, had that monster had such a creature he would have known for sure considering that he had killed an ancient god.

"Simple we crush his armies, decimate his plans, force him to act irrationally when he realises that none of his plans has succeeded he will bring his power to bear and at that moment we shall grab the orb and learn it's secrets. We should start with the Wardens, no doubt Corypheus is responsible and probably has plots or schemes the sooner we can draw them to our side of the fight the better."

"Okay, what if we lose; you said that you can't beat Corypheus"

"Not on my own no, but throw enough bodies at it and something will stick" A horrified expression passed on the inquisitors face, was Nat seriously suggesting to sacrifice so many men for one victory, better yet for a victory they didn't even know would work, after all the orb might not teach anything or it could be fake. "Do you have a better plan Inquisitor?"

"No," She admitted. "But that doesn't mean we should send men to their slaughter, Corypheus will wipe them all out"

"I am not talking a small detachment here, Instead I'm thinking of every single soldier that we can spare, but that would be in the future, Corypheus will not reveal himself yet, not when he still has the ability to win. Instead, we have to focus on his main objectives and stop them, sooner or later he'll show himself. But that is for later, now let's go home"

And without a father wood Valeyna was only able to listen as with a wave of his wand the physical sides of the cave folded in behind them like a gate, fusing together into a solid piece of stone forever preventing anyone from coming in or out, never allowing anyone to disturb the tomb that now lay there. A tomb she realised with a shiver, that could have been her own. Yet even as that solid wall stood still her eyes lingered onto Nat in suspicion and a strange feeling rattled her.

Cole had not escaped notice, yet he had and if he could have so easily dealt with the fanatics then why had he not come sooner then he already did. Had something else happened, and why did he seem so eager to leave.

She hummed quietly to herself, keeping careful track of his movements as she fought the growing suspicion that something was not right here. Just what exactly she couldn't say, but she did know that it wasn't good.

* * *

Hello I normally don't do this but I believe it necessary. Recently I received some criticism of my work which I am always glad to receive as it allows me to improve as a writer. Having read through it thoroughly and then looked back on this story I very much agree with what has been said and that there is too much "filler" as I would call it and that the story seems to have bogged down a lot. I would also say the same that my writing is very heavy with little content, as such for the past 2 weeks I have considered simply ending the story at chapter 28 which is why there has been no release.

I would if it were possible and I had the time to correct all the mistakes I have made but the truth of the matter is that I simply don't and if I did so I know with utter certainty I would never post another chapter. Even now I do not know if this story will carry on as having read it, there is a lot of problems with pacing and other problems previously mentioned.

I would like to continue it, but again I'm not sure how long it would take me to finish. If I do so I will attempt to cut out a lot of filler and focus on the actual plot especially considering I still have, the Grey Wardens, the ball and all the DLC and rest of the game to complete. As such plot points that may have been mentioned such as musketry which I had initially wanted to write some big battles might just be cut entirely. It would be the same thing with the romance, there's simply a lot to do and I've dragged out the story unceremoniously for far too long I mean this whole plot point with the eluvian was only meant to be a minor thing and turned into a 3 chapter thing and that's not mentioning all the other stuff like Orzammar.

As such depending on what people want, I may retire this story.

Thank you for reading after so long

Your's sincerely

Battleship Vytalia


	30. Chapter 30 Back on Track

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

 **Magic and the Inquisition**

Chapter 30 Back on Track

Rain poured, hammering upon the magically reinforced glass Valeyna was made ever aware of just how much she liked the vehicle she was riding in for as the little beads of water taped continuously in both a rhythmic soothing sound that made her feel relaxed enough to close her eyes and fall asleep, it also sent a shiver down her side as she realised that the moment they came to a stop she would be out in this god's forsaken river as once again she and the others had to deal with yet another problem that inflicted the people of Thedas.

Thankfully she hoped it would only be a short matter however, they had only received the letter from Hawke that morning but it was enough to warrant the quick speed of their departure from the castle. Apparently, she had only just received word from her contact in the Wardens telling her that they would meet the Champion of Kirkwall in a place called Crestwood in a cave where they could be alone away from prying ears.

Initially, she had considered asking Hawke to send a message to this contact to head to Skyhold after all the battlements and wards around the fortress and newly built and continuing to expand town would most certainly be a far greater defensive area, but then her mind flashed back to the previous year, over a month ago where she had been at the mercy of mad elves proclaiming nonsense about her being a queen and the coming of some kind of god. She shivered in response at the memory, just what had overtaken their sanity and turned them into such mad things bent on power she did not know, but even now when she went to sleep safe in her bed protected not only by soldiers, and battlements but also by the protection of the person she trusted most of all, she still suffered nightmares of what could have happened.

Images of Thedas in fire, millions massacred, women raped children taken from their mothers arms when they were newborns and slaughtered as if it was nothing and all in the name of elves, it was wrong, vile, the type of thing that only the Darkspawn would dream up or that was how she would wish it so. She gulped quietly pushing down the vile feeling of bile as it tried to come up her throat, hiding her feeling from her driver as she attempted to resist the other feelings she felt, those brief feelings that may have existed only for a brief moment, but had existed all the time.

Agreement.

She did not know why and it disturbed her thoroughly, but for a moment when she had believed her friend had died, she had felt sympathy for her people, agreement with them even. After so long of being oppressed of being treated less than beings like cattle or slaves, butchered and massacred, their homes destroyed, them killed by nobility and only death to reward those who spoke out, could she not see an agreement with those elves who wanted to slaughter the humans and take everything away from them. By the gods, she hoped not.

She sighed deeply almost in tune with the pattern of the rain made all the more apparent with the silence within the car. Whether due to the greyness of the sky or for a desire for peace and quiet nobody spoke, not her as she sat down watching the strange black things wipe away the water in a relaxing manner not, Blackwall who even now looked around the car as though he expected the windows to vanish suddenly and leave him soaked in the rain and not Sera who also sat oddly silent, though she doubted the woman was so in her mind.

That left her driver who was focused purely on the road ahead his hands on the wheel only ever noticing slightly to adjust the strange level on the right or to press the odd button here and there something that was becoming more prevalent now that they had left the smoother main roads and had gotten onto the rocky and bumpy road off the main path. Left to right the car shook and it was also nowhere near the same peace that had so astonished Blackwall and Sera when he had raced so quickly on the highway as though nothing mattered. It was still comfortable though even with the rocking, and with an extra bit of weight and four wheels and whatever type of engineering, she was sure it was also better than being on a horse out here that would likely not be comfortable in this weather leaving them to have to rest and warm them to keep them comfortable, so that was something.

She shrugged her shoulders in a bored fashion and leaned backwards her eyes focusing on the giant blue shape that was beginning to emerge in front of them not far away. It was a bit harder with the heavy rain still lashing out, but she could see it, all the same, lying there seemingly peaceful, or it was were it not for the all to familiar sight of pale green light dancing merrily above the surface of the lake like little spirits enjoying themselves rather than the gate to the Fade that she knew it to be.

She glanced forward squinting slightly as she saw strange and darkened figures shambling up the paths and area, no doubt they were some form of undead or zombie. Annoying, but nothing dangerous, or at least she didn't hope so, with how these missions normally went she wasn't holding out much look.

With a slight bump, she watched as the car drove over the top of a hill and then began to make its careful descent, the large powerful lights making it far safer to navigate down and prevent getting lost in some kind of ditch. When they finally got down the car finally came to a slow stop on a rocky outcrop marked with the symbol of the Inquisition, a few brown tents and the ever welcoming and smiling face of that lovely dwarf scout.

Nodding his head in agreement that he had parked the car in a place that would not be an obstacle to the scouts, allowing for the fast and easy transportation as well as ensuring that the boot of the car was in a decent place to unload the supplies that they had brought with them, he pulled out the key, took another deep breath, pulled up the hood on his strange coat looking coat and then opened the car door and walked out to meet them, the others close behind with Sera being last.

"Inquisitor," Scout Harding said with a joyous smile as she walked quickly up to them for a moment getting them before then marching past as fascination glimmered in her eyes. "So this is it, huh, the famous vehicle I've been hearing" Valeyna nodded good-naturedly and yawned, it was surprising just how tired a drive could make you. "How strange, some sort of design like a cart yet I can't see how it moves, is it powered by Magic, Lyrium?"

"Diesel" Nat answered as he walked behind the scout and opened up the boot raising it high giving access to the supplies, shortly after two other agents approached quickly not daring to marvel out the car as they instead preferred to grab the supplied and stand back in the tent where it was dry and the rain was pouring on them.

"How does it work?" The dwarves eyes glimmered, even in the dark sky and pouring rain Valeyna couldn't help but feel respect for the woman who was seemingly so fascinated by this strange thing that she would happily look at the thing even in adverse weather. "And the metal, these curves are so perfect so precise, I've seen dwarves work with metal, but the quality here is outstandingly better than anything any dwarf has ever created, how is this possible?"

"It's just a car, it's nothing special" Nat replied casually.

"Nothing special-" Harding replied so quickly that for a moment Valeyna believed the woman was about to choke. "This isn't some cart" She sounded offended. "This is a piece of skill and craftsmanship, it must have taken years to make, to design, not to mention the quality of the steel no doubt it cost a fortune to create for just that alone. It has a story, the way the metal bends, the way the light reflects of the metal, yes I can see it now, it is a mastery of engineering, a passion of love." She turned to face Nat her eyes having lost that fascinated glimmer and instead replaced with utter awe as though she was facing a piece of art. "Do you have more of these; I would so love to examine it in father detail"

"No and I thought you said you were a scout and that you grew up in Redcliffe, why ever would you be interested in this thing," Nat asked as he hit the boot of the car gently. As he did so, however, the look of scout Harding turned into one of utmost horror her face turning pale in shock as she watched and heard the sound of Nat's gloved hand rasping against the metal body.

"Don't do that" She nearly screamed in panic hoping to stop Nat yet he did it again paying no mind to her words where without warning he then leaned against it keeping himself underneath the hood where it was dryer on one side, Sera quickly took the other leaving only a small gap for the solders to grab supplies. The scouts face turned to one-off quick horror once again before speaking hoping that he may leave the thing alone if she kept him distracted. "Just because I grew up in Redcliffe doesn't mean I can't respect magnificent things, I might not be an engineer or a miner or a jeweller who makes fine things, but I'm still a dwarf and as a dwarf, this thing still stands out as a thin of beauty. Truly to be able to design and create such a thing, your society must have appreciated engineers very much"

Nat raised a questioning eyebrow, for a moment he was about to respond and tell the woman the truth, modern western society did not venerate designers or architects, or painters or craftsmen, all things that the dwarves of Orzammar did instead they were often shunned, forgotten about and to his knowledge the only truly creative people that were treated as exceptional were musicians and actors, however, he had a feeling that were he to do so that the woman would have a heart attack and faint on the spot from hearing such a thing, as such he simply blinked once and then said something else entirely.

"What can you tell us about Crestwood?" The woman blushed suddenly at the question, the fact that she had been caught out of her duties and fangirling over the strange contraption was ever so embarrassing yet she was just glad that Nat did nothing but offer an amused smile. With a nod of her head in thanks, she crossed her arms over her chest and bowed in the typical Inquisition salute and then responded.

"We've got trouble ahead"

"I'm sure it's nothing the Inquisition can't handle" Valeyna responded confidently hoping to put the somewhat troubled face of the cute dwarf to rest, it seemed to work given the small smile that caught on Harding's face for a moment"

"Careful your worship that optimism might be catching"

"Are things that bad?" With a wave of her hand, Harding directed the Inquisitor forwards towards the edge of the camp. Guard by a crumbling stonewall, she was able to see through the rain somewhat clearer now onto the vast dark thing that she had just seen up the hill. Her eye widened in understanding and surprise as she gazed upon the lake, it was a vast thing, not so incredibly vast though she had seen the sea and how it stretched on forever and she had also seen Lake Calehad which was immense, yet despite how small this lake was in comparison it was still huge and even from here Valeyna could do nothing about the sinking feeling as she realised the problem that now faced her.

That rift the one that was causing so many problems in the local area was at the bottom of that lake.

"Oh," she said slowly as the sheer scale dawned on her. Glancing left she turned back to Harding hoping that the dwarf had some type of idea.

"Crestwood was the site of a flood ten years ago during the blight. It's not the only rift in the area, but after it appeared, corpses started walking out of the lake. You'll have to fight through them to get to the cave where Ser Hawke's Grey Warden friend is hiding."

"Have any undead attacked the camp"

"We've had a few shamblers, but most head towards the village below. Maybe someone in Crestwood can tell you how to get to the rift in the lake. Maker knows they'll want help. Good luck and please be safe" With a final nod Harding happily skipped away back towards the parked car were under the watchful eye of Nat she continued to admire it over, occasionally marking on those magnificent curves. She almost giggled for a moment at the way her friend seemed to watch her so carefully as though he were afraid that she might attempt to suddenly try something with it, after a few moments of quiet staring he shut the boot and with a press of the bottom he locked it and walked up after her joining her staring at the lake.

"Please don't tell me we have to go swimming?" He said amusedly his eyes glancing over the vastness of the lake.

"No there has to be another way to deal with it, perhaps if we speak to the people in the village that Harding mentioned we might find out"

"It's worth a shot anything's better than swimming in a dark lake infested full of the undead" Turning her head away from the Lake Valeyna walked back towards Sera and Blackwall both of whom had deflected to take cover under the shade of the tree seemingly trying to stay as dry as possible before they were inevitably marched through the wet squelchy terrain. Nat followed shortly though only after having shaken away the thoughts in his head, thoughts of the old war, of the old stories referencing the famous Harry Potter and one of his quests to recover a Horcrux. There may be no Inferi in the lake, but it was best just to make sure, one never knew in this day and age.

It didn't take long for them to move up the path, as rocky and hilly as it might have been, raining pouring down all over the place with thunder and lightning striking atop nearby cliffs only reinforced the belief in the group that the sooner they arrived at this village the sooner they could start to get this problem dealt with. Unfortunately, while it didn't take them long to move it also meant that after only a few minutes they heard the all too familiar sound of combat as metal struck against metal ringing out in the cloudy dark grey which was soon followed by a grunt of exertion.

Weapons drawn, they raced towards the inevitable conflict expecting the grunt to be from some soldier or spy of the Inquisition who had gotten caught out, instead however they found a sight they did not expect.

Clad in heavy plate metal decorated by the symbol of a Griffon and covered in royal blue mail that protected those places that were required for movement and a helmet with sharp metals wings attached, the group stopped in recognition as the group ahead fought. Quick and fast the small group of undead were quickly dispatched with swift slashes and plunging thrusts into the abdomen and arms, taking them down with a little hiss and strange sound that the undead always seemed to give.

"Grey Wardens," Sera said loudly recognising the group before then turning to Blackwall. "I thought they had all disappeared, so why is that lot here"

"I don't know" Blackwall admitted honestly. "But I think we best find out why" Curious, the group approached though, despite the seemingly friendly nature of the wardens, they still kept their weapons drawn and moved themselves into a more defensive posture than normal, Nat and Sera edging themself to the side just enough to give them the perfect angle to launch a devastating attack should it be required.

"Grey Wardens" The Inquisitor called, stopping them in their tracks and turning their attention onto the group.

"Inquisitor" The first one said in a surprised tone.

"What are you doing in Crestwood, the last that I heard nobody was able to get into contact with your order?" Valeyna glanced most subtly as she could towards the other wardens, there were surprisingly few of them out here, three by the looks of it.

"A warden named Stroud is wanted for questioning, we heard he passed through here but the villagers knew nothing. They have enough trouble"

"What have you been told about this rouge warden" Valeyna inquired her mind racing back to the name that Hawke had given in her letter, it had been Stroud but if that was the case then was this man a spy, had Corypheus or whoever was in charge realised that the Inquisition was after them or was there something else at play, perhaps desiring to kill the man before he became a threat then he already was, or perhaps his connection to Hawke made the man a more valuable hostage to Corypheus. The Warden shrugged his shoulders entirely unaware of the sudden yet shift in atmosphere that surrounded them, not noticing in the slightest how Sera's bow string became ever so slightly tighter not the angle of Black walls blade change in such a way that he could easily thrust through the exposed gaps in his armour and end his life there and then.

"Warden-Commander Clarel ordered his capture." The man explained peacefully before then shaking his head in an apologetic manner "I can say no more than that. I hope Sir Stroud comes with us peacefully, I trained under him for a time, he's a good man I'm sure of that"

"Will you stay to fight the undead here?" Valeyna asked.

"My orders forbid it. Crestwood was only a detour. If the Inquisition can help, I beg you do what you can help. The villagers have already lost too many"

"When did this occur" Blackwall interrupted, drawing a set of curious gazes from the other two men as the noted the symbol of the Grey Wardens displayed so predominantly upon his chest piece.

"Not too long ago, the rift is only a week old but from what we've gathered it took the villagers completely by surprise killing most of them before they even knew what had happened. They managed to drive them back but now they just keep coming. I wish we could stay if we could but I'm afraid that Warden-Commander Clarel informed us that finding Stroud was our top priority, we can't get distracted from our duty for anything, including this"

"Farewell" With that said Valeyna rushed forward with a great burst of speed quickly gaining a good amount of distance between herself and the wardens, once the others had finally caught up she shot a concerned glance at them and allayed her fears. "They're looking for Hawke's contact"

"So it seems, do we have any plans how to deal with this" Blackwall motioning towards the Grey Wardens as they carried on the path their cloaks and helmets up to deflect the incoming rain as best they could. "Aside from killing them" He then added hastily as he saw the small movement of Nat's arm about to creep up."

"It was only a suggestion?"

"No killing, we'll need the wardens as our allies, but we also need to know where they're located and just what they need Stroud for. If they think he has important information, I don't see them letting us get away with him that easily. Nat, do you think you could smuggle Stroud out if it came to it?"

"That would depend, If they have us trapped in a cave most likely not, on the other hand, if we're by the side of the lake it would be an easy enough job to get him across, although how safe that would be with demon-infested water" He shook his head and glanced back towards the ever-looming presence of the lake, like some kind of great statue that towered over everything the lake did the same for the local area, though with the constant sensation of rain it honestly felt at times that it was steadily rising, as though it was trying to drown them all in the basin.

"Right I'll keep that in mind, for the moment let's try to avoid conflict, they don't feel like their part of Corypheus corruption plan to seize the order and they didn't mention some type of new leader"

"Right because they would have said" Sera snipped.

"I hope Hawke's Warden friend has answers for us"

Turning left they smelt the sensation of battle before they saw and heard it, the all familiar sensation of blood and corpses was made all the fouler in this weather, the scent wafting through their nose as it combined with the wet smell of dirt something that when combined with the ever-present sensation of Ozone as lightning slashed against the sky striking against a cliff several miles away with such force and ferocity that large clumps of rock exploded and tumbled away, made it all the worse to deal with.

Pressing forward their weapons at the ready they then began to make out the noise of screaming and combat something that was soon made all the clearer to them as they got into visual range of the walls of the village they had seen earlier, only the gate had fallen and dead bodies lay atop the sharpened wooden palisades, impaled as demons began to surge forth.

"Undead by the gates" And with that, they charged. Blackwall clothed as he was in his heavy metal plate threw himself into the first skeletal archer he found, using his mass and momentum gained the skeleton was knocked over with frightening ease allowing the surprised skeletons to sit stunned for a few seconds as their nonexistent minds attempted to work out which of the villagers had taken them out only to then be slain mere moments later as a heavy slashes cleaved through their pale bones and a powerful kick to the other in the left leg splintered the entire design leaving it to fall in a heap on the floor. Not to allow the enemy advantage Blackwall pushed forward his shield held defensively forward taking the blow of a spell as it raced towards him, he grunted in pain as he felt the sensation burn through him, and then again as another spell struck, but it was not enough to slow him down and with a sharp thrust of his blades he killed the green spirit and then brought the blades in a diagonal slash killing the next demon who just attempted to take him off guard.

Not to be outdone by some grumpy bearded man, Sera rushed forward an annoyed and slightly perturbed look on her face as she advanced in the rain. Quietly as she drew the arrow placing it in the string and then pulling back her arms feeling the strain of energy as she held the arrow close to her face, she automatically adjusted for the differing weather conditions, accounting for how the heavy downpour would force the arrow down as it struck it mid-flight and how it would also slow down ensuring that she had to get closer to allow for the weapon to punch through the exposed bone of her targets head before loosing with a loud thunk. She drew her next arrow and chose her next target this time one of those ugly demon things with a black/brown/purples skin tone, not that she cared about what type of demon it was only so long as it died, and it did as her arrow flew true and struck it dead. Her next target was another of the same demons only this one had pushed back the gate and was rounding on a downed soldiers, she loosed her arrow and again the demon died and her attention rounded to the side as she shot another one flying mere centimetres by Blackwall's ear as it struck an undead who attempted to strike from behind.

Staff twirling around her head at incredible speed, the magic flowed from the Inquisitor with both incredible ferocity and subtly as she dealt with the demons and undead in both extreme speed and colourful grace. Going from element to element to allow her spells the time needed to recharge in the fight, the sky hummed and glowed as fire, ice, and lighting arched across the battlefield, blasting, burning, freezing and obliterating all who stood before her in a cacophony of death. Such was her speed that an arrow fired from an undead skeletons bow at her flank froze as with a twist she extended her hand and cast the ice all spell freezing not only that undead but also the three other in line with it and the arrow it had only just launched in a freezing icy shell. Despite already having lost their mortality and were now nothing but a mere shell of what they were and thus not affected by the freezing sensation of cold that would have gnawed their fingers off like it may for those alive, the skeletons had they even been able to feel it had no reprieve as without even stopping her twirl a quick thrust of her staff conjured up and set flying a giant fist of pure stone smashing into their frail frames and eviscerating them into pieces mere seconds later Valeyna rounded on a demon where with a flick of her hand she sent the demon hurling backwards with great force as the powers of the fade turned into a simple form of telekinesis throwing the demon away from its intended target and focusing its attention onto her. Angry the demon snarled behind it's stitched lips and focused upon its birthplace and upon the emotion that it was born off, raising its hand it got ready to unleash a torrent of fire only to explode as a bolt of lightning struck it full force. Valeyna still mid-battle went to attack the next enemy this time a set of five more undead archers that had already slain three of the guards but before she could even attempt to cast she barely had time to acknowledge the red beam of light that shot through the sky and then exploded with a resonant force.

With a sound not unlike that of thunder, the ground beneath the skeletons exploded upwards, bones splintered, flesh turned to ash, dirt and rock and grass were either eviscerated or sent sky bound with such speed that nobody had time to even notice it instead all that those guards could do was clutch at their ears tightly as the sound struck so loud that for a moment they heard a ringing in their ears and sound became a muffled thing before then returning to normal. Or it would have done were it not for in a quick succession of spells ten other blasts rocked the earth sending forming small craters and wiping the very presence of both the demons an undead from the world, but it was not over yet for as soon s the sound of explosions that obliterated the clustered groups of enemies ceased, the sounds of risking flesh being ripped loudly was made all the ever-present. Some the guards noticed we cleaved in two as though somebody had managed to take a broad sword, yet the cut was so clean so precise that it was as though it had been made with the lightest touch, others, on the other hand, had large holes blasted through them and yet others instead were impaled on a myriad of arrows and spears that struck them to the ground leaving them exposed for a still fighting Blackwall to take advantage as he gave a fateful and final strike with his sword or a firm storm with his metal-covered boots.

The villagers stood amazed their eyes shining in both fear and fascination as they stared at the strangers who had within the span of only a few short moments had done nothing short of massacre the entire threat presented to themselves, yet that awe turned to fear as now with their view no longer blocked by death they easily made out the symbol of a staff in the elf's hand and the smaller ones in the wizards. The first man gulped in silence and then steadily his fingers quivering barely managing to hold the bow in his hand walked forward and bowed his head and spoke in a muted whispering manner"

"Your holiness, I had not imagined seeing the Lady Inquisitor and Herald of Andraste"

"Never mind that, are you okay, are your people hurt?" Valeyna asked quickly her attention focused not on the young man before her his head bowed in respect but instead on those others who limped across the battlefield, seeing this she dashed forward and approached the nearest injured person. For a moment they froze in fear but in doing so it allowed her to start healing, giving forth a brilliant light as the wounds closed underneath her touch and some pain was relived allowing them to relax. Following her example, Sera and Blackwall both eager to assist the injured and escape the rain rushed to join her leaving Nat alone to speak to the guard.

"Are you alright?" He said in the most comforting manner he could. The man glanced around his eyes swollen and one of them blackened from a wound but other than that he didn't look too badly injured at least physically, despite this though and despite his calmer more placid tone he noted that now Valeyna was gone the man's face turned to one of quickly growing horror as he looked around the corpse-strewn battlefield.

"All right" He whispered his hands shaking, a moment later his legs gave way leaving him to collapse under him before he could do Nat caught and steadied the man before then walking him through the gates and towards the nearest bit of shelter and setting him down. The man continued to shake, not a single part of him able to seemingly focus as his eyes darted all over. "I'm okay," The man said in a half-crazed manner, "yes I'm all right" Nat shook his head, obviously the effect of seeing his dead friends had finally struck and light a light bulb the man's eyes fell shut and he slumped to the ground entirely unconscious. Nat rushed a finger towards his neck checking for a pulse, thankfully he found one and after making sure he was alive, he dragged the man into the nearest intact house using magic to open the lock and set him inside on the bed before then leaving him to sleep.

Nat sighed and left the house rushing to join with the Inquisitor who he saw had quickly arrived at the top of this hill where she had turned right apparently where another person was directing them. As he moved, however, he became aware immediately of how the people stopped and stared at him, he turned reading their face, for there was no joy or love in them, no relief, nor awe like they had for the Inquisitor as even in their state a few tried to make themselves look cleaner than they were, instead he noticed only one emotion become present.

Terror.

Not fear, he had seen fear before and he had inflicted fear before, no this was terror for all faces grew pale, all breath's seemed to hitch and every move he made sent a flinch and shiver down their spine. Most all focused on his right hand where his wand was gripped tightly and a faint glow of magic as he relocked the door to prevent looting, he marched forward noticing a mother with a child, a boy who seemed injured however as he approached the woman seemed to have a heart attack for she stopped there her eyes trembling and when she seemed to notice that his attention was on her son, she gripped him tightly pulling her behind her protecting him before then spreading out her arms as she made a brave face one that he could tell she knew would fail if he wanted the boy but one all the same that was disturbing. She was going to defend her son from him.

He was about to question why would such action be required, he was an ally was he not, one who had just saved them from the demons and undead yet they treated him as if he were the enemy and an enemy was most certainly how they saw him. Even now he could see that terror that had first accompanied them was morphing into hatred, a burning passionate hatred, that flared with the intensity of an inferno a hatred that they desired to see him dead, one man stepped forward and in response, Nat tilted his head ever so slightly, it wasn't much, but at that moment the one who had felt courage suddenly darted back into the crowd.

What had he done he wondered to himself silently as the rain poured and thundered down pelting the ground and turning the already soft ground into mud? These people hated him but not for his magic alone he realised, were that the case they would have feared the Inquisitor, no instead there was something else, something different, suddenly a loudly bell chimed from the village. It was not a loud bell nor anything special, but at that moment as he diverted his attention towards its source and found it hanging upon the building of a Chantry, he realised just what he had done.

A knowing feeling ran down his back, of course, he realised. Templar's.

They would have been guardians here, men of the faith who would guard these people from harm, not only from magic as it was so often displayed as evil but also from the real evils of this world, from the demons, and the undead that they inhabited. As the greatest soldiers in Thedas only beaten by the Chevaliers and even then only when they were on the back of their mounted beasts they were the ultimate protectors, the best defence against such a threat. No doubt that even had the Templar's not protected everyone that list of casualties would have been lower thanks to their efforts, or it would have been, had he not killed them all.

Ah it came back now, like a sudden tsunami striking him, he had not forgotten about this, he knew what he had done and he had not and did not feel sorry or apologetic for his actions, the Templar's were thugs, slavers, people who had to die, yet he had killed so many during that week of anger and rage, his emotions controlling him even if it were in a cold calculated way rather than a pure burning rage that roared brightly but slackened quickly. He had come in the late evening he remembered, driving without a care, stopping only out of the main halls and bust into the building. At the time the templar guard a total of four men had been in front of the chapel in front of a sister, praying, begging for mercy and salvation from their Maker, their beloved made-up entity. He had butchered them all, it had been quick painless even, one quick flick of his word and a large cutting curse had struck the heads off all of them whilst they were kneeling. They had been unarmed, un-armoured, defenceless and going by the wine cups that had been on a nearby table they had been merry and in joyous mood even as they did their best to ask for help for the people.

It had been easy, no effort made to defend against him, no guard or sentry, he had walked in and killed them, then he had wiped the mind of the sister returning her to her bed and impaled the templar's on pikes letting them hang in front of the Chantry door where the men and women of this village could only stare in horror as their defenders, some who had defied their orders to pull to their stronghold and instead continue to defend their people were massacred.

It had been so easy.

Returning from memory he locked eyes with the villagers, one by one taking in their features, from the young children newly born kept at the mother's embrace to the old who were likely luck to have survived the winter and demons.

Did they even know, could they even comprehend just how easy it was for him, how little the lives of their beloved protectors had meant for him, that he would do it again. He smirked cruelly and lowered his head giving off a small chuckle at the hilarity off it, oh how their faith had been misplaced. Where was their beloved Maker when he had come, when the demons had come?

Nowhere.

They had struck upon their village wiping them out both he and the monsters, and yet despite this a few he could see at the back of their minds that they desired to rush forward, without a weapon purely to kill, to grab revenge for what he had done, yet they hadn't instead watched fearfully and prayed silently to their maker that this would be over quickly.

He turned quickly away from them and headed up to where Valeyna was, it was best to leave these people alone he thought, best to allow them to rebuild without the memory of just how frail their lives were, best without him around, so without a word and not desiring to scare the inhabitants, he left and went on his way.

Reuniting with the Inquisitor quickly they were soon directed towards the Mayor's house, located at the top of this hill they were on, it was there that the frightened people placed their trust and faith given the death of the Chantry sister. Perhaps it was because of this why there was so much despair in the air, not a single ray of hope was to be found only grim determination to survive, and even that had likely been in doubt.

"It's repulsive" Blackwall snarled. "All these kings and queens, the nobility and yet where are their armies, it's their responsibility to keep the peace to keep their people safe, but instead they hide away in their castles doing nothing. Even if they did not battle the rifts directly they could still have kept areas contained, villages safe not simply leave them to this fate"

"We should find the local lord and kick his arse" Sera agreed violently no doubt imagining all the ways how she could turn whoever was in charge into a messy pulp and wine, behind her Nat couldn't help but agree mostly with her though he didn't say it, who was he to say such a thing when it was his actions that had no doubt helped cause much of the suffering that now befell those people.

"When we get back I'll speak to Josephine, see if we can't bring in whoever was responsible and make them stand trial," Valeyna said in a determined fashion quickly gaining an approving and bloodthirsty smile from Sera while Blackwall nodded his beard in thanks, with any luck they could send a warning that abandoning one's people to this foul fate would not be tolerated, not when Valeyna was in charge.

"Perhaps we should have a word with the King as well, King Alistair was a Grey Warden before all this began to disgrace the name by abandoning these people cannot be tolerated" More nods and cheers were met with the man from the two women obviously of the same thing, but when Nat said nothing they turned a questioning and burning gaze upon."You disagree?" Blackwall added sternly.

"I think before we pass judgement, that we should see what the King is doing, one does not need to provide military assistance to prove useful after all. Besides it does us little to think of such issues now, the sooner we deal with the rift the sooner we can deal with more pressing issues" Nat responded calmly his attention still focused on the primary threat of the Grey Wardens and just what they could accomplish under Corypheus.

"Very well, anyway this is the place let's go talk with the mayor" Pushing the door to the slightly bigger house open, the group were met with both protection from the rain and with an older looking man. He was the mayor of that was no doubt, the slightly larger than an average house filled with multiple barrels, some haystacks and other large space made that all too prevalent, as did the slightly better quality clothing that he wore designed to keep him warm in these lands.

"The Inquisitor? Mayor Dedrick of Crestwood village. At your service despite everything" The man seemed wary and despite this and his age the man still spoke kindly even offering a small bow, of course, his eyes widened in shock at the recognition of Nat but he stayed silent not desiring to kill the mood.

"Greetings" Valeyna replied just as kindly offering a small smile in hopes of lifting the man's spirit. It didn't work.

"Your worship. Is there any way to stop the dead from rising?" The man inquired his attention quickly fixing onto the young wizard at her side, and a loud gulp came down his throat, not noticing how the man looked at her friend however Valeyna took it as fear of the demons.

"The undead are arising because of a rift in the Fade. How can I get to it"

"The light in the lake?" The man's face flashed in recognition and something else the elf noted, what it was she couldn't tell but it vanished just as quickly as it appeared. "It's coming from the caves below Old Crestwood. Darkspawn flooded it ten years ago during the Blight. It wiped out the village, killing the refugees we took in."

"I saw a dam. If we use it to drain the lake can I get to that Fade rift" There it was again a flash of something, fear she thought it was, the sudden widening of eyes an almost rapid paleness, how his eyes looked away in shame as though he had done some terrible dead? She shook her head in sympathy the man was still struggling from the fact that he was losing his people and there seemed no solution.

"Drain the-"The man visibly quaked at the suggestion before then sighing in defeat and steadying himself under the rapidly withering glance of the wizard. "There must be some other way"

"Not unless you mean us to drown" Nat added suspiciously, the man was hiding something if he was this afraid of them going to the bottom of the lake, especially since they had not once even mentioned about taking them there. He gripped his wand tighter and listened closer

"You'd have to evict the bandits in the old fort to use the dam. I can't ask you to risk your life"

"Trust me I've fought worse than the bandits and the undead" Valeyna joked.

"Then... Then I have no choice" Under the ever-increasing withering view of Nat the man reached into his purse with his hand until he then brought out an old worn out key, made of iron and rusted the man reluctantly placed it into the open palm of the woman's hand and then gave a pitiful smile. "This key unlocks the gate to the dam controls past the fort. The rift must be in the caves under old Crestwood. But Inquisitor... I would not linger there."

"Thank you, until later than" With that said Valeyna led the group out of the house and back into the rain.

"Of course," The main said slowly as he shot a nervous look at the back of the wizard and going so far as to keep his eye on them until they vanished in the ever-increasing downpour that hammered upon his wooden home.

"Something wrong," Valeyna asked once they were out of earshot.

"The man's hiding something, something he really doesn't want us to know?" Nat replied quickly his attention flickering to the key that was still grasped in the Inquisitor's pocket.

"What are you talking about? He seemed good-natured to me"

"His story doesn't add up" Seeing their inquisitive looks Nat explained. "Well, first there's the fact that he said that the Darkspawn flooded the village except that's not how Darkspawn operate. Their dark cruel vindictive creatures who take joy out of causing pain and torture, they slaughter and rape and while they have intelligence to make crude weapons and operate some form of war machines, they are not the type to take such an action, not when they could have butchered a helpless village at the time."

"Well, maybe they had different instructions from the Archdemon," Sera asked as they strode along the wall towards where this so-called fort was.

"Perhaps, but then there's also the key, if the Darkspawn were the ones who did flood the area, then they would have had no need for a key, they would have instead bashed the door down and that's if they were feeling tactical. Had they truly wanted to flood the village then they could have far more easily just destroyed the dam outright, only the dam isn't destroyed." Valeyna's eyes widened slightly as she realised just what Nat was hiding.

"He really didn't want us to go down there, he tried to stop us several times, had he wanted to stop the undead he would have helped us instantly" Nat nodded.

"So we have a key to a door that would have been destroyed had it been Darkspawn that kept secure a dam that would have been destroyed had it been Darkspawn, but even then that leaves one major question?"

"And what's that?" Blackwall asked in a concerted manner, not at all liking where this train of thought was leading.

"Even if the Darkspawn had done all of that, that they had secured a key, politely walked in and then pulled the level, why didn't the mayor drain the lake? I mean he's had ten years since the blight ended and while I can understand not wanting to desecrate the dead, surely there must have been a great demand for the ability to properly dispose of the dead and send them to the Maker. I don't imagine it being much of a problem, not unless of course that he wanted to hide something"

"You think he flooded the village" Sera squawked in surprise her attention zipping back in the direction that they had come in. Nat nodded grimly and focused his attention on the lake and then back to where Valeyna had said where this fortress was, there was no doubt that the ability to flood the village had been intentional, were it not there would have been no way to drain it, instead, it was likely part of the defensive structure, trapping everyone in the area, then opening the dam and drowning them in a torrent of dirty gushing water.

"Perhaps not him directly, maybe somebody he knew. All the same, the man is terrified of allowing others to see what's at the bottom of that lake" Sera growled in response, her anger starting to make itself aware and soon she sent a glare and a raised finger to the mayor as she began to swear loudly, she wasn't stupid and this was exactly what some noble shit would do to save their own skin.

"Well, I guess we'll discover what happened when we drain the lake" Nat nodded in agreement, they would get to the bottom of this sooner or later.

The keep wasn't too hard to find, with the rain pouring down the large imposing dark shape in the foreground made it incredibly easy to locate and keep an eye on, though what immediately grabbed their attention setting all of them on edge was just how quiet the roads were. It was the constant state of battle they were in they knew, it made anything that was peaceful seem like a trap when it wasn't it was strange the fact that the area lacked danger was more off-putting and concerning than an area where demons or undead were crawling about something that was only confounded when they approached and noticed the incredibly lax security around the castle

"Hmm, no patrols, gate left undefended and nobody on the walls, this lot will have to be the worst bandits I've ever seen, or this is an obvious trap" Blackwall commented as he noticed the complete absence of anyone that had been posted on the walls leaving those inside with no way of knowing that they were there. They could burst in there and then they knew, one explosive spell from Nat would have the entire front door turned to splinters Allowing them to rush in, weapons raised and kill any and all who were nearby, but at the same time one needs to only glance at the walls and the sheer scale of this castle to realise that such a plan was not a good idea. More than likely the very moment they rushed into the courtyard would be the moment they would be peppered by archer fire on all surroundings.

"Nat take Sera and climb up the rear walls if you can, Blackwall and I will see if we can find some sort of back door" Sera glanced at Nat and then turned her head away as she realised just who she was going to be dealing with, despite this though she nodded and quickly ran off to the side making sure to stick towards the side of the wall, hugging it closely just in case there were any sentries that nobody had spotted yet, finally when they approached the back wall, an area that was on the very thin ledge, far too small for anyone who did not have either of their small physiques, the two turned and glanced up inspecting for a way to climb.

Sera went first, throwing herself upon the stone wall using the cracks and crevices and those other stone blocks that jutted out a bit to use as a makeshift ladder as she quickly made to scramble up the side, all the while as she made sure to keep a sturdy grip as the rain poured. When Nat didn't follow her up instantly however using the same method, she turned down a grin on her face and about to mock him only to be silenced as a second later as with a quick flick of her wand she watched as the stone to her side, the same wet stone that she had been clambering suddenly jutted out in a continuous pattern of clean dry stairs. With a small smile, Nat stepped on the first one and walked up to the top of the wall where, with another spell, he commanded the wall to go back into its normal position leaving Sera still holding onto the wall with an angry face. Moments later she heaved herself up and landed with gracefulness back on her feet shooting Nat an irritated look before scanning the area.

It was a good job they had decided to outflank the enemy he thought quietly as he gazed into the courtyard, just as he had imagined the space where the Inquisitor would have rushed into had she gone through the front gate was surrounded on all sides with several archers who were lounging as best as they could while they took shelter from the rain. There were about thirty in total and most were in the actual building itself as they took their time off inside while the others froze in the pouring rain and howling wind that forced their soaked through clothes to stick to them like a second skin. Sera 's nose shrivelled as she noticed a few of the fatter guards and just how much fat they had was made apparent by their now see through clothes.

"Find an advantageous position, I'll deal with the leader" Before Sera could even interject or argue Nat had already left his wand glowing lightly as he subtly cast a more powerful rain spell, It didn't cover a large area, only slightly larger than the area of the castle itself, but as soon as the weather was cast, the rain that had previously been pouring down in an utter torrent now became an entire flood, that blasted so quickly and so repeatedly that it became impossible to hear anything under the constant sound of rain. She sneered at Nat and his complete dryness, Magical asshole.

Opening the door to the largest visible room with an unlocking charm, Nat walked in casually his wand raised and utterly silent and locked onto the leader and then loosed the spell, so distracted by the current downpour or their work the leader didn't even notice anything, one moment he was alive and the next he was a red paste splattered all over the inside of the rooms, coating everything. The guards only heard the sound of thunder.

Those guards fell quickly for even as Sera using the advantage of the heavy rain quietly snuck behind them loosing arrows at point-blank range into their throat's the metal tips slicing open flesh and muscle to the blood veins forcing them to collapse and bleed out unable to scream while the water diluted their blood and washed it away, Nat dispatched other guards though far faster as his spells were unheeded by the water. Within minutes the guards entirely unaware were all dead and Nat and Sera moved into the castle itself quietly dispatching the other guards until they finally came across a door.

"3,2,1" They heard and with a mighty push the door, smashed downwards on its hinges cracking loudly on the stone floor, revealing the armoured form of Blackwall, sword and shield t the ready, mid-strike only to stop as he noticed his two companions the only ones in the room.

"Where are the bandits?" Valeyna asked rushing inside the shelter.

"Dead" Sera answered.

"Dead, but you were only gone a few minutes"

"What do you want me to do, resurrect one so you can stab at them" Nat mocked and turned his attention upwards, then with another wave of his hand, he cancelled his spell reducing the rain down back to what it had been.

"Well no, but" Blackwall began

"Their dead, let's get a flag up and invite Harding over, I don't trust her enough not to try something on my car" A shiver ran up his spine, what was it with dwarves and machines, even Varrick had been unable to resist approaching the car asking about it with a critical eye., thankfully it had been far less so than the other dwarves who had noticed the thing on that journey North. Not that it did Cullen any good seeing as his guards had gotten tired of repulsing dwarves who had come demanding to see the thing and inspect it, and Josephine was expected to get a letter any day from Orzammar demanding that their craftsmen could inspect it, No doubt spies would be sent soon to gather info.

"Good, have you located where the dam controls are" Valeyna replied as she quickly cast a flame spell and held it between herself and the others enjoying the sensation of heat on their bodies while they could.

"Not yet, we only just disposed of the guard-" Suddenly a pitiful moan erupted a few metres to the left, turning as a group they watched as one of the bandits began to crawl away on his hands and legs away from the group. "Never mind, Sera you missed one"

"How do you know it was mine" The elf woman demanded angrily.

"Because he has an arrow coming out of his back"

"Then I didn't miss"

"Whatever, I'll finish this"

"NO," Valeyna said loudly stopping Nat from fully withdrawing his sabre. "Keep him alive, that way he can lead us to where the controls are"

"Got it" Pulling out his sabre fully and his wand put away, Nat walked slowly towards the man, making sure to keep a good distance between them while he kept the edge of the sword directly at his back ready to thrust in a moment's notice if required until he had gotten around the front and stopped the man entirely. "Okay, here's the deal, you tell us what we want and we'll let you live, refuse and... well you get the idea," Nat said as he casually pointed to several dead guards who littered the floor, mostly those who were killed by Sera as they were intact whereas his kills... were mostly bits and pieces on the floor such as noses, fingers, half a torso with two legs and another half a torso with arms, some even had large hole in their body from a cannonball. Suffice to say the bandit stopped where he was glanced up and revealed that he had defecated himself as the sound his stench wafted down the corridor.

"Eww gross" Sera said.

"Tell me, where is the mechanism to open the dam?" Valeyna demanded harshly.

"The Pub, the pub, it's in the abandoned pub, please don't kill me please "Valeyna blinked, that had been surprisingly quick, normally that type of stuff took a few hours. She glanced back to Nat seeking whether he was lying, when he shook his shoulders she focused back on the man. "Let him go" With a sigh Nat nodded and took a step away from the bandit, seeing his chance the bandit quickly rushed up onto his feet and ran.

One metre, two-metres, three metres, he got to the nearest door, opened it took a step outside and a sudden pain slammed into him from behind. He blinked once and then died as a spear impaled him to the ground.

Spinning at the sudden sound Valeyna and the others turned a horrified look as they saw the dead man and then to Nat as he lowered his wand and turned to them, seeing their faces Nat simply shrugged his shoulders.

"You said to let him live, you never said for how long" Without another word he brushed past them and back up the stairs the others joining him as they replaced the flag at the top of the pole before then heading towards the pub.

It was an easy enough building to find, past the castle and having killed a few more bandits who had not been in the area at the time, the group quickly came across the only building that could be said it was on the lake. Built on top of the actual dam, it was quite clear that it had been placed there when the dam had initially been built, likely acting as a safe location to hold the mechanism as well as store other produce. Now however as the group walked over the dam their attention brought to their flanks by the vast and deep lake that surrounded them on two sides, they began to question just how deep it truly was and in Nat's case how advanced the dam was.

Perhaps it had been built by the dwarves he wondered, but the sturdiness of a proper full stone dam, the smooth design of it the strength of its concrete and structure did not exactly strike him as being anything modern, instead, it must have been something else, and that left to another question, precisely what had been initially found here to mandate the building of such a vast dam. Had there previously been a wealthy mine in the area, if so it would explain the structure and if not, well something on the scale he was imagining pointed in the direction that a random group of citizens would never have the money to pay for such a thing and neither was it likely that a king would have much money to build something so grand, which pointed to Tevinter? Before he could say anything, the sudden sound of a harsh laugh grabbed his attention.

There on Blackwall's face with a humorous look, he laughed again and then pointed at the sign of the pub, Sera laughed also and even Valeyna cracked a small grin as they approached. Nat shook his head at the joke and took the lead at the door his wand still in his hand about to unlock the door before he stopped dead silent.

A low moan echoed from within, it was soft and faint but it was there all the same. He looked back and signalled to the others to be prepared and then cast the spell quietly opening the door before then with a burst of energy a cutting curse at the ready he raced forward past the wooden barrels into the main room ready to slay whatever was in, he turned the corner and then threw himself back again. Deeply concerned Valeyna rushed forward ready to unleash a spell only to then freeze as she saw where the moan had emanated from, Blackwall followed and so did Sera only to stop as she did as yet another moan echoed causing Nat to push himself against the back of the wall his eyes darting towards the entrance as he gripped his wand as firmly as he could. The reason for this, was because they're in the middle of the dirty decrypt old pub, overrun with cobwebs, the stench of old booze that had never been washed out and other things was a young couple having sex in the middle of the floor.

"Maker's balls" Blackwall exclaimed loudly.

"Wha- oh shit" The man swore loudly his entire body going limp in fear as he turned towards the direction of the three adults as they stared down at them weapons still drawn having expected to fight another demon or something of similar ilk. On top of him, the woman also froze not able to get a single word of instead just stopping as she did her best to cover what little modesty she had with her hands, but it was too late the damage was done.

Blackwall looked down amused at the couple as the couple quickly disentangled themselves a small twinkle in his eye as he stroked his beard, Sera meanwhile gained a shit-eating grin and laughed as loudly as she could, never taking her eyes off them even as they raced to grab their clothes and dress themselves in a quick but messy fashion. Valeyna in contrast just raised an eyebrow and gave an admiring look at the two young people, giving them a teasing hungry look before then chuckling mirthful.

"I'm sorry, did we interrupt something," She said in a mocking tone.

"Uh, shit, uh, please don't tell anyone we were here," The girl said as she finished covering herself up, it was rather hilarious Valeyna thought, the way that they blushed so heavily their faces turning as bright as a cherry. They stammered loudly for a while and she could see that they were thinking of the best possible excuse in the world for why she shouldn't tell anyone, about why their secrecy was so important to everything. Blackwall grinned.

"And why would we do that, you look like you enjoyed yourself" The teenagers withered like plants without sun or water, falling into themselves fearing for what their future was going to be like.

"Please, My father doesn't approve of him, please don't tell, we'll do anything" Sera snorted and glanced at the still amused look on the Inquisitor, expecting her to comment. For a few more seconds the woman savoured the feeling, enjoying how the teenagers seemed to be so frightened, no wonder her Keeper had enjoyed disrupting it, the looks on people's faces were absolutely hilarious. Soon though she smiled good-naturedly and spoke in a soft reassuring.

"Don't worry, we won't say anything. Just make sure to find somewhere a bit cleaner than some mangy old pub"

"Yes thank you," The man said bowing his head before gripping the girl by the hand and rushed out of the building into the pouring rain, so quickly did they run they didn't notice the still hiding Nat as he had since walked outside staring into the vastness of the lake, once they had passed he came in wand flickering rapidly commanding the tables and chairs to clean themselves followed by removing every stain until after only a couple of minutes the place had been scrubbed entirely clean leaving the pub in a better than new condition.

"Now that's one way to spend your day," Sera said amusedly noticing the very quiet form of Nat as even with extensive cleaning charms, he seemed to tiptoe his way across the pub as though it was entirely infected with some sort of disease.

"Ah the young, always getting up to things" Blackwall chuckled.

"Did you see their faces, ha, utterly priceless"

"And the way he just shrivelled up, poor girl, lad can't even keep it up" Roaring in laughter the two other companions grabbed a chair and sat themselves down, laughing the entire time as they mentioned things from what they had just seen, all the while Valeyna cracking the occasional joke entered the room where the mechanism was, pushed as hard as she could.

"Ha, the Inquisitors struggling with a piece of Hard Wood," Sera said taking pleasure as she watched the woman throw her entire body weight against the thing only for it still not to move.

"It's not my fault, the dam things stuck. Blackwall come over here and" Before she could finish her sentence Valeyna was only barely able to recognise the spell that flew mere centimetres past her face and struck the mechanism. A loud creak echoed from the mechanism and then faster then she imagined the device span round quickly opening the dam. No sooner than it had happened a roaring sound as thousands of litres of water poured forth, rushing out of the dam and to the area below. It happened with such incredible speed that by the time the group left the pub which was only a few moments and looked down they could already see that at least a hundred metres of water had already drained and several metres more until it then hit a stable level as it left revealing a myriad of broken houses down below them.

"That... that was deeper then I expected it to be" Nat commented as he peered down. It had been incredibly deep he realised, deep enough to have swallowed skyscrapers back home, at least the smaller more residential ones anyway and the speed in which the dam had worked, the amount of water that had left was also terrifying, that amount of pressure alone would decimate smaller buildings, ripping them off their foundations. It was more like a tsunami than a flood. His eyes narrowed at that, yet more clues that something was off here, looking down he saw with the water now gone the ever-familiar sparks of Fade energy as lightning sparked harshly against the land giving birth to a number of demons and undead skeletons that very quickly began to march up the hill soon joined by rage demons as they were no longer impeded by the water drowning them.

"All right let's get moving" Valeyna cried commanding them to cross the dam back onto solid land, however before her next sentence began she was cut off as Nat rushed forward leaping ahead grabbed the woman tightly and forced her down with a heavy slam, narrowly dodging the razor-sharp talons above them. A loud and echoing roar emanated from the great scale horned winged beast a roar that reverberated in the land and got all to look at it in fear and awe.

"A fucking dragon" Blackwall yelled watching as the creature flew away into the distance roaring as it did so. Nat stood up and offering the inquisitor his hand he sighed loudly and pinched his nose.

"This complicates matters"

"Complicates matters?" At the idea, a wide and bloodthirsty smile stretched menacingly across her mouth as she watched the dragon finally vanish. "We get to kill a dragon, this is brilliant"

"Kill the dragon?" Nat said slowly making sure he had understood her correctly, "You want to fight against that fire breathing death machine?"

"Why not it'll be fun"

"I beg to differ, more like painful, very, very painful" He shivered the memory of that Archdemon and the feeling of powerful winds smashing into his body as he barely managed to survive once again fresh in his mind. At least that time he had been on his own allowing him to use his magic, but fighting it with the others, that meant no apparation, and he doubted Valeyna would be too happy if he just threw a grenade down its mouth as a sensible person would, nor would she want him to conjure a battery of cannon and turn the fucker to Swiss cheese, no she wanted to fight the dragon, close up with magic and a sword and shield. He pitched his nose and sighed loudly, this was a really stupid idea.

"But fun, I can mount a dragon skull on my wall when we get back," The blonde girl said with repeated enthusiasm.

"Right and the rift we're trying to close" Valeyna's look soured.

"Fine we do that first but straight after we kill the dragon"

"And if I don't want to fight the giant flying flame thrower?"

"Oh come on it can't be that bad it's just a dragon?"

"Just a"- Nat wanted to tell her then and there that Dragons were considered a dangerous race for a reason, that they were dangerous that even experienced wizards had problems with them, that it took about twelve working in unison with stunners to down the bloody things and that was back home. Dragons here were bigger far fucking bigger and since they too were also magical death machines, it would mean even harder work trying to kill the fucker. The worst thing was that he knew the Inquisitor was only holding back on what she was saying since Sera and Blackwall didn't know what he had gotten up to in the Deep Roads if they had then they also would be giving knowing glances at him. He glared at the inquisitor, there was no way he wanted to fight another flying gecko, not unless he could fight it in his way, by using the most underhanded tactics in history that would not gain him any glory or gold or recognition but instead call him a pathetic loser who was too chicken to fight a dragon properly.

"What are you afraid Nat, don't tell me that you're scared of a little dragon"

"I'm not if I can fight it my way; give me an enclosed area and poison gas, or artillery"

"But where's the fun in that?"

"Exactly we deal with the rifts and the bandits then I'll drive back to the Haven grab Bull, drive him here and he can fight the bloody thing with you, I'm not doing it," Nat said sternly.

"Oh come on, grow a pair do something a man would do, didn't you just hide enough when those two kids were fucking, the least you can do is redeem yourself" It was meant as only a semi-serious joke, something Blackwall had only meant to try and inspire Nat, give him some words of encouragement make him feel brave, the last thing that anyone had expected was when Nat had simply turned slowly meeting the man with a scathing look.

"Grow up"

Not waiting a response Nat carried along down the dam and quickly made his way down the grassy and dirty path, as soon as the demons at a nearby rift noticed him they went to attack charging forwards only to find themselves eviscerated within an instant, the corpses turned to physical ash as a blasting spell obliterated them leaving the pathway for a very concerned Valeyna to follow and close the rift. As they moved onto the next town, she quickly shot angry glances at Blackwall however instead of the man feeling sorry for the action he simply crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders.

"He's not a kid, he can't keep hiding in the other room when trouble happens or blush when he sees a set of tits or cock, he's got to man up" Valeyna merely pointed towards Nat as he approached the ruined town and then quietly she moved up to him giving an understanding yet also mocking face, he was going to regret that he knew.

"Fuck you," Nat said casually as another spell raced through the rain sending an explosion curse into an undead ripping his bones from his body. "Fuck you" Another spell this time a cutting curse, effortlessly sliced through a tree in a certain angle the sheer weight then crushing upon the unlucky rage demon who had thought it was invincible. "And fuck you" This time a set of four chains slithered across the soggy ground to a pride demon, quickly they rushed up its body like a set of snake before then wrapping around its legs and wrists squeezing so tightly that it cut off the circulation, then with a subtle twist of his wand, the chains yanked as hard as they could in the opposite direction. With a horrifying realisation, the Pride demon could only look afraid before the sounds of bones physically being pulled out of their sockets followed then by the muscles and skin, in a terrible and sickening noise spread through the air as the limbs were hewn off the body, the sheer force and prompt blood loss killing the monster nearly instantly. Blackwall quickly touched all of his limbs ensuring that they were all there and that they were all functional.

The next lot of demons and undead approached whether they had noticed their fellow demons die or simply did not care, Nat didn't know, all he did know was that he dealt with them in as swift a manner as possible his wand moving so fast that it became a blur. Soon enough, the pitiful attempt of these rather weak demons was soon put to rest with not a trace of them remaining allowing him and the others to walk into the graveyard of the city.

Nat walked towards the nearest hand his gloved hand gripping the soaked wood firmly only for it to crumble and fall to the ground for the wood had rotted entirely on the inside. Walking into the building father he ignored the loud complaint from Sera as she noticed the growing stench of the long-dead and the even murkier smell of the mud. Bone was easily visible and bodies lay everywhere, some were huddled together, men and women hurled together, some of them clutching at one another as they had no doubt drowned together, others, in contrast, had a small thin cut across parts of their bone-in various places. Suicide he realised, these people had killed themselves before drowning, he shook his head no doubt it was the fairer of the two fates that could have befallen the people here, none the less it was still tragic and one that demanded an explanation.

These people should have long since been buried or burnt, yet they hadn't been, instead, they had been abandoned here under the waves, not forgotten but distant. He blinked once as a theory came to mind and then stepped back from the corpse, could these people have been infected with the blight? Could the blight even last that long? He didn't know, all he did was that these people may have been refuges and if so that could very likely have meant coming from a place where the blight had been active and wiped out scores of the local population.

If that was the case, then why these people- did ah it made sense now. The Darkspawn hadn't flooded these people, somebody else had, somebody who had wanted to keep the Darkspawn or something just as bad if not worse away. The Blight, it was infectious he had heard during well times of Blight, if that was the case then perhaps the Mayor had sought to keep those healthy away from the infected, save those who he could. He would have faced resistance though, those either infected or disbelieving or those who thought it best to save everyone if possible. But there was no evidence of such an act, no evidence that anybody had murdered them and certainly none that the Mayor had been the one to kill them.

He rose to his feet his eyes falling upon the rest of the village, perhaps there might be clues in this place, he doubted it after all if the dam was anything to go by, this had been a quick flooding, something that had happened quickly and people had never stood a chance. Those who would have need down here would be dead and any written counts destroyed by the water which left only those in the village.

"Nat come here" With a sigh, he came to the elf coming inside a destroyed building to where the others were waiting; he blinked as he saw the contents. Inside was a spirit only it was unique, the thing was red of all colours. That was certainly odd, spirits were normally white or blue and sometimes even a very pale green, but a deep scarlet red was strange yet despite this it didn't seem aggressive instead only angry. As soon as he entered he watched the spirit as it focused its attention on him.

"What are you" Valeyna demanded. "Anger, fear" The spirit snorted.

"Ha, nothing so pathetic and meagre"

"Love," Blackwall asked, when noticing the looks from the others he simply shrugged his shoulders, how was he supposed to know what this demon was.

"Annoyance" Sera added only to receive a glare; Sera simply stuck her tongue out.

"And you strange one" Nat raised an eyebrow.

"You're not a demon, but you're also not one of the kinder spirits, too harsh, too demanding, I would say order, but no, you're something that by the sounds of things is used to power, If I remember what Solas said, I would assume something along the lines of Authority"

"Close, I am command boy and I despise this world, I do not know how you can stand it"

"How so" Valeyna inquired subtly reaching for her staff in case this spirit tried anything.

"When I am home I can command those rocks to do as I wish, I can command the sky to quieten, here nothing obeys my command, and it is irritating I do not know how you mortals can stand it"

"You get used to it" Nat smirked at the thing. "But why you are still here if you hate it so much why not returning to the fade." Even though there was no face on the spirit, the group easily detected the sneer as it looked at them, judging them and their apparent worthless existence that could not control every single thing around them with a simple flick of his hand.

"I will not leave this world until at least something obeys my command" It responded indignantly at them, judging them. Valeyna closed her eyes and thought the matter over in her head, if the spirit simply wanted someone to do it's bidding then perhaps she could get it to rest peacefully and she could-. It was too late before she got any further the familiar sound and sight of Nat's wand flashing was made apparent as a spell slammed into the spirit and destroyed it there and then killing it with a look of shock and anger or that's what the sound that briefly echoed out.

"Nice" Sera said appreciatively thankful that the thing was gone and could no longer attempt to control them or their actions like it would have wanted to.

"Better dead than give it anything" Blackwall agreed. Valeyna nodded her head slowly, they were very likely right, if that spirit had been one of command and authority then who knows what it would have ordered her to do, she might have been forced to kill an innocent person simply to sate its desires, still, it might have been interesting to learn about the spirit there may have been some small chance that it would have known about Corypheus's plans, plans that she might not learn about now. But that was of no consequence there was a rift they had to close and soon if they desired to meet Hawke's friend.

"Come on the entrance to the caves is bound to be in this direction" With that said, Nat quickly led the group forwards past the destroyed fractured remains of the building of old Crestwood only occasionally stopping to fling off the occasional spell as a demon would jump out of the ground or a corpse would rush towards them with its weapon raised. There was hardly any trouble for them, and soon enough after reaching the edge of the still drenched cliffs they managed to find the entrance to the caves of Crestwood. It was a small wooden door, bent of its hinged the thing didn't look in the best condition, but the smell it gave off was repulsive as anything.

Blackwall staggered back at the scent. Unlike the smell down here, festered as it was with dead bodies and soaked earth, bones popping through dirt and rotting corpses littering the ground from where they had drowned, floating in the water before then sinking, the entrance to the caves was like that but only far, far worse. Every rock, every bit of dirt and wood combined to truly create a smell of horrifying proportion s, one in which they could already tell that many people had died in here.

"It's down there," Valeyna said suspiciously as she looked into the dark void of the caves, entirely unlit and without a single light of the sun illuminating it, the insides of the place was like a dark void ready to suck everything in and swallow it whole. But it was not the black void that seemingly sucked in all light that had grabbed her attention, instead it was the feeling of the fade around this place.

She felt it everywhere there was a rift near, the foundations of the veil that held back the horrors and demons of the fade, ripped and torn, weak and fragile, how magic seemed to pour forth through this crack into the mortal realms with glee now that it was no longer restrained. The same was true here, she could feel the presence of demons on the other side of the veil, moving, closer peering, laughing as they realised that they could finally have their chance to cause terror and scare all who would dare oppose them into the grave, wipe them all out and make them regret never taking their offer. Most were weak pathetic demons, ones that were easily killed if they did not have a mage to piggyback in, but others were approaching, fear demons, those with the long crooked legs that seemingly had spikes for hands and long lanky frames that towered over everything, gleefully impaling everything they came across on those hands and then holding up the corpses, taking ultimate pleasure as they watched the fellow people of their dead person scream ion anguish or have their hearts quicken.

She gritted her teeth and looked over to Nat; they were annoying bastards to fight. Pride demons were strong and powerful and could take more than their fair share of damage, unless of course one had a ball the size of a person's head and then fired off at incredible speed directly towards the skull of a pride demon where it would then be eviscerated but even so they pride demons were slow, large, fate even from gulping on their preferred emotion. You did not want to fight one at close range as they tended to pick men up and trying to eat them whole, but you could avoid one, generally, run if you must, but they were avoidable if you were smart, but those bastards. She sighed and stretched herself for the oncoming fight and gave Nat a look informing them of what was ahead. He nodded silently towards her and pushed ahead, his wand in hand as he pressed into the cave, followed shortly by a nervous-looking Sera and astute Blackwall.

"How are we meant to see in here?" Blackwall asked with a somewhat nervous tone, obviously the dark got to him and unlike Elves and dwarves who could see in the lack of light as shown by the slight and creepy glowing of their eyes as though they were like a cat making themselves the only visible thing, humans did not have such an advantage.

Luckily for the gruff man, the feeling of the walls and shadows crawling in ready to consume them all vanished as without word a bright brilliant light leapt from the tip of Nat's wand and span merrily towards the ceiling of the cave floating above him contently. Blackwall grunted his hand held out in front of him as he got used to the brightness of the light, it was no dim thing like he had seen Dorian used before, but rather it was as though the very sun was shining above Nat illuminating his entire form with a crisp white outline giving him the appearance that he was the form of some type of spirit. After a short time, his eyes adjusted to the light comfortably and now able to see just as well as the others he lowered his hand to his sword where he then kept it there quietly ready for whenever the demons came charging at them.

"So these are the caves, tragic way to die, drowning not at all pleasant, slow painful and you're aware of every possible thing. No doubt when the people tried to escape they were left in utter terror as they attempted to escape only for all the lights to go out." Nat said calmly as they walked forward, passing over only a few remaining corpses that were left, most they assumed had likely already been brought back to the dead and then sent upwards to attack their old neighbours and slaughter them all it was kind of disturbing, there were so few in here especially when they had expected perhaps hundreds of corpses.

"Stupid demons" Sera growled in as best the way she could, but it did nothing to hide the ever visible shiver that ran down her back as she so. Even her happy and sometimes angry expression was replaced with a more terrified and wary look, soon it wasn't long before after stepping on the first bits of remaining bone, hearing them crack loudly under Blackwall's feet as the metal ground them against the stone did she draw her bow and an arrow and kept them firmly in her grip, nothing would sneak up on her.

"It wasn't demons," Nat said. "Remember the village drowned back in the blight, these people were escaping Darkspawn" Sera winced.

"Please tell me you don't sense any of them around do you and don't lie to me, I know you can do that whole sensing thing with magic where you know if people are there, it's freaky"

"No Sera be assured that there aren't any Darkspawn in the area, trust me if there were I would let you know, the only things that set my sensing as you call it off more than anything else are Darkspawn and Demons"

"Good" Sera nodded.

"How come," Blackwall asked? "I mean, what does it feel like, these things you can detect how does it work, how are you able to tell what everything else"

"Well that's difficult, how would you describe a person visually to a blind person, how do you describe the shape of their nose, the contours of their skin, the colour of their eyes to a person who has never seen, who cannot even comprehend such things? I could use words to say things, but without being able to sense them yourself Blackwall, you would have very little clue as to what I was talking about. However as you asked and I would prefer not to stare at the remains of the dead, I will say what I can" Blackwall nodded thankful for the escape. He may have been a soldier and he had done terrible things, but even with the lack of bodies, this place reeked of death and not just the smell, but the entire atmosphere here felt heavy as though some sort of pressure that placed and forced him to the ground was stronger, forcing him to take shorter more hesitant steps. Each time his food struck the stone it was as though a loud echo, belted forth with a ravenous fury and then returned to him, angry, whispers were now shouts and behind every rock and every bone his heart pumped more and more blood as he swore he heard demons or something else. He looked up towards the blazing light of Nat's light and gave a quick prayer to Andraste that he had allies with him in this place.

"My sensing works very much like a sonar, which is to say that there is active and passive. Most of the time I'm passive which means that I wait for other's presence I guess is the best term for it is detected, I can then detect that and going by the differing sense that come back to me I can tell it's race, the gender and even the age of things as well as whether it has magic or not and the strength of that magic. Active on the other hand is when I send out a pulse of magic"

"Pulse?" The man questioned.

"Think of it as two stones in a pond, one is black and one is white. Let's say I'm black, passive is the white stone moving and creating ripples when those ripples reach me I can determine facts about them. However a pulse is the opposite I actively create a ripple, but how that works is that when the ripple reaches the white stone, it will hit it and then come back to me and again like with normal ripples I can determine facts about based on that ripple"

"I see, but wouldn't that mean then that whenever you send an active pulse that you would alert everything nearby?"

"Yes it does" Nat replied calmly as he pressed on stopping only when they got further in, there was a large chasm in front of them, one which went several metres down into untold darkness, pulling back Nat directed the ball of light above them to move downwards. Soon after only a few seconds they saw the bottom, it wasn't that far down, well by how often these things went down into bottomless pits but it went far down enough that without the aid of either magic or a rope, bones would be broken and bodies splattered over the cold grey stone.

"Then why would you ever send an active pulse, what's the point of them" Valeyna inquired pulling her head back from the deep chasm and instead pointed towards another tunnel to their right.

"Passive detection is weaker for one, while I can detect things that are nearby, it is limited to maybe about a hundred-metre radius for me personally, so unless something is particularly strong I won't detect anything that much further away and it requires far more attention being focused on it. Now a pulse, on the other hand, will go as far as I put magic into it and it requires far less concentration allowing me to chase after people. And before you think that means you can shoot an arrow at me from further away Sera in an attempt to kill me Sera, I'll just let you know that I have other safeguards as well"

"You're no fun, I was hoping to throw a pie in your face" Nat raised an eyebrow, why would the girl want to throw a pie of all things, unless it was a horrid thing made of leftovers she did realise that a pie had likely taken a long time to make, and by throwing one in his face a person had gone through a lot of effort for no reason. He was about to question why before he then shook his head and decided not to, he knew better than to question Sera on a serious topic.

"But still if an active pulse alerts things, why use it?"

"Most of the time I don't if I want to stay hidden, but if I know people are hiding and they know where I am, it cuts out their ability to attack with stealth. It's far easier to hide one's emissions then it is to hide when someone is doing the equivalent of shining a bright light in the entire room. In other words, it's useful for detection or when you know there aren't any mages nearby who can detect such a thing and rush towards you. Only mages and demons can detect magic so I can pulse all day long in a city and nobody would be the wise"

"Eww, you can do that" Sera complained. "That' disgusting, though that is hilarious, just the idea of Mr. angry pants here pulsing all day long, I wonder what that looks like" Suddenly her eyes sparkled with interest and turned into a massive grin as she stared at the Inquisitor. "Oh the Inquisitor will know what a pulse can feel like, I dare you to give out one of these pulse thingies so she can tell me what it's like. Go on Inquisitor tell me what his magic feels like".

"Are you alright Sera" Valeyna questioned with concern. "I thought you hated magic "Sera giggled and wriggled her eyebrows at her.

"Yeah, but I want to see if his magic can make you "react" do you know what I mean" Valeyna blushed slightly at the idea her face turning a faint red at the idea however when she turned to Nat hoping to see that if by some miracle he had decided to like the idea, she noticed an odd nasty grin on his face. She gulped.

" Yes Sera if I sent an active pulse, the Inquisitor would react, but do you know else would? The demons and undead in these caves, one active pulse and I bring running the entire lot and very likely bring in more demons from the fade as they realise they're being attacked. So Sera do you still want me to pulse Valeyna? Make her react?" With a sour face at having realised she had just gotten played, Sera shut up quickly and skulked her way all through the caves, even when they found the remaining undead she still fought with less than her normal vigour and only was it that after a long walk through the caves and eventually reached the bottom did she as the others look on surprise as they saw what lay before.

"Dwarven architecture," Valeyna said surprised. "This must have been part of the Deep Roads" Flashes rushed into Nat's mind and a loud gasp escaped him as the memories came flowing through him, Elyria, Gerald, the Architect, the Arch Demon, the Darkspawn, he glanced around in the least nervous way he could think of his eyes scanning every crevice for any sort of possible clues at their Dwarven buildings.

If this place had Dwarven architecture then that meant it was connected to the deep roads and if it was connected to the deep roads then there was a major possibility of Darkspawn. He gripped his wand tightly a number of spells reaching in his mind in how to best kill the creatures only to force him to repress a grunt of anger as he remembered where he was. He was underground in a place that was under a lake, he normal repertoire of dead explosion spells were far more of a hindrance then help here, if he hit the wrong place he could cave in the entire lot of them or worse he could doom them the three of them to a watery grave and even if they didn't drown outright they would face the major problem of having undead soldiers being able to pick them off as they moved through the flooded halls.

Looking around I'm he saw that his companions were also of the same mind, one wrong move here and they were all dead, it was only made worse when Blackwall noted that still after how many years of abandonment by the dwarves when the Darkspawn had driven them all the way out to Orzammar, that the old lights still worked. Laval still flowed behind those walls; giving forth a constant light source as at perfect intervals the sheer light formed would glow out of small patches of glass and illuminate the entire area.

Despite this, it was a bit dim for Nats tastes, the dwarves were a people who lived underground and as such could deal with the less light but he and Blackwall on the other still stuck the floating ball of light above them that bathed the entire area around them, ensuring that no place was there any room for anything to hide in. No demon would be able to avoid their sight, no undead, no lingering spirits; nothing would be allowed to leave this place, not without their permission without having killed the thing first.

"Amazing isn't it," Valeyna said awestruck. Gently she moved towards the sides of the halls gingerly placing her hands on one of the entrances to the stone doors. "All this time and yet they still stand here, the dwarves really know how to build their stuff" Hitting the door hard suddenly she felt an idea come to mind. "Wait isn't it said that the dwarves built their things to last, doesn't that mean that there could still be things left in these old buildings"

That's what they say, but how would you get in" Blackwall asked not entirely sure.

"I'm just thinking that if we could open these houses, and get whatever's left inside then we could give that stuff to Orzammar, if that happens, then we could gain favour with them, maybe something that we could use for a better trade deal".

"Right because me killing their old king, and then ending the civil war that popped up in a single day and then putting the new king in place and negotiating a deal isn't enough" Sarcasm poured from his mouth yet despite this Valeyna could dense a sort of unease in Nat, it wasn't visible like always Nat never showed any far never once allowing anybody to notice a weakness yet she had come to observe him over their time together and he was acting strangely. His wand was pointed in a more defensive position and she swore she had seen him practising his shield spells when she thought she wasn't looking. Even now as he stood apart from them, in the centre of the deep roads away from both the walls and the ceilings she could see he didn't like being here not in the slightest.

She opened her mouth about to call him out, ask him if he was okay with things before she then closed it tightly and said nothing and instead nodded her head in respect. It was the Deep Roads that was the problem or Crestwood she didn't know which not that it mattered, he was on edge and had been ever since the dragon, combined with now seeing a familiar sight he was very likely lost in the deep roads of memories that he would rather not think about and now being confronted again.

"Nat if you could open these houses I'm sure you could do a lot of good" Nat looked down at his feet towards the perfect stone of the cut dwarves, it was smooth after all this time the perfect stream for blood to roll down after having being butchered. And these tall wide halls, far lager then dwarves would normally use given their smaller stature also reminded him of all those places archers could be placed taking shots at enemy leaders and commanders that would no doubt from time to time attempt to snipe the enemies commander just like he had done. "Nat" Valeyna's voice cried out again cutting through his voice and sending his head careening up towards the Inquisitor. "Nat" She repeated softly her eyes full of worry. "Are you okay?"

"Fine" He answered angrily. "Just fine" Valeyna leaned back hurt at the response and the anger that was entailed in it before then taking a deep breath and nodded. "

In that case, open the doors and take everything that you can we'll give it Orzammar when we next get chance" Without a father word said, Nat, got to work opening the doors with incredible efficiency and the use of a single spell. It was a bit of an eye-opener for Sera, she was not the greatest lock picker o ever exist but she took pride in her work at times joking with Varrick about who was better, her or him with his stubby little dwarf fingers, yet despite this, she couldn't help but call Nat a cheat as with one single spell even the most complex Dwarven locks, designed to keep out even the most skilled and adventurous of thieves opened itself freely under the command of Nat, something which was more disturbing since the sheer use of the spell on none magical detecting doors ensured that any potential booby traps were not set off allowing them to quickly raid the contents of all its books, weapons, armour and anything else leaving the doors open for whoever wished to come here next.

Once everything was taken the group finally emerged into a vast room, surrounded on all sides, there was some sort of altar or stage in the middle, though it was hard to tell as it was entirely open apart from the green cackling of fade energy as the rift swayed its strange energies moving as though there was a breeze even when there were none nearby. Getting into their normal positions, Blackwall in the lead with his sword and shield, Nat behind ready to give close magical support and also provide the defensive line between Sera and Valeyna who remained on the raised plinth away from the demons and undead who would no doubt charge their positions the moment they got closer.

"Be careful, there are terror demons on the other side of the rifts"

"Those green ones with the spiky hands" Sera commented with a snarl, one of them had snapped her bowstring one when she had been doing a scouting mission, luckily she carried spare but it was annoying and she had noted that particular demon-killing it slowly by pinning it to the floor before then beating the shit out of it with her bare hands when it was defenceless.

"Yes"

"How many," Nat asked

"More than normal, about twenty" He nodded.

"I must be the fear of the old villagers, no doubt the Darkspawn and flooding terrified them enough and the demons hear are feeding off it. Sera cover my back; whilst we're in here I'm at a disadvantage"

"How come"

"Well unless you want me to collapse the entire place around our heads" Sera nodded.

"Don't you have any other spells you can use?"

"Qualified professional duellist, of course, I know other spells, it's just that explosive spells are my preference, and with the magic resistance of those terror demons, things could get ugly really quickly"

"Why explosive spells" Blackwall inquired curiously.

"Because I'm a teenage boy and therefore I like explosions, now back to focus" Valeyna smiled and made a mental note to file that information away for later, perhaps if she could find something regarding explosives she might be able to get his attention, the question was how and where to get that type of stuff from.

"All right let's do this, Blackwall advance" With a small grumble at being the bait, the man took the first few steps towards the giant floating ball of green energy wincing only when the familiar booming sound of thunder that the rifts made followed by the shattering of glass and throng of magical energy as streams of green light sped away and slammed into the ground giving rise to the familiar appearance of the lesser demons as they poured out to defend their entrance into the mortal realm.

"Here we go" Blocking the first strike from the demon Blackwall was able to quickly manoeuvre around the first demon and then thrust his blade into its unprotected flank, spinning on his left leg he then took the blow of the second demon its claws scratching against his reinforced shield only for it to cry out as with a sweeping slash Blackwall cut off its right arm and left in a single stroke when he then took advantage and slashed as it's exposed gut turning it to ask before them moving to the next demon.

With a duck and a weave Nat easily avoided the strike of the first demon, where with a flick of his wrist he conjured the floor just in front of the demon, to lash out suddenly forming into a stone spike and impale the demon through where it's heart would have been, then with another flick he cut off the end of the spike and sent it flying through the air towards the next demon that attempted to advance towards Valeyna and Sera before he could move onto the next demon tough he was forced to throw himself to the left as he heard the screeching of the terror demon as it appeared beside him.

Lanky and the second tallest of the group, the terror demon was by far the most hated out of all the Inquisitions foes that they had encountered. Fast and surprisingly resilient, their crooked and serrated forms often would grab up soldiers, with their claw-like hands easily punching through even the steel armour and straight through into their guts. Flinging a sharp cutting spell that the creature Nat barely had time to conjure up a shield spell blocking the creatures next attack holding it off than with a powerful push spell, he sent the creature flying back several metres but it was not enough to send it crumbling to the ground instead the creature paused and then towered over its brethren and gave that shrill deafening scream and advanced again.

"I fucking hate these things" Drawing his sword with his right hand and moving his sand hand to his left, he blasted away a sloth demon who attempted to slice at him and advanced towards the demon in a careful approach. He had to be careful he knew, his magic would not do much against the dammed creatures, apart from holding off the attack with a shield spell and knocking it off guard leaving him able to tear through its defences with his sword. He supposed it was some form of demon meant to slaughter mages in the dozens, most demons were resilient to physical attacks and had some resistance to magic. Most of the time he dealt with the resistance merely by making his spells more powerful than average and then by smashing past them entirely, but terror demons were something else, they were far more resilient to magic then they were to a blade. They could take a few hits from a blade, but against magic, it was almost like a walking shield, it reminded him of back home when people would talk about nundu's and dragons, both were dangerous and both required a large number of mages if one wanted to take it down without physical force.

He advanced quickly over the ground blasting another sloth demon to oblivion only then to bring his wand up casting another shield spell as the terror demon brought its two clawed hands to strike swiftly in a flurry of blows. His shield held strong however and once the demon lost its initial speed he thrust his blade towards its unprotected thigh, the spells helping slightly to help amplify the damage though unlike most targets that would simply split at such a sharpening spell, this didn't do much instead the whole caused the demon to cry out in pain and lunge at him again. Again he shielded but the towering demon soon grew smart and attempted to reach over him and attack his unprotected back. It was a mistake, the moment it tried to do so Nat threw himself to the ground once again this time turning it into a roll between its exposed legs, ad in a single action stood up and thrust into the creatures exposed back causing it to shriek in pain again where he then lopped off its torso in a single powerful strike.

The battle was far from over and once again the shrieking sound of more terror demons, made itself known and like always they attempted to teleport behind their enemies. Hearing the sound Valeyna gasped as she tried to duck but it was too late, the sudden arrival of four of them on each of her flank meant that while she just avoided being grabbed she did not avoid their ripping talons as they slashed open her back, tearing the supple flesh to ribbons leaving a large red mark. She cried out in pain and summoned her magic into a powerful ball, blasting upwards she knocked the four of them back a few metres, not much be enough for her to down a health potion and sprint away from where she was to the opposite corner where she started to rain down magical fire on them slowing them down long enough so the others could rush into them slaying the group with coordinated attacks.

The battle lasted another ten minutes, despite the speed at which they fought in, the sheer danger of the terror demons became the greatest threat and it was only after each one had been systematically killed and slaughtered leaving the other far weaker and more pathetic demons alone was the Inquisitor then finally able to attempt bringing the rift to a close. When the battle had finally died down, the group stopped and stepped on the stairs, their bodies exhausted with sweat.

"I fucking hate those things" Nat repeated as he conjured a cloth and began wiping away the still clean blade before putting it back in its sheath.

"Yeah I don't get why people hate Pride demons so much, it's those things which are the actual threat," Sera said as she downed her health potion, sighing in relief as she felt a series of scratches mellow out and her body recover incredibly quickly. Once she had she looked at Nat suspiciously, all of them were downing health potions, well all of them bar him, She blinked why did he seem relatively uninjured, against those things nobody ever escaped yet he seemed in the best condition and looking at his clothes they also appeared undamaged.

"How come you're uninjured," Blackwall remarked also noticing the state of affairs"

"My clothes are enchanted; anything that isn't magical in nature, won't do anything. You could run at me with that sword and it won't do anything. However were that sword to have runes on it and they were stronger than my current enchantments, then the runes would do damage but the blade still wouldn't"

"Cheating bastard," Blackwall said, Nat chuckled and leaned back father taking in another deep breath. "Hardly, it's useful for daily things but this stuff is not designed for what we get into on a daily business. The truthful mater why I'm uninjured for the most part is that I'm good at dodging,"

"Why's that?"

"You've seen me fight, how my spells fly, it's the same for my people when we fight you have to have quick reaction times, you need to be able to dodge, weave, duck, my old teacher said it was once called a deadly dance which is somewhat true."

"Really," Valeyna asked curiously.

"Oh Merlin no, were I staying back then yeah, but I'm not a CQC guy the only reason I look unhurt is that I'm wearing several layers of armour under this which is enchanted to the best of my ability and my clothes are self-repairing. I didn't get hurt true, but I did get hit. My armour stopped it" and before you ask, Blackwall, the armour is also enchanted which makes it far less like your and more like the regular shirt as well as lighter than a feather so I don't notice it"

"Ha, I'd love to see you fight the nobility," Blackwall said spitting out a small amount of blood from his cut lip.

"Fight's a subjective term" Nat replied causing the man to laugh. "But anyway we need to move, we have a mayor to speak to and Merlin knows what will happen if those Templar's get to Hawke's friend before we do"

"Oh, shit I completely forgot about that, "Valeyna said standing up ignoring the desire that even with the health potion that she just wanted to lie there and rest. It would be a nice feeling she knew, even now she could feel a cold breeze on her back from where the terror demon had scratched open her armour and just looking down she could see that the front of her blouse was starting to sag by the lack of structural support. "Nat could you" With a nod in response Nat repaired the broken clothes of Valeyna and then repaired the chipped sword of Blackwall and then recovered the spent arrows of Sera before helping them up to their feet, then slowly so as to regain their strength they walked back the way they came and headed back up the hill towards where Hawke had said their friend was.

When they approached it was still raining and much to their amusement, that was when they noticed the familiar face of Hawke as she sat beneath the entrance of the cave doing her best to remain as dry as possible, when she saw them approach she smiled in relief and waved them over bidding them join her in the shelter. Not daring to refuse and enjoy some shelter that with any luck wouldn't also double as the graveyard for countless more dead people the group joined in.

"Glad to see you here, I only just got here myself," The woman said as she tracked the group and chuckled slightly.

"What is it," Valeyna asked noticing the woman's face.

"Oh it's nothing it's just seeing you lot, the absurdity of it, makes me think of when I arrived in Kirkwall."

"I mean how do we remind of that?" Hawke smiled and gave them all an appraising look.

"Well let me see, a young elf"

"Hey" Sera shouted

"A Grey Warden" Blackwall nodded his head hiding his shame.

"A mage child"

"Child? I assume you're relating to Merrill" Nat asked slowly just wondering what this mage was getting. Hawke nodded.

"And a young mage who has no idea what to do and is saddled with immense responsibility," Hawke said finally as she nodded towards Valeyna.

"Well I had more help, I mean I have, Leliana, Josephine, Cullen and Nat here to help" Hearing that, Hawke turned her attention back to Nat for a moment, her previous nostalgic face turning to one of pure interest as she looked him up and down curiously.

"So you're the one they call the Templar butcher. Odd, until recently I was the Templar's number one target but ever since you came along they're all they can rant about"

"You have contacts in the Templar's," Nat said.

"Yes and believe me when I say that they will stop at nothing to see you dead. It's rather funny in a way actually if you're reputation is true it makes me wonder how things in Kirkwall may have gone down."

"Probably not well"

"No, but I do think Anders would have liked you though"

"I can't tell whether that's a compliment or not given that the man willingly allowed himself to play host to a spirit" Hawke blinked and the leaned in closer her attention piqued.

"Oh, that's what caught your attention, not the fact that he blew up the Chantry and sent the entire continent into a civil war between the mages and Templar's" Nat shrugged his shoulders.

"Meh, fuckers had it coming in all honesty"

"Can't argue with you there. Anyway glad you made it; my contact with the wardens should be at the back of the cave"

"A group of wardens were protecting a villager from corpses near Crestwood" Hawke's face turned sour at the news.

"They were likely hunting my friend. I'm glad they didn't come looking for people to help here. They might well be good men, but they've been given bad orders"

"Then let's go in" With a nod of her head in recognition Hawke stood to the side allowing Valeyna to pass in front as she led the group further into the cave.

Walking through the wooden door at the end of the cave, Valeyna emerged into a larger space that had been used for inhabitation. On the sides some candles had been hammered into the wall where small fires were burning sending small shadows flickering across the walls, pots and even the odd small creates were visible where she assumed whoever was in here was keeping their supplies, and a small fire located on a raised area she could see had been lit not only recently, but a supply of firewood not that far away indicated that the person who was living here had likely just returned from gathering wood.

She walked forward not noticing anybody, perhaps the cave went on a little bit and this area may belong to some thieves or something familiar. Suddenly she heard a noise behind, spinning round rapidly she was forced to stand still as she heard the familiar sound of a sword drawn and a then the sight of a sharp blade pointed at her blade, yet despite this, she gave out a sigh of relief as she noticed the symbol on the owners armour.

The Grey Warden

Before she could say anything though she heard the man grunt as faster than he could blink a fast light bloomed from the man's hand and the sword flew from his grip and raced through the open-air towards the door where Nat stood his wand directed in one hand and in his other, the grey wardens sword.

"Don't try it" He warned.

"Yeah, definitely memories" Hawke muttered from behind him. Snatching the sword, she sighed as she walked through the door showing the Warden a familiar friendly look as she held the sword by her hand. "It's just us" She warned. "I brought the inquisitor" The warden looked to Hawke's left where Nat still stood wand directed at him. "And her companions" Hawke added.

"My name is Stroud and I'm at your service inquisitor," The man said gracefully accepting his sword back from Hawke and placing it into his sheath.

"Sorry about Nat," Valeyna said. "But I'll take all the help I can get; I know the Wardens have troubles of their own. I wonder though Nat has a theory that those troubles have to do with Corypheus, specifically some type of fake Calling"

"And how would he know that," The moustached man said directing the full levity of his attention onto the wizard.

"You may call back every warden in the South, but there was one that may not be a Warden, but would still likely have a unique insight."

"You spoke to King Alistair," The man said with recognition. "Of course, I should have known such a thing may have been possible, no doubt the man has been confused since all this began"

"Angry is more like it, from what we've heard it's driving him slightly mad"

"Slightly" Valeyna questioned remembering some of the reports of what was occurring in Denerim...

"Okay it may cause small political trouble"

"That's one way of describing the entire kingdom falling apart as there is no heir" Nat shrugged his shoulders, it was a problem, yes, but Ferelden was an elective monarchy, true he would be missed and it would cause a crisis that could throw the kingdom right into a civil war at the worst possible time, but it was preventable, especially as they knew the thing was fake.

"I fear that Corypheus is involved. When my friend Hawke here slew Corypheus, Weisshaupt was happy to put the matter to rest. But an Archdemon can survive wounds that seem fatal and I feared Corypheus might possess the same power"

"Thank you" Nat yelled. "A person with some actual fucking intelligence for once, why are you lot always missing when this shit happens?" Stroud ignored the comment yet Nat detected an ever slight grin on his face before it vanished later.

"My investigation uncovered clues but no proof. Then, not long after, every warden in Orlais began to hear the calling."

"Maker" Hawke gasped loudly as understanding dawned on her face. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was a grey warden matter. I was bound by an oath of secrecy"

"Okay, what is the calling exactly" Valeyna asked. "I mean I've heard Nat mention it before, but he never said what it was"

"The calling tells a warden that the Blight will soon claim him. Starts with dreams, then whispers in his head. The Warden says his farewells and goes to the Deep Roads to meet his death in combat."

"And every Grey Warden in Orlais is hearing that right now? They think they're dying" Hawke lead back against the side of the wall her face pale with understanding.

"And other then you, not a single other Grey Warden questioned this, they all thought doomsday had come for them, that's interesting" Stroud glared at the wizard.

"The feeling calling is not something that can be described to someone who does not know the duty of the Wardens, it is not something we thought that could be faked" Nat still raised an eyebrow.

"Yet it all happens at the same time, right when there's a hole in the sky and demons are pouring forth? Not one other person?"

"Yes, likely because of Corypheus, If the warden's fall, who will stand against the next blight? It is our greatest fear" Valeyna glanced towards Nat but a glare shut her up before she sad anything.

"So Corypheus isn't controlling them, he's bluffing them with this calling and they're falling for it"

"Hook line and sinker" Nat added. "Well we need to sort this out quickly if Corypheus is willing to use an army of demons, I do not doubt that he won't turn to Darkspawn next if he fails."

"So the Wardens are making some last desperate attack on the Darkspawn," Valeyna said finally understanding just what the threat was.

"We are the only ones who can slay Archdemon's, without us the next blight will consume the world. Warden-Commander Clarel spoke of a blood magic ritual to prevent Future Blights before we all perished. When I protested the plan as madness, my own comrades turned on me" Finishing his pacing for a moment, Stroud walked up to a small table, on it lay a map of the entirety of Thedas, it was a less decorative one that the members of the inquisition were using but it worked, all the same, Stroud soon pointed to a place in Orlais, surrounded by dessert and then spoke again. "Grey Wardens are gathering here, in the Western Approach. It is an ancient Tevinter ritual tower, meet me there, and we will find answers" Then with his back turned to the group Stroud walked out of the door they had come in and towards the exit of the cave, no doubt the man was either preparing for a visit towards the place he had just seen or heading there now, whatever the cause was, the man had just left them without even bothering to say goodbye.

"Rather rude" Nat muttered before then turning to the two women in the cave with him. "So an ancient ritual tower guarded by a whole host of Wardens as well as no small amount of demons if old reports on Warden activities are to be believed. Do we have a plan?"

"I was hoping that we may be able to talk to them, see if we can speak to this Clarel and convince her that Corypheus was the one in control if however she is being controlled, then it is very likely that there could be a battle ahead" Valeyna answered though her mind was on just the consequences of what would happen if the Wardens truly came under the sway with Corypheus, with nobody able to combat the blight, there was nobody able to kill his pet Archdemon and there would certainly not be the forces to hold off another blight, not when the entire continent was in civil war with itself and a war with the demons and all the old power structures were either destroyed, there would be no grand alliance, there would simply die.

"This wouldn't by any random battle," Hawke said suddenly. "I've seen Wardens, they'll put up a fight and if you walk into that tower on your own, whatever agent Corypheus has there will have you killed the moment you step in. It's highly likely that we'll be looking at an actual battle"

"A battle" Valeyna turned her head suddenly towards Nat as her eyes became serious at the sheer thought of such a conflict.

"Are we ready for such a thing?" Nat stroked his chin slowly in thought, on the outside he looked calm, but internally he was completing incredible equations at an extreme rate as he worked out the size of the military they could reasonably pull, the amount of time it would take them to march to such an area, the resources than required to sustain that army on food, how much Skyhold would be left undefended to a possible counter-attack, the training of the troops and the quality of their arms and armour, the number of commanders they would have available, all of this had to be coordinated with supplies and horses for wagon carts. Soon though while it wasn't any expert thing, he shook his head slowly at the woman and then answered clearly.

"No, we have no siege equipment built as of yet, apart from my cannon and even then numbers are low, about ten so far, muskets are higher I can likely send in five thousand men armed with them and about thirty or so men with rifles if we had to deploy immediately, but it won't last long, ammo stocks are rather thin."

"Why so low, I thought you hired new blacksmiths"

"I have, and I even updated the system to be more streamlined when possible, the delay is that we just do not have the resources. With respect, I want my army with muskets and cannon but Cullen desires his armed in the traditional method, sword, shield, armour. It's the armour which is the major problem; Cullen has the majority of the resources I only get about a quarter of what comes in resource-wise"

"Then what if I gave Cullen your resources," Valeyna asked not noticing the angry look Nat sent her way at the mere mention of taking away his troops. After all, that hard work in creating new weapons, finding resources of black powder, training people how to make the stuff and all that time sent drilling men how to march in formation and now she simply wanted to take that all away, and for what so a bunch of people who only had a few months training could rush against professionals. The Inquisitions forces were stretched thin and a decent amount spent at Skyhold with no experience, in contrast, the training of the Wardens gave them an incredible edge in battle, one which could be used to devastating effect against them if they so wished. The only proper way to counter that would be either through magic which was doubtful since as Grey Wardens the quality of mages here would be far higher than anywhere else or through sheer mass of numbers like Darkspawn which they didn't have, superior training, which again they didn't have or finally and the easiest to achieve superior technology.

Cannons were that superior technology, they weren't new to Thedas, and the Qunari had them for a while though they were instead to his knowledge laced entirely on their dreadnoughts where they would then use them at sea to blast away at Tevinter ships and fortresses. They were powerful and deadly but their size and rather primitive nature so far meant they were unable to be used inland forcing the Qun to rely more on subterfuge, discipline and the far more dangerous physical traits of their Qunari kin. In contrast, he had the advantage of history books, problems for the Qun would not be his problems, already his small factories were beginning to churn out what was required, five thousand muskets since the beginning of Winter was good and the amount of Cannon he had was admittedly lacking, but if he shifted production from musket to cannon he could change that, maybe he could get up to fifty guns if he was given an amount of time to prepare.

"Not much would change" Nat admitted." Cullen could produce a few more swords and pieces of armour, but their resource-heavy" Valeyna sighed.

"And If I increased your resources"

"Replacements for the standard inquisition soldier would go down, however, give me more resources and I can assure you that your arsenal of weaponry will most certainly devastate the enemy"

"And that means?"

"More muskets, rifles, cannons, rocket artillery, ammunition, clothing and other materials"

"What about armour, I assume that would go down/" Nat nodded

"My soldiers do not wear armour Inquisitor, at all unless they would be of a special detachment like heavy cavalry"

"No armour," Hawke said incredulously her eyes raising to a rather high level as she tried to imagine an entire army purposefully having their soldier un-armoured, it was utterly suicide. "Then how are they meant to fight, if they go against Wardens they'll be butchered"

"I can show you later at Skyhold if you would so desire, doing so perhaps could be used as a demonstration of just how and why I could use the resources better then speaking, but suffice to say is this truly the plan we are committed to so far, to go into an actual battle with the Wardens. Doing so will most likely destroy the Orlesian Wardens"

"I would prefer not, but unless we can somehow sneak into the tower and speak to this Warden-Commander and not be either attacked or imprisoned then I see of no little choice" Nat nodded towards the Inquisitor and hid a small strange feeling that ran down his back.

So a proper battle he thought to himself with no small amount of interest. It would soon be upon them, men charging at one another, trebuchets, knights and everything else, all those memories of seeing the hundreds of old castles that had dotted the English countryside and long since destroyed due to countless wars, now he would actually see the process, smell the scent of battle, the taste of death in the air and hear the wailing and screeching. It was strange and his stomach reacted oddly dancing and quivering at the same time, as though he was both simultaneously excited for such a thing and terrified to his absolute core of what was going to happen. A proper medieval battle, it was certainly something he could say was unique to him if he ever got back home. He shook his head quickly and returned to the matter at hand, if a battle was going to happen, word would need to be sent, soldiers trained, equipment made, Cullen could handle most of it at least on his side anyway and Leliana would also need to begin preparations, the sooner the better.

"Inquisitor given the sensitivity of the information that we have just received and the fact that our main objectives have been completed, I was going to suggest that I return now back to Skyhold, let Cullen and the others know of what was discussed and though it is still early, let them know that there is a chance that the equipment for a siege will soon be required. Lelliana would not like to be kept waiting on this, the sooner she can scope out the area the better" Valeyna chuckled lightly at the comment an amused expression becoming very clear as she looked at her advisor.

"Trying to get out of killing the dragon Nat" She spoke in a knowing fashion, when he didn't blush and instead shot her that same serious look, she knew she had him. "Come on it's meant to be a team-building exercise it'll be fun. Tell me one bad thing that could happen if we fight the Dragon"

"Bull will be angry. He has always wanted to fight a dragon and this could be his opportunity to do so, are you going to take this moment from him"

"Well no but..." V

"But what" Nat insisted.

"But I won't feel as safe if I don't have you around. I mean you're the only one of us apart who killed a dragon, a high dragon in fact, and it was on your own"

"What" Came the collective cry of everybody else in the group their attention firmly hung onto Nat s their minds raced with that type of information. Nat had killed a high dragon and it was on his own, how in the Makers arse had he handled that that, Blackwall thought with both a doubtful look and one of rising fears. Dragons were incredibly dangerous creatures on their own, especially high dragons so for a kid to have killed one, he blinked and looked around noticing the shocked face of Sera as she also had a disbelieving face front and clear.

"Not what you're picturing" Nat reprimanded the other groups. "I didn't so much as fight it as I did hang for all dear life as it flew, and it took me along with it, I barely managed to stab my swords through its eye and even then that nearly killed me"

"You killed a dragon while it was flying" Blackwall roared. Nat facepalmed and then took in a deep breath before then exhaling, in and out a few times before he then emerged from his trap and looked at the two in front of him and shook his head.

"No the thing crashed; while it was still recovering I stabbed it through the eye and into its brain killing it. It wasn't really a fight" Valeyna chuckled at the mental image, she didn't know why but the very idea of Nat clinging for all dear life onto the tail of a dragon as it flew in the sky performing all kinds of tricks was an incredibly entertaining one, no doubt he had screamed at some point, that would have been a sight to see. Yet despite the amusement, she couldn't help feel a bit of jealousy and awe, whether through magic or physical strength Nat had soared above the heavens, seen the world in a differing light and had done things most could only dream off. Yet despite this, he had no desire to fight another high dragon, well to fight one she supposed given that his story did not make him out to be a hero in the slightest. She just needed to find a way to keep him with her, make sure that if anything went wrong he could keep her safe, yes that was it, not at all because she might want to impress him, after all, what was killing a dragon through crashing then killing a dragon through fair combat, showing the sheer strength of her magic as she pummelled the beast into submission before it died a long and painful death where afterwards she would mount its skull above her bedroom or maybe above her throne. She grinned wouldn't that be the ultimate show of domination, the dragon the most powerful creature in Thedas placed above her forcing all others to kneel to her and be hers to command.

"No I'm going to have to refuse Nat, you could do that, but if you did then I won't even consider giving you extra resources after all you want to bring untested weapons of war into a siege against one of the most powerful forces on the planet"

"Fine let's kill the bloody thing then" Valeyna blinked shocked, she had expected some sort of reprimand, him telling her that she was engaging the world via her petty games, yet he had instead accepted and so easily. She frowned, that was no fun, where the bit where he had to confront himself as he vied for whether he would be dominated by her decision or not, eventually she knew he would accept after all he wouldn't allow the Inquisitor to fall victim to a dragon, yet despite him accepting it had been so fast so easy, there was no pleasure in it. With an hmpf, she said farewell to Hawke and led the party out the cave towards where they had seen the Dragon flying off to.

It took several hours of hiking through horrid soaked grass, already she felt a shiver on her body even as the rain let up giving birth to a beautiful day, but the cold winds were still there and as such she felt every breeze as it wrapped her up and felt like it was going to freeze her solid in it's icy grip.

None the less they discovered the flying monster in the remains of some old looking building, they could not tell what it had been used for however, most of all the alls had all crumbled down with only the occasional brick lying here and there and only two broken towers remaining. Despite this though from their position the group could quite clearly see the dragon.

It was not the most terrifying dragon, in fact, much to Valeyna's disappointment it was not even a High dragon, it was still large, however, it's thick and muscular body was pronounced as it's dark blue scales occasionally glittered when the sun's rays struck them causing a small dancing of light on the floor nearby. Valeyna concentrated on the fact of the dragon, holding back her growing excitement at the sheer idea of fighting a monster like this. All those tales of the Hero of Ferelden, of the brave man having killed dragon after dragon had like many other Dalish elves simpered them to believe that they could do the same, truthfully she knew this would be no easy fight, as Nat had stated dragons were annoyingly resistant to everything and that its power was incredibly dangerous, yet even with this knowledge she felt her heartthrob in anticipation. Yet she couldn't allow her heart to race ahead of her, she needed to approach this tactically, deal with the creature how it was meant to be dealt with, otherwise one wrong move and they would all be dead.

"Nat, get as close as you can, scout the thing out and find its weakness. We'll hide behind this rock so the dragon can't see us, don't worry I'll cast a spell so you're sent won't travel"

"So my scent won- and she's gone" Nat muttered to himself as he watched the long hair of the Inquisitor vanish behind a remaining stone wall of some type of ruined building leaving him alone and exposed in a large area to get closer to a dragon. He sighed to himself, all the teasing for calling him a coward and they were the ones who ran away at the first hint of trouble, he raised his eyebrow at the creature and then conjured up some binoculars to inspect the dragon as best he couldn't.

It wasn't a high Dragon thank Merlin it was much smaller, at most perhaps about the quarter of that old god he had killed, it was basically a minnow yet even so it was still larger than the dragons back home. Thick armoured scales guarded it's hide, leaving it no doubt highly resistant to standard weapons if not impervious, the nose was also pronounced on the dragon, though why it hand attacked him yet was due to the spells he already had around him preventing his scent from escaping. As for its talons, it reminded him slightly of those of a dinosaur only far, far larger, black and still coated with blood or something else going by the slight shine. As for its teeth, well they weren't exposed as the dragon so far just rested where it was not quite sleeping, but instead seemingly getting ready to sleep.

He glanced behind him to where he could feel the others still hiding waiting for his clue, no doubt they were waiting for him to tell them when it was asleep so they could sneak up on it and gain some sort of advantage. It was a bad mistake, waking up sleeping dragons was not only bad because you were waking up an apex predator that had no problems eating you, but because dragons had a tendency to like their beauty sleep and got quite cranky, or so the book he had read on the topic said. He couldn't even speak from personal experience because when he had awoken old grumpy take over the world dragon it had been due to the fact that he had detonated a large number of explosives in a contained area causing a massive build-up of energy that allowed for a much more dangerous blast.

He stopped and grinned menacingly.

Valeyna had said he wasn't allowed to trap the dragon and gas it, she hadn't said anything about explosives.

Thinking methodically he pulled out one of the many homemade grenades he had and pulled it up to the light. It wasn't a large thing, most certainly not as it had been designed to deal with more humanoid targets, were he to throw it against a dragon, the blast would likely hurt a bit but do no more damage, but on the other hand, he didn't want to waste his grenades in such a manner. So with his wand, he quickly pulled out a series of test tubes and his powder-horn which had been enchanted to constantly refill itself like the spell used to make copies of already existing food. Then he quickly cast the space expansion spell on the inside of one of his casing of grenades and then poured and continued to pour for the next few minutes.

When he was finally done, he tightened the lid of the grenade as much as he could and then covered the entire thing in as many protection spells as he could ensure that whatever happened, that the casing could not be destroyed from the outside, when that was finally done, he smiled waved his wand using his magic to transform the small looking grenade into a familiar shape, then with another flick of his wand he commanded it to walk towards the dragon.

The dragon was trying to sleep, it had been a rather boring day, there was nothing of any quality to eat, at first, she had tried to eat those strange things on the floor, they walked on two legs but when she had grabbed the first one she had been angry to discover that it was only bone and when she tried to eat the big red thing next to it she had then discovered that it had no substance instead vanishing entirely as it's measly little life vanished in an instant. She had tried other things as well, but again to her anger the animals around her usual prey was missing leaving only a few humans who only ran away and hid, but when she then tried to catch them they fought back with bows forcing her to incarnate them and continue to leave her hungry. She clutched her eyes and curled tightly onto the ground that she had warmed up with her breath getting ready to sleep, that was when she smelt it.

Rich, succulent, the familiar and delicious scent of this strange four-legged animals that the humans kept in pens, it was odd she hadn't smelt any before but at the smell, her stomach growled hungrily forcing her to focus on the scent. It was getting closer, she realised. Perhaps she should get up, but the thought then escaped her, no she was too tired to get up it had been a long exhausting day and the amount of effort required to eat one tasty thing was not worth it, not unless it got closer. To the dragons surprise and growing joy the tasty nugget was getting closer soon it was so close she bothered to open her eyes open to watch the strange and stupid nugget as it walked happily towards her. She twisted her head, that was odd tasty nuggets did not like the scent of their kind yet this one was deliberately walking towards her, its eyes were fixed on her with those dumb eyes of her. Curious she sniffed the air and blinked when she detected the sheep, it had magic on its person.

That was odd why would a tasty nugget have magic on it, was it a magical nugget, and that foreign texture was unlike anything else, was it a foreign tasty nugget. She shook her head in confusing and watched raptly as it came closer towards her, stepping without fear through the wet grass all the while making that stupid sound with its mouth, finally when it got to her it stopped right in front of her confused face and simply sat and watched.

BAAAAA

The little poof nugget just smiled at her, the dragon blinked, it was a very strange nugget yet she couldn't help but feel her instincts become more prevalent as it waited there mere centimetres from its mouth. There was something odd about this poof nugget, something strange that made her want to investigate yet as she concentrated on her senses to inspect the magic a sharp hunger pain shot through her, why was she so curious about this poof nugget anyway. She growled at herself only to lean back in fear as she realised that the sound would have scared the poof nugget to run away, only it didn't.

Baaaaa

Very strange floof nugget. Without another thought, the dragon quickly grabbed the animal with its teeth feeling the pathetic creature's body break in its jaws. Bones snapped, blood poured and not a single noise escaped the thing and then with an effortless throw the dragon moved its head back and allowed the floof nugget down her throat into her stomach. The moment it had passed into its throat however she felt something strange. The rich creamy texture of floof nugget that she had been eating was now something absolutely small, and metal tasting. She sneered at the taste especially as the sense of magic became far more prevalent, this was a very strange floof nugget she realised.

It wasn't a floof nugget

With an echoing roar the explosive now lodged inside the inside of the dragon detonated upon Nat's commanded. The sight was truly spectacular, the sheer force of an explosive inside the dragon caused by the ignition of black powder easily destroyed the entirety of the casing allowing for both the small fireball and more vital the sheer force that was created, to blast the creature part. Blood boiled turning into steam and gas in an instant, bones were sent hurling out of its skin at tremendous pace like rockets into the sky and entire quantities of the once strong and hard scales and flesh of the most, untouchable by sword were rent from it' body and sent skywards as a red and orange explosions physically forced all the tissue to rip apart. As the body shot off in all directions the rain that had only just left returned only instead of clear liquid it was instead a deep crimson red that fell from the heavens as though some great god was crying bloodied tears on the world as a great calamity.

From behind the rock, Valeyna and the others rushed out weapons bared ready to join their coward only to stop short as they witnessed the once proud and mighty dragons entire skull fly off the rest of the body like a ragdoll into the sky until it then passed out of sight only for a few seconds later for it to reappear crashing down to the ground with such force that the head then shattered sending even more fragments around the place. In horror they stopped and stared, making no effort to keep themselves dry as the organs and blood of the dragon fell from the sky landing all around them in one big bloody mess, to the side Nat grinned.

"And that is why you don't accept food from strangers. Stupid Gecko" He then chuckled darkly his eyes transfixed on the sky as it still continued to pour down and then directed to the Inquisitor "Maybe I should use explosive sheep more often, it definitely seems to work"

"You did this" Valeyna roared so angrily that her magic flared around her. "This was meant to be a fight, to test our skills to have fun"

"Nat rolled his eyes. "Right because killing a dragon inc combat is a fun and not at all dangerous experience." He locked eyes on her. "You said you wanted me around so you could feel safe, I take that responsibility very seriously Inquisitor, I was not about to allow the safety of an entire continent vanish just because you wanted to fight a dragon in close combat. And besides its better this way, at least the dragon felt no pain"

"Felt no- The dragon is quite literally in pieces, how could it have felt no pain?"

"Because I killed it quickly. Now no going back on what you said you still have to consider my soldiers and their resources"

"I said if you fought" Valeyna responded her feet marching angrily up the hill to a still quite smug-looking Nat.

"You said no poison gas or artillery; you didn't say I couldn't blow the thing up from the inside with suicide sheep". Nat responded.

"Where the fuck did you get a sheep," Valeyna asked nor completely curious as just to where Nat had of all things managed to bran hold of a mammal when they hadn't seen anything at all.

"I made one" Valeyna nodded.

"Of course you did. Well that settles it I'm never taking you to slay dragons with me ever again"

"Fair enough, "Nat said hiding the smile that threatened to take over his face. She had fallen for it so easily, not that he was complaining, at least now he didn't have to go on more stupid dragon hunting incidents when all they wanted to do was have fun and allow him to concentrate on his work.

"In that case let's get back to the village, talk the mayor and then sort out whatever else in Crestwood before we head back and meet with Hawke's friend" Nat nodded as he did so he noticed the slightly irritated look the Inquisitor shot him combined with a mention about how Bull was going to be so disappointed in him for not having fought the dragon properly and instead killing it via a cowards method.

"Well, that's going to be one interesting tale," Blackwall said as he walked alongside Nat. "Can't say I've sever seen a dragon explode before though it's bound to increase your infamy even father" Sera chuckled loudly and laughed at the idea.

"What you think those noble twats will now think that he can simply make a dragon explode simply by thinking about it" Sera grinned even more at the idea, she may have hated magic but once news of this spread the fearful looks that were sent at Nat would skyrocket, she couldn't wait to see how the children ran off at the merest mention of his name.

"I wish," Nat said. "Though admittedly it would be cool, at least now people will leave me alone, as it is I have enough people asking me how I survived in Orzammar, now they can focus on one dead dragon".

"Not much of a song though" Blackwall commented. "I mean the bards love telling great stories, what are they going to sing about now, that the dragon ate one bad sheep and then had died, hardly the story of legend" Sera snorted.

"Are you kidding, the dragon died of diarrhoea, that's like absolutely hilarious"

"Indeed" Valeyna grinned. "Though it does make you think"

"Think what," Blackwall asked noticing the coy smile that the Inquisitor wore as she shot looks at Nay.

"Nat just killed a dragon with a sheep, an explosive sheep mind you, but if he could achieve that then I think we might just stand a chance against Corypheus. And what makes me scared, is that I truly do feel sorry for our enemies, if we have to fight the Wardens, I don't think it's going to be a short thing" Blackwall nodded.

"Makes you glad he's on our side, could you imagine if he wasn't" Valeyna paled at the very thought, Nat was not as powerful as Corypheus she had felt the magic pour from both but Corypheus was something else, yet despite that she couldn't help but feel at that moment Nat would have been a greater threat then Corypheus ever was. Corypheus liked to hang back sending mindless minions to do his dirty work; he formed convoluted plans to cause problems with deception. In contrast, Nat was more direct, finding what needed to be done and doing it that instant, curious she turned to Nat a small amount of fear burning.

"Nat, how would you have dealt with the Empress, I mean had you been working for Corypheus and not us" Nat blinked but answered regardless.

"That's simple, bribe the guards to get access to whatever underground space there was and fill it full of black powder, then when the empress and the rest of the nobility are all gathered in one spot, I'd then detonate the powder and blow them all to kingdom come, quite easy actually." Valeyna nodded; yep Nat was by far more dangerous than Corypheus was.

"Yeah but how you have dealt with the remaining nobility"

"Co-ordinated attacks and assassinations, with the nobility in Orlais gone, the social order would break and there would be chaos, to keep the peace the Inquisition would be forced to stretch they're thinned down resources to cover the area, then I would take them out bit by bit. If I was facing you lot, then I would have simply found a decent rift, lured you there and planted explosives underneath the ground, then once you arrived I would have detonated them and killed you all there and then. That would leave the Inquisition helpless and the war won as demons could then pour forth, and the rifts never closed" Valeyna gulped, definitely more terrifying. At that moment she made note again to never do anything that would turn Nat against the Inquisition. "I assume you're asking to make suitable defences "

"Yes," Valeyna wandered. "Yes defences for Corypheus" She continued slowly, perhaps it was best to leave certain things in place, Nat had no loyalty no people and nothing to lose if he wanted to? She shivered and pushed the thought away, it would be best not to think of such a disturbing scenario she figured.

"Don't worry Inquisitor I have no intention of ruling the world or anything like that, do you have any clue just the sheer amount of paperwork that would be required"

"Right, anyway I hate to ask but will you be using explosive sheep," She asked hoping not to have to witness more dragons exploding in the future, already she was coated head to toe in red her face so plastered in it, that it required every instinct not to vomit."Sweet Merlin no, the sheep were only used because it was easier, I seriously doubt that that the wardens would just take in spare sheep, not when they likely know we're coming for them. Instead, I was implying going to make a giant wooden horse and they'll bring our force in."

"Seriously," Sera said doubtfully.

"It worked at Troy"

"You're telling me that a castle under siege accepted a giant wooden horse into their city?" Valeyna continued. "That's bullshit" And so the group continued discussing random things until they got to the village, quickly after telling the mayor that all was fine and Crestwood was safe, there was a small celebration held in the inquisitions honour, it was nothing fancy and there was no food given out, given the damage dealt, all the same, it felt good to be appreciated Valeyna thought.

Crestwood was yet another victory against Corypheus, soon they would bring their armies against him in the western approaches, but she would try negotiation first, that route had to be taken at the very least.

Days later

The Western Approach

The group came to a firm stop outside a strange stone building. Gazing up Nat looked on in concern, he had expected a fortress, some sort of easily defendable location, somewhere that they might have to make siege on, ye according to the scouts the tower was simply a tower. There were no great stone walls to defend the wardens, no large host of demons he could only sense a very small amount of people up ahead, nothing to concern about a few weak easily killable demons and some mages.

Shaking his head he followed Valeyna forward to the edge of the bridge where both Stroud and Hawke were located, just how they had managed to traverse such a distance was something known only to them, that or they had used some nonexistent horses.

"I'm glad you made it inquisitor I fear they've already started the ritual.

"Do we know what's inside?" Valeyna asked looking to Nat.

"Nothing of any serious threat, there's one mage more powerful than average, but again nothing the six of us can't handle"

"It's blood magic I reckon, you can smell it if you can't feel it"

"So that's what it feels like, interesting" Nat thought to himself, it was indeed a curious thing he was finding the sensation of blood magic, it was entirely different to what he was used to where mages would draw upon the strength of the fade, here blood magic had a different texture, far more personal as though somebody was screaming their names whilst they performed their works. It also felt far rawer; the sensation of magic had a buzzing almost addictive quality to it, one that he guessed was like a drug, hooking you in early and pulling you down a path that you could never escape from despite your best tries.

"You take point, I'll guard your backs," Hawke said cautiously her eyes flickering towards the direction that the magic was pulsing from.

As the group approached they easily detected the telltale signs that something was going horribly wrong, the first was the terrifying abundance of dead wardens who littered the ground, blood pooling from their bodies, their necks sliced open allowing for their blood to pool across the floor as magic then used that sacrifice to weaken the veil making it even easier than it already was to pull demons across from the other side. The stench of death was horrible but what was even more concerning what how the veil flickered, hovering as a demon pressed against the veil, Nat stopped for a moment and gave a slight shiver at the strange sensation.

The veil was something he could detect, it was hard to put into sensation but it was like a wall that only his magic could detect, however that was it, he could detect the wall, see where it was weak but no more than that. This time, the sheer weakness of the area and the pressing of the demons topped him as he felt past the veil, his magical presence slipping through one reality into another touching it for the first time since he had fallen through that hole into the Fade and then back out. It was all strange, power on an unrivalled level, oceans of currents of magic, moving back and forth, spirits and demons, that he could sense the very vestiges of as his magical power got caught up sending him far until with a sudden shove he pulled himself back to where he was his face pale and his hand clutching at his wand.

"Nat, are you okay," Valeyna said quickly noticing her friend's pale complexion. Nat nodded slowly giving himself a few moments to regain his strength as he fought to keep down the desire to vomit at the sensation. Nothing had made sense for a moment, all the laws of physics and magic he had ever known, vanished in an instant the laws decided entirely by something else. He took in a deep breath and then swallowed hard bitterly tasting that sensation in his throat but continuing onwards.

"Just the veil, it's so thin"

"Right," The woman said before continuing up the stairs to where they heard loud speaking and felt the veil twist and turn as a surge of blood magic weakened the veil again and the familiar sensation of a demon escaped into the mortal realms. Valeyna gritted her teeth and continued up the stairs emerging at the top to where they finally detected the person responsible for this.

"Inquisitor" The man greeted them with a mix of a sly smile and fake enthusiasm that sent a repulsive shiver down the back of the Inquisitor. "What an unexpected pleasure. Lord Livius Erimond of Vyrantium, at your service" The man, bowed mockingly.

"You are no warden" Stroud sneered.

"But you are" Livius sighed loudly. "The one that Clarel let slip. And you found the Inquisitor and came to stop me. Shall we see how that goes?"

"Wardens, this man is lying to you, he serves an ancient Tevinter Magister who wants to unleash a blight," Valeyna's voice rung thought the blasted remained halls hoping to warn the wardens, yet even as she spoke she detected no change instead the eyes of the wardens glowed a baleful red almost like a demon, observing her like a puppet with interest and then ignoring her.

"That's a very serious accusation, let's see what the wardens think" The man smirked turning his attention towards them. "Wardens hands up" At his words the group watched silently as the wardens followed the man's command their left arms raising in the same pattern and performing the same shape as the Tevinter lords did. "Hands down" And so fell the hands laving a rather smug lord sneering at them as he kept his arms behind his back, yet even as he did so the man was not idle instead his attention seemed focused on the wizard. He tilted his head and smiled. "How rude, thinking of interrupting a conversation with an attack, My Inquisitor are all your companions so ill-trained in diplomacy? Perhaps you should keep your pets on a tighter leash"

"I'm going to rip your cock off and shove it down your fucking throat" Nat responded with a nasty grin, as he moved himself into a far better position to shoot at the bastard before things got ugly, he could stun that bastard before he even had a chance to get away, there were so many spells that he could use, collapsing the tower above him, freezing they are in ice, perhaps he could even hold him still with telekinesis.

"Corypheus has taken their minds" Stroud stated ignoring the rather rude comment from Nat.

"They did this to themselves. You see, the calling had the Wardens terrified. They looked everywhere for help"

"Even Tevinter" Stroud glared but Nat chuckled.

"Wow, they must be scraping the bottom of the barrel if they got you" Livius glared at the wizard however Nat only chuckled, he was enjoying this, for the first time in a while he was able to insult nobles and get away with it, oh how exhilarating it was, idly he wondered if he shouldn't kill the man, and instead capture him and make him talk. There were so many ways to make a man scream with magic.

"Yes, and since it was my master, who put the Calling into their little heads, we in the Venatori were prepared. I went to Clarel full of sympathy and together, we came up with a plan... Raise a demon Army, march into the Deep Roads, and kill the Old Gods before they wake."

"Ah. I was wondering when the demon army would show up" Valeyna quipped all the while the story of Nat's last venture when he had gone off played in her head if it were not for the fact he had nearly died she would have laughed at the man. Instead, she was forced to move herself t the left purposely blocking Nat's path before he attacked and ruined this conversation.

"You knew about it did you?" Livius looked confused but quickly recovered. "Well then, here you are. Sadly for the Wardens, the binding ritual I taught their mages has a side effect. They're now my master's slaves. This was a test, once the rest of the wardens complete the ritual, the army will conquer Thedas.

"Do you really want to see the world fall to the Blight? What do you get out of this" Valeyna demanded angrily?

"The Elder one commands the Blight. He is not commanded by it, like the Mindless Darkspawn. The Blight is not unstoppable or uncomfortable. It is simply a tool. As for me: While the Elder One rules from the Golden City, we the Venatori will be his god-kings here in the world"

"God-Kings" The incredulous tone escaped from Nat's lips then suddenly without expectation something happened that stunned all those in the area, Nat laughed. Not a small chuckle laugh but a full-on hilarious laugh an incredibly loud raucous laugh that went on for several minutes, Valeyna turned her face one entirely of concern and worry, she was about to speak when after a few moments Nat stopped and faced the Tevinter. "God-Kings," He said slowly his voice humourous. "Of course, what else would it be. Hey look at me everyone I'm a mage and I want infinite power so let's play with the blight because everything will go right" He mocked even going so far as to put on a silly voice and do a small miming action that was mixed a joke.

"You dare mock us" Livius roared angrily.

"Yes," Nat turned towards the man his attention fixed purely onto the piece of filth in front of in front him. "You and your master are apathetic creatures, living in a personal fantasy, dreaming about infinite power and pretending that the blight does not affect. You are both weak pathetic little creatures, playing with magic that you do not even seek to understand or test cautiously instead rushing about commanding it without any father and calling yourselves Masters. The very concept is laughable hilarious even, you will not be god-kings; you will simply be another pawn as all things to the blights are. And before you speak your pathetic lies you insufferable arrogant little wretch think carefully, if this blight was so powerless so easily swayed by you and your master making you lords of heaven and earth, then tell me why have others not also gained this power, because you are not the first to try. You like the rest of your pathetic and weak culture is nothing but piss poor replicas of the elves of Arlathan, copying history and proclaiming yourselves gods, believing that in your dominance you cannot be touched, but that is not the case. Have felt the blight, like I do in the wardens and it is not some paltry disease to be put down, it is a force, an inherent part of this world no different to the void. All who have tried to tame it, make it their slave have failed and you and your master are no different, mere pawns in a great game beyond understanding, not even the elven gods were able to resist it. You can claim all you ant you pathetic little man, and I can debate you as much as possible, but the fact remains, you will not win. Your demon army can clash against this world all it wants, in endless hordes if that is what it requires, but that does not equate to victory, for I will stop you and your pathetic blighted pawn of a master, for that is what you are in the end... nothing. Not a god, not a lord not some infinitely better being, you are a weak pathetic shell of a man and trust me when I say that you shall not see your goals finished, your dreams idolised in stone, you shall be nought nothing but ash, wasting away, forgotten by all, and the same will be true for the Imperium, a pitiful remain"

"You dare threaten me, boy, I will kill you" Nat chuckled darkly the very sounds reverberating in such a way that all around whether Warden, person or demon felt a cold sensation strike their soul and their hearts seemingly turn to stone and fall in their hearts.

"I'd like to see you try" The man pushed his hand out forwards his eyes blazing red, as he did so a vicious grin appeared on his face as a cry of pain interrupted from the Inquisitor sending her sprawling to the ground screaming. Valeyna gasped her hand felt as though it was burning freezing and being shocked at the same time.

"Try it and she dies," Livius said with a smug grin. Nat glanced to his right not daring to lower his guard against Livius, could he save her or should he fire off the spell. An attack would most certainly break the spell, but it could also kill her. He gritted his teeth, could he risk it, he wanted to by Merlin he wanted to fire that spell, capture that smug bastard alive and then make him scream and beg for death, but the Inquisitor was there only chance of stopping Corypheus, if she died here, was there any hope left. The rifts would get wider and even though in theory if given enough time he might be able to hold off the untold legions, he could not do so now forcing a full massacre of the continent. "Go on boy, what do you care more for, you spoke such fancy words a moment ago are you sure you can't pull off such a move, you did slaughter the Templar's after all, yet you're not able to sacrifice your own. What was it you called me, oh yes pathetic"

Nat glanced back down to the Inquisitor, and shook his head in angry reassignment, he couldn't risk it, and there was no other known way of closing the veils, if she died, the war was lost Corypheus won, and that would be it. Thedas would be destroyed and his chances of returning home vanished in an instant as he did his best to hold off the forces of demons forever, he would be stuck here forever and even if he did he would be executed if he did return home as him not assisting to recover the situation when he could would put the world at risk. He growled internally and simply glared at the man.

Livius was going to die he would make sure of it before he could carry on through a wave of magical force exploded from the inquisitor and with her eyes glowing a burning green, magic from the fade bursting thought the sound of smashing glass burst in the air sending all the things in front of her flying back several metres landing on to the floor,

"Wha" Livius barely had time to come to his senses and conjure up a barrier spell as a series of incredibly powerful spells slammed into him a second later with such force that the entire building shook, crumbling the foundations of the tower above sending it down with a mighty crack around their feet. Stone stairs catapulted into the air and the dust seemed to clog everyone's throats for a bare moment before coalescing into the shape of a sword and racing towards the still downed Livius smashing against the barrier and careening to left.

"Die" Nat shouted angrily advancing upon the downed Tevinter mage his wand a constant blur as spell after spell flew out and smashed against Livius with such strength that were it not for the barrier is the only thing to keep him safe then he would have died a hundred times. Throwing himself to his feet, then his own blast of magic at the wizard a powerful fireball only for the moment to strike Nat caught the spell with his wand and then redirected back at the man. "Die" Nat yelled again and then broke off in a run following the retreating Livius.

Livius had to die if he didn't then the ritual could still go off and that meant the fall of the Wardens. He couldn't allow that and so still sprinting over dirty and abandoned temples Nar rushed after Livius all the while blocking and sending his own spells back at the man with such ferocity that even after a few minutes when Valeyna and the others had dispatched with the demons and dealt with the new rift they could still hear the sounds of rolling thunder. She dashed forward only to watch as every couple of seconds a blowing light struck an area sending a big plume of sand and stone in every direction moments later the sound of constant blasts of thunder echoed back to them.

"Getaway" Livius roared sending an ice spell towards Nat only for the duellist to dodge it effortlessly. They had come to the end of the ruin now, the only thing behind the Tevinter was a several hundred sheer drop yet that didn't stop Nat instead spell after sell kept raining forth, blasting against the man's barrier spell, it was going to drop soon he knew and when it did one of his many spells would strike and take the bastard down. Blasting spells, freeing spells were fired at the Tevinter mage, so many spells in fact that the man gulped as he realised just what he was dealing with, combat wasn't his forte and now he was trapped alone against one angry mage destined to kill him.

"Get back "The mage roared flinging a large stone first the same size as his head towards the boy but Nat effortlessly dogged and replaced it with another blasting charm exploding the are beneath his feet, Wide-eyed Livius couldn't even scream as with that spell the foundations that had held them both up collapsed around him and sent him tumbling towards the ground as a great hail of smoke kicked up. Nat threw a spell around himself protecting his body from any extra spells that might have come, but none did. Minutes passed and just as the cloud of was about to vanish allowing him to find the remains, he instead heard the sound of feet smashing against the stone floor.

"Nat" Valeyna screamed not able to see the protected form of Nat as he stayed in the dust instead rushing towards the edge.

"I'm still alive don't worry"

"Nat" She cried throwing herself towards him forcing him to catch her and hold her close to him.

"I thought you were dead"

"Nope" Nat then turned towards Hawke and Stroud as they approached the group; the concern was easily seen on their face.

"We have discussed things, the Magister will likely retreat to Adamant fortress and complete the ritual, Hawke and I will scout the area, once we are sure of things, we will send word, when we do you must be ready to bring the full might of the Inquisition down upon them"

"Right, good luck then," Valeyna said.

"And to you as well Inquisitor"

Later

Skyhold

"Attacking Adamant won't be easy the castle is old and its walls are crumbling true, but it's still a fortress. How much time do we have to prepare?" Cullen paced around the room his head bowed deep in thought.

"Not much, a few days at most a week most likely from what Stroud said in his letter is the latest we can march by" Valeyna admitted, to her side she heard the muted sigh of Josephine as she mentally began to calculate just how long this was going to take as well as the cost.

"A week isn't much time, we can get some siege ladders made and perhaps a battering ram, but for a proper siege, it won't be enough. Perhaps if we had more time?" Cullen added thoughtfully glancing to his left, Leliana shook her head vehemently.

"No we have to move soon any longer and Corypheus will not only bring his demon Army into existence but will also gain full control of the Wardens, we have to act as soon as possible"

"But the amount of me we'll lose, we might be able to bring a couple of catapults but we would have to take them from what we already have assembled here and that will leave us defenceless, not to mention it will take too long to gather our soldiers from their current patrols, by the time they arrive they'll be too exhausted to march"

"How many do we have?" Valeyna asked slowly her gazed locked firmly on the head of the Inquisitions forces.

"Currently, about ten thousand five thousand of mine and Nat's regiment" Cullen spoke scowling at the mention of Nat's regiment.

"And how many would that leave for the defence of Skyhold and reinforcements for our patrols?" Nat said slowly his own attention locked onto the map. There were many more soldiers, at least double so far what the Inquisition could field, but five thousand of those were still in training and the other five were split between various patrols and fortresses all around the continent.

"About a thousand maybe, six if the current recruits can get to a decent standard in the next month or so but it's more likely to take another two" The man replied cautiously.

"Not good enough, for all we know this could be a trap, lure the vast majority of the Inquisitions forces out to Adamant, have us kill the Wardens, exhausting ourselves in the process where soon after an attack either on our main force or somewhere else will be able to whittle us down. We can't afford to send our entire army" Nat added thoughtfully carefully tapping the table, as he stared at the spot that the Magister now resided in.

Adamant was located in a dessert, one that had been formed when the blight had come and wiped out all life to such an extent that not even microscopic life existed preventing courses from decomposing.

"And what would you suggest," Cullen said turning grimly.

"We take my regiment and that's it. I don't have that much cannon only thirty guns, but I have enough to tear down those walls and my muskets will easily punch through the steel coat of Grey Wardens, especially in long confined areas where volley fire can shred through enemies, not to mention any enemy targets can be picked off with my Rifles and the remaining Cavalry can sweep up what remains and warn us if anything comes."

"Five thousand men," Cullen said doubtfully. "Is it enough?"

"Normally I would be cynical as well, but trust me we need to move fast and punch hard. At the same time, we need to be able to reinforce any remaining positions and our flanks. My men can do the former; yours can assist in the training of us and be ready to march if the enemy decides to show itself in force. Besides... tearing down a castle? That sounds like fun." Nat grinned before then returning to his normal serious expression "So long things don't drastically change for the worse by the time we arrive, with any luck Adamant will fall in less than 24 hours by the time we start the attack"

"You sound disturbingly confident" Valeyna quipped.

"I have access to artillery and whatever mages decide to assist us, trust me when I say that Adamant will fall. Whether there will be any survivors, on the other hand, is another story"

"Very well then, Cullen get those towers and ladders made, Nat get your soldiers ready to march, Josephine alert Gaspard and Celene that we'll be marching, the last thing I want is to be intercepted by their forces and Leliana make sure that at the first hint of trouble that you let us know"

"Yes, Inquisitor," The four said at once.

"Good in that case, as soon we're ready, we march on Adamant"

* * *

Hi me again, first I want to say thank you to everyone, I honestly was not expecting the response I did in all honesty, it was far nicer then I was expecting. As you can see I've decided to carry on with this story so far though hopefully on a more streamlined method. I know this is a filler episode again, sorry about that, but I wanted to get this stuff out of the way with so I can do next chapter which for the first time I actually know the name for before I've even put word to well Word. So yes Chapter 31 is the Attack on Adamant where much longed for information will be revealed.

Anyway, I want to say thanks for all the support it really mean a lot and since the day of this upload is Christmas.

Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year

Yours's sincerely

Battleship Vytalia


	31. Chapter 31 The Battle of Adamant

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

 **Chapter 31 The Battle of Adamant**

The blowing of horns marked the entrance of the Forces of the Inquisition, in a thin line, they marched, soldiers dressed in bright scarlet red marked against the mid-afternoon sun. Quickly they marched in their lines, moving over the long since abandoned dessert doing their best to avoid the harsh glare and heat that radiated far above from the sun as they traversed this dangerous land to where they could see their camp was located. Only a few minutes away, the grim faces of men became far brighter as they saw the destination come to an end as they saw the small flaps of a white tent blowing in the wind. Set upon an incline and surrounded on three sides by rock, the place would be made easily defendable from a quick onslaught or raid that could come should the enemy choose so.

Glancing up from his horse, Nat who had previously ridden beside with his men ready to intercept any attack with his magic quickly rode to the front of the line leaving the Inquisitor behind him and into the remains of the small scout camp where he saw the two individuals he needed to speak to.

"Hawke, Stroud" He greeted them as he brought his horse to a stop and swiftly dismounted and joined the two of them.

"Tempest," Stroud said returning the greeting before then blinking somewhat in surprise that he was on his own. "Where is the Inquisitor?"

"She'll be along shortly, I rode ahead to get things organised. Now tell me what do we face?" With a slight gesture, Stroud nodded and led Nat forwards away from the camp leading him up the end of the incline to where they then stood upon a craggy surface. From here Nat could see much, from the seemingly endless desert punctuated only by the old stone here and there, to the slowly darkening sky. Despite this, however, his attention was focused instantly on the main subject of interest in the area, Adamant fortress.

It was a large fortress easily bigger than the vast majority of castles back home that were not created and owned by wizards, simple in its design the fortress roughly resembled a rectangle in nature, there was a main keep in the centre that hid behind a good amount of wall on either side that was no doubt home to the barracks of the fortress. There was nothing fancy about the fortress, but that was because it was built as a defensive building and not some vanity project, not overly tremendous tall walls, but high enough to give a certain amount of security to its defenders. As for the insides, he could already tell from this distance that the mage had already returned home as men and women were working as swiftly as possible carrying stone and fixing it in place to rebuild the weak walls of the fortress. He glanced at Stroud and then spoke.

"What's the situation of the fortress?"

"The Wardens have garrisoned it as best they can but Adamant is old and it had been abandoned until only recently, even then there was not much thought placed into rebuilding what had broken due to a lack of care. However that does not mean the castle will be easy to take, this place was made for the Wardens it was designed to take on the forces of Darkspawn and how their tactics usually apply, the walls may be weak, but there are enough of them to trap any besieging army and fill them with arrows, also their pantry will be large and designed to resist Darkspawn. Should that fail however, they will no doubt retreat across the bridge to what remains of the citadel where they will wait for reinforcements.

Glancing at the ruined remains of Adamant, Nat could see that the man was right, the walls of the old fortress was crumbling in some places and others there were cracks and stone that had fallen and nobody had bothered to rebuild. Then without saying anything he quickly retrieved his binoculars and searched the fortress as carefully as he could while trying to stay hidden.

"Do they know we're here" Hawke nodded reluctantly.

"One of your scouts got ambushed and was brought back, even if they don't know the size and strength of your force, they likely know that you will be attacking soon".

"And the ritual?" Hawke scowled menacingly in the direction of where Nat could see a large congregation of Wardens, they were in a plaza surrounding what appeared to be a rift only significantly larger and far brighter than usual.

"From what we can gather, it will take another day or so before it is complete" Stroud answered swiftly following the wizards gaze as he used that strange thing in front of his eyes and kept a careful eye on the giant pulsing light of the Rift, occasionally as they did so they watched as it convulsed for a moment, then glowing brighter before with a green spark of lightning a demon shot out and emerged into the world.

"Good, that gives the men time to rest and prepare"

"Rest" Hawke turned and advanced on the wizard. "We need to stop this ritual now before it becomes too late".

"We can't" Nat replied casually as he then began counting the number of individuals inside. We just quick marched them from Skyhold. They're exhausted, throw them into battle and they will fold like wet paper, we will be repulsed and the ritual complete. Besides look at the weather" Nat said glancing up above them. The once bright sky that they had all marched under was vanishing as the sun began to creep over the horizon allowing for the once brilliant and warm day to gradually begin too cool down. "Its mid-afternoon, even if we were only to give the men a short rest by the time they would attack it would be dark and the men would be freezing not to mention that the defenders would then gain another advantage."

"The men are your's commander, what are your orders" Nat turned towards Stroud hiding his surprise at the term used. Commander was an official military one, not the highest like general but all the same, it was one that commanded respect and dignity, it wasn't something he had ever been called. He shook his head and then collected his thoughts; this was no time to think about other subjects.

"We'll attack in the early morning, as dawn breaks that should give us enough light for Artillery and minimise the weather conditions. It should also give the men enough time to recover their strength if we can get the camp up in the next hour or so to give them an early night" Stroud nodded, then with another gesture he directed Nat back to the small camp they made.

"Where is that handsome man, the one who styles his hair, I thought he would be here," Hawke said curiously as they began to watch the chaos of a camp set up unfold. It truly was hectic, men having been given a short amount of rest were already racing ahead in their respective duties, some were assigned to the duty of putting up the tents and forming a neat row as their respective teams got to work, others unloaded large wooden palisades that had already been cut and began to wedge them into the sandy ground thus creating the beginnings of a defensive encampment that would prevent any enemy force from simply charging them in the middle of the night or to stop spies from entering.

"We received word of a growing Templar force in East Ferelden, whether it is true or not we don't know, but Commander Cullen was sent with the rest of our force to investigate and if required battle the foe. For all, we know Adamant could merely be a distraction to enable Corypheus to attack Denerim."

"Or it could be another distraction as he reinforces Adamant and strikes your forces from behind," Stroud added in a concerned manner. Nat nodded in agreement gently stroking the hilt of his sword as he led them past the brightly coloured soldiers as they continued to do their best towards where he knew the Artillery would be setting up. He had stationed them in the middle of the convoy thus protecting them if some force did try to attack them making it easier for the bulk of the infantry to reinforce.

"It's a risk we'll have to take Stroud, but as I'm sure you can guess, with Cullen gone that leaves me in command of the local forces, the Inquisitor is in charge but it's my plan"

"Very well, I assume we shall have a meeting sometime later?" Nat nodded at the man than with a quick farewell he left the group to meet the Artillery.

"Does everybody understand the plan?" Nat asked firmly as he locked gazes with all those in front of him. The commanders, captains and those other vital ranks that made up his regiment returned his gaze for a moment as they glanced back from the large map that sat in front of them. Currently, they were all situated at a large circular wooden table as they sat within the confines of their commander's tent listening aptly to whatever their commander had to say. When after an acceptable time had passed for any of the commanders to respond and give their word about the plan that had been presented before they had passed, Nat nodded his head and then took in another breath before carrying on.

"I know you have doubts gentlemen, this is an untested regiment with an untested commander and untested weapons, I know you do not think highly of me given how I gained my position and that is a fair enough assumption I won't judge." At his words, a few of the commanders turned their gazes away leaving the others to only watch the young boy closely as he spoke to them, yet anyone who could read the room could tell there was something off. Nat's usually calm voice had changed to a far firmer tone one that needed to batter points into position and ensure that all those present knew just who was in command and that a refusal to accept such a thing would very likely end poorly. "This is the first true battle of the war, the first time we shall show our skills. I expect the enemy to crack before us, I expect for you commanders to perform your duty and to help me achieve this goal, In return I expect you to ensure that I am a good commander, that I lead this engagement well. Now I'm not one for speeches and time is growing thin; as I said before I want all those who are not on watch to sleep as early as possible, you will require your strength. Also, I have hidden the barrels of ale" There was some uproar at this as well as angry shouts however before it could become far worse Nat quietened the group with a flick of his wand, shutting the entire group up. "I will not have my regiment drunk and disorderly or complaining of headaches when we wake up tomorrow, remember we don't just face a bunch of Wardens, we also face demons one wrong move because of sluggish reactions or a blistering headache and you're dead. Or in the case of Artillery, everyone but them is dead. So if there's nothing left to say, this meeting is over goodnight and I wish you well in the morning"

With the meeting now complete the officers giving a quick and polite farewell rose from their seats in a fast manner gave a respectful bow or gesture to their commander and then left the tent leaving only a few people left inside.

"Well, that went well" Valeyna yawned leaning back and stretching her arms out as wide as he could. "Good meeting"

"Blackwall, Bull you've both served as commanders, what did you think, be honest?" Smirking Bull nodded as he took another glance of the map of Adamant. It was surprisingly detailed, they knew what the layout of the entire castle and how it could be used, every kill zone, defensible location and other area had been marked and spoken off including what to do if one got caught or stuck in such a place.

"Not bad" Nat raised an eyebrow causing the man to sigh and smile in a friendly way before the telling the truth. "Honestly the plan is solid for the most part, my only problem is the length, you spent so much time discussing every single area that this meeting took twice as long as possible. And there's also the Artillery, the men aren't stupid they've been training together for months now and even if they hadn't seen what the things can do, they've all served in countless battles before and know how catapults work, they can extrapolate, there's nothing to go over."

"Anything else?" Nat inquired.

"Yes, Are you still sure it's a good idea to be sending the men in without any proper weapons"

"The men have bayonets" Nat answered honestly but he knew what Blackwall was going on about, black powder and bullets were brilliant when they worked, they could easily tear through the armour that the enemy had and still cause incredible damage to a humans insides, no doubt the Wardens would be surprised when they faced them, but at close range, it was an entirely different manner. The bayonets were simply a short sword that could be put on the end of a musket, it was nothing special, certainly not for fighting anybody as skilled as Wardens.

"Too short and without the penetration, if the enemy gets to your muskets their dead not to mention how is your artillery going to support your troops past the initial breakthrough, You'll have groups of men all at different points and all will want covering fire. How is the artillery to know what targets to fire at"

"They won't" Nat admitted honestly. "It's too dangerous without enough experience, that's why they're assigned to smashing the walls and enemy strong points. Once we pass through the gates the cannon will give a few more shots before then targeting the next set of gates and then the final, once that is done they are finished. Besides, they don't have that much shot anyway"

"Very well, if you are so sure of your tactics," Blackwall said dubiously his attention focused on the other members of the Inquisition present as they looked at the map each of them mentally working things out for themselves such as the most effective past.

"The cannon will break the walls, I can assure you. After that, I have given orders for the Artillery to target the main plaza after finishing their main objectives" Eyes flew open at that announcement focusing on the commander in charge as they wondered just what would require such a thing. "

"Why," Valeyna asked cautiously.

"In the case that we fail, for whatever reason, that is, I have ordered the Artillery to destroy that square if needed, whether it kills us or the enemy. Besides you've felt it haven't you, that host that they seem to be bringing in, if this is where Corypheus gets his army to conquer Thedas, then perhaps the artillery may be able to buy some time for any retreating forces or take out whatever comes through"

"You fear whatever is coming from that thing that much, that's absurd we have men, cavalry, artillery" Valeyna responded, harshly she thrust her left finger to the map, on it were little toy soldiers or that was how it appeared to her, some were in the shape of the musket men dressed in their brilliant red coats that were near impossible to miss, others such as the rifles were in a velvet green and stationed right outside the castle walls, father back from this, was the cannon who were stationed behind a ridge allowing them to fire upon the enemy and not take anything back should the enemy have hidden trebuchets or magic in their arsenal. Away from the main group were the cavalry whose job was to mainly keep a lookout for anything but also in sight of one another. If something killed one scout the other would see and give warning.

"Fear no, but that's exactly what is coming from the place, an excess amount of fear, already it's started to affect some of the men, apparently some of them are seeing spiders"

"That does sound like fear demons, no doubt they are feeding of the Wardens fears of a future blight" Stroud interjected from his side of the table. "We will need to finish this as soon as possible the longer we delay the more demons will cross the threshold"

"And also give Corypheus time to surround us with an army" Hawke added "Are you sure we can't attack any sooner" Nat shook his head it was too late to attack now, night had already fallen upon the camp and it was surprisingly quiet though that was likely because the men had likely appreciated the offer of an early dinner then sleep, only a few were left awake and even then they were huddled up next to one another desperate to get whatever warmth they could in the dessert.

"Dawn is not long away when it does it shall be to the rolling thunder of cannon, Adamant falls tomorrow one way or another, so I ask that unless you have anything more to add that you get some sleep, you shall need it" With nothing left to say there were nods from the remaining group were like the commanders before them they gave a quick goodbye and left the tent one by one until it left Nat and the Inquisitor alone. Finally, after a few minutes left alone in silence, Valeyna finally spoke.

"Are you okay?" She said gently her eyes focused on the stern look on Nat's face, even now as he tried to keep his attention on her out of politeness, he was not able to fight the urge to look back at his plans and soon enough his visual attention was directed purely onto the maps. Valeyna sighed loudly, getting out of her seat she walked over to him and laid a hand on the rest of his chair.

"The plan should work, everybody has been briefed on their positions, the artillery knows what to do and the defences have been scouted and weak points made aware to everybody. This should go well."

"That's not what I asked"

"I'm perfectly fine Inquisitor, I know what needs to be done and I have taken the steps to achieve it, by this time tomorrow Adamant will have fallen and this ritual stopped in its tracks" Valeyna froze releasing an angry almost angry growl out of her throat before suddenly without warning she slammed her fist onto the table and pushed herself forward directly in front of his gaze preventing him from glancing at the map.

"Don't ignore the question and stop calling me Inquisitor, my name is Valeyna, you can use it for bloody once" Valeyna demanded angrily her eyes starting to glow with rage. Nat sighed and looked into the eyes of the woman his own dull violet ones hidden by his shades piercing into the bright sapphire ones of the woman; he could lie, but there was no point she would not leave without an answer. With another sigh, he gently called over his floating cup of tea and began to take a long deep sip when he was finished he allowed the cup to hover in the air to his side.

"No, I'm not. The truth is I have no idea if this plan will work" Seeing the Inquisitor's shock he continued. "I'm not Cullen or Blackwall or Bull, I have no command experience that relates to strategy, I have never commanded an army or a force or anything like that. Yet despite that, I'm in charge of this entire operation I'm the one who has to think of the strategy, how men will work together when to plan the attack?" He laughed suddenly his attention turning away from the Inquisitor as he then stood up from his desk and walked towards the entrance of the tent in silence. Silently Valeyna followed her feet treading on the soft carpet that made up the floor when she stopped next to him; Nat then pulled open the entrance to the tent partially allowing them to see what lay outside.

Night had fallen upon them entirely by now leaving only the bright glare of torchlight as hundreds of flames flickered in place the occasional soft breeze of the dessert making them dance in one way or another, casting dark shadows of people and tents giving off the impression of some sort of monstrous creatures on the canvas of multiple tents. Nat stilled his hand gently and took in another deep breath as his gaze flickered to each individual he could see. Not many were out, only a few stragglers, it seemed that most had taken his warning of their attack in the early morning seriously thankfully, but there were some awake and no doubt they would suffer if they were not part of those who kept watch.

"It's an impressive sight" Valeyna sighed feeling as the weariness of their long journey set its claws into her, already she could tell she was not going to sleep well tonight. "All those banners that were on the road, it's the type of things from stories back when I was a girl".

"Perhaps," Nat said his eyes fluttering constantly from the rows of tents, they waved back and forth in the wind making a loud flapping sound that echoed in the distance, occasionally the sound of a horse whinnying broke the monotony and sometimes it was the wind as it instead howled louder, circling above them like some kind of great beast determining its prey, waiting for the dawn before it would strike. Valeyna sighed at the reaction then without thinking she moved her left arm around her friend and pulled him towards her forcing his body upon hers for a moment. Nat glared for a moment but he didn't try to pull away, instead, he simply allowed himself to take a small amount of comfort in the woman's touch.

"So, tomorrow is the day, you're first command position. Excited?" Nat's heart burned at the mention, it was true this was his first real command position, the first time he would be leading a force of men and women into battle, no he stopped he would be leading his men and women into battle for that was who they were, the men and women of his regiment. His eyes wandered through the sky at the thought finally landing onto the familiar banner of his home, the red white and blue of the union flag, was flying once more above a camp of war, far from home and on the verge of death and destruction.

He gulped and felt another rush of guilt strike his heart. Did he even hold the authority to use the flag, true it was not he who had commissioned that flag but rather Cullen who had stated clearly that it should be used to represent him as the last of his people even if that was a lie? He was not the last and neither was he in the position of others from his country who had carried that standard into war for he was not a soldier in his countries military whether magical or muggle, nor was he a freedom fighter fighting against a corrupt government and thus fighting for his country, he was fighting for his country or so he liked to believe, but without contact with either Parliaments how could he know that his actions were justified and that he was not some kind of tyrant hell-bent on power and doing whatever he so desired in the world.

He was just a lone wizard, far from home.

"I shouldn't be commander" His voice dropped low, Valeyna shook her head but turned at hearing the self-doubt in his voice, when she did she saw something she had never seen before. Worry, panic, fear even, all of it was clear as day and all of it was prevalent on his face. Valeyna blinked dazed at the sight of the normal stalwart defender, the boy who had shown himself to be so vicious so, concerned as though this was his true form.

"What do you mean?"

"I hold no strategic experience, not to mention I have never led men into battle, all this" He waved back at the map where the map lay firm. "Applying theory to practical with no experience, I have no idea if it will work"

"It will, I know it will," Valeyna said soothingly but it did not alleviate the concern on his face nor the way that his feet seemed to tap repeatedly on the ground, nor even as his finger started to quake even as they rested upon the hilt of his sword.

"How?" Nat asked no pleaded. "How can you be so sure, I'm not even a novice? The last time I did lead people, I got them..." He froze his face turning paler then chalk as he remembered their dying faces, they had been wracked in so much pain their once vibrant and healthy skin had turned into a horrid depressing grey as black veins and tendrils wormed themselves into their skin as their exuberant eyes became glassy and deformed. He remembered their last moments as their pain became so unbearable yet their bodies so weak they could do nothing not even walk. It had been him who had killed them, him on his stupid orders driven by arrogance in his powers, powers that he dare not even use in his fear that had stolen their lives. It could have been so easy, he had a choice when he escaped the Architect, to confront a threat of an old god, head on perhaps even dying in the process to buy time, or instead save his subordinates from the gruesome death that had awaited in them in those dark and treacherous tunnels far beneath the ground. He remembered starkly how even after he had recovered them how they had then died because he had been idle, lost in his seemingly non-existent moral compass too concerned with himself that he had allowed them to die in his indifference.

"I got them killed, and it's my fault" He admitted. "I should have been there, I could have saved them but I didn't. And now here I am, not only do I have lives that rely upon my judgment, my decisions, but several thousand lives." He turned is walk emphasised by a slow and sluggish walk until eventually, he approached his bed allowing himself to collapse only when Valeyna sunk next to him and once again wrapped him in a hug did he continue. "They're going to die tomorrow" He whispered.

"Relax" Valeyna repeated the quote holding him tightly ignoring how her own heart seemed to beat faster as for the first time in memory he seemed comfortable with her, so much so that without him knowing he had laid his head on her shoulder and had pulled into his closer basking in her embrace.

"I'm sending men to their deaths"

"You've killed before, it will be fine." It was a harsh thing to say Valeyna knew, but seeing him like this, so scared, so concerned, so vulnerable especially as he was lost in a cloud of his thoughts sinking deeper and deeper into the bottom of his despair, she knew she had to stop him.

Nat wanted to complain, tell her how it was different to just killing a person. These were not men who had done him harm, nor were they men he was sacrificing for some greater goal that he knew were needed. These were people, living breathing people, with emotions, love, fear, hatred and everything else, a lot of them were boys, older than him for the most part but still considered children back home, and he was going to send them to their deaths. He shivered at the thought, was this what it felt like to be a leader? to be the one who had to make those hard choices?

He had always looked down on those Gryffindor's, always so brash so quick to anger, always rushing into danger at the first sight of trouble without a plan and little other thought, those boys and girls of red and gold were always hilarious and easy to mock. What was courage against technology, chivalry against an assassin, logic and cunning would easily best they're so-called ferociousness, their blind spirit was nothing, something to be exploited by better and wiser minds. Yet now as he felt the cloak of darkness wrap around him, as the stars still up there uncovered for all to see and wonder at slowly moved at speed incomprehensible, many of whom were likely dead, giving off their last huzzah before they were gone, their light extinguished did he think he understand, even if only partly?

How could there be technology if there were not those willing to brave the future, which was willing to risk everything without any degree of certainty, instead only guessing at things that were to come if they did not charge? How could Potter have defeated Voldermort in the last war as well as the resistance of so many more who even when defeated carried on the fight regardless of the scenario even when their saviour was dead giving forth that time needed to win. How could the Inquisition expect to win in this war against Corypheus if the common man, those who waited out there in the valley with him without the raw magic at his disposal or the trained skill of Blackwall or the mighty mass and might of Bull did not still volunteer and risk everything they had for what they believed in.

What did that make him, with his power he could storm the fortress slay the normal wardens and likely contend with the mage wardens for a long enough time to distract the mage wardens for the others to kill. Even with that power he had improved it even father, refusing to march to war without every advantage, he could muster. There was a tactical advantage to it, but he also knew there was a fear, a fear that his power on its own was enough, that it would never be enough, that those men who would charge and fight with less were nothing more than future casualties all of whom would die.

What was he?

A coward

If that was how the men saw him, it made sense why they seemed reluctant to speak, why even when he was the one giving them every advantage in the upcoming conflict that they were concerned, he simply wasn't a leader.

"Should I leave?" He asked her hoping for a clear answer, perhaps it was best if this was led to those better qualified like that of the Inquisitor.

"No, I'll stay, however long you need me" Nat nodded and so as time passed by he sat there his eyes only ever darting backwards to the strategy on the table occasionally as he sat in thought until without him noticing he closed his eyes and was laid asleep in bed as the Inquisitor gently stroked his chin offering a smile before leaving.

Come the dawn, war would be made and he would need his strength.

The next day

It was to the final sounds of preparation war that Nat was met with when he returned to the camp. No longer dressed in his typical black and foreign clothing that made him so easy to spot amongst those of the Inquisition giving him a look of distance, instead, he was now dressed entirely different so much so that he quickly strode across the sand road that marked the centre of the camp that none of the soldiers, still in the busy scramble as they ate breakfast and dressed themselves recognised him. Now garbed in a bright scarlet red more colourful than any shade of blood he cut an elegant yet highly dangerous figure, his every step punctuated with a deadly nobility, his sabre girded at his hip shimmered as the first rays of the sun crept over the dunes and struck the silvery metal blinding those few scavenger birds who had followed the army. With his two flintlock pistols kept in the holsters on either waist and his even darker black trousers and older boots that contrasted greatly with his red overcoat and the large black hat that sat on his feather adorned with only a golden trim at the end, he had became the commander of the forces of the Inquisition, recognisable at a distance as somebody to be respected and feared.

Approaching the top of the hill, he ignored the astounded looks of Hawke and Stroud as they blinked at first not recognising him, and instead focusing on the already awake Varric who was buzzing as his admiring gaze fell upon him with a discerning smile. Finally, after taking in his new garb the dwarf smirked.

"Wow you look, great kid, where you get the clothes, steal them off a noble"

"Hardly, these are just my officer clothes; if I am to lead the armies of the Inquisition then I should look appropriate"

"That you do" Varric whistled appreciatively as he looked at the uniform that he wore. It was odd at first to see him in something that wasn't black, but the clothes he wore now were something else entirely, finely crafted and decorated with things like golden laurels and patterns each of which served to emphasise not only the bright red of the uniform made him seriously think that were it not for the familiar black things covering his eyes, the smaller stature due to his age and the long blonde hair then he might have believed that he was talking to a noble.

"Varric," Blackwall said hearing the conversation where he then walked up in his heavier armour for the battle ahead. "Is that you kid?" Nat nodded once yet it was done with so much poise and grace that Blackwall was impressed for a moment. "Looks good on you, anyway are we ready to go?" The man said impatiently.

"Almost" Nat replied with an air of nobility. "We are offering the enemy one last chance of surrender before it begins. As doubtful as it is, I would prefer to stop a massacre from occurring. Look here they come" Nat said as he gestured to the figure of the Inquisitor as she rode back to them mounted atop her horse and followed by several members of cavalry one of whom was carrying his banner that now began to wave more frequently as the sun and wind began to pick up more frequently. "Well, what is their response?" Nat asked the moment Valeyna got off her horse catching her off guard at his change in appearance.

"Nat?" Her shocked tone echoed at his appearance, she rubbed her eyes not believing what she was seeing for a moment but after doing so she could only feel a stirring sensation. Nat, even with the enchantments to hide his true features was very handsome in that uniform. She blushed briefly then reported back.

"They will not surrender"

"Then we attack, very well. Artillery" His voice became an echoing roar so loud that Bull not expecting the sudden loudness clutched his ears to his head as the loud bellows shot forth alerting all those both in the camp and those on the castle walls to his warning alerting all that in the span of only a few seconds the siege would begin and so would the number of dead. "Give Fire"

With that order, hell was unleashed.

Thunderous roars bellowed through the previously silent valley the sound do death and gunpowder had been unleashed as in that moment the cannon sat upon its ridge unloaded its payload with the fury of the Inquisition each spewing forth a ball of iron short from its gullet. Wreathed in flame as the flame hit the black powder giving forth the energy needed to explode the shot tore its way through the sky whistling an angry scream before then slamming with a cacophony of force into the front walls of Adamant. Crashing upon its target the old walls of Adamant stood no chance as the metal eviscerated its old structure, the sheer force breaking the mortar and stone, obliterating against the stonework with such raw force that it sent sharp stone splinter s hurling into the air and impaling those too unfortunate to be met nearby. The walls shook from the force exerted and for a moment, they managed to hold together but it was only for a moment as seconds later the sounds of tearing and grinding stone was heard before an entire section of wall crumbled with another thunderous roar to the ground taking wardens with them. Upon the battlements screams of anguish echoed out as men who were not taken down from the initial blast or wall falling down froze still in their positions their faces hidden behind their helmets but still ones of fear as they now gazed at the large hole from where there had once been a wall. Screaming and shouting soon took their attention s they then turned their gaze behind them as a second later the sound of a second thunderous roar as cannonball shook and blasted against wall was made apparent as wardens flew un pinto the air on the wall behind them. There was no time to rest as in the next second a ball that had been aimed too high smashed through the skull the helmeted skull of one unlucky warden instantly pulverising the entire skull into something smaller then paste leaving the corpse to fall flat to the ground where a second later another scream of anguish was heard as that cannonball slammed into a building and destroyed its foundation tearing it down on those nearby killing them instantly.

"Maker's Mercy" Blackwall's tone dropped to one of pure horror as he stared at the devastation in front of him, only one volley had been fired so far, but already the weak walls of the castle had been entirely decimated in place collapsing under its defenders crushing them alive, in other places where the wall was stronger the wall had not yet been destroyed but the racks and damage was so grand that it would simply take another volley to deal with where in other places where the wall had been so weak, he could track a trail of devastation from where it had punched a thin hole in the wall and wrecked a row of houses. Smoke and ash drifted up from the castle into the castle and the small grey dots that shimmered in the morning's lights stopped their action's to stare, but it was too late for in the next moment an even more terrifying sound was launched.

With the sound of a hundred screaming banshees, all attention suddenly locked onto the fast-moving seemingly shrill scream as a large number of fast-moving rockets sped upwards into the air leaving a thin trail of smoke behind them as they went onwards, soaring ever higher until suddenly that trajectory declined and then fell towards the planet once more. As they gave a horrid screech, the defenders on the walls, the legendary Grey Wardens, famed for their courage in that they would take on any foe but more specifically the endless hordes of Darkspawn ran. Quickly they abandoned their posts clutching at their ears their eyes dancing wildly across the sky as they attempted to work out where the rockets would land, in their desperation they forgot where to look leaving some to take one wrong step falling off the walls, breaking their feeble bodies if not killing them outright where others would crash into one another. However, the true devastation of rocket artillery did not reach a full conclusion until the rockets hit their destination.

Striking downwards the rockets exploded with a series of loud roars, those nearby were blasted apart their steel armour unable to save them as the sheer pressure from the explosion blew their flesh bodies apart, pulverising them, those who weren't killed screamed in pain as limbs tore off from their bodies with a raucous force, blood was sent everywhere spraying the local walls and nearby wardens in their life force, other meanwhile initially lucky to avoid the explosive force were soon blinded as the searing heat struck their faces igniting their skin and searing their flesh. Soon the smell of cooking flesh was made apparent but the damage was not yet finished as those shots that did not do immediate damage soon struck the remaining buildings and walls exploding with enough force to cause debris to fly upwards before landing back down.

As the screams of the dying and wounded round themselves upwards from the initial volley of fire up to those on the ridge, those left still on the walls, the veterans who may have endured a siege recently due to some sort of conflict rose their heads in utter horror at the devastation that had been wrought upon them. Was this the power of the Inquisition, their gaze locked towards the ridge where they saw the leaders of the Inquisition? They were hard to make out at this distance and with the early sun glinting in their eyes helping to blind them, yet even as the light of the early dawn affected their vision they could make out easily the visage of one individual out of all of them dressed in a bright scarlet.

Anger in their blood those that did not retreat quickly stood up retaking their old positions or new ones if they no longer existed rallying the younger and less experienced members of their order as they prepared for an inevitable charge. The enemy would have to come now, there was no time for a siege, the longer they waited the more time it would give to them to complete their goal.

Then the second wave came, roaring cannon so loud that it was as though they were fighting in the heavens with storms all around them, and lightning in the form of metal balls striking and crushing everything that opposed them such was the force of such weapons while the rockets continued to rain down a maelstrom of death the fiery explosions they caused starting fires that suffocated the nearby soldiers as they rushed to fight it and through it, all more men and women died butchered by the machines of war. Still, they braced for the attack, yet none came instead they watched wearily as time passed by, soon seconds became minutes and then those minutes became an hour that after even more time became a full total of four long agonising death filled hours.

Four hours of continuous bombardment, of cannon, roaring, rockets screaming and the wounded crying in agony, after only half an hour all but one of those they could see had left the ridge seemingly leaving to do something else, all bar the one dressed in the colour that the wardens blood now ran, unflinching, unmoving even as the sounds and scent of war became all the more apparent. And the smell now with hours passed the white cloud of continuous firepower had mixed with that of the death and decay created by those now rotting corpses their dead eyes staring endlessly at the sky. With such a long prelude to any true confrontation, the wardens could only watch with disgust as demons slipped through the weakening of the veil taking advantage and possessing the corpses of their recently dead.

Up they rose, each corpse rising from the dead their blasted corpses slaughtered as their armour was shattered by cannon fire slowly rising with a scraping sound as broken and crumpled armour moved once again, those who had died to the searing lame their corpses now a charred husky slowly digging upwards with a snarl grabbing their weapons between their now skeletal fingers, the flesh hanging from their limp forms like some kind of disease. As they came forth so did the demons snarling angrily with hasty movements as they glared at the cannon fire that so easily had torn down these walls cracking their defences and leaving them all open either for the cannon or for the rockets to carry on fire.

As for the castle itself, it could no longer even be considered that anymore for a castle was a structure built defensively to defend the occupants, but that was no longer true, now there was only rubble and a fine cloud of death and ash and flame that coated in for even the inner fortress and walls had been broken their mighty edifices come crashing down on the defenders leaving only the central plaza relatively undamaged but that was only due to the act of mages who through the use of their powers had kept up a powerful barrier defending the ritual area from assault and killing them all. But it would not last that long as soon the mages were bound to get tired and that would mean they would either have to replace their losses via either blood magic or taking it in turns, either way, the loss of mages in the ritual simply to defend it had been costly.

The defenders would now have to become the attackers they realised for they could not take another hour of the bombardment, yet at the same time, the death toll of their number had been beneficial for as it was known, the more deaths that occurred in a place the weaker the veil became and with so many mages dying that veil was nearly all but shattered and soon their goals would come to light, they would win this.

Soon they would bring death to the enemy and they would kill them.

And then it started, a strange sound of music at first it had been faint barely audible under the sensation of constant cannon and rocket fire as they filled the sky, but then it became louder, and louder until it emerged from the roars of battle even louder than anything else that had ever existed. The sound of music specifically of some type of pipe only instead of the usual pipes that the wardens and demons were used to this was a different one, it was loud, raw and echoed through the valley and collapsed walls of the old fortress with as much force as a hurricane breaking upon a city made entirely of wood and no foundations. All were taken aback by it and all attention focused back not to the ridge but instead to the sides was a stream of scarlet red, deeper and more colourful then blood poured from either side in a steady and orderly march.

Drums joined the sound shortly, loud and respective joining in with the sounds of the mighty pipes each beat matching that of the soldiers dressed in their red as steadily and with a uniformity matched by professional warriors did they form a tight yet thin line directly facing the now ruined remain of the fortress. And from their number did the defenders stop and see as a myriad of flags waving harshly in the wind cut forth through the thick smoke and dance in the morning light searing into their minds. There were only two flags that stood out in the group, the first was a black flag with a sword on fire and an eye on a black background obviously the symbol of the Inquisition who had led this attack on their fortress but the second was unknown to those that lurked within. Red, white and blue did it shimmer, a mix of red and white crosses on a dark blue background, that waved in the fore held sternly in their grips of these men who wore red coats and marched in unison.

The music carried on getting louder and louder as they formed up until eventually the small force that the Inquisition had brought had fully presented itself, the defenders with bated and silent breath ignored the sounds of cannon and rocket fire that had previously pounded their positions and could instead only watch as one lone individual wreathed in the same red but also wreathed in a brilliant gold that glimmered brightly as the sun caught it walked to the lead a sword in one arm and held against his shoulder. Then there was a shout, and the music changed suddenly going from a more rhythmic pace to a faster temp one that spoke of death and destruction and the pipes and drums played loudly following and inspiring the men of the Inquisition as the leader to the first step forward and led them towards the fortress.

Slowed by both their fear for even as the men marched did the artillery arrayed against them refuse to stop fire instead changing from their relentless assault onto the individuals whether demon or nor and fired blasting apart groups of defenders from their positions. Yet despite this, the wardens seeing their doom soon at hand rallied towards one another and climbed through the wreckage of their fortress doing their best to form some type of defensive formation. Their training helped and with the assistance of all those wardens who were not mages and required for the ritual joining their brothers and sisters in the final defence, did they lock shields with one another drawing their swords in unison and marched over the battered and broken corpses of their deceased comrades to meet the foe.

Nat watched sternly his sword in hand as he marched towards the enemy, as he moved every step closer the sounds of bagpipes and drums behind him he did not feel fear nor regret instead all he felt was a growing sense of excitement. It was a bit of strange thing, something no member had likely ever thought would ever occur again, he a Tempest had truly gone back to their roots to how their family was founded over two hundred years ago. In the fires of war with powder burnt, cannonballs flying around, a blade in hand, pistol at his waist and with his wand ready to unleash the power of magic upon his enemies and most importantly with a contingent of red coats behind him ready to unleash death as a thousand musket balls were unleashed with force and powder did he realise what happened. His family had been birthed in the Napoleonic war's and now he was reliving that and all he felt was a growing sense of excitement, something that as he locked onto one particular warden his gaze rarely leaving did he feel his blood began to rush with excitement and his ears filled with the music of war did he allow a smile to dawn on his face.

This was going to be fun.

Step by step they moved towards the enemy position, canon continuing to roar ahead and smash into the hastily made line that the Templar's had made up, no doubt they were planning on using their martial training and armour to kill them in close combat where they could regain some advantage back, it would be of no use. His smile widened and a vicious grin became present as the first stragglers of the undisciplined demon force rushed forth to meet them, sloth, rage, ash wraiths and everything else made up their front line and they were itching for a fight now that the Inquisition had agreed. As soon as they entered within a comfortable distance, he took his wand as he continued marching his sword in his left hand still lent against his shoulder and did he unleash his magic upon the enemy.

Spells shot from the wand at speed striking into the enemy with incredible force, splattering their pathetic mortal forms all over the place and eviscerating them, but it was not just him for as the demons swept forth to strike the red coat's so did the Inquisitor and her retinue match them, in turn, unleashing the might of their skill, magic and power upon the enemy.

Spells launched by mages and wizard alike, bolts from crossbows and the slashes and thrusts of Blackwall and Bull as they charged ahead of the main host ramming their weapons into the enemy's force moving their attention away from the disciplined line and towards something else proved useful for even as they finished those fights the soldiers of the Inquisition marched past music still blaring in their ears until finally, they stood across their enemy of the wardens.

"First Rank" The loud cry of their commander as he walked backwards at a calm and steady pace, refusing to show any fear and folding behind the line of muskets, across from them the Grey wardens advanced slowly as they kept their shield interlocked ready for the onslaught, even as outnumbered at they were. "Fire"

With that sounded a cacophony of noise spat forth from the first line of the recoats as balls of small led were shot forth from their muskets with a righteous fury and orange glow followed by a thick smoke that came forth from their weapons, smashing through the air and screeching past the shields of the Grey wardens and into their armour with force breaking upon them where they blew through the skin and imparted such force. Within the first volley, the line of the wardens stopped entirely as they took such casualties their members falling to the floor either dead or in pain as limbers were shot dead, bones smashed into pieces or large gouges of their chests ripped entirely out. But there was to be no respite for as soon as the first volley had finished leaving the men to duck suddenly as they began to reload their weapons did the next order come.

"Second Rank, Fire" And with another outpouring of fire did those who had been fortunate enough to avoid such damage wee they struck down which was then met by the command of. "Third rank, fire" This gave forth another devastating volley of musket fire at point-blank range by which point the entire desperate shield wall had faded away as most their number lay dead or dying including those smarter demons who had followed behind. In such a situation the wardens fled in fear, froze or with an angry shout of pain and agony abandoned all course of reasonable warfare and simply followed their anger charging forth swords and weapons raised high where they then heard the dreaded noise. "First rank, fire" More were cut down and by this point, the entire line had collapsed and only those who had begun to run initially were left alive or they were until the sounds of individual gunfire alerted the wardens as men dressed in a dark velvet green finished off their retreating targets killing them stone dead with accuracy.

Nat glance to those men and gave them a nod for in the enemies shield wall and focus on the large ever marching red line had they ignored the rifles allowing them in the constant fire and sounds of war to pick off those mages, stopping them before they could do any major damage and allowing for the path to remain clear before them. Shooting a rogue demon that came charging at him with a simple explosive spell he then called for a reload of the ranks and then carried forth to the broken and tattered remains of the wardens fortress where the rest remained, as they did so the rifles took their time in finishing off anyone who was not already dead and belonged to the Wardens.

He would not spare any.

Now sitting opposite the gate he waited for the Inquisitor and the others to finish their fights as they combined with the rifles cleared what remaining hovels and blasted buildings remained, then with the full force of his army, he alongside the others marched into the main plaza where the last few vestiges of the wardens remained.

"In the name of the Inquisition stop this madness" Nat's voice rocked with such power that those few remaining stopped their actions and focused on the wizard for a moment. How had this happened they wondered, they were a mighty force one that should have dealt severe damage yet all they could see as they saw past the crumbling ruins were nothing bur corpses of their brothers and sisters, not a single one of them lived leaving only fifteen of them including Livius to stare as anguish and hatred dawned on their face. Drawing their weapons the last few vestiges of the wardens prepared themselves for the fight ready to give their lives yet before either side had the chance to unleash the first volley the sound of a woman's voice coming upwards from a raised area drew all attention, it was Warden-Commander Clarel.

"Wardens, we are betrayed by the very world that we have sworn to protect- we must"

"Quiet" Nat's voice roared once again over the woman's shutting her up in an instant as she glared angrily. "Look around you wardens, your fortress is in tatters, your members slaughtered like animals by my soldiers, do you seriously believe that you can win this fight, Lay down your arms and mercy shall be granted"

"Mercy" A cold cruel yet familiar chuckle resounded next to the Warden as soon enough the foul visage of Livius stepped forth an amused expression painted predominantly on his face. "How foolish do you believe the wardens are boy, they know who you are Butcher, they know what you've done. Do you seriously believe the wardens will believe a word that will come from lips, you are nought but a liar, giving false promises, your mercy will simply have the wardens lay down their weapons and as soon as you have done so you shall simply shoot them in the back? The man's cold glare stared down at him calling upon the other wardens to stare in growing horror as they recognised the title that befell the second in command of the Inquisition.

"As I said" Nat repeated this time in such a freezing tone that it sent shivers down the backs of the men and women around. "Lay down your weapons and you shall be given your lives fail and..." At that last bit, the trained disciplined of the soldiers of the Inquisition acted as one levelling their muskets in a thin line aimed directly at the Wardens, at point-blank range these bullets would be faster than any spell cutting down the enemy mages before they had the chance to create a barrier, all but Clarel and Livius would die instantly.

"See he offers you mercy, but it is nothing but another form of death, do not listen to him wardens, do your duty"

"Wardens listen to me" The sudden voice of Valeyna cried pushing past a few men and taking centre stage. "The calling is False, all that you have heard all your actions it is because Corypheus created the calling, there is no new blight, trust me."

"Impossible" One of the wardens yelled doubtfully.

"Listen to the Inquisitor she speaks the Truth" Stroud added appearing from behind the ranks. "This mage works for Corypheus it is he who has taken you on this path, he means to summon an army of demons not to kill the old gods, but instead to March upon Thedas in means to conquer it"

"Conquer Thedas, Wardens do you seriously believe such drivel my master simply wishes to aid"

"Oh shut up you over glorified windbag" Nat yelled, stopping for a moment he took in a deep breath where he then counted for a few seconds then finally he lowered his sword placing it back within its sheath and walked away from the line of musket men giving them the command to stand at ease. The Wardens could not fall, there was still one more old god to be dealt with plus the Architect and Corypheus to hold in iron and magic when the war was done, if they lost what little remained of the Wardens now, things would go poorly. "Wardens, the mage's master is Corypheus, one of the original Magister's who stepped forth into the golden city, one of the ones who brought back the blight into this world. It is he who commands this false Calling; it is he who has drawn you to this edge. Now I can state many reasons why he would do such a thing, but I shall not, you are the Grey Wardens, the enemies of Darkspawn and the Blight so I bid you answer this question, why would Corypheus create a false calling"

There was a silence for a while but that changed as individual wardens reluctantly turned to one another and began speaking amongst themselves until after a minute or so one lone voice commented.

"To destroy us so we can't stop him" Nat nodded once towards the Warden a relatively young one who seemed to quake as he felt the legendary butchers gaze upon him, yet despite his quaking knees he was able to carry on speaking. "But even if that's true, how did he create the Calling? He wouldn't have the power"

"Think about your actions" Nat replied as warmly as he could. "You are seeking to bring forth a demon army; you are using the power of the fade to help you in this cause. Now as a mage I'm sure you know about the different spirit types and what they feed on, so tell me what emotion is so often tied to the Blight, more so than any other" The young mage warden blinked still terrified, glancing back he turned to the angry face of Livius the man's seemed to yell but much to the man's shock before he could even get a word off no words escaped his lips only silence.

"Fear" The mage warden responded reluctantly. "It's a known thing that as well as devastation that fear runs rampant in Blights and the number of fear demons that exist become almost as much of a problem as Darkspawn."

"Good now tell me, if there was one sole type of fear that could make a demon gorge themselves on, what would it be" The mage blinked in realisation, slowly he turned his heavy boots gently tapping on the stone floor until he stared directly into the terrified eyes of Livius where he saw only truth. "The blight" The boy answered.

"Now in such a situation can you see any reason why an ancient Darkspawn might create a false calling with a powerful demon who feeds of the fear of the blight, after all, would not the fear of a blight alone call unparallel panic especially if the Legendary Grey Wardens were now fighting for a Darkspawn, becoming nothing but it's pawns"

"It would feed the demon, who could then" The boy stopped suddenly without any hesitation he twirled his staff with fury and launched a spell at Livius, before it could do any damage however Livius was able to conjure up his barrier spell ensuring that the wardens spell merely bounced off, it was a shocking attack one that sent shocked glances throughout all the wardens and Livius but it only lasted for a moment as in the next Clarel the Warden-Commander stopped her previous spell and soon joined in with the young warden as she sent a roaring fire spell at Livius before she could send another spell however she was knocked aside as a blast of wind rocketed forth from another mage's staff and sent her crashing into the wall, not all the mages had bought the story.

Sensing his opportunity Livius jumped up to his feet and dashed towards the nearest exit.

"Not this time you don't" Nat roared as he charged after the man through the current fight of mages leaving command up to somebody else, he was not alone however as joining him was the Inquisitor, Varric, Blackwall, Bull, Hawke and Stroud. Summoning forth a barrier around them Valeyna covered their rapid advance even as spells began hurling everywhere exploding with bright and forceful power that even with the warming sun still glimmered with a hazy glow. "Soldiers, fall back and take defensive positions" And with that cry, Nat alongside the others sprinted around the nearest corner out of sight as they chased Livius through what remained of the once-great fortress.

Bobbing, weaving, jumping, ducking, all of these actions were required and all in great speed as the group sped through the shattered carcass of Adamant. Just as Nat had promised to them, the raw firepower of cannons and rocket artillery against weak and undefended walls had been utterly immense, at some place there were just remains of large debris of there were until with a blast of his own magic Livius rocketed the entire thing ahead of with sending the debris several hundred metres upwards into the sky forcing the mages of the Inquisition to create powerful defensive spells to stop them from being struck. At the same time, they struck back, Hawke, Valeyna and Nat working as a group to send a myriad of offensive spells careening into the distance, some shattered against the barrier doing nothing, others targeted the ground sending large craters just by Livius feet to try and make him stumble and others were more directed to those last few columns of wall in an attempt to crush the man. As they fought however so did Livius performing the same type of spells to the same ends managing to slow his pursuers but never stop them?

"Go on ahead" Valeyna yelled as she flinched as a powerful ice spell froze the land in front of them, "We'll catch up" Nat glanced as best as he could behind him, Varric was slowing behind his shorter stature preventing from taking the needed strides, Blackwall was in much better position but he was still a regular man and one who had taken an important duty in clearing out the demons and stopping them from attacking his front line, that left Bull who seemed to be in far better condition as he easily kept up with the pace but he could also tell that the sheer quantity of spells that were exploding around them was going to prove a problem, Bull was simply too large a target and it would only require one spell to slip past Hawke and Valeyna as they kept up the barrier spells to cause some serious trouble.

"Yeah I- take cover" He shouted. Flinging himself to the side, he barely had any time to dodge as a wreath of pure chaotic magical energy more than enough to strike him where he had previously been blowing up the entire area. Stone flew everywhere, sending small musket ball-sized pieces of debris with such speed that it slammed into the Inquisitors barrier that it appeared to stop time itself for a moment. He gazed upwards towards the source and upon the sight, he felt his heart tighten as a terrible heart punching roar bellowed forth from the monster up ahead.

"Archdemon" The scream was like something of a nightmare, of some type of black demon that had been wrenched forth ready to consume the world and leave nothing but a shadow. Nat gulped his heart beating faster than any set of war drums as the previous burst of adrenaline that had filled his veins drained quickly as he sensed it's power. Even from there that thing was a monster, the normally beautiful scales had been transformed into a horrid putrid black gooey mess that seemed to absorb light and bubble, just looking at it made him feel sick, but he had no time to gawk and gaze instead he had to act quickly. He pushed himself off the floor with a role and continued running not even bothering to send a look at the Inquisitor, if this was the reinforcements that Corypheus had sent, then it must have come for Livius.

Pushing past the screeching pain as his muscle protested from the pain of flinging himself so violently, he got up and continued on his run as best he could, following the trail that the man left. He had to get Livius and if he created a distraction for the giant black and corrupted dragon so be it. The dragon turned its enormous tattered black wings stretching over where the suns' light poured forth from enveloping the entire fortress in shadow as it unleashed another agonising roar then with the sounds of a powerful hurricane wind howling like a rabid set of wolves it turned towards him and flew.

Running as fast as he could his feet beating upon the stone, he moved as fast as he could, moving with as much as haste as he could as he twisted around the corners and simply leapt at higher ledges clutching at them and then dragging himself upwards, if he remembered the plans correctly then he wasn't far from the bridge. That was where Livius would go, no doubt the area would be the perfect destination if Livius was to escape with the dragon and even if not it was the only direction that he could do that would not end in Inquisition forces control Another roar turned his thoughts to the dragon, it was now in a sweep heading directly it's mouth wide as it spewed raw fade energy in the form a bright red beam of energy decimating anything that came in its path as it raced towards. Nat lurched and leapt over the gap in the ruined walls barely dodging the red beam where with a loud thump he hit the surface of the stone chest forward eliciting a painful growl as he got up and continued running. Thankfully the dragon seemed to be on a strafing run as it ignored him long enough for him to continue, but one look in its path could only elicit a horrifying sight for as the dragon flew past him it instead aimed for the big bright block of men a hungry and vengeful look on its face. Then, with another roar, it unleashed its magic.

Death screamed outward from the men, even located elsewhere as he was Nat's heart fell and dropped as though he was the crumbling walls of adamant as rapidly like a succession of small lights flickering out the sense of men crumbled rapidly as their lives were cut down mercilessly. First it one then two but as the dragon kept slaughtering the men, trapped as they were within the confines of the fortress, pushing and clambering over one another in their bid to stay alive it only left time for the dragon to sweep back round once more and massacre more of them increasing the tempo of its attacks significantly until soon all those lives he had thought he had saved with the use of artillery preventing the men from getting involved in a bloody siege was lost as hundreds lay dead where they were, their bodies broken, smashed, scattered and sprawled everywhere.

He came to a stop, his rapid chase of the murderer that was Livius entirely forgotten, this was just like that time, with Elyria and Gerald. His mind flashed back to the horror that had been on their faces when the monster had appeared, he had left them to die, to be consumed by the blight their bodies turned.

Screaming echoed forth from the men, he could pursue only one, the man who had turned the Wardens down a dark but desperate path in hopes of safeguarding the world in their demise and ultimately was probably one of the more major individuals in the Venatori, or he could face the dragon, defend his men from the horrors that waited for them, stop it from slaying his people.

He only had a split decision he realised, otherwise both would be lost. He turned his head back towards Livius, he was the greater prise, no doubt information ran through his head information that could be used to strike at Corypheus and do damage to him, but at the cost of more men, more families receiving letters and heartbreaking news. Or he could assist the men saving them from calamity but letting Livius flee back to his master and protection. The former was the logical option, the one that would prove more decisive, and these men and women were not innocents, they were soldiers, they had chosen this path, but they were his people.

Restarting his stride this time enhanced by the emergency that awaited him, he sped up pushing limbs even faster to the limit, every muscle burned like it never had before, every blood vessel seeming to expand and contract and his breath was in an out constantly, yet onwards he rushed. At his very presence, the walls seemed to blast apart of his way, not daring to challenge him and neither did the fallen rubble provide other challenges as instead, it rose to meet him forming a long bridge that rose upwards carrying him in a straight direction as he saw his target and then when he reached the end he leapt off.

Agonising screams lit up the sky filtering through as desperate cannon and artillery fired soon returned to world lighting up the sky in a myriad of flames and fire as in their fear the guardians of such terrible weaponry unleashed their weapons in a desperate attempt to end the beast and bring it's cruel menace down. But it was not enough and the beats had long since grown wise of its tactics as even as a cannonball sailed through the air towards it the Archdemon needed only to move it's wing upwards allowing for the cannonball to carry on past it harmlessly before then smashing into the wall many metres behind. A barrage of rockets came next and though requiring more effort to stop, little in truth was needed for with a strong and mighty flap of its wings a powerful gust was sent forwards towards the rockets batting them ten and there out of the sky, ruining their trajectory and sent towards striking and breaking apart the world. The dragon snarled at the artillery, letting out a low and hateful sound it made to move against them, burn them to ash or rip them between its sharp rows of teeth.

Well, it meant to as in the next sound that far quieter sound of rifle fire sounded off and the dragon winced slightly as balls of metal slammed against its hide like a set of blunted needles hitting hard against the skin, it would be enough to bruise, but not enough to kill. Roaring at the challenge the snake-like head changed its direction and with another flap of its wings sent the man flying through the air before then unleashing its jaws where without any hesitation it belched forth a red inferno consuming all those below. As it watched sure in its victory as abandoned weapons either caught flame or melted simply from being close, the dragon felt satisfied until after enough seconds has passed and it stopped allowing to see it's work.

As the fire faded away however what little feeling of satisfaction the dragon felt was quashed as it gazed upon a glowing white light from down below, glancing past the edges of this light it saw to its utter fury those who should have died leaving corpses instead cowering on the ground their faces stunned as they gazed upon the light that had protected them.

"Hello "Nat's voice rung out like a horn, smug and triumphant undeterred by the looming dark shape before it instead to the awe of the men around him he simply leaned down grabbed one of the soldiers and pulled them up to their feet all the while keeping eye contact with the dragon and not breaking his rival stare. "I don't remember inviting a gecko to this party, could I have been mistaken?" Then mockingly, a notebook was conjured its pages flapping wildly in the wind before then slamming with the same force as a cities front gate. "I'm sorry it doesn't appear that you're on the invitation list, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave"

The dragon roared in defiance at the tone used before without any warning given he threw his head forward once again belching fire this time focused entirely onto the mage in front of him, but before the flame had even made its way halfway to the ground, the writhing mass of orange and glowing red stopped before with a sudden burst of energy it turned back around and shot back at the dragon coating itself. Powerfully it burned, its own fire used against it easily seemed to decimate that legendary defence the dragon had as it felt it scales warm-up uncomfortably causing a roar of anguish to escape. It only lasted a short while however as the dragon shot upwards allowing for the cool winds to batter the flames until it disappeared entirely. As it did so Nat turned towards his soldiers their awe-stricken faces turned to something else, something he had never come across before, he didn't ponder it however instead sweeping his hands harshly towards the way they had been running and ordered in a booming tone.

"Run, do not remain here in folly for I cannot keep this monster contained, however, I can keep it distracted, long enough to give you some time to escape. Run"

The soldiers did not refute the orders instead, with one more roar from the dragon as it stopped the ineffectual fire that had clung to it like a set of brightly glistening clothes only informed them that they had an opportunity and that they were dammed if they didn't take it. Seeing the dragon relocate its prey and then dive down it's corrupted wings behind it's back allowing it to pick up speed Nat snarled beating back the unnoticed shaking of his hand before then calling upon his power he let it loose in a crack of lightning that struck upon the dragon's chest throwing it mid-flight where it then turned and faced him.

"I don't think so" Nat called out locking his attention with that of the corrupted beast. It was a truly horrid feeling to gaze upon the monstrosity for as it floated there not too far from him could he tell why Arch Demons were such feared monsters. Even as a fake this dragon radiated raw power so much so that the very area around the beast seemed to radiate with it only instead of doing something else instead the blight made its presence known. Those corpses of men long dead grew paler then imaginable, their deaths and still not cool bodies appearing to turn a pure white twisted with now growing black veins that rotted the flesh to the bone leaving them there dead until only after a few seconds all flesh had left the bodies, instead, leaving only decay.

As it did so he felt the dragons magic try to affect him, trying to clamber over his body, draining him of the strength of his magic, also as this occurred, the stuffed air also seemed to change, but instead by entirely vanishing and were it not for the sudden use of a bubblehead charm that covered his mouth and nose he would have started to suffocate. Once again the dragon roared in frustration and then launched another flame blast but like before Nat blocked it and when the beast saw that he emerged unscathed, it became enraged. Before it did so Nat unflinchingly drew his blade with his left hand as he moved his right where his wand lay so that it was made visible to the beast and then called out to the dragon.

"Fuck off back home, you stupid fucking lizard" Once more a roar of anger resounded around the broken and crumbling ruins of Adamant as the dragon seemingly intelligent enough to recognise that it had been insulted by this mage voiced its displeasure as loudly as it could. Nat however even with the sheer power of the yell that could easily rival that of a cannon or explosion merely rolled his eyes at the antics as though it was a kitten who was leaping after a piece of string. "Oh do shut up, I've already killed two of you and I'm not afraid to add a third to the list. There were another roar and another blast of fire that was likely to try and engulf him, turning him to ash and cinders but once more the power of a simple spell kept the wizard alive as he took on a disappointed face.

He had to distract it as long as possible he knew, every moment that the dragon was roaring and attacking him was one that the beast would not use against the soldiers of the Inquisition, giving them the time required to escape the conflict safely. But there was more to it than that, the dragon was a threat one that could also attack either the Inquisitor possibly killing her as it ambushed her snatching her from the ground and then eating her hole or instead be used as an escape route by Livius, snatching the magister up in his talons and spiriting him away back to his master. No this was merely a distraction, it was just a case of how long until the monster realised it.

"You've tried that already, do you not have anything else you can use or are you just some big fat slob who can't be bothered to do anything in life. Phh, why Corypheus decided to make you his pet I'll never understand, you're just a pathetic worm". That defiantly gained the attention of the dragon and it was only with years of experience not to mention the experience of being dragged behind a dragon did he recognise the twitch in the dragon's wings that indicated it what came next. Therefore as the dragon lurched it's wings back delivering a powerful gust the same strength as storm winds did Nat vanish from his spot narrowly dodging the winds that would have torn him from his ledge and sent him sprawling into the sky and instead high into the sky directly before one of the dragon's eyes his sword mid slash.

It was too late however as sensing his magic, the dragon shot off into the distance roaring powerfully as it so sending howling screams as the wind rocketed into an old remaining stable and tore it down sending ash high into the air followed by the remains of a corpse of one of the beasts before then on the second pass where with incredible speed and grace the dragon caught the corpse in its powerful vice-like jaws and tore at it between its razor-sharp teeth that easily cleaved through the dead horse breaking it up before then throwing its head back swallowing the horse whole.

"Is that it?" Nat yelled ruthlessly moving his blade into a more advantageous position as she readied for the dragon and prepared to make another teleportation, he would have to strike even quicker and again at somewhere unprotected like the eyes, once that was done he could blast its brain into a pulp with Magic, but first, he had to get into that position. Unfortunately at that moment, the dragon's attention changed from that of him and instead to somewhere else, before he could even launch another spell at the beast the dragon gave another roar and then flew off in another strafing run.

"Wh- Inquisitor" Now taking another breath, Nat once again waved his wand feeling how his magic shot out and started to assemble the broken and destroyed ruins of adamant turning them into a flat ramp that would head in the direction of the tower. As stone and rubble flew around him mid-sprint it soon became easy to spot the familiar bright blonde hair and flashing tattoo patterns of the inquisitor Vallaslin as she followed by the other members continued to race through following Livius as best they could before then coming to the bridge.

Though he could not hear was what happening below him even as he did his best to continue running as fast as his legs would take him all the while doing his best to avoid the attention of the archdemon as he ascended higher and higher into the sky hoping to catch up to it without giving himself away as he had done sp previously, he was able to watch as the sights below changed. The warden commander ambushed the man first, knocking him over with a simple blast sending the fool to the floor as he simpered like the coward he was, Clarel stood over him next holding her staff as though she was about to impale him however it was at that moment the dragon dived.

"Clarel" He yelled loudly his voice heading towards, but it was not enough for faster than anyone could have imagined the archdemon in all its dark glory snatched up the woman between its grinding teeth and flew off, it crunched for a minute the sound of rendered flesh and broken bone made really apparent only to be then made worse as her body was thrown against the cold harsh stone of the floor with a loud thump that no doubt broke bones as was made apparent by her limp crawling along the floors.

As everyone else concentrated on the dragon though their eyes fixed in fear and fury as the warden commander was beaten and abused by this large dragon, Livius sensing this made his attempt to mistake silently as he could crawling himself to his feet and then starting to limp over the bridge. Not allowing the man to escape however Nat followed this time simply running to the edge of the bridge he was on and jumped feeling the sensation as the wind brushed against his hair and skin.

Close and close he could feel himself getting, within a few moments he would land carefully with a poised grace and deliver a smack in the face to the man, but before he could his attention was diverted as the sounds of an explosion rocked the air. Focusing his eyes he felt his stomach drop as the remains of the spell sped past the dragon only barely missing the Inquisition before slamming into the bridge just in front of him. With a terrible explosion and series of lights he could only watch as with a scream Livius felt the stone beneath him give way in an instant sending him as well as all others downwards into the empty void of black.

Nat steered himself and redirected his attention to the inquisition, moving in a controlled fall as he used magic to speed his descent, it would be an easy enough procedure he just needed to reach out a hand and stretch, suddenly he felt a surge of magic and then everything went a bright emerald green.

THE FADE

"Woah"

"Shit

"Aah"

They were all falling downwards taken by gravity yet at that moment where they would have hit the ground spattering their bodies all over the place and killing them in an instant, their fall lasted only for a few seconds more sending all bar one of the group crashing into different places with a loud thump. Only after had this happened and the other's stood up did they watch as Nat unlike the other's floated gently to the ground before then stopping lightly perfectly intact.

"Where are we" The faint voice of the Inquisitor radiated as she rubbed her eyes allowing her to take in the sight properly, she then rubbed her eyes again. "What in the"

The area that they were in was like nothing any of them had seen before, strange, mythical and at the same terrifying, though there was a floor beneath them it was like nothing that they had ever seen before in their lives, hard yet sandy. Above them the most noticeable difference between where they were now, was the sky for it wasn't blue like normal or even black allowing for the moon and stars to reveal themselves to the world, glittering brilliant above, but instead it was a faded sickly green, smoggy in texture and with no origin point like a sun. The general terrain was rocky, with large cliffs and seeming mountains behind them, there was also a water-like substance but instead of the life given liquid it was instead an ever dark green, corrupted and so vile that just its' appearance gave shudders to the onlookers. Around the edges of this area, the group could see a miasma of writing green gas and electrical currents and when they then looked up they could only witnesses as large rock formations floated endlessly around, though what they were nobody could say.

"Sweet Merlin" Nat gasped loudly clutching his head tightly in pain as he did so. "The raw amount of magic here, oww fuck. It's like nothing I ever fell before, raw magic, intoxicating, brilliant, powerful and entirely overpowering as though it's sinking it's hook's into you and pulling you apart on a molecular level. This should be impossible. Nowhere feels like this not even Hogwarts"

"Nat" Valeyna looked round shocked to see their final member who had seemingly come out of nowhere. "Where did you come from?"

"I was distracting the dragon"

"Brilliant job you were doing" Hawke snarled ruthlessly. She also glanced at their surroundings in an attempt to get her bearings however unlike Valeyna and the others who looked around curiously at first with this almost dreamlike landscape but instead with a growing sense of dread and realisation. This place may not have been somewhere she had personally visited in the past, but the floating rocks, the weird lightning and the strange appearance of this place reminded her of her own adventure, back in Kirkwall. She hoped this was not that place, not after the last few times she had been here even if only in her dreams, it never ended well.

"What are you talking about kid?" Blackwall muttered moving towards him with concern. Nat winced at the pain and touched his forehead his eyes scrunching in pain as he did so. The pain was immense as though he was being drowned and he barely had enough oxygen to exist let alone think. With a grunt of pain he took in a deep breath, in and out it went in some hope that it would clear his head, it didn't work however instead all he could feel was that constant sharp piercing sensation as though he was being stuck in the mind with a dagger.

"This place, it's like pure magic, it's in everything, running between every little snippet of every little thing, It's insane. Do you feel it Hawke, Inquisitor?"

"I do" Hawke answered grimly her attention glancing up to the floating stones. "It's as if my very magic has become even more powerful like a dam has broke, but as you said that should be impossible, not unless we."

"Entered the Fade" Valeyna finished with a loud and fearful gulp, All of a sudden the entire group paled as they glanced around the area their eyes flickering from place to place as they tried to conceive of such a notion.

"Sweet Merlin, of course, I thought I recognised this place"

"You do," The group said in shock as Nat looked around.

"Yeah" He grunted as painful memories passed by, he had been in Egypt months ago, there because he had won a tournament and was invited to look around. "It was when I came here, I had no clue where I was only that I was falling through a place like this for a few moments, and then I was in the Frostback Mountains. This must be from where I emerged, interesting"

"So you've been here before kid, do you think you could leas us the way out?" Bull said quickly.

"Hardly, I fell through one hole, arrived in the Fade then fell through another hole before I even knew what happened, there wasn't much time to sightsee. All the same, I think our best chance of leaving is to find that portal Livius was trying to open, but where that is located I couldn't say?"

"This could be a problem"

"I don't like that sound of that Inquisitor please tell me you have a plan" Varrick muttered as he glanced around the area, for some reason this place was creepy even more so then the Deep Roads where the skeletons and remains of all kinds lived, as he moved on doing his best to keep distracted from the dark feeling, however, he was thwarted as every single step seemed to bring back some type of nightmare.

"I don't know, the Fade is supposed to be infinite and we don't even know where we are, for all we know we could be somewhere far away from where we started"

"Oh brilliant so we're now stuck here in demon city" Bull laughed darkly his fingers clutching so tightly onto the handle of his axe that he didn't even notice them turn drastically pale and his large physical size shake with every step, no longer was he the strong unbeatable Qunari but a terrified man whose every step seemed to be haunted by creepy glowing eyes.

"Ow," Nat shouted in agony falling to a knee as he once again held his head.

"What is it what's wrong"

"Something just tried to get into my head, be careful I think we might be being watched"

"Watched" Valeyna's tone raised frightfully, from what.,

"I don't know, but whatever it is it's not only powerful but it's also old, very old as though it's seen a long amount of time, just like Imshael"

"Imshael" Valeyna paled at the information if what Nat said was true and this creature was as powerful as that old thing then this could be a disaster. She took a quick mental survey of her companions and her mood soured father, they were in no situation to fight, Bull was barely hanging on if the way he held onto his axe was anything to go by, Varrick's crossbow while generally, a useful weapon was not going to do anything and Blackwall was already doing what he could to catch his breath and as for Nat. While he looked physically fine, it was obvious that he was suffering as though he had caught some sort of winters illness, for his face was going paler by the second.

"I'm sorry, but who is Imshael," Hawke asked, "and why is he important?" Valeyna frowned at the emergence of that name, it had been a while since they had done anything regarding that old demon, instead, their thoughts had been focused back onto Corypheus and the wardens.

"Imshael is a demon" Nat answered. "One of the originals that taught the Tevinter mages how to originally use magic, at least according to the Chantry"

"Oh wonderful, so it wasn't bad enough that we had to fight an ancient magister from thousands of years ago and his pet Archdemon; now we have to fight his teacher too? Is there anything else you're not telling us" Varric threw his arms sarcastically as he focused on the two leaders of the conversation, he knew he wasn't privy to every single one of the inquisitors secrets, but he had expected to know that at least, to be left out of the loop was concerning as his role as a spymaster. Unfortunately, any hope of there being no more secrets was dashed as Valeyna shared a glance with Nat instantly passing some sort of unspoken conversation between the two that only lasted a second but ended in Nat sighing loudly and Valeyna smiling smugly as though she was a proud sister or mother who got told that their child was special.

"Nat captured the Architect"

"Who"

"Impossible" Stroud yelled incomprehensibly. "He was killed by the hero of Ferelden, there's no way a child could" Suddenly the man stopped his eyes growing several times larger as realisation mixed with horror dawned on his face at the news. "Not unless he could comeback like an Archdemon" He turned his attention fixed so harshly on the child that before Stroud had even known what he was doing, he had marched up to the wizard so that his face was now centimetres from his their eyes meeting sternly. "How did you beat him, with magic, where is he now, could you defeat Corypheus?"

"I'm sorry who is the Architect?" Hawke repeated her gaze glancing towards her own friend. "For some reason, it sounds familiar, like a distant memory of something long ago" Stroud nodded his face grave.

"That is most likely because of your old companion, Anders. The Architect is a figure that has been known to the Wardens from before the fifth blight. There was an expedition, one that involved king Marric what their goal was is not important, but on their journey, they encountered what was thought to be a rare Darkspawn. It was intelligent having a superior intelligence to all others that had come before and perhaps even rivalling if not surpassing that of Archdemons. The creature wanted to inflict the entirety of Thedas to the blight in some kind of way to stop the blights, a fight ensued and the Architect was believed defeated leaving only a young warden mage named Fiona who is now the Grand Enchanter of the rebel mages. At first, we didn't believe such a tale it was absurd and terrifying, but later it was discovered that the Fifth blight was caused by the Architect as it continued it's plans, discovering the dragon and tainting it. Only after the war when the Hero of Ferelden now the Warden-Commander encountered and slew in combat did we believe we have peace. But with the rise of Corypheus, I now see that the Architect was just like him, one of the original Magister's, if he survived death then no doubt Corypheus can as well"

"Wait Corypheus can't be killed" Blackwall yelled his face one of panic. "Then how do we defeat the bastard"

"We imprison him" Stroud answered without a doubt. "Corypheus is powerful, yes but the Wardens imprisoned him once, we can do so again. That should stop the threat"

"You defeated an ancient magister kid, on your own? Varric turned his respect rising at the deed committed. "You think you could do it again" Nat shook his shoulder and turned his head back towards where he had come from his attention diverting back to those of the men they had left behind. Were they okay? Had the dragon retreated or had it seized its chance and was now wreaking untold devastation. He clenched his fist tightly feeling his rage bubble up, once again he was separated from his subordinate by a dragon, once again good people would die because he wasn't there to protect them. "Kid?"

"No, not a chance. While they are both the same creature, in theory, they are not in mind or strength. Corypheus knows what he is, who he is, he still retains his memories, his knowledge, contacts and friends, his magic is undoubtedly powerful and is enhance even father by that orb Solas has previously mentioned, besides he knows us, he knows we have powerful images and he will no doubt be waiting for us to strike. As for the architect, his memories were shattered, he has no idea what or who he is, thank Merlin but he is still incredibly powerful, far more so then I. Were we to fight I might perhaps last five minutes and that would be via me being in the absolute most tip-top condition with many other factors in my favour. The architect has power you would not believe if you could sense it, I can't win and he's the weaker one of the two"

"But you did win, how else would you have captured it," Hawke asked her attention piqued at the memory of her homeland. She had long since visited it after her leaving and end of her tales of champion, but at times when she heard the tale of the hero of Ferelden she could not help but wonder what would have happened had she stayed in her home, had she played a part and not become the woman she was, not become the one who set of this entire mage templar war with her actions and allowing for the escape of Corypheus in the first place.

"Trickery and toxic gas" Nat answered plainly. "The architect is more scholarly, he wanted to investigate me, no doubt to perform experiments" He shivered as he remembered those horrid milky eyes piercing him. "He pursued with the express desire to take me alive meaning he was being gentle, I took advantage of that. With some quick magic and trickery, I managed to isolate the being and fill its lungs full of such potent toxic gas that it incapacitated the being allowing me to scoop him up and throw him in a makeshift magical prison. Also before you ask, the prison is in no means secure, my magic is not capable of keeping it in there indefinitely, in fact, the only thing keeping it conked out is a constant stream of gas and drugs that keep it in a coma. Should anything happen, however..."

"So you just managed to beat an ancient magister through trickery" Hawke blinked not able to find words that came to mind, it sounded ridiculous, sure Nat was a mage and a talented one, but to defeat such a being at a young age and on his own would be impossible for most mages, hell she even remembered fighting a barely half awoken Corypheus and that had been the toughest fight she ever had, so many times she had nearly died, yet here a kid had defeated something of equal power.

"That and high explosives in a confined area, suffice to say I did very little battling. I'm lucky to have made it out alive given that I pretty much collapsed the place on top of us as a last resort and that's not even mentioning the Titan and Old God"

"Titan, Old God" The other's glanced between the elf and wizard desperate for more details, however all that stopped as Bull in an unusual characteristic move picked up the kid and placed him on his shoulders where he could get a better view, upon seeing the strange looks he merely replied.

"Kid, sounds like if I simply just chuck you at a demon it would automatically die?"

"No Bull and don't believe me to be some kind of all-powerful god, I'm not, frankly I should be dead" He turned towards the other and returned to his serious tone. "I'm hardly invincible, the only ways I have won is not because of power but because"

"It's not about how powerful magic is, it's about how you use it" Valeyna answered her eyes sparkling with amusement. "How true that quote is, it explains how you killed the dragon"

"Seriously" Bull roared in anger at being left out of what may have been the best fight of all time.

"Anyway, we need to figure a way out of here" Valeyna interrupted suddenly focusing the attention of the group onto her. Strangely as she did so Nat noticed how in here, the fade she looked visibly different, it was difficult to explain, visibly she seemed the same, but magically she became more powerful, older, more cultured as though the very fade itself this place of magic was intertwining her, turning her not into something extraordinarily powerful but as stupid as it sounded turning some kind of clock on her, making her younger yet long-lived, radiating power and beauty, strength that was replaced by a strange melancholy of whispers on the wind, whispers that he could feel but not hear. He continued listening "If this is the Fade, then that means demons are here, no doubt some of them still want to escape which means we need to leave as soon as possible.

"You'll hear no complaints from me" Hawke chuckled however when she looked at Valeyna and how she moved to intercept Nat physically picking him off bulls shoulders who tapped his head in what could only be presumed as some kind of guardian manner like a shield and then grasped his hand tightly squeezing as she watched more blood dribble out his mouth. Then ensuring that he could carry on even in his weakened state she went silent and began a slow yet steady pace as they advanced upwards towards a set of stairs that while they did not know where they lead, were no doubt a way out of this place back to the real world.

"Spiders" One of them yelled not soon after approaching the stairs, yet when the others looked at these so-called spiders, they saw not what had been pointed out but something different, small creatures in one case, spells in another and tiny little rage demons in Bull's case which was not far from the truth.

"Bogart's" Nat spat again as he finished off one biting his teeth in a small amount of relief as a tiny amount of the magical pressure escaped him only for the pain to emerge again as the raw amounts of magic flooded back into him "Great, of all the things to fight it had to be those things

"Save your strength Nat," Valeyna said sternly as her attention lay on him, Nat was getting visibly paler by the minute as his once strong and steady visage seemed to crumble quickly before her eyes as though he had taken a large swig of a poisoned glass. The boy nodded though reluctantly and allowed himself to still keep moving. "

What are Bogart's" Bull shivered as he asked the very air in here felt wrong in all manners of ways, unnatural, cruel, dark, evil as though it's very existence caused a horrid feeling of pressure placed on his shoulders?

"They're creatures where I come from, they often hide in places making their home, but whenever anybody threatens one they emerge and take on a person's worst fear. These are just like them though much weaker most likely their weak little fear demons that feed on whatever scrap is left behind"

"So these demons take on the shape of something you fear" Nat nodded. "Great, just brilliant, this place keeps getting better and better" Drawled the giant man. "Boss I think we need to leave here the sooner the better" For once Valeyna did not have some sort of sassy remark to give back to the giant man, as much as she wanted to, this place seemed to drain her of every bit of joy she had ever experienced in her life replacing it with times she had been scared, at first it was mild starting with smaller memories such as jumping off a small ledge as a child but that gradually turned into larger things. Each was horrifying to their respective person as though not major fears, these creatures were often in the form of shapes that people found repulsive, some even combined. For Nat he saw many things, snakes, spider's bugs and insects, smaller creatures seemed to be made of the blight. He killed them all the same; his magic doing fine work in curetting down the demons to size one by one as he thinned their number until finally, they finished leaving the group in a brief respite as they climbed up the small incline, naturally it was it became somewhat of a relief to have something new to concentrate on as they found a strange unexpected person standing there.

It was a woman, specifically an elderly woman, one who had the markings of age clear and evident upon her skin, her eyes that perhaps might have been bright in earlier youth were now entirely void, dark and hollow as though her very soul had been sucked from her body making her appear even feebler from her age. Nat didn't recognise her, nor did he recognise the exact clothing she wore either though given the bright red, white and gold she wore in the same fashion as the other priests he had seen back in the mortal world he could tell that she would have been high ranking, though just how high that was he couldn't say.

Why was she here though and why was she alive when all others who were seemingly trapped in this realm were corpses whether fresh and laying around recently slain or so old that only bone remained and their skulls had been piled up in small altar-like heaps finally adorned with a single candle lit by veil fire.

"By the maker, could that be" Stroud began his eyes wide and unblinking as he leaned back when he saw the woman?

"I greet you, Warden, Champion and you as well Great Traveller" The woman spoke in a distinctly Orlesian accent, but it was at the very last title that Nat looked up at the woman suspiciously.

"You know?" He asked sternly his wand at the side and spell in his head, one that would kill this woman outright, waited with bated breath. "How?"

"That is not important, none of you will survive long in this realm but you most of all child, and you must leave quickly if you ever wish to escape for when the nightmare learns of your presence, it would be within its powers to entrap you here."

"Will, someone tell me who this woman is?" Nat demanded harshly as he felt another agonising pain smash into his mental shields, it was powerful and unrelenting and seemed to be hell-bent purely on learning what he did, he was able to hold it off, for now, the training on Occlumency providing essential defence, but he couldn't keep this up for long, not against a force which so far despite its attack felt like it had not truly noticed them and was instead doing something in a bored haphazard way rather than with any detail.

"How can you not know?" Stroud said shocked at the admission. "This is Divine Justinia, the Most Holy"

"Oh the female Pope, got you" He turned to the woman, attempting to feel her out with his magic but even here with her being no more than a foot or two away he felt as his magic was dragged throughout a million different currents unable to focus on anyone or anything. Finally, after some struggle, he managed to return to reality and ask. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?" The ghost or spirit or whatever it was smiled warmly at him.

"Be careful Inquisitor the Divine died at Haven if this is her then it's no doubt some type of spirit or demon" Blackwall warned menacingly as he once again drew his weapons and did his best to get into the most advantageous position that would hopefully allow him to strike first if this was some type of trap.

"You think my survival possible, yet here you stand alive in the Fade yourselves, And you Traveller have survived an incredible journey, do you not think it possible that I may have survived, that I am indeed who now speaks to you"

"I don't know" Nat spat ignoring as more blood burst out the side of his mouth. "This isn't exactly my area of expertise, and just because one thing is possible does not make another thing so" For a moment Nat thought he saw the smallest hint of a smile on that craggy old face, some sort of jovial joy as though the woman found his doubt in her existence rather funny. He shook his head this place must be causing him to see things.

"In truth" The woman continued. "Providing my existence, either way would require time we do not have"

"Surely you can explain our concerns and tell us what we are" Hawke added suspiciously.

"I am here to help you. You do not remember what happened at the temple of sacred ashes, Inquisitor"

"How would you know that I became Inquisitor?"

"I know because I have examined memories like yours, stolen by the demon that serves Corypheus. It is the nightmare you forget upon waking, it feeds of memories of fear and darkness, growing fat upon the terror. The false calling that terrified the wardens into making such Grave mistakes? It's work. And you Traveller, you have helped to feed this monster, the anguish you have caused, the fear that spreads in the minds of Templar's upon your very name, you have assisted its plans even unknowingly"

"Catch 22" Nat chuckled darkly. "Dammed if you do, dammed if don't"

"I will gladly slay get revenge and slay this monster for the insult done to my brethren my lady" Declaring as loudly as he seemingly could Stroud glared at the green miasma of the Fade, glowering at it and seemingly desiring for anything and everything to die that possibly could.

"You will have your chance, Brave Warden. This place of darkness is its lair"

"Can you help us get out of the Fade?" Valeyna insisted panicking as she heard her friend cough and then spit more blood out staining the floor beneath them with his blood.

"That is why I found you. When you entered the Fade at Haven, the demon took a part of you. Before you do anything else, you must recover it. These are your memories Inquisitor" At that very moment the familiar sound of demons pouring forth from the veil emerged to the side and advanced upon them sending blasts of raw fade energy at them causing Nat to wince as he felt that they grew in power as they remained in such a place. Thankfully even with their upgrade in power and Nat's distraction of an ever-growing migraine and his entire body drowning in raw magic he was able to fight the enemy defending the group and dispatching of the spirits quickly enough leaving only strange glowing balls of lights on the ground.

"What are they" Hawke muttered advancing towards one of them, gently she waved her hand through one of them but it passed through like fire though unlike fire she felt no heat or anything else really.

"They remind me of" Stopping suddenly an idea came to the mind of the Inquisitor, then hesitantly she lifted her hand up and drew upon the power of the Fade channelling it through her hand and then directed it towards the glowing orb. After a few moments, the orb shattered with an ungodly sound and then emerged a memory.

"Bring forth the sacrifice" Corypheus voice echoed around them, loud and demanding the group turned as once their weapons bared believing that the monster had somehow advanced upon them, but after a moment they realised what Justinia had told them, about memories. Nat groaned at the method but otherwise remained silent, why couldn't these people just use a pensive. Then came the next set of memories.

"Run while you can, warn them" It was Justinia this time and she sounded in distress.

"Why are you doing this? You of all people"

It was only once the fourth orb was broken did answers reveal to themselves as suddenly the group was struck by a flash of light and bore witness to memories. It was only for a brief moment, but it was enough, enough for them to watch as the Divine was held in place by Wardens controlled by Corypheus. As she was then held in the air as Corypheus began some type of ritual using her body and a great orb to commit the ritual, they were about to complete it when the door burst open revealing Valeyna confused. In that distraction Justinina pushed aside the orb knocking it to the ground, where without a second, of hesitation the elf had snatched it up in her arms, taking the power for herself and blowing apart the conclave in a single action.

"So your mark did not come from Andraste, it came from the orb Corypheus used in his ritual," Stroud said slowly.

"Corypheus intended to rip open the veil, use the Anchor to enter the Fade and throw the doors open to the black city, not for the old gods, but himself. When you disrupted his plan, the orb bestowed the Anchor upon you instead" Justinia explained.

"Okay, but how does that explain my position," Nat asked concernedly. "The more I think about it the more I can't help but think that I should never have been here, that the portal never would have opened" The spirit nodded.

"The ritual Corypheus created was a powerful one, had it gone according to his plans then things would have gone differently, but when the Inquisitor interrupted the ritual, it changed things. The energy to activate that portal after so long and so far away would have been impossible without some type of great magic"

"It was the ritual," Nat said suddenly. "I get it, the power would have done something else, that portal never would have happened, but with it becoming unstable, no doubt the power was sent in every direction pulling me in. Had I not been there in Egypt, then I wouldn't have been pulled through, I wouldn't be here" Nat leaned back against one of the many rocks allowing it to take his weight, moment by moment he felt his breath escape his body and not simply because of having his magical energy constantly be filled to a ridiculous level putting him to the point of bursting, already he was having to actively keep up as powerful a pulse and as continually as he could just to help mitigate it, but instead because of the realisation.

He turned to the Inquisitor his eyes falling not onto her face as it usually did whenever she may have a question, but instead upon her arm where that mark now sat contently, killing her day by day. Had it been mere chance that had led him there on that day of all days in the ancient sands of Egypt? He would like to say so that it was merely by the merest happenstance a single lone accident that he was here, entirely out of control. It was not unthinkable, many things had been due to accidents, antibiotics was one, yet the father he tried to argue this face the more the same image popped into his head searing into his mind like a dreaded nightmare or darkest fear that haunted you're every waking moment.

It was a small crystal ball, colourless, featureless yet for a smoky and clouded interior, never before had he seen such a thing yet he instinctively knew what it was, old tales of the war, stories of fakes who blathered off stories for their own gain, legends in myth and stories, that lone dreaded word that so many heroes were forced to set out on their journey whether willingly or not.

Fate

The tale was old as time itself and mythology often had beings to showcase this cruel mistress. He had preferred not to believe in superstition, how could things be destined, did their choices not matter, was the entire universe pre-written, every single action, of every single thing, right from the moment anything had existed like some sort of great novel written to the tiniest detail. He wanted not to believe it, but Prophecy was a real art back home, often most were faked but it was still real and those prophecies did exist in the shape of orbs, forecasting the future even if unclear.

He wanted to reject such a claim outright, but something rejected, prophecies took effect whether they were heard or not right. How could he know for certain that he was not being affected now that he was not sent here because of an accident as he would so desperately wish for, but instead because he was connected to this woman to Valeyna? Was it his job to save lives, or could he have walked away and done whatever he wished? So many questions whirred round in his head, so many emotions.

"The portal as you call it still would have activated but it would have only brought the ruins and destruction, you would have known nothing of this world" Nat gulped at the news, he had been so close to avoiding this fate, to having to fight a goddammed war, to leading men and women in the Inquisition, everything could have been avoided, he could have been safe, happy with his life as he went on from duel to duel. Justinia's eyes hardened ever so slightly but her attention was focused on the Inquisitor as she rushed forward full of concern and a growing sense of betrayal.

"What are you talking about" The woman Justinia turned her tired yet still kind eyes filled with the raw emotion of seeing uncounted horrors still giving off a ray of hope to another.

"That is not for me to say, however his fear is strong. You must leave now before you gain its attention if you do not... All will become darkness"

"Can you help us, lead the way?" Valeyna said reluctantly. What was she on about her friend, Nat was the bravest person she knew, there was nothing he could be afraid of right? He was the shield that protected others and the blade that sunk into the heart of others, he was a warrior one who would defend her even if terrified. Yet those thoughts sunk away for Nat whether from the pain or something else seemed even more distant than usual, every step he made forward was marked not with his usual boisterous confidence and glance daring all to challenge him to a death but instead with a soldiers caution and far lighter then t should have been as though the ground would turn to ice and give way.

"I shall, but be warned the Nightmare is not a foe you can best, not with your weaponry. You must do your best to hide your fears if you cannot confront them"

"You mean like those spiders?" The woman shook her head but before she could answer the question on the elf's mind it was done so by Nat as he slowly tightened his grip on his wand so tight that they seemed to bleed from the pores of his skin.

"She means your darkest fears, those things that you suppress itself lest you be left destroyed. It's a coping mechanism for the worst types of horror, those that traumatise you for the rest of your life, and even if it doesn't o that it will still confront other things in your psyche, things you do not dare to face the truth off. It is a true test of bravery, it has already started, those demons we just thought were small fears, those of which you do not like but will not do anything major, worse is yet to come"

"How do you know this?"

"It is the knowledge that one can access more readily at home, and with Solas's teaching, it helps one to understand further. Demons are a raw emotion combine that with psychology back home and one can get a good guess, besides it's already begun to sink its claws into us"

"What, how. Get back you demon" Bull growled hurling his great axe around his head as he searched for one of the smaller demons to slay.

"My point exactly" He sighed turning back towards the place he could feel a rush of energy. "Sweet Merlin what I would do for a Gryffindor right now." He took in another deep breath feeling the air come in and then out again as he exhaled, it was an old practise his teacher had taught him to calm his initial jitters all those years ago, it worked surprisingly but it had been a long time since he had done it, his fear had long since turned towards arrogance in his own power he now realised. He was not going to enjoy this he could tell that instantly.

Without any further hesitation, the group steering itself with the knowledge now preceded began to continue on the path they had found themselves on, starting with descending this incline on the dark green filth covered steps, soon enough they found themselves embroiled in another combat. By now however the combat was relatively short, months of constantly fighting the creatures of the fade meant by that the time any of them had to pop up and reveal their emotional faces, they were just as swiftly cut down. Not even as larger numbers of demons arrived did it prove any hassle for so far only those weak pitiful ones, the ones first encountered at haven that so often simply threw balls of light at them were all that stood in their way.

But it was not the lesser demons they had to feel for as they advanced they felt as the very atmosphere of this place seemed to squeeze around them uncomfortably. Shiver's ran down their spine as the occasional scream echoed from a place long away that they could not gaze at for every time that they dared to stare into the sky their attention was soon focused onto one lone location.

A black rock floating above everything else, alone, distant seemingly guarded in its isolation did nothing to help guard against the curiosity and dread in their hearts. For that was the black city the one of legend, the place where Corypheus and the Architect had supposedly gone to all those years ago when they first unleashed the terror of the blight, infected and turned into monsters. It was strange Nat thought his attention occasionally flickering to towards the city in a stern visage, he had expected the place to feel darker, cruller like some kind of black hole of the vilest of sensations, the heart of all evil, yet instead he could feel nothing at all from that place, no magic, no sensation, for a brief second he paused and considered investigating, whether by a burst of magic or instead by going personally, apparating to the place above and landing.

He shook his head at the thought and then turned to Valeyna many things flying through his mind, old tales of the elves that Solas had taught him and that he had learnt, stories in books, legends from mages when they believed they were solitary on a cold night and to back home to his own lessons. He was not infallible far from it in fact, it could be quite likely that the place above may have powerful defences, hidden most likely to not sending out magic but he would be a fool to approach the area none the less.

"Say, Valeyna, Hawke," He said stopping the other two mages and directing their attention back towards the black city. "Corypheus supposedly wants to get into the Fade correct" The two nodded. "Do you think that the black city is his goal?"

"It would make sense given his history" The voice of Stroud spoke from behind them grabbing their attention. At the site of the city, the man clutched the hilt of his sword tightly and then he quietly said a prayer, blessing himself with what he might have believed to be the makers blessing. "Why do you think some sort of great power resides in there?"

"I could not say, the Fade is powerful enough, any of my people would have been elated to find so much raw power if it didn't kill them at least, but that is beside the point. The truth is the more I look at the city the more I can't help but feel... on edge"

"Perhaps it is because that is one place that the maker once sat?" Stroud replied curiously as with a wave of his wand a set of binoculars appeared in front of the three mages and Stroud, seeing his confused face Nat explained.

"They should allow us to see things closer" Stroud hesitated at the idea his mind whizzing with thoughts of the last man who has gazed upon the golden city so closely, Nat rolled his eyes but then conjured a pair for Varric and the others.

"No thanks' kid, last place I want to see is demon central up close"

"Fair enough, Varrick, Blackwall you interested? You will never get another chance to do this again" Varric gulped but reluctantly took the device slowly putting them to his eyes and gazing into the distance, what he saw however was not what anyone had expected.

Instead of seeing the great city up close and personal as they might have believed, possibly in their heads allowing to see some type of great floating tower in the sky and great bastions that would have held off the legions of darkness, the group could only see what they had previously without the aid of binoculars, a faint outline that did not change even. Nat nodded slowly towards the castle, it was enchanted obviously, designed perhaps like Hogwarts only instead of muggle's seeing a ruin, they could only see that outline.

"Strange, I always thought?" Nat began but then stopped mid-sentence, even in his pain, he could feel fear emanating ever greater now, had they been spotted? He didn't know but all he could do was fight to draw his attention from the old floating rock onto more important matters.

"Thought what?" Hawke asked sternly, she knew from experience that these things were not to be missed; often people had the strangest hunches that proved to be right.

"I don't know why, but the black city reminds me of somewhere"

"I doubt it kid, we're talking about the home of the Maker itself or at least according to the chant these people follow" Nat shook his head at bulls comment, he disagreed vehemently before he could speak however he was overtaken by a sudden chill, not like that of a cold winter where it was fierce and ruthless, killing all like a blizzard but instead the chill that came when one was warm but simply listened and watched at night as thunderclouds roared forth from the heavens and lightning shot aground. Only one word escaped his lips.

"Azkaban"

"Azkaban" Valeyna muttered. Nat blinked and pulled his attention with some fight towards the Inquisitor.

"Not a nice place, never personally visited, but I've seen pictures, heard stories, for some reason, the black city reminds me off it"

"And how does that have to do with the black city, I assume that it was not once the home of our brilliant maker and why do you sound so concerned, is there anything that we should be made aware of" Stroud added hastily as he tore his vision away from that lone settlement in the sky.

"It was a prison" Nat replied in a dark and disturbed tone. Designed to keep the most vile and depraved witches and wizards locked up for crimes they committed, very few survived that place and those that did were never entirely the same afterwards, the guardians that kept them there were... unpleasant shall we say. But it's the supposed history that concerns me, not much is known, something about vile black magic, the ministry led an assault taking over the place centuries ago but what they found..."

"What did they find?" Blackwall asked urgently, Nat looked disgruntled but carried on down the path, now was not the time for distractions, soon they would be dead and the attention of an old powerful demon would befall them but he could still answer a tale or two.

"That's the whole point, we don't know. All that we do is that it was supposedly so terrible that the Ministry not only locked away all records of it but that they also barricaded it at a certain part, no doubt to prevent something or other"

"Really kid, do you have to tell us ghost stories" Bull sweated at the implication his normal fearless mind racing back to that citadel in the sky and then back to the kid. Desperately the large man hoped to see a smile on the kids face, something to reassure him, for the kid to run in front of them and shout surprise, but there was no relief, only the wary glance of his sick friend as though they were sneaking around a sleeping dragon that could awaken at any time and kill them all. Bull hated the Fade.

"I think we should be safe, relatively anyway"

"That doesn't sound convincing" Blackwall scoffed.

"Would you prefer to tell me that my current theory is that the blight has always existed and that the Black City was a prison constructed around it, or that going by the old elven legends our dear Valeyna is so fond off that the floating city could instead be what remains of Arlathan and that if her gods did exist, that they might be imprisoned upon the island by Fen Harel. I do not know what can be found there Blackwall and while my interest is piqued I am not so foolish as to disturb what might slumber within, my theories are all that my thoughts are, theories, things that might be, I have no evidence to prove it one way or another, so take comfort in that. "

"That does not give me any comfort at all" Blackwall muttered but none the less the group pressed forwards through the Fade, one step in front of another, Unfortunately, their troubles in the fade were far from limited to one rapidly dying wizard, the creepy glow of a black city, demons infinite and a woman who as of yet could not be confirmed or denied to be the last Divine, in fact, they often had to slay many more demons as they continued on and with far more gusto and speed then they would usually do so as their mind focused on what possible demon could be so powerful as to cause such a travesty, even Hawks and Stroud's argument was often interrupted by new battle or by a sudden silence that seemed to blanket them at times sending collective shivers down the mortals backs as they advanced. And then it spoke.

"Ah, we have visitors" It was a dark tone, a malicious hateful one burdened with ancient malice that spoke of power and death, of the dark things that hid in the night. So great was it that the moment it spoke Valeyna reacted stiffly, her body quailed in terror s memories flashed, she knew that voice, but how was it possible how could Corypheus have made it to the Fade, they had destroyed Adamant, but the Archdemon. She paled her heartbeat quickening so fast that it started to physically ache. "A foolish little girl comes to steal the fear that I so kindly lifted from her shoulders. You should have thanked me and left your fear where it lay, forgotten. You think the pain will make you stronger? What fool filled your mind with such drivel? The only one who grows stronger from your fears is me. But you are a guest here in my home, by so all means; let me return what you have forgotten"

"Show yourself demon" Nat's voice rung out, his wand glowing with a baleful red glare as he tried to focus on the source of the voice, that was the demon there was no doubt of that, but where was it and why decide not to interfere. "Go on speak, you pitiful snivelling little coward, why continue to hide in the shadows if you know we are here, why send your pitiful minions to fight?" He spoke louder this time hoping to draw the enemy from its place, force it to speak, once more but again he was met only by a deafening silence that surrounded him, a silence that was only interrupted by demons as they advanced on their positions throwing them into yet another fight.

Sneering at the last corpse of a demon, Valeyna marched up the next set of stairs doing her best to keep her eyes away from the sights around her. Only now had she realised it when she looked past the crystals and instead to the giant stone artwork that dotted broken and crumbled bridges all around, the mutated and horror born shapes of demons that she had seen seemingly pressed and made into sculpture. The easiest to spot was Desire, made abundantly clear by the horns and the two large breasts that dotted the crumbling side of a fortress ruin as it's stone fell downward past the earth and instead into the void.

The voice spoke again.

"Perhaps I should be afraid, facing the most powerful members of the Inquisition" A dark mocking chuckle resounded them. "Like Blackwall, there's nothing like a Grey Warden. And you are nothing like a Grey Warden"

"I'll show you a warden's strength beast" Blackwall snarled.

"The Qunari will make a lovely host for one of my minions, or maybe I shall ride his body myself"

"I'd like to see you try" Once again there was another dark chuckle from the creature and though Bull tried his best he found himself lost in a living nightmare as seemingly out of nowhere his vision changed.

No longer was he in the fade but instead he was back in Thedas, only he was not seeing through his own eyes but instead he seemed o hover behind his shoulders, unable to escape or move, only sit and watch in horror as a demon approached him gently putting it's hand on his face before then with a lurch it threw itself inside Bull's body. Bull's eyes glowed a hateful green before then stretching in an oddly delicate way, he counted his fingers and then his toes before then smirking as it took a step forth a hideous grin. From there he was forced to watch in silence unable to scream in horror as one by one the demon slaughtered every single one of his chargers, they tried to fight back but it was helpless, they all fell quickly, suffering painful brutal deaths as they were skewered on his horns, pulled apart with his bare hand or cleaved him two with his axe, the worst was yet to come as with the end of the battle he advanced towards a terrified young girl her skin covered in the blood of her parents that he had just slaughtered, Bulls face grinned and that was the last thing the man saw as he clenched his eyes tightly but it was not enough to hide the screams.

Suddenly a deep breath left his body and once more he was in the realm of the fade, concerned face of his friend and lover. Friend, he glanced at Valeyna not knowing how to describe her but all the same he accepted the offered hand of Blackwall throwing himself up off the ground and back into the fray.

"What was that?"

"Mental manipulation" Nat responded. "The demon put images in your head to torture you, making you watch fears, given what it said I assumed it wasn't a very nice adventure"

"Nice" Bull exploded furiously, then quicker than all the others could even react the man held the child by his throat lifting him into the air as he squeezed tightly feeling as the supple thin neck of a child at least half his size easily began to be crushed.

"Bull" Valeyna screamed rushing towards the two.

"Nice" Bull yelled, so angrily that it could only be interpreted as a death threat, of the man promising to kill the one that would dare say that such an experience was pleasant in any way. Nat backed up at the yell drawing his wand on the man as best he could while also trying to hide such action, the man was not unused to being angry all of them had seen plenty of times how the man liked to be hit at with a stick, using the pain he felt to cloud his mind and deal with the emotional stress, only that was after the fact when they were safe at Haven with no threat of demons coming to strike them down. Now though, Nat only needed to glance around to see the ever-increasing horrors, to feel as his hair continued to stand on end as a cold wind blew around, pushing the man into more and more fear which in turn caused an angry reaction as he subconsciously destroyed anything that dare threaten him.

"It wasn't real Bull, whatever the demon showed you, it's not you, it won't happen. Calm down"

"Calm down" Bull grunted furiously this time focusing on the wizard his eyes narrowing. "How can you say it is not real, I saw it I felt it."

"It's not real" Nat repeated insistently looking to the others for help, was this again the plan of the fear demon, to stop them not by weak little demons that it had at its disposal feeding on scraps but instead to turn them against one another, using their own insecurities to deal the death-dealing final blow? It would make sense already Hawke and Stroud glanced at each other suspiciously as a rift formed between them so quickly and simply over the Templar's, Blackwall himself looked troubled at his secret being put out there for all others to know. "When we get back to Skyhold we'll deal with the problem but for now calm down?"

"Calm down, is that what you call it, that thing wants' to take over my body, to kill and slaughter like a beats and you want me to calm down" The grip on Nat's throat tightened to the point that the boys pale face was growing paler yet despite this Nat remained as calm as he could. It would be of little use struggling, and the whole struggling and waving about was again pointless, Bull was too strong for him to deal with, a veritable giant now enhanced by his animal instincts.

"What will killing me achieve?" Bull glared, unable to think straight however he just kept the boy there still even as the Inquisitor rush overthrowing her smaller frame at his body in an attempt to knock him over to the ground. It was of no use though the woman while beautiful was far too lithe and instead simply rebounded onto the floor with a thump. The man turned his eyes towards the Inquisitor.

"Fucking mages, always ruining shit" Noticing the rising hatred in the man's eyes to the way the man seemed to grab his axe as he then turned his attention onto Hawke, the last and final mage who so caught up in her argument with the warden was now entirely unaware of the lumbering bestial man.

"Bull Put me down" Nat commanded fiercely moving his wand directly so that it was now pointed directly at the man's turned face forcing the man's attention back to him. Fear flashed across his face at the sudden weapon that was now aimed at him but he tightened his grip a second later. "Before I turn you into Swiss fucking cheese" Nat carried on the glow of his wand becoming all-consuming leaving the Inquisitor alone as he instead dealt with the boy. Bull glanced downwards fearfully his eyes locked onto the glowing wand mere centimetres from his face. There would be no avoiding the blast at this range and he had seen what the kid could do with his magic, he breathed in his rage and terror running through him freely, he had the strength, he could snap the boys neck like a twig, allow him to crumple to the floor like a discarded. He had to strike fast before the kid even had a chance to react, it would be relatively simple enough and he had killed enough Tevinter's to know that even with all their power that not even they could summon a spell faster then he could snap his neck. Sensing the situation he applied the slightest bit of pressure before all of a sudden his entire body froze his vision going black and all thought processes stopped.

A bright blast struck him suddenly in the face, knocking him out cold his large frame crumpling to the floor like a bag of potatoes letting the wizard go.

"Nat" Valeyna yelled rushing over to the prone frame of the wizard. He wasn't in very good condition, the blood that he had been spitting out continuously as the sheer amount of magic in this place swarmed in and out destroying his very body on a fundamental level as his body did all it could to prevent it had been stopped entirely as it was instead then forced to prevent the squeezing of his neck and allow air through a tiny gap. The result was that his skin was now clammy and his breath was so deeply laboured that he was barely able to speak for a few minutes as he tried to recover. One look at his skin, however, showed the consequence as it was now dry and flaking, brushing away as a strange wind passed forcing a painful moan from the wizard as his now raw skin came into contact with the elements while in other places like his neck it was now a horrific sight of raw muscle that was seen as the strength had wasted away his flesh. In all truth, it was as though he had become some sort of zombie.

Gradually after given some time he turned to Bull, the large man was sleeping on the floor, whether he dreamed or not couldn't be said but he most certainly looked more relaxed then he had peacefully. Nat smiled somewhat and rubbed his neck hissing as he felt the lack of skin, that hurt like hell but other than that he said nothing.

"I'm fine. It's the fear, people act out angrily when they're afraid, no doubt Bull mistook me" Though he explained gently Valeyna couldn't ignore that flash on his face, for a brief moment she had seen it flash by. Fear, as he was held in the arms of Bull Nat was on the verge of death, so easily killed when faced by the greater strength of Bull, yet it was not Nat that she truly felt terrified for, at least not in physical health. He had tried to kill Bull, barely he had stopped it at the last moment and only her sharp angles was able to detect as the colour of the spell changed at the last second, but the fact remained, Nat had nearly just killed Bull.

"What about Bull" Nat glanced down towards the hulk of flesh, the man was breathing, physically he was fine he had only hit him with a stunner, but he couldn't help but wonder. Should he kill him here and now? The man had just tried to kill, him, had just charged him intending to crush his windpipe and leave him to die in the fade and all for what, because of a bad vision, how, was the man that foolish to not be able to take a joke, did he rage every time there was a demon and he hadn't noticed in the slightest. What if it happened again, sure he could just down the man with stunners as he just had done, but what was to prevent this activity time and again when they reached back to Thedas.

"He'll be fine, he' simply unconscious for the moment. We will need to wake him up, we aren't going to get through the fade without him and it wasn't his fault, he acted on instinct" Despite him saying those words Valeyna couldn't help but feel doubt grow in her, a small amount of fear had turned the man into the one who had nearly killed her and her friend.

"But what if he tries" Nat stopped and patted her gently, then with a groan he got up and walked to the downed form of Bull where with a quick wave of his wand he enervated the man, bringing him back to consciousness where he sat up suddenly his eyes wide.

"Kid" He cried his eyes settling wildly upon the boy he had just tried to kill. "Shit" He swore upon seeing the raw pulsing muscle. "Are you okay?"

"Just a scratch, nothing serious. That demon bastard is lurking here and is determined to keep us trapped, I want the fucker dead." Then with a smile, Nat offered a hand to Bull helping him up once again from the ground. "You with me" Bull nodded nervously his attention focused on the throat, for like a crash of ships it was a horrid thing, that was truly revolting yet he could not glance away, instead focusing entirely on it. When Nat coughed again it was much to the concern of the man as the damage done by Bull now allowed blood to physically pour out of small cracks and crevices like a broken vase coating the Kid's neck in small red tendrils.

"You not going to fix that," Bull asked. Nat shook his head saving his voice, they were out of health potions anyway and to heal this condition would take more time then they had. Unfortunately, it wasn't long after leaving that place that the booming voice of the demon came back again, with full force as it chose a different target to mock and belittle.

"Once again Hawke is in danger because of you Varrick, You found the red Lyrium, you brought Hawke here"

"Just keep talking smiley"

As they continued to push through the fade, inch by bloody inch, the group came across several old journals and diaries each describing events long ago from, mages that had been trapped here against their will, to Templar's who had been unlucky enough to stay into this part of the Fade when they slept, becoming easy food for the demon to feast and dig its teeth into as it ripped it to shreds leaving nothing but raw bones, corpses and occasionally a flickering light of where a soul had once been lighting the way as both a beacon and a trap to anyone else who might find themselves lost in the nightmares realm.

"Warden Stroud. How must it feel to devote your whole life to the Wardens, only to watch them fall? Or worse to know that you were responsible for their destruction when the next blight comes, will they curse your name?"

"With the makers blessing we will end this wretched beast" Once again the creature laughed ruefully hiding back into the shadows as it watched the pitiful mortal beings in its realm squabble and bicker as they attempted to find a way out of this place.

"Did you think you mattered Hawke, did you think anything you ever did mattered? You couldn't even save your city, how could you hope to strike down a god, you're a failure and your family will die, knowing it"

"Of course a fear demon will know where to hurt us most, come we must ignore it" Valeyna smirked at Hawke a small amount of hope blooming in her chest as the woman so easily ignored the threat that seemed to strike down into their very hearts, twisting like a hot knife, unable to be removed, if she could ignore it then so could the others. Finally, as they defeated the last of the demons, later on, all attention was then trained onto the last member of their retinue, the one who had not been spoken off, there as some curiosity in the Inquisitor's eye as she waited for the speech. What could Nat have been afraid off she wondered, there couldn't be much, not after what he had faced what he had done, he was the one to inspire fear, to make himself stronger, yet even as she thought this, the booming voice returned and Nat paled to a white Valeyna had never seen before.

"Where do we even start with you wizard? How does it feel, to live behind a thin veil of lies knowing that every single thing about your life could be undone with such a pull of a thread? How do you think that your companions will react when I tell them the truth? You are no hero, you are a scared lonely little boy driven to constant desperation in your endless state of panic and fear, your every action in your life is not out of desire or any other emotion, only fear." The voice chuckled darkly as Nat tried to fight the intrusion into his mind, but it was no use, the sheer pain he was in combined with the necessity of concentrating magic on preserving himself as he was torn apart from magic was too much. "Yes, I feel it now, you are so filled with it, a veritable banquet of nightmares, fear and worry, so much so that these others you are allied with are nothing but scraps, I shall enjoy consuming you, but first let us reveal the truth shall we"

"Truth what are you speaking about demon?" Valeyna roared but only the dark chuckling tone of the demon returned its laughter even more terrifying as it felt the fear and anguish grow within the child. It was inevitable there was no way the boy could prevent its intrusion from knowing everything it so desired, the defences were indeed strong, admirable really, but when the magic that helped sustain those defences were forced to move aside from simply preventing the boy from breaking god into nothing but dust and ash, there was no chance that they would survive against the demon's assault allowing it to gleam in lust as it saw something that it could.

"My dear Inquisitor the truth of his origins, you do know how he has lied to you and the others all this time do you not, how he has taken you for fools, using you for his own purposes" Valeyna scoffed, how was that believable in any way but when the laughter seemed to darken even more shaking the ground and sending a blizzard up her spine, paralysing her as it worked into the deepest cracks of her very being, wriggling down until it found those floors and made a nest in them, growing them ever deeper forcing her mind to think unkind thoughts she could not help but turn to her friend slowly.

"Nat tell the thing to piss off" Blackwall shouted but it was to no avail, Nat was frozen in place seemingly glaring at something but it was weak, pathetic and it soon died down as more skin flaked away and drifted off into the wind, the demon spoke once more.

"Do you think anyone will care if you return homeboy? We both know there will be no celebration, no cheer, your teacher is dead driven into an early grave by war and seeing his student slipping further and further away, your father cares for you not, you are merely a tool to carry on the family name, as for your beloved sister, she will fade away so subsumed in her own life that she will leave you joining the rest of your siblings for your mother"

At the mention of his mother there was a twist of emotion on the boys face, anger, hatred, loathing just from her position Valeyna felt as without warning magic exploded from the boy's body, so powerful that it obliterated the nearby rocks turning them into, well nothing she realised with shock, there was nothing left, no ash, no dust no trace of the rock they had been obliterated removed from this non-reality. Around him, as the earth shook, and the elements seemed to howl, lightning crashing with incredible intensity blasting apart rocks and old bridges, fire once again ravaging the local area as it subsumed with a great ferocity like a great wildfire and a sudden amount of water that thrust violently in the distance drowning a great many spider demons that came towards them did a great stream of magic flow from him.

It was brilliant, a powerful light purple in nature but greater and more wondrous purple then she had ever seen in her life, powerful, royal, mysterious and brimming with the power of the arcane that was untapped, and hidden behind a wall of anger that held it black from obliterating.

"Don't you dare" The words hissed from Nat's mouth.

"Or what, you'll destroy me, like how you failed to kill your mother, what have I to be afraid of a scared lonely little child with no friends, no life, no future. Come accept your fate and die peacefully, it is better than facing what waits for you, even if you should somehow escape my realm and defeat Corypheus, the others will turn on you. You will be a pariah, hunted in every corner of the world, a word of evil on everyone's lips. You are a Tempest, after all, the great and powerful storm that rolls in and destroys all it touches, how many more are you going to kill? How many lives ruined and cut short in your wrath, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, millions? Do you not even care?"

"Nat" Valeyna's voice called out but to her horror, he did not react instead stuck there his eyes locked as if staring into space or more accurately visions. "Nat it isn't real, it's just made up" She yelled again but it was to no avail, nor a word got through.

Nat felt his limbs and body go cold as he watched those cursed images in front of him, there was no escaping him though, he was too weak and unlike Bull, the demon did not play on something that could happen, but instead would happen. It was right and he knew it, nobody would care if he got back home, not his father the two of them only spoke when needed and their relation was predicated on a business model then any attempt at love and affection, teachers, Flitwick was gone, dead as grief overtook him, friends? He had pushed those aside for power, to become stronger and do whatever he desired, his sister? She was better off without him in her life, he was nothing but an anchor, something that was dragging her down, her worry on him constantly unable to do something for herself as she worried, it was selfish of him to return and put that pressure back on. As for his mother, she was a whore and bitch, a person he desired dead beyond anything else. He growled at the memory, why had he allowed pathetic care of his father to cloud his judgment, she had been his at that moment, defeated, beaten, on the floor at death's door her eyes pleading with him to let him live. His magic had flared about him desiring more than anything to kill her for vengeance, it was the right thing to do, the correct thing, but he had gazed back into the eyes of his father, it had been a mistake, he ever should have looked back, he should have snapped her neck when he had the chance.

He chuckled to himself his mind fraying as it tried it's best to hold onto what sanity reasoning with itself. Nobody cared back home and nobody cared either, Leliana was spy, no doubt she simply used a polite term to try and get him to trust her so she could sink in the dagger at the best possible moment, Josephine was the same using him in threats no doubt t cause fear in politics as for Cullen, he had seen the glances, the fear and disgust when he saw him. He had butchered his brothers and sisters in the templar order taking revenge for those who could not. The other's no doubt saw him in similar lights, Bull saw him as an arrogant young mage, Blackwall saw him as dangerous and able to mess with the minds of those around him, Varric saw him as a child who needed protecting, Sera feared him for his power and was only kept away as his retinue of slaughter carried on, Cassandra was no doubt horrified and saw him as a less evil, one to be destroyed once everything was over, Vivienne was a political opponent who wanted to see him and all her opponents beneath her feet, Dorian also likely saw him as a threat, one who could take his place if he was not taken out, as for Cole he was an emotion given form, prone to such behaviour in some vain effort to fix him. Solas, on the other hand, was his enemy, one that again was likely fighting for his own gain or for his master Fen Harel, weakening the world and making it ripe for conquest.

That left the Inquisitor; she was no doubt the worst of all of them in the group. She was supposed to be naive, a young elf woman who was totally out of her depth, leading an organisation that was gaining in power and authority, she should have struggled drastically, she might have even had a coup thrown against her, but that had not happened, instead, she was still the Inquisitor leading the fight against Corypheus. How did he know that the woman was merely hiding her abilities from them, it was possible after, he was doing just that, but that wasn't the main concern, instead it was her behaviour and her seeming fascination around him? He had noticed the way she looked at him, the sweet smiles, at first they had been more sisterly in nature, wishing him well yet as time passed especially after he returned there was a constant panic in her eyes when he left as if she didn't feel safe or she felt that he may never return. It was a stupid thing, one that was no doubt a trap created to make him feel something for her, to pull him into her power where she could manipulate him to his will. Those needless hugs, the cries of affection when he returned, they were all lies, the woman did not care about him in the slightest, he was a weapon, one to be used against her enemies and discarded the moment he became of no use to her. No not discarded he knew, betrayed and killed, he was a threat one in which is feats already threatened her position and she felt threatened by it no doubt.

His eyes glanced over to the woman narrowing dangerously behind his glasses, just when would she betray him, after all this was done and when Corypheus was defeated, is that when she would plunge the knife into his neck or would she do it earlier, when she knew that victory had been achieved in this war and it was a matter of times.

He couldn't trust her, or anyone else as no doubt they would also attempt. It was at that moment that whether by the demons nudging or his own that he realised how terrible a mistake he had made. He had allowed them to get close to him, how often had he listened to Varrics stories, or spent more time than was necessary with Leliana and the others or the amount of effort he had put into creating arms for the Inquisition to slay their opponents with. He had not needed to do any of that, all he merely had to do was kill whatever was needed and when this all blew over to learn the language of the elves and go on his own way. Instead, he had taken on the responsibility, becoming a leader, someone that people looked up to only to have him betray then as he left them to die at other hands.

It was dangerous, far too dangerous to carry on.

"Betrayal" The demon smiled behind its lair as it finally found that it had desired above all else. "How interesting, I would have imagined failure but betrayal makes sense does it not" Nat focused his attention back onto the demon this time speaking to him directly for a moment before then becoming loud enough for everybody else to help. "How predictable your deepest fear's are, the Bulls of being taken over and losing control, of the dwarves fear to lose that it cared about most of all, to Blackwall who will never become that which he desires, to that of the wardens and his fear to lose that which he cars most of all and to Hawke who fears failure for the torment that she has wrought upon the world with her actions. That leaves us with you little girl, how does it feel, knowing that you will never find anybody who will love you that you will grow old and die alone, unloved by another. You will spend your entire life throwing yourself at person after person, giving them access to all of you simply so you can have a chance at love when in truth it is a fleeting thing that you lust after all else as you focus your attention on a new target. How hilarious it is then to know the fear of the one your desires now fall upon will only continue this trend, for you cannot get closer. It is of no use, they will never accept you, never love you. You remind them too much of things they desire to be got rid of, he would kill you before he ever loved you".

"Silence" Valeyna demanded harshly. "You know nothing" Another chuckle rumbled forwards this time only instead of the arrogance that normally accompanied by it the voice seemed victorious.

"We shall see Inquisitor, even if you escape, the seeds are planted, your victory will be like ash in your mouth when it comes to pass" Then with a high raucous laughter as though it had won the entire war at that moment the presence of the demon vanished from their minds leaving the group free, it was then at that moment that Nat fell to one knee. Valeyna rushed towards him only to recoil in shock as she saw as more and more of his body seemed to turn to dust and float away in the wind.

"Good riddance" Nat whispered doing his best to brush away the demon from his mind however when he felt the Inquisitor kneel beside him her eyes red as though she was on the verge of the tears he couldn't help but feel angry. Even now she attempted with this charade, believing that she cared for him, it was if he actually meant something, in truth she was no doubt preparing him for the slaughter, at the right moment she would sacrifice him without any hesitation against Corypheus, he would weaken it and then he would die allowing for the woman to take the ultimate victory.

He hissed angrily at the thought of such a thing, he could not allow such a thing to happen, not to him. With a shove, he moved the inquisitor away and rose to his feet ignoring the sensation of what could only be described as having your skin ripped off with a sanding machine whilst you were also electrocuted and burnt alive. He focused on that pain allowing it to fuel his growing anger and hatred, he would not allow this woman to manipulate him, he was not his father if she tried he would kill her.

"Let's go" And so with malice in his heart as his mind span around with all the possibilities of how he was going to kill this thing, he did not notice how the Divine from her position above looked down fearfully at the two of them, a growing sense of trepidation as the heart of the Inquisition was skewered.

"Come you must go quickly, the longer you linger here the greater the hold the demon will get a grip on you, if you continue as you are you shall not have the strength to refuse" Nat send a venomous look at that woman his hatred boiling inside of him, how he hated the way she seemed to look down on them, as if she was better than them, of course, the demon was playing on their emotions; that was obvious, but the demon could not play on things that were not there which meant all that was said was true. Blackwall he could tell was also angry but more so because he likely believed his identity as a warden stolen by the creature than for anything else and Bull did not like the prospect of becoming nothing more than a meat puppet for some demon to run amok in, he would need to be hit harder when he returned.

"We know, now show us the way or be gone "He spat at the woman, but if she took offence at the tone she did not show it instead only looking sadly at him, for what reason he couldn't discern but t angered him even father until finally after he had once again ruthlessly dispatched another wave of demons he was about to turn and yell at her only to then be stopped mid place as he took in the sight of a giant creature staring at them.

Nightmare was what it was called and it was a very good name Nat thought as he took on its humungous form. It was shaped like a spider only far larger than even the dreaded Acromantula that lurked inside the forbidden forest, at a minimum it had to be at least the size of two maybe even three double-decker buses stacked on top of one another, towering above them with its great hairless body. Covered in small spots each at minimum the size f footballs he could not help but wonder if they were merely spotted ore instead several eyes to see all directions out off. Its large bulbous frame shook back and forth as green lightning struck it yet did nothing instead the demon laughed its vast mandibles clicking excitedly as it caught sight of them, the twisting and almost flesh but also rock-like appearance of its skin presented a hard outer case that would not be broken by any weapon, and when combined with the seemingly limitless supply of skeletal remains plastered at its feast as though it had partaken in a great feast including those of beings far larger then itself did it promote the message of death.

Despite the terrifying-looking appearance of the creature though it was the power that radiated off it that scared Nat, though he kept his wand raised on the monster ready to unleash a spell, yet even so he was unable to stop the flashes of memories that came to him. He saw everything, every time he had been afraid memories he had believed he had pushed back beyond anything, forgetting them entirely came to the fore. Whether it was the time he was curdled in a corner terror filling him as he heard the angry and heavy footfalls of boots over the a soft carpet as his father returned home to each time in the duelling pit as a spell he had dogged nearly took his life ending it forever to many other memories including when he had faced the dragon as it had nearly possessed him, taking his body as his own using it for vile and tainted purposes.

Nat tried to push through the memories doing his best to ignore them, what did it matter that the dragon had nearly won he argued with himself, he had gained victory and the dragon lay dead by his hands, it's body now put to his desires how he wished. The thought of such a mighty beast being laid low at his hands filled him up again with a renewed sense of confidence, not just anybody could have killed such a beast, only those who had the power and mental fortitude could do so, and no doubt it was the same this beast.

The demon was trying to play with his emotions, all the things it said was true of course, it did not have to lie to them, but on the other hand, it was gaining an advantage by forcing their thoughts against their will spreading unnatural amounts of fear where it did not spring naturally, no doubt in doing so it was expending its energy as it faced opponents who for the first time in a while resisted it even if only slowly.

"Finally, you have come" The monster cackled turning its whole spider-like body to face them it's multiple eyes each locking onto a different member of the party with a venomous glare seemingly trying to pick out which was the weakest and who was the most dangerous threat. Nat coughed resolutely spitting up more of his internal organs, even now he could feel them degrading quickly, breaking down from the sheer amount of excess magic he was drowning in.

"Well, we weren't exactly planning on leaving without saying goodbye" He quipped.

"A rather pitiful attempt at false bravery little bird, perhaps you should leave it to your lion cousins instead" Nat snorted and grinned through the pain.

"What and let them take all the fun? No I the pleasure of killing you personally. I never did like spiders" The demon growled its full attention on the boy not noticing how the others slowly began to move, fanning out in a discreet as manner as possible. "You can no longer hide, either from your allies or yourself" Nat shrugged his shoulder pushing the oncoming fear and allowing his memory of killing the dragon to fill him up again. The demon noticed this instantly. "Do you seriously believe that you can hide behind bravado and arrogance forever, we both know you would run at the first real threat, the only reason you haven't is because you allow faith in your own ability, your arrogance to keep you in place, and what good did it do for your subordinates. Did you know that in their last moment's they died in absolute fear, did you see their memories as they were stuck down there in those caves, praying to their maker that you would come for them, did you know that their last thoughts were of the dark, they didn't even see you in the end, they thought your voice a dark dream. They were a delightful little snack"

"You ate them?" Nat glared at the creature feeling his anger once again come into fruition, but it was of no use for as soon as he felt his power radiate did he feel a sharp pain in his side sending him crumbling to the ground.

"I wonder how I should consume you? When you have reached the point of all despair, or instead allow you to waste away, no matter you will not escape and your power is all but gone, the last dedicated to your very survival, you are abandoned little wizard, all lost and alone, how does it feel" Nat did not respond instead he merely stared at the monster that lay before him, even now it could sense it's victory over them and it was not just it but also the mages. Valeyna looked back towards her friend who even now wasting away, gaunt and bony appearing far more like a corpse and skeleton then an actual human being was once again rising using his sheer hatred of the monster to keep him going through everything. But would it be enough she feared, this was no ordinary demon and not one of them had the power to do anything before she could say anything however that was when she felt a gentle arm touch her shoulder.

Floating past her, the once mortal guise that the spirit had taken on of the Divine now nothing more than a giant glowing gold shape passed her by slowly gliding into the air. Power flowed around her, changing the very tides of the fade to such an extent that the fear that Valeyna had felt filling her heart vanished instantly as it was replaced with hope, the hope of escaping of seeing her friend live, of defeating Corypheus, but more so, a hope of defeating her fear. She would prove the demon wrong, but there was no time to say goodbye.

"If you would tell Leliana "I am sorry I failed you too" Then with a burst of light more brilliant and pure then anything any of them had seen before shining with a brilliant golden hue that blinded them all temporarily forcing them to avert their eyes, the spirit of the Divine burst forth with such power, striking the demon clean and filling it with its energy to such an extent that with a tremendous roar of pain and a mighty crash the demon lay dead. But not all was over for as the main host of the demon died it's tremendous power weakened a few moments later the distinct sound of a gunshot filled by the scent of power entered the noses of the group. Valeyna turned her gaze onto Nat as he stood there his hand shaking as he lowered his pistol his eyes set upon a smaller demon that had been paralysed temporarily with the light but to her horror was not dead.

"Quickly, while it is still blind" Nat shouted his voice weak as he fell to a knee. Taking the warning, the group acted as one, all of them rushing towards the demon as still blinded and as reckless as the attack was, they charged and brought the full weight of their power down whether that was with weapon or magic. All as one the strikes hit on the unprepared aspect killing it before it even had a chance to recover and give back a fight, slaying it where it was it's corpse joining that of the larger host. With their path now cleared the group wasted no time in dashing as quickly as was possible in their dishevelled state but before they could reach the glowing portal that signalled their freedom, from their cursed place, the spider body badly burnt and injured but ultimately still alive rose itself on it's battered legs and stood between them.

"Move" Valeyna roared unleashing a powerful blast of fire allowing for the other's top quickly rush past as the demon recovered from the attack, but it was too late as the spider was faster and move again in front of them staring at them no longer with typical arrogance but with an unfettered rage that promised unfathomable torture.

"Stroud what are you doing" Hawke yelled watching as her long-time friend with only a brief prayer rushed forward his sword raised.

"Go while there is still time"

"But"

"Now Hawke, there is no time to argue" With a solemn nod the others took the offer taking the small amount of time Stroud had given them and rushed towards the portal jumping through back into the mortal realm back to the centre of Adamant and closed the rift behind them.

"We did it" Valeyna yelled her attention gazing to the battered remains and then back to the thankfully empty sky, the archdemon had fled though where to they did not know. "Nat are" She stopped mid-sentence her eyes going wide as the boy collapsed on the ground in a heap his eyes closed and his body looking more like a charred corpse.

Darkness took the wizard.


End file.
